Rosa, also known as Red Riding Hood, is done with wolves and woods.

Hou Yi the Archer is tired, and knows she’s past her prime.

They would both rather just be retired, but that’s not what the world has ready for them.

When deadly sunbirds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they’ve both grown to love, the two must join forces. Now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, they begin a quest that’s a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality.

Although I’ve only read the first book in the series (story of my life), I knew as soon as I started reading ZERO SUM GAME that S. L. Huang was going to be an author I’d love! I’m hoping to catch up on the Cas Russell series very soon, but in the meantime, there’s BURNING ROSES!

I believe this is connected to some short stories that have been previously released, but I went into this one with no prior knowledge of this world & it worked out fine for me!

Combining elements from Chinese mythology with European fairy tales, Huang spins a beautiful adventure tale about two queer middle-aged women out for One Last Quest. Rosa and Hou Yi set out to see if they can stop the death & destruction caused by mythical sunbirds.

Along the way, they reminisce about their lives…earlier adventures, love, family, loss, regrets…these are two characters who have lived through a lot, and the story is as much about them both reckoning with their past as it is about them slaying any monsters (though there is some good monster slayage, to be sure).

I’m not someone who is extremely well-read or knowledgeable when it comes to fairy tales, but it becomes clear that Rosa would otherwise be known as Red Riding Hood, and the flashbacks to her early life almost turn half of BURNING ROSES into this radical origin story, with plenty of surprises for the reader.

This was just lovely to read…atmospheric & moody AF, but with plenty of subtly scathing moments of humor. And Rosa and Hou Yi make such a great duo, both doing a reluctant bit of soul searching while also kicking some ass. BURNING ROSES has great LGBTQIA+ representation, it’s beautifully written, occasionally creepy, gut-punchy, and unique. Get this one on your TBR if it’s not there already!

Huge thanks to TorDotCom Publishing for the copy! BURNING ROSES releases today!