Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin

Item: Song of the Six Realms
Rating: 4
Author: karenbaron

Posted September 30, 2025 by karenbaron in Fantasy, Review, Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Song of the Six Realms

by Judy I. Lin

on April 23, 2024
Genres: YA Romance Fantasy
Pages: 376
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Goodreads
Bookhype
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon

Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Magic Steeped in Poison, weaves a dreamy gothic romance worthy of the heavens in Song of the Six Realms.

Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.
With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.

Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin brings Guxue to a realm that isn’t usually accessible to her and finds things that she thought she lost.

Can Guxue survive in the Celestial Realm long enough to help Duke Meng?

Guxue

Guxue prefers to be called Xue, as it’s less of a mouthful and a nice, short name. Xue has experienced numerous events in her seventeen years of life that we are aware of so far in the book, and things keep happening to her. I like how she’s resilient and wants to do things not only to better herself but also to help others around her. Another thing I like about her is that she’s strong enough not to allow people around her whom she doesn’t trust, unless it’s necessary. The one thing that I feel bad about for her is that she can’t catch a break; she’s always on the go, no matter if she’s in the Mortal realm or in the Celestial one.

The Story

Xue is an orphan who was living with her uncle until he decided to go back on the road as a traveling poet, and that meant he couldn’t take her. She grew up with the other entertainers in the House of Flowing Water until her seventeenth year, then everything changed. Xue ended up going to the Celestial Realm to help Duke Meng figure out what his mentor and her uncle were up to. The story was an enjoyable read and kept me captivated.

Four Stars

My rating for Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin is four stars. Ms. Lin is a fantastic author, and I enjoyed my time with Xue, Duke Meng, and everyone else in this story. It’s sad to let them go. Ms. Lin truly has a way with words. What did you think of this book if you’ve read it? If not, then I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning if you purchase something from Amazon, this blog receives a tiny percentage of the sale. This helps cover the website’s costs and a few giveaways.

About Judy I. Lin

Judy I. Lin is the #1 New York Times-bestselling and award-winning author of fantasy and horror books for young adults, including the Book of Tea duology, Song of the Six Realms, The Dark Becomes Her and the upcoming Avatar Legends: City of Echoes. Judy was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughters.