White Sheep of the Family

Children of the Black Lotus, Book 2

By: JC Kang

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 3 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

A lord has been assassinated, and only an awkward boy can uncover the mastermind. 

Banished from the capital, 10-year-old Zheng Tian joins the Black Lotus Clan. As son of a great lord, he is utterly unprepared for this new life - a fact complicated by his awkwardness. As of yet untrained in the arts of stealth, he is thrust into an investigation into a lord's murder.

©2019 Dragonstone Press, LLC (P)2019 Dragonstonepress, LLC

Captivating story

This book is packed full of surprises and twists. The naivety of Tian contrasts well with the sexual openness of the girls in the Floating World, and really highlights the differences in their upbringing. I loved how the author showed Tian’s intelligent and abilities, while at the same time illustrating how inept he is at many things when compared to the Black Lotus girls. His ability to surmise is amazing and his naivety charming. Jie is still suffering from self doubt from Lillian’s betrayal, but she is beginning to appreciate Tian’s worth to the Clan more each day. Tian is a great character and I loved seeing this young version of him. His awkwardness, honesty and innocent is sweet and endearing. Once again, the narrator brings the story to life with individual voices, subtle tempo shifts and intonation. This is a captivating story, the intrigue, misdirection and turns in this story are excellent, and I can’t wait to listen to the next in the series.

JC Kang does it again!

I never thought I would enjoy a courtesan story so much, but this is fun. There's a new addition to the ensemble, Zheng Tian, who I remember liking a lot in Songs of Insurrection. Tian is brought in to the Black Lotus Clan because of his powers of observation. And while much about the world of Jie and Little Wen baffles him, he is able to figure out the rest of the story that began in the previous book. What was Lilian up to? Who was she working with? And what was the purpose of Lord Ting's assassination in the previous story? Tian was cute. Always dreaming about Princess Kaiya, his betrothed (really?), he couldn't help being fascinated by the incredible skills of the women of the Black Lotus. But then, he was only ten in this story. And ten-year-olds see all the magic that is in the world. I also felt even worse for Jie. She was never my favorite but watching her go from trusting others to expecting betrayal around every corner was heartbreaking. There are good, trustworthy people even in your world, Jie! While many things were wrapped up neatly by the end, I have the suspicion that the adventure is only beginning and look forward to reading whatever comes next. I received a free audiobook from the author and reviewed it willingly. The narrator, once again, did a fantastic job with all the character voices.

The plot thickens

The plot thickens and we get to follow a new character through the floating world, Zheng Tian. He’s the disgraced 10 year old son of a Lord, and affectionately calls Jie the “Evil Elf” after the clan takes him in and begins his training. I love the interplay between Tian and the other clan members. The betrayal mystery unfolded just a little bit more and I’m totally hooked. On to book 3.

Half Elf Adventure!

I enjoyed this fantasy, I love stories about Elves! The things she is put though! Definitely would recommend this series! On to book 3! Yay! Narrator was good!

Interesting second book.

Jie's tale continues in this series with her talking Tain under her wings. Tian seems like a very naive boy, but he's very intellectually smart. As this tale continues you wonder who friend and who is really the foe. Learning new truth's about the Steel Orchids and the lies and betrayal within and how emotions can make someone so vulnerable. Jie and Tai will move on to another adventure in Wretches of the Trench.

Great sequel

White Sheep of the Family is the second book of the Children of the Black Lotus series. I’ve seen people comment that it can be read as a standalone, but I would really recommend anyone interested in this series to read the books in order. White Sheep of the Family is even better than it’s predecessor. I loved following the point of view of Tian as he and Jie investigated the events that happened in the end of the first book. I truly like how JC Kang writes action scenes; he makes them feel alive and real, like everything is happening in my mind like a movie as I listen thanks to his way of describing. The narrator is fantastic for this story too. I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Story

The author built on the events of the previous novella, "Thorn of the Night Blossoms" using this second book to deepen the central mystery presented in the first book while developing the main character and introducing new characters that help to propel the action forward. A very enjoyable story. Natalie Naudus does an excellent job as the narrator and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her. I received a free audiobook copy and have volunteered to leave a review.

Young Holmes?

A young boy joins the former courtesan to help her and her assassin friends uncover who assassinated a lord. The young boy is smart, but also very inexperienced, which the women try to teach him a few things, including how to keep on his guard from being pick pocketed. However, they become impressed with his skill, similar to Sherlock Holmes' ability to use deduction to find clues to find solutions. I enjoyed the book, and the narration was done well.

Second novella in the Series

White Sheep of the Family is the second novella in the Scions of Black Lotus Series. For a better understanding, I recommend you to listen to the first book in the Series before this one. The story continues where the first book ended. The storyline has a great world building, and the characters are intriguing. This Series is nothing like what I have read/listen before. As always, Natalie Naudus did a great job with the narration. Looking forward to listen to the third book in the Series, Wretches of the Trench. #AudiobookUnleashed

White Sheep of the Family

Building on the first book, there is mystery surrounding the assassination of a Lord. Can the Black Lotus Clan get to the bottom of things before they become victims themselves? JC Kang continues the story with intriguing characters in a unique setting. Once again, Natalie Naudus delivered an entertaining performance. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A wider reaching sequel.

With a subtitle announcing books being "A Legend of.." book, I always expect that each book will be a different tale set in the same world/land as its predecessor. I was therefore pleased to find that this sequel pretty much carries on from where Thorns of the Night Blossom ended. Much like that book, the action (while brilliantly written and mind-boggling in execution) is secondary to the mystery and thrills of the court here and, with the addition of several new characters, the story feels all the more broad for it. Speaking of characters, Tien is brilliant. equal-part Shelock'ian genius and idiotic adolescent I found myself facepalming on several occasions but never to the detriment of the tale. Once again each character and story point is brought to life wonderfully by Natalie Naudus and, while in the first I found it hard to catch character names from her, this time her pronouncing speed seemed spot on. Another really good tale, better than the first in my opinion and so it is on to book Three.

Another entertaining entry in the series.

Continuing on with JC Kang's series of novellas. I really struggled with this one. A new face and PoV is added to the roster in the form of a young boy with a rare ability to observe and make connections. The story flowed well with some nice twists and advancing the overall ARC, and we got a few more hints at world building with orcs and dwarves mentioned along with the elves. But the new addition, Tian, was so obnoxiously naive that I found myself grinding my teeth at his foolishness. The narration was excellent again for the most part, though I think it made Tian seem a little older than he was supposed to be which only served to make his naivety even more confounding.

prequel for Tian

its lovely to hear about Tian's early days with the black lotus. brilliant book, as usual