When Lightning Strikes By Chani Lynn Feener

Blurb

In a land ruled by Yaoguai and overrun with demons, a girl must put her heart aside to discover her true destiny.

Caixia, better known as the Prince’s Red Rabbit, is a fierce assassin. Sent out by the prince under the cover of night, she’s known for delivering swift justice just as much as she’s known for the single eyepatch she always wears. No one knows what lies beneath the strap of cloth, no one aside from Caixia herself and the royal family.

Or so they believe.

Gods Gold, reincarnated gods thrown out of the heavenly realm and sent to the mortal plane to atone, have ruled over Middlemist for centuries, but they’re a dying breed. Each year less and less of them are reborn as they complete their punishments and return to the Jade Emperor. Now that it’s time for Prince Yida to marry, there doesn’t seem to be any viable candidates left for the role. But just when Caixia and the prince begin to hope this could be the opportunity for them to be together, a girl is found. With two golden eyes.

Lei, the newly appointed Guardian of the West, helps ease some of Caixia’s sadness, filling a hole she didn’t realize she had as the two of them grow closer. But Lei has secrets of his own that he’s keeping, ones that could unravel not only their kingdom, but the entire world as they know it.

In the end, will Caixia choose to stand by the prince she’s always loved, or will she decide to put her faith in the man who helped her see she’s much more than simply the Red Rabbit? As demons plague the city and tragedy strikes, these three will have to unravel the threads of fate and decide who, and what, they really are.

One wrong choice, and the whole world suffers.

---

Review

*Received a copy of When Lightning Strikes through BookSirens and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’ve read a lot of romance books but interestingly enough, not a lot with love triangles. Even in the few books that had a love triangle, I never felt like it was a genuine one because I always knew the FMC would end up with the first love interest. I always get a bad case of second male lead syndrome.

But my heart was swinging back and forth between Yida and Lei. Before Yida’s fiancé arrived I thought Caixia and Yida were ride or die but reading about Caixia and Lei confused me about where I stand. I was surprisingly invested in both relationships; I could see Caixia going either way if she ended up with someone.

The world-building was pretty engaging. With every new piece of information, I eagerly ate it up. I’m curious about Caixia’s status as a halfling because she can’t be the only one in existence, right? I can’t wait to learn more about Caixia’s parentage, I bet we’ll get more exciting lore too.

The twists hit for me. I came across some reviews that found the twists predictable, but they confirmed my suspicions. I never stopped side-eyeing Lei when Caixia couldn’t see his aura, so Lei’s twist felt like an “aha!” moment instead of an “I already knew this” feeling. Though Yida caught me off guard, I never thought this seemingly put-together prince would fly off the handle.

I’m also aware of the spelling errors other reviewers mentioned. They didn’t really bother me so I can’t say they hindered my reading experience, but yes, they are noticeable. I quirked a brow when Lei’s name was misspelled. Despite the errors, I enjoyed the story and wanted to pick up the book every time I put it down.

4 stars <3

*I need someone to talk to me about the love triangle. If you haven’t read the book please stay away, I’m entering spoiler territory below…

You guys… there’s no way Yida can come back from that. The love triangle is broken now, right? Because Caixia refers to him as her “first love” at the end of the book, so it must be dead…? Caixia can’t stand the thought of hurting innocents and for Yida to kill an entire room of them means their relationship is broken, right?

I know Lei lied to her about himself but that’s completely different from causing a massacre…

If you’re a YidaxCaixia shipper please share your thoughts lol.