Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Release Date: January 14, 2020
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic
The fate of the heavens is at stake in this hilarious and highly-anticipated sequel to the The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi
Genie Lo thought she was busy last year, juggling her academic career with protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as the Heaven-appointed Guardian of California, she’s responsible for the well-being of all yaoguai and spirits on Earth. Even the ones who interrupt her long-weekend visit to a prestigious college, bearing terrible news about a cosmos-threatening force of destruction in a nearby alternate dimension.
The goddess Guanyin and Genie’s boyfriend, Quentin Sun Wukong, do their best to help, but it’s really the Jade Emperor who’s supposed to handle crises of this magnitude. Unfortunately for Genie and the rest of existence, he’s gone AWOL. Fed up with the Jade Emperor’s negligence, Genie spots an opportunity to change the system for the better by undertaking a quest that spans multiple planes of reality along with an adventuring party of quarrelsome Chinese gods. But when faced with true danger, Genie and her friends realize that what will save the universe this time isn’t strength, but sacrifice.
The Iron Will of Genie Lo, by author F.C. Lee, is the second and apparent final installment in the authors The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. The story begins right where the first installment ended. The story follows Genie Lo who recently learned that she's the reincarnation of a powerful celestial weapon called Ruyi Jingu Bang which appeared in the story Journey to the West featuring Sun Wukong aka Monkey King who now goes by Quentin. She was also mandated by the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, to manage the yaoguai in California.
It is her job to keep the yaoguai (fallen Chinese spirits) in check and meet with them once a week to hear their grievances and settle disputes and keep them away from humanity. Genie is also a high school senior and volleyball player who is friends with Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy who really should be in charge of heaven and not the Jade Emperor who has apparently gone missing. She's anxious about getting into and paying for a good college, her parents, and keeping demons from eating her karmically powerful best friend, Yunie.
It's a tightrope situation for Genie that's rapidly fraying at both ends as she tries to figure out how to keep all the plates spinning without letting anyone down. She has to grapple with demons who espouse elusive Taoist philosophy, divine mayhem with the return of Erlang Shen, the chaos of Heaven and what Jade Emperor is up to, while also facing a mysterious demonic force that could destroy existence as she know it.
With the Jade Emperor missing and not handling his duties, and the rising of massive demonic energy across the galaxies threatening to destroy many other realms, the Great White Planet, Herald of the Gods, declares a Mandate Challenge which gathers the best candidates to replace the Jade Emperor. In essence, the throne of Heaven is now up for grabs. Genie being Genie nominates her friend Guanyin to participate. The action really picks up at this point of the story and you'll absolutely love the results.
For the most part, this book is more introspective for Genie who is having issues deciding what her future will be like. Genie and her best friend Yunie are supposed to be taking a trip to visit a college, but is that really what she wants, or is it what her parents want for her? Genie has also coded a game called Monkey King Jumps to Heaven which is quickly moving up the app list which means that she may have a future as a coder or entrepreneur. But, what about her job as Guardian & Protector of California? Can she actually turn her back and have a normal life?
As this is the apparent sequel to the series, I would not say no to any future attempt at writing more stories featuring Genie and her crew.
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