In White Tiger Emma Donahoe became a nanny, with no idea that her new employer was actually a Chinese God. By the end of that book she was putting her life on the line to protect her young charge, Simone, from demons. Now, in the second book in the Dark Heavens trilogy, Red Phoenix, Emma is much more than just a nanny. Engaged to her employer, John Chen, she must fight the powerful race of demons which has been bred just to destroy her and her new family.

Set mostly in modern-day Hong Kong, this is an intriguing fantasy offering. With gods, dragons and demons aplenty, visits to the Celestial plane, danger around every corner and twists and turns aplenty, the story picks the reader up and sweeps them along. Emma, the central character, finds herself questioning her very being as she discovers she is no longer just an ordinary human. Is she, too, an immortal, or is she something much darker?

It is exciting to read a fantasy offering which offers a setting and a fantasy realm quite different from other Australian-produced fantasy. Readers will look forward to the third instalment eagerly.

Red Phoenix, by Kylie Chan
Harper Collins, 2007

You can buy this book online at Fishpond.