The Scorpion & the Night Blossom: Characters, spice & review
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao synopsis.
In a world invaded by demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul… before she loses her forever. From the New York Times bestselling author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night comes the beginning of a dark and opulent fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Throne of Glass.
Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.
Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.
Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.
The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom characters.
There are two main characters in The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao, narrated from female main character Àn’yīng’s point of view. Her enemy-ally-rival love-interest is Yù’chén, a half-demon half-human contestant in The Immortality Trials.
Here is the full list of characters in The Scorpion and the Night Blossom:
Àn’yīng
Yù’chén
Hào’yáng
Mā
Chūn’méi / Méi’zi
Fú Róng / Fú’yí
Zhàn’fēi
Sansiran
Immortals.
Dong’bin
Jǐng’xiù
Cai’he
Shi’ya
Other contestants.
Yán’lù
Lì’líng
Tán’mù
Fán’xuān
Xiù’chūn
Xī’xī
Creatures from Chinese mythology.
Qióng’qí
Áo’yīn
Meadowsweet (Dragonhorse)
Yāo’jīng
Huà’pí (painted skin)
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom book review.
My rating: ★★★★☆
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom may not reinvent the deadly trials romantasy wheel, but it does manage to carve out its own space with rich Chinese-inspired folklore and mythology, dark, angsty, stabby vibes and opulent visuals. Think a sea of clouds, towering mountain pillars carved by wind and water, celestial rivers, shadow cranes, cherry blossoms and lotus ponds in the sky. It’s really quite grandiose. For those who carry a deep and abiding love for dragons, you might just find yourself fed.
Similarly, if you've read The Serpent and the Wings of Night, you’ll feel right at home. The titles are practically cousins, and the structure is familiar: brutal trials, a love interest where I couldn’t tell if they were enemies, rivals or allies, and a heroine with a chip on her shoulder. Even a similar nickname. "Little Serpent/Scorpion."
And listen, I’m not mad about it. Familiarity isn’t a flaw when it’s done well. But I was hoping for a bit more oomph in execution.
Consider this your mild spoiler warning. I have thoughts and they verge on spoilery.
Firstly, the love interest shines in one way and is murky in another. There’s solid tension here, the kind where she doesn’t know if she wants to kiss him or kill him and with touch-her-and-die energy. And I was getting “I can show you the world” Aladdin-Jasmine parallels. But then we hit the real heart of the book, prejudice and bigotry.
Àn’yīng’s hatred of demons is rooted in personal trauma, and I get it. She watched a demon slaughter her father and devour her mother’s soul, leaving her catatonic. But her vitriol towards Yù’chén, her half-demon half-human ally felt uncomfortable and excessive. There were moments I physically recoiled from her words and actions towards him. And sure, her arc is about confronting her bigotry and unlearning it, but the initial journey was rough and it didn't endear me to her character.
Secondly, the trials. I wanted to see Àn’yīng outthink, outfight, and outmanoeuvre her opponents, but too often, the resolution came from external forces and men saving her. The Immortality Trials should have been a highlight, but often felt anticlimactic, mostly because Àn’yīng rarely got to truly own her victories. I love a strong heroine, but I also love one who actually gets to be strong (without being overpowered) rather than we just get told she is.
That said, somewhere around the 80% mark, Amélie Wen Zhao elevated the game. Suddenly, I found myself fully invested in the twists and reveals of the final act. Stakes that previously felt manageable suddenly felt monumental. The story stopped coasting on a formula and started twisting plot in ways that felt genuinely thrilling. Themes of fate and free will, light and darkness, became sharper, more urgent.
By the end, I was completely 100% emotionally invested. If only that momentum had been there all along. The foundation has been laid for an epic conclusion for the next book in the duology. I need answers.
This landed between a 3 to a 4.5 stars, depending on which section of the book I was reading. Still, even with its bumps, I had a damn good time. Highly recommend for people who like stabby romantasy with deadly trials, family secrets, celestial aesthetics and C-drama.
A huge thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperVoyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
View my The Scorpion and the Night Blossom book review on GoodReads here!
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao book FAQs.
Some answers may spoil this book if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution.
What are the content & trigger warnings for The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao?
Blood
Violence
Murder and death
Bigotry
Loss of loved ones
Mention of slavery
Grief
Bullying
Classism
Medical trauma
Is The Scorpion and the Night Blossom part of a series?
Yes, The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is the first book in the duology of the Three Realms series.
What is The Scorpion and the Night Blossom’s age rating?
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao is classified as Young Adult, so anyone aged 14+.
Is The Scorpion and the Night Blossom spicy?
Not really! The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is pretty mild on the spice scale. There are a few romantic steamy kissing scenes and one open-door sex scene, but it leans more on the fade to black vibes side of things rather than anything explicit.
Spice level: 🫑
0.5/5, kissing and very mild steam.
What are The Scorpion and the Night Blossom mildly spicy chapters?
Here’s where you can find the kissing and the implied, non graphic sex scene!
Chapter 17
Chapter 21
Chapter 26 (mildly spicy, but not graphically detailed.)
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