ARC, 366 pages
Release Date: November 6,2018Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers
Read from: November 7-15, 2018Stand-aloneSource: Publishers (I received a copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: Body shaming and slavery
For fans of: Action, Fantasy, #OwnVoices, Multiple POV, YAIn a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.
Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy.
Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren’t hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast.
Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy.
*MY THOUGHTS*
“The naginata. The reaping sword was a long bamboo pole culminating in a wicked curved blade. […] It was the only weapon Mari knew how to wield. “If you train on all weapons, you will master none.“pg. 4
Mari, Taro, and Akira all lead different lives. Mari has come to compete in the competition that will determine who will become the next Empress. Taro is next in line for the throne, and Akira still feels he must protect Mari at all costs. But of course Mari is holding a secret that no one can find out, but how can she survive the Palace of Illusions and the Rooms of Seasons without showing the world what she is?
“In a matter of days, hundreds of young women would descend upon the palace, armed and hopeful. The rules were simple: Survive the Rooms. Conquer the Seasons. Win the prince.“pg. 13
The very first thing that stood out to me about this was the writing style and language. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book where I added so many post-its! I made notes for all types of things in her writing, from swoons to Mari’s fierceness, to just language that I found beautiful. This is my first book from Jean, so I didn’t know what to expect from her writing and it was a pleasant surprise. Her writing in Empress is certainly going to be something I remember for some time to come.
“The right to rule was paved with bloody stones.“pg. 32
Then there was the characters. Normally in a book with multiple characters I’m not fond of a couple of them and it does damage to the story for me. But this time, for the most part I liked all of them. One of them I could have done without until the end lol But the other two had me on the edge of my seat.
“With time, all things withered. Except your spirit. The soul always remained.“pg. 103
As for the plot, I could have done with a little more action in the first 100 pages or so, but after that I was hooked. Once Mari made it to the Palace I was super into it. I seem to be like that alot when it comes to games or books like this. (It took me forever to read Warcross and I had to read The Hunger Games twice…) It seemed to drag at first, but once it going, it was really hard to put down.
“I just want to blend in. That’s all.“pg. 142
I knew this book would be something I enjoyed when a co-worker of mine asked could she borrow it. She’s part Japanese and doesn’t like YA. But she saw one of the words in the book and it just so happened to be her maiden name. She (is almost 55) and said she said that was the first time she ever saw her name in print. This is why we need diverse books and why Own Voices is so important. She’s in her 50’s, imagine what seeing this type of rep can do for a teen.
“Don’t worry Prince. I’m much harder to kill than I appear. Perhaps it is because I am so small; nobody ever believes that I can do big things.“pg. 183
This book was a surprise to me and I can only hope that others enjoy it as much as I do. This was a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m really glad I gave it a shot before I gave up on it.
