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The Witch Who Chases the Sun, Dawn Chen

Sometimes, true love is not the answer.

A decade after the Second War, Aixauhan Alchemist Ying Cai-Li seeks to rekindle her relationship with her ex-lover, the Inabrian Oracle Anne Barberry.

However, the war changed them both. Estranged by their losses, Cai-Li has gained a notorious reputation as the dark magic-wielding Blood Hawk and Anne barricades herself in a castle on a hill where her family's dark secrets lie. Rumors in the village say Anne is a monster, responsible for the disappearance of innocent visitors.

But when the two witches reunite and begin unraveling the mysteries of the village, it becomes clear that scars left by the war do not easily fade. Things are not as they seem. Old ghosts come back to haunt them. Past truths are revealed. Can the witches be each other's salvations or are they doomed to repeat the past that tore them apart?

Fans of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon will fall in love with Dawn Chen's sapphic high fantasy epic about anti-colonialism, grief, generational trauma, and the cycles of war.

The Witch Who Chases the Sun, Dawn Chen Sometimes, true love is not the answer. A decade after the Second War, Aixauhan Alchemist Ying Cai

#Queer Books #Dawn Chen

A decade after the war that resulted in the death of someone important to them both, the Aixauhan Alchemist Cai-Li Ying seeks out to rekin

A decade after the war that resulted in the death of someone important to them both, the Aixauhan Alchemist Cai-Li Ying seeks out to rekindle their relationship with her estranged lover, the Inabrian Oracle, Anne Barberry. However, a lot has changed in the past decade. Anne barricades herself in the Castle on a hill where her family‘s dark secrets lie. Chely has gained the reputation of being the Blood Hawk, who dabbles in dark magic, much to Anne’s disgust. Rumors has it that Anne herself is responsible for the disappearance of visitors who went to the Castle. Other things are happening as the two witches reunite. Old ghosts come back to haunt them. People they know from the war come and go. Scars left by the war does not easily fade. Are they truly each other's salvation, or are they doomed to repeat the past that tore them apart?

Thank you to the author for providing the e-arc. This book is set to be published on October 1st, 2025.

Dawn Chen's The Witch Who Chases the Sun is a poignant reflection on the horrors of war and the grief of loss, drawing from Chinese myth to build a beautiful anti-colonial epic. It takes a while for the reader to get used to the mixture of past and present tense that defies expectation, undoubtedly an interesting choice to narrate the book; once one gets in the swing of things, though, the peculiar narration is not so strange. Another compelling aspect of the language used is the choice to employ chinese ideograms and sayings, without worrying about holding the reader's hand. This helps convey the racism and imperialism as we see how much the Aixauhan characters are forced to conform.

Cai-Li and Anne are complex and compelling, their relationship both sweet and intense as we get to see various stages of their lives. They're flawed characters, heroes and avengers, killers and saviors, with complex agendas that are not so easily anticipated. In fact, the twists and turns of this book are delightful and gasp-worthy. Their relationship mirrors in a way the cycle of violence brought on by war, but you never get the sense that there is no love, even when things appear grim. While this isn't a romantasy, readers might approach it with the expectation of a traditional HEA, and I will warn that while the ending is beautiful and hopeful and just perfect, perfectly encapsulating the world of the story, it very much is not HEA.

The cast is enriched by three other characters, two of which I'm hesitant to call merely side characters. Cole and Ark are just as well-rounded as the main two, driven by their own past, complex and terrible and so easy to empathize with. Their arcs intertwine and juxtapose with each other's and with the main characters, creating beautiful layers and intricate webs of honor, understanding, sacrifice, and forgiveness.

The worldbuilding is vivid, deftly painting the conflict between two nations inspired by England and China. The Chinese equivalent especially is expertly woven, showing the complexity of different etnic groups within the community.

The Witch Who Chases the Sun is a compelling tragedy.

✨ 4 stars

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

#dawn chen #the witch who chases the sun #lgbtq books #queer books #queer lit #queer sff #queer speculative fiction #books #book reviews #reading #gealach reads #gealach writes

The more two people are of the same mind, the harder it is to lie to each other. I never would’ve imagined, you'd say the same thing I was thinking. No matter how exquisite the mask is, it can only cover up the face. It cannot cover up someone's eyes. A person's biggest weakness is their eyes.

Heart of Loyalty