Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Empress of All Seasons

by Emiko Jean

During a once-in-a-generation competition to find the new empress, Mari, who hides a terrible secret, Taro, the prince who would denounce the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human outcast, will decide the fate of Honoku.

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. Only the yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits, are not eligible to compete. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress-- but she is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. Her 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. Their choices will ultimately decide the fate of Honoku. -- adapted from jacket

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

2 of 5 stars

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I spent the last several hours forcing myself to give EMPRESS OF ALL SEASONS a chance and now I am. Just. Tired.

The ideas used in this book are phenomenal - the Season rooms were a personal favorite and had an amazing aesthetic. The struggles between the yokai and the humans was also a brilliant touch. But that's sort of where my interest in EMPRESS OF ALL SEASONS stops because the execution was messy at best. For one, we have too many POVs. I love books with multiple POVs, but they have to have a purpose. At least one of the POVs here was completely unnecessary, and his POV could have been effortlessly cut without affecting the overall story. We have interesting minor characters that aren't explored and major characters that keep getting cut breaks because to have them struggle and earn their place would slow the story down. This story rockets so fast that you don't have time to get to know anyone or experience anything.

And that's what frustrated me most of all. Stylistically, I really feel like EMPRESS OF ALL SEASONS fell short. The writing isn't compelling, the characters poorly explored, the objectives too easily gained... it just wasn't satisfying. And I'm sad because I really liked the idea and I REALLY liked the possibilities of the adventures to be had and dangers to be experienced in each of the Season rooms that never happened because they were rushed through. Disappointed. I am disappointed and unsatisfied.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 September, 2020: Finished reading
  • 11 September, 2020: Reviewed