Asian American writing duo Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle (Ebony Gate) once again lure readers into a fascinating, dangerous world of magic and dragons with Blood Jade, the second stellar entry in their Phoenix Hoard series.
Emiko Soong, the recently chosen Sentinel of San Francisco, Calif., has been called back to her family home in Tokyo. Her beloved younger brother, Tatsuya, has asked for her aid in training him for a coming-of-age tourney at Lóng Kǒu school, and she cannot deny him. She will also have to face her clan for the first time since deliberately severing her connection to family tradition by giving up her position as the Soong family Blade. But someone has set an assassin on Tatsuya, and Emiko stands in their way. As the heir to the Soong clan, Tatsuya's death would sever the family's line and remove their influential family from the eight Hoard custodian clans. The evil force that stalks them doesn't know, however, that becoming the Sentinel has changed Emiko's magical gifts in powerful ways. She will have to call on all her newfound talents and allies to save the people she has vowed to defend.
Through Vee and Bebelle's lush descriptions, Tokyo becomes a brilliantly colored, lethal backdrop for the novel's distinctively creative characters. This intriguing tale boasts a fresh and compelling plot that will keep readers guessing as surprising details about Emiko and her background are revealed. Although Blood Jade can be read as a stand-alone novel, readers will surely want to also read the first volume in what is proving to be an excellent urban fantasy series. --Lois Faye Dyer, writer and reviewer