Feather and Flame by Livia Blackburne

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Feather and Flame by Livia Blackburne
The Queen's Council #2
Published by Disney-Hyperion on June 14, 2022
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Physical
Source: Publisher

She brought honor on the battlefield. Now comes a new kind of war...

The war is over. Now a renowned hero, Mulan spends her days in her home village, training a militia of female warriors. The peace is a welcome one, and she knows it must be protected.

When Shang arrives with an invitation to the Imperial City, Mulan’s relatively peaceful life is upended once more. The aging emperor decrees that Mulan will be his heir to the throne. Such unimagined power and responsibility terrifies her, but who can say no to the Emperor?

As Mulan ascends into the halls of power, it becomes clear that not everyone is on her side. Her ministers undermine her, and the Huns sense a weakness in the throne. When hints of treachery appear even amongst those she considers friends, Mulan has no idea whom she can trust.

But the Queen’s Council helps Mulan uncover her true destiny. With renewed strength and the wisdom of those that came before her, Mulan will own her power, save her country, and prove once again that, crown or helmet, she was always meant to lead. This fierce reimagining of the girl who became a warrior blends fairy-tale lore and real history with a Disney twist.

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

Trigger & Content Warnings: misogyny, kidnapping, death, war

Mulan is one of my favorite Disney princesses, so I’m definitely not going to turn a blind eye to a reimagining of the movie with historical and fairy-tale elements. But given that Rebel Rose disappointed me, I was a little wary going into Feather and Flame because I didn’t want to walk out disappointed. Honestly, I would’ve been fine not worrying too much.

This is the second novel in The Queen’s Council series, following a princess as she comes into power with the help of a mysterious force that spans history. The series can be read as a stand-alone (and feature different authors), so Rebel Rose doesn’t need to be read before this.

Feather and Flame is set sometime after the animated movie when Mulan has returned home as a hero after saving China from the Huns.

Both she and Shang have parted paths, with her living a quiet life back in her village and Shang promoted to General for the Imperial Army. Since her return home, she’s been helping out her parents and training a militia of female warriors in her village. It’s obvious Mulan and her militia have a strong bond, and I love seeing this throughout the book (I especially love Mulan’s relationship with Liwen!). Mulan’s living her best life, and I love this for her. If she had the choice, she’d stay and live out the rest of her days in peace. But the universe has other plans for her when Shang arrives with a summons from the Emperor for her, and the Emperor decrees her to be his heir.

There were a lot of things I loved about Feather and Flame.

There are references to the animated movie throughout the novel, which I loved seeing, and I think a lot of fans will as well. Blackburne stays true to the Mulan many of us know and love from the animated series without dialing back and stripping her to a shell in this reimagining. She’s still the fiercely loyal girl who would do anything to protect those she loves, like dressing up as Ping to go to war in place of her father.

In this case, this loyalty extends to her country and saying yes to being Empress even if believes she’s not the right person for the task. It doesn’t help that as she takes up the mantle of Empress and the Huns sense an opportunity to try their hand once more, she begins to question who’s truly loyal to her. She also doubts herself and has moments of insecurity, but who wouldn’t in her position? Character development is a central part of the story (and honestly sounds like the central part of each novel in the series), and it’s one of my favorite things in a novel.

I also really liked Blackburne’s writing style, which flowed really well, and her vivid descriptions of the world. I have a few of her other books on my TBR or have had it on my radar but never truly picked one up to read.

For the most part, I love that Blackburne draws historical and cultural inspirations throughout Feather and Flame. Two things bugged me, though:

The enthronement ceremony

I’m no history major, but historically in ancient China, the Emperor is considered the son of Heaven and therefore addressed with the utmost respect. (There’s a whole reason for the wansui, wansui, wanwansui routine you see in Chinese period dramas.) You also don’t look them straight in the eye as a sign of respect; to do so is to view them as an equal, and well… you don’t do that unless it’s an act of disrespect, disdain and downright defiance. Certainly not to the Emperor.

In Mulan’s enthronement ceremony, when she’s about to ascend as Empress, everyone is looking and waving at her, trying to catch a glimpse of her. It’s very much westernized, as though it’s being televised, but considering how her ministers undermine her at every turn with their misogynistic views and the tradition of valuing sons, it’s not too far-fetched for people to try and look at her if anyone else shares similar views with the ministers. Given the historical timeframe the novel seems to be set in, this is pretty plausible. There’s also her upbringing as someone outside of the palace to consider as well, so this really only resulted in a raised eyebrow from me reading this.

The emperor states his “three daughters gave up claim to their throne when they married commoners.”

I actually find this pretty odd, considering they’re the emperor’s daughters. I mean, all three of them did? Someone in such a high status would likely be arranged to marry someone within the emperor’s court (or to strengthen his power and alliances*), but the emperor didn’t make a single peep about this? At the very least, I’d think his ministers would make some sort of fuss about it because they seem pretty adamant about following traditions. I also think they’d encourage him to keep trying to produce an heir.

*It’s entirely possible the emperor could have very well married them to commoners, especially if they’re from a wealthy family and a potential threat to the throne. The book doesn’t go into much detail about the backgrounds of who his daughters married, and honestly, it’s not even necessary to Mulan’s story. But I do think it’s worth mentioning, though, because Mulan just kind of feels plopped in when you really think about it. At that point, this really feels more like a written companion sequel to the movies.

Overall

Beyond those two details, I cannot stress enough that I enjoyed this immensely, and definitely more than the first one. Feather and Flame is a solid second installment in The Queen’s Council series, and I recommend it for those who loved Mulan as much as I did and wish she could’ve had a companion novel or like a reimagining with political intrigue while paying homage to the animated film.

About Livia Blackburne

Livia Blackburne is a New York Times bestselling author who wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full-time writing, which also involves getting into people’s heads but without the help of a 3 Tesla MRI scanner. She is the author of the Midnight Thief and Rosemarked series, as well as the picture book I Dream of Popo.

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