The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang
- WSU Crimson Review
- Dec 29, 2025
- 8 min read
Vampires, em(power)ment, and Chinese Folklore: an odd combination that provides insight into the intricacies of what good leadership is. The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang is a young adult romantasy set in Ancient China, where the main character, Fei, explores autonomy in a patriarchal society by choosing between choice and what is written and prophesied in the stars. With two Kingdoms, the Rong and Lan empires, at war for her destiny as the empress among all empresses, Siwang, her betrothed, and Yexue, a vampiric prince, take up arms in order to pursue Fei and lead with her to become the emperor of all emperors. But will Fei let the two men control her fate, or will she challenge the stars and make a destiny of her own?
In this review, editor-in-chief Akira Park and managing editor Rebecca Lommers provide a conversational Q&A regarding their thoughts on THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE after a collaborative reading experience. This review was done virtually through a real-time chat.
Akira: First of all, thank you for buddy reading this with me! I’ve enjoyed our first buddy read prior to The Nightblood Prince and hearing your thoughts and perspective about the same story that we read. I feel that whenever we discuss a book that we read at the same time, I get to see a different view on how one story can be interpreted, and often, that provides even deeper thoughts to certain literature. With that, I know we’ve talked about the politics of this book and how it essentially shows readers multiple outputs on two sides, especially in a fictional world, inspired by history, where “good guy vs. bad guy” can be seen differently. Even with Fei, she had a difficult time discerning between both, but alas, they are both men who essentially want power. What are your thoughts on how Yexue and Siwang are leading their people, specifically how Molly X. Chang shaped their leadership in this book?
Rebecca: I am so glad we got to buddy read this as well! Discussing the ins and outs of novels like these is always an incredible experience, not only because it challenges me to dive deeper into stories that I would have otherwise read for enjoyment, but also because talking with other readers, like yourself, widens my perspective of what can make a story “work.” I think Molly X. Chang displays the fine line between leadership and greed. A leadership trait I personally admire is self-sacrifice, but I would argue none of the characters exhibit that. Instead, readers are left with Siwang, a prince whose arc slowly turns him into war-hungry, solely prolonging death for his ego, and Yexue, who definitely has many questionable displays of leadership, but seems more people-centered. While neither of these men exhibit a show of leadership I admire, I do find their dichotomy incredibly portrayed because it makes me compare the war they prolong to real-world events. This comparison is something I find to be the purpose of reading, as it forces me to pick apart stories to find lessons I can take into my own life. I’m curious what your thoughts are on how Fei may lead in the future. Do you think she will be a good leader, or do you find that she has similar qualities to the men in her life?
Akira: Ooo that’s a good question. I have similar thoughts on your inferences with Yexue and Siwang, and you capture their ways of “leading” so perfectly. In terms of Fei, I think that at this point of the trilogy, I cannot see Fei as a good leader yet. The societal pressures that are appointed to her unconsciously can easily be seen through her indecisiveness as she isn’t quite confident in her decisions and seems to continue seeking affirmation from her family. While there’s so many qualities of leadership that are also subjective from person to person, based on how Molly X. Chang is writing Fei, it seems that Fei has a long way to go in becoming a good leader. What I personally am predicting in the second book is that Fei will try her best to be an adequate leader to the small community she leads but will likely have much trial and error. My hopes are very high for the third book, and I believe that Fei will be a virtuous leader, but not a perfect one either. It would likely be quite difficult for her to lead with feminism at the forefront when there is a lack of organization in this book thus far; she has no solid ally. Because she is surrounded by men and the expectations from patriarchy, the majority of her leadership seems to exhibit that. If I could write to the author, I would 100% beg her to add more female allies in the second and third book in order to shape Fei into a good leader. I definitely saw glimpses of how Molly X. Chang might shape Fei into a good leader in the future through her prose. Specifically speaking—whenever Chang would write a phrase in Chinese and later explain its meaning. With that being said, how do you think her prose affects the overall theme of the story?
Rebecca: I would also love to see more female characters in this story, especially ones who could almost serve as a “powerful mentor” to Fei. Though Fei will likely grow to be more of a feminist role-model, sometimes I believe authors miss that in telling stories like these, they are still writing with a male-centered perspective. Even if that story eventually results in the female main character gaining power, it still caters to a patriarchal gaze. Though, those patriarchal elements also fit the historical accuracy of this novel, which I cannot critique. I am hopeful Molly X. Chang will branch out to write a fully female-centered story in the future. With the author’s prose, I am very impressed with the way she incorporated Chinese proverbs in the dialogues. Beyond the cultural and historical representation that is given to the reader by doing this, I also feel as if the act of stating the phrases in Chinese then translating them can serve as an excellent metaphor for the catering Fei does to people who do not understand her. While not every reader may find the original sayings accessible, by translating them into English, readers are able to get pieces of historical wisdom and cultural importance if they are willing to listen to them. Likewise, Fei also constantly begs the men in her life to understand her sole motivation: to make her own decisions so she has autonomy in a world where she was never meant to receive it. Though no one truly chooses to listen or help her until the end of the story, Fei constantly commits herself to catering to their understanding, even when asking for them to simply listen. While the decision to include Chinese in the prose brings a greater value for the cultural elements of the story, I believe it also shows the inner turmoil within Fei’s life. With that being said, Fei does get the opportunity to make a life for herself at the end of the story. Yet, Yexue also establishes he has manipulated Fei by giving her some of his blood. What are your thoughts on Yexue’s motivations, and do you think he truly means to give her freedom? Do you think Molly X. Chang’s decision to include this element serves as a greater metaphor for female autonomy or is it something else entirely?
Akira: A HUGE emphasis on your point regarding authors writing stories such as this yet centering patriarchy and a male-centered perspective. Reading that, I had to take a deep breath because the purpose of writing this story then becomes lost when the whole thesis is to empower women’s autonomy, especially writing this in first-person, yet the underlying essence captured still goes against the core argument and motive of the author. Still, this gives us such a strong frame of reference on how a story of feminism is manipulated into a story of control. This is such a complex and complicated territory because we see Siwang and Yexue do exactly that, with Siwang framing his fight for Rong to essentially blame Fei and Yexue’s motivation of healing Fei to control her without her consent. With that, I think Yexue has been manipulating Fei before she drank his blood, with explanations from Molly X. Chang that hasn't been fully dove into. Chang captures Yexue so perfectly with control and power because despite it all, Yexue still controls Fei in and outside of his blood “bond” with her. I mean, come on—he literally “gives” Fei a piece of his land. Would it truly be freedom if, in the end, Yexue essentially still owns the land? Drinking Yexue’s blood simply is a nail to the coffin where I believe Chang is screaming at us that Fei thinks she’s gaining control by giving us hope at the end of the story but really, she still is being controlled, even within her blood; her life is quite literally Yexue’s. It reminds me of a conversation I had in my social theory course where my professor had noted times during slavery where White male enslavers slept with their Black female enslaved people as a form of racial erasure. In light of this book, I think it’s now in the frame of feminism and women’s autonomy instead of race. Because of Fei’s indecisiveness in seeing who is good vs bad, she doesn’t notice how Yexue giving her land is just an extension of his control. The land was given to her and thus, he has the power to take it back at his own accord. He gave her his blood to heal her and thus, he has the power to control her based on his own decisions. There’s so many ways this can be interpreted, and I truly appreciate Molly X. Chang for providing us the space to see this through The Nightblood Prince. I’m looking forward to the rest of this trilogy and am excited to hopefully read it with you. That being said, my last question comes down to a silly curiosity. If I recall correctly, you read through the entire Twilight Saga last summer. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how Twilight also echoes some of the comparable stories that this book is marketed with, which is Mulan and Helen of Troy. Do you see Twilight interwoven here as well, not just simply from the vampire part but more over the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob? If not, what books reminded you of this story and why? Again, I’m so glad we read this together, and I love this extension of conversation we have for The Crimson Review!
Rebecca: Your point about how Yexue is manipulating Fei by giving part of his own land, which doesn’t give her true freedom really sums up what we’re both saying about female autonomy! Very well said. The question of what true freedom looks like actually does coincide well with the question about Twilight. When reading that series, I had to ignore some of my critiques to enjoy the reading experience. If I were to encounter an Edward-type man in my life, I would run for the hills. But because people embrace Edward’s toxicity with an awareness of how it should not be normalized, it can be read as entertainment. With that aspect, I see similarities to The Nightblood Prince. Because of the direction we hypothesize that the novel is going, I think it will absolutely become a piece that has similar meta elements, where readers are aware of the toxic love triangle, but they are fully entertained by it because they’re willing to put toxic elements behind them for the sake of Fei’s arc. Beyond that aspect, I can see pieces of Edward and Jacob in both men. They both have their sweet moments… and their not so sweet moments. And, obviously the vampire elements are very prevalent, though I would argue one of the Twilight novellas, The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner, best resembles the vampire aspect of this novel. I’m so glad you brought that question up, and I’m thankful we got to read and review this together! This conversation has given me a true appreciation for the novel.
I believe The Nightblood Prince is perfect for fans of love triangles, fast-paced fantasy, and quickly changing settings.
I am excited to see where Molly X. Chang’s writing goes from here, with this trilogy and beyond!
Content Warning: Though labeled as young adult, THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE includes a descriptive romantic scene. We would recommend young adult readers to approach this book with consideration and discretion. There are also topics and depictions of war to preface for readers who may find this topic sensitive.
The Nightblood Prince was originally published on July 1, 2025
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