Empress of all Seasons by Emiko Jean

Apr 16, 2018 Melanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, read-in-2018, own-voices, young-adult, fantasy, buddy-reads, romance

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“Do not cling to the hand that holds you down”

Empress of All Seasons is an ownvoices Japanese fantasy that was a complete delight to read. I was completely immersed from the very first page, and the last page left me wanting the next book immediately. But this is a tale of family (both found and blood), and honor (both given and earned), and love (unconditionally and conditionally).

The emperor is a human who rules ...more

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Sep 24, 2018 C.G. Drews added it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy, read-2018, young-adult

This is the kind of story with a world that will totally swallow you whole. In the best possible way! I love it when books promise epic and deliciously complex settings and then deliver. Like, tHANK YOU, I have been waiting to be totally captivated by a story world! This is also based on Japanese mythology and totally immerses you in the world with Japanese legends, weapons, food (um yeah thanks for that I’m hungry) and settings.

THINGS TO EXPECT
➸ Mari being epic with her naginata sword and sighi ...more

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Oct 14, 2018 may ➹ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-reads, 3-and-a-half-star, arc, asian-rep, asian-rep-main, buddy-reads, diverse, fantasy, feminism, lgbtqiap

can someone tell me [inhales] what the HELL just happened

3.5 stars

“But not every happily-ever-after includes a man.”

Empress of All Seasons is set in a Japanese-inspired world where every time the prince is in need of a wife, competitions to the death are held for all women—except yōkai.

Mari, a yōkai, has trained all her life to enter this competition, and refuses to back down until she becomes empress. Taro, the prince, has no plans whatsoever of becoming emperor. And Akira, half-yōkai, half ...more

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Aug 29, 2018 Chelsea Humphrey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: from-publisher, netgalley

Even though this one didn't fully work for me, I still think it'll be an excellent story for many readers. It's not to say I didn't enjoy it at all, but I think my overall feel was too middle-of-the-road to garner anything higher than a 3 star rating towards my experience. The cover is swoon worthy and the influence of Japanese culture was stellar, and, honest to God, the intro was one of the most well written, engaging, and intriguing beginnings to an entirely unique fantasy idea that I've ever ...more

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Oct 13, 2018 Lily ☁️ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, asian-rep, poc-author, arc-and-arr, buddy-reads, blog-tour

“Not everyone is all good or all bad.”

I’m going to use this quote as a starting point, and say: not every book is all good or all bad. Because it perfectly encompasses how torn I feel about Empress of All Seasons.

I think that ultimately, and sadly, I fell in love with the idea of this book based on its synopsis more than I did with the actual book itself.

I loved the idea of Mari setting out to win a competition based on wit, cunning, strength, daring, and confidence, defying expectations place ...more

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Aug 27, 2018 Cait • A Page with a View rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-arcs

I sat on this review for several months to be sure aaaand I think this book just really wasn't a good fit for me personally... but many other readers will love it! It's an original, creative story with Japanese influences (which was by far my favorite part).

Mari is a girl who's secretly a monster and doesn't believe a guy will ever love her. Her controlling mother has directed her to steal Taro's fortune by training to enter a competition where hundreds of girls try to survive the seasonal room ...more

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Oct 11, 2018 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is a young adult fantasy book that is inspired by the author’s own Japanese heritage. I think if you took the Japanese infused story complete with monsters and tossed it into a blender with the Hunger Games and a smidge of the Selection then blend it all up you come up with Empress of All Seasons.

Mari is a Yokai, she looks human but has the ability to transform into a monster. Yokai are feared Honoku so Mari hides who she is along with her small village of wo ...more

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Dec 09, 2018 Candace Robinson added it · review of another edition

ARC received via publisher!

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Oct 21, 2018 Acqua rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: those who like plot-driven stories and don't mind heteronormativity

Shelves: arc, aoc, aphobia, db, boring-li, fantasy, love-triangle, ya

Empress of all Seasons is a YA fantasy book set in a Japanese-inspired world in which humans have enslaved magical creatures, the yōkai. Mari, the main character, is yōkai herself - as an animal wife, she's able to partially shapeshift - and she'll have to hide her powers to win the competition to marry the prince... and then steal his fortunes.

I wish I could have loved this book as much as I wanted to.
In the beginning, I thought it was going to be a fun if a bit cliché read with great worldbuil ...more

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Mar 10, 2018 Cindy ✩☽ Savage Queen ♔ marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Hmm...cover's not bad. Definitely getting on Asian vibe so that's good at least lol
---
A YA fantasy, steeped in Japanese folklore, that sounds like it was made to be an anime? Why have I not heard of this until now!?

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Nov 26, 2018 Tori (InToriLex) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, publisher-request, ownvoices

Content Warning: Graphic Violence, Slavery, Death

This action packed fantasy helped me crawl from the depths of an awful reading slump. Mari is a bad ass protagonist who is a skilled fighter, a yōkai and a caring friend. She sets out to compete to become Empress by facing seasonal rooms meant to break her in mind and body. Mari has to hide her identity from prince Taro and everyone in the competition because all yōkai in the city are forced into slavery. Akira is an outcast who is Mari's best

Content Warning: Graphic Violence, Slavery, Death

This action packed fantasy helped me crawl from the depths of an awful reading slump. Mari is a bad ass protagonist who is a skilled fighter, a yōkai and a caring friend. She sets out to compete to become Empress by facing seasonal rooms meant to break her in mind and body. Mari has to hide her identity from prince Taro and everyone in the competition because all yōkai in the city are forced into slavery. Akira is an outcast who is Mari's best friend and sets out to protect her in any way he can while she competes. This multifaceted world of yōkai, priest and humans was developed phenomenally, so I felt fully immersed in Honuku.

I am a lean tiger in winter, come for me. I dare you.

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The characters were well developed and every time they were in danger I felt genuine concern (no one is magically never hurt). The powers yōkai had throughout the book were fascinating and included supernatural features I have never imagined before. For example there are yōkai that can turn into spiders, flying beasts and giant red fleshed demons. As Mari faces the contest to become Empress she has to count on her training and experiences in her village. While beauty is a tool for her village of Animal Wives, she is described as plain but trains to be a talented fighter by difficult means.

Do not let fear decide your fate.

When character's take a break from trying to survive or defend themselves, there is genuine romance well described. This book offers a hopeful message to young readers about learning to accept yourself to reach your full potential. The folklore, ninjas, settings and Palace of Illusions kept me engaged with the book the whole way through. I would recommend this for fans of fantasy who want to read about a culture inspired by East Asian folklore in a non-western setting. The diversity, message and writing is something everyone can enjoy.

Recommended for Readers who
- enjoy fantasy featuring diverse people, species and relationships
- want to read young adult romance with realism
- appreciate intricate world building and characters you will root for and despise ...more

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Oct 27, 2018 Dani - Perspective of a Writer rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, fiction-young-adult, g-a-magic, g-a-real-combat, g-a-strong-family, g-c-asian, g-c-morally-grey, g-r-demons, g-r-mythology, g-r-shapeshifters

Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. 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, she’s a yōkai! As she strug ...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Vicky Who Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, wishlist

4 stars

#AsianYA is absolutely slaying November and 2018 in general. Because Empress of All Seasons completely blew me away with its lush world and relatable characters and amazing plot.

I thought the world was wonderful--it was lush and well-developed and rich with culture, which I definitely enjoyed. Plus, there were all sorts of magical beings--Mari being one of them--and it really spiced up the plot!

The enslavement of magical beings was handled really well, and it wasn't too dark or gory that ...more

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Jun 11, 2018 Daphne (Illumicrate) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-debut, age-ya, genre-fantasy, i-asian-inspired, pub-hmh, type-arc-netgalley, wishlist-arc

Men are conditioned to take. Women are conditioned to give.

This book is absolutely wonderful. I've read a spate of Asian-inspired YA fantasies at the moment and this is my favourite. I loved the rich world that the author built, a Japanese-inspired world where yokai are treated as second class citizens by a hateful human Emperor.

Mari is our protagonist, a yokai Animal Wife, who comes from an all-woman clan where they trick human men into marrying them and make off with their treasure. Mari has ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Beatrice in Bookland rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, did-not-finish

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

”The rules were simple: Survive the rooms. Conquer the seasons. Win the prince.”

DNF @42%

What a disappointment. Flat (and not very likeable) characters, way too slow moving plot, basic writing style. I don’t have enough strength (or time to waste) to keep reading, so bye book 👋🏼

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Nov 01, 2018 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-and-galleys, review-copy

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/11/04/...

Here’s another one for fans of Asian-inspired fantasy: Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is set in a world reminiscent of feudal Japan with historical and supernatural elements. It is also a world where humans and yōkai live side by side—but not as equals. Whether you are a kappa demon or a near human-looking harionago or “hook girl”, all yōkai in Honoku are required to be registered and fitted with an unbreakable iron 3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/11/04/...

Here’s another one for fans of Asian-inspired fantasy: Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is set in a world reminiscent of feudal Japan with historical and supernatural elements. It is also a world where humans and yōkai live side by side—but not as equals. Whether you are a kappa demon or a near human-looking harionago or “hook girl”, all yōkai in Honoku are required to be registered and fitted with an unbreakable iron collar which would enslave them and keep their powers in check. The only free yōkai are those that live far away from the cities, hiding in little pocket communities in the wilderness. Mari, our protagonist, grew up in one such village with her clan the Animal Wives, a class of shapeshifting demons who can turn into beautiful women in order to seduce men and steal their fortunes.

Mari, however, was raised by her mother to follow a different path. Trained to fight and to survive, she has been groomed from childhood to become an empress and steal the treasures of the royal family itself. Each generation, a competition is held in the capital of Honoku to select the crown prince’s new bride. Hundreds of young women from clans across the empire would gather and attempt to conquer the challenges in the four enchanted rooms of the imperial palace, one for each of the seasons. Only one girl will prevail to marry the future emperor Taro, also known as the Cold Prince because of his utter detachment to anything to do with ruling, preferring to spend his time tinkering in his workshop. He especially despises the idea of being a prize, but is nonetheless drawn to Mari, who has arrived to enter the competition. Mari on her part is determined to win, but must contend with the difficulty of hiding her true nature while simultaneously trying to best all the other girls in the seasonal rooms. That’s because the rules strictly forbid yōkai from competing, and it would be an immediate death sentence if she is found out.

Well written and entertaining, it’s a shame the story wasn’t a little more original because then this book would have been even better. The first quarter was interesting, introducing readers to the mythology and background of the world, as well as the compelling role-reversal of warrior women competing to win a prince’s hand. But after that, the plot falls prey to the usual YA tropes. There was not much complexity to the parts where Mari had to survive the seasonal rooms. By and large, these sections played out exactly the way you would expect them to, with no surprises, and I’m somewhat disappointed we didn’t get more out of the rooms beyond a riddle and a scroll to retrieve. There’s also a case of instalove, which was especially annoying because of all the excessive hand-wringing and the “oh why oh why did not I see this coming?” later on in the story, and it’s like, well, maybe if you hadn’t thrown your heart at a guy/girl you’ve only known for all of five seconds, this might not have happened?

For better or worse though, this is the kind book where you really have to go through the motions before getting to the good parts. It’s not an ideal situation, but it also pays off in spades once you reach the point where the plot actually starts offering up more conflicts. In a way it felt like the second half of the book was an entirely different book all together, where the real meat of the story came in the aftermath of the competition, which turned out to be the gimmick. That said, some of the later parts of the story still felt scripted and contrived, but at least there were moments of unpredictability that kept things interesting.

This is also a book where the secondary characters far outshine the protagonists. Akira was the only perspective character I admired, the other two being Mari and Taro, whose voices were engaging enough but their personalities did not strike me as too different or special. Mari was not in fact as bold or dangerous as we were first led to believe, whereas Taro struck me as stiff and ineffectual, whose role was very limited and lacked any real kind of agency. On the other hand, Akira was written in a way that felt more alive and full of spirit. The Son of Nightmares was a wild card where anything could happen, and I also think his character went through the most changes. There were other side characters I enjoyed but a couple of them met untimely ends which rendered them somewhat pointless, and it was doubly frustrating because their deaths didn’t even elicit the intended emotional impact. A notable exception was Hanako, who only became more prominent after the first half of the story, and I found myself always looking forward to what further mischief she can do.

At the end of the day, do I think Empress of All Seasons worth reading? It depends. If you’re looking to read more Asian-inspired fantasy, this would be a good novel to add to your shelf. One of my favorite things about it was the handling of the supernatural elements, including the yōkai, who are an intrinsic part of this book’s world. Japanese culture is rich with legends and myth, and I loved how so much of it has been incorporated into the story. On the other hand, story-wise this is a very typical YA novel, and some may want to skip the mostly paint-by-numbers characters and tropey plot. Still, I experienced fun and excitement while reading this, even if it wasn’t always consistent, and I think it has potential. ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Nadhira Satria marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Asians in fantasy is my cup of tea

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Sep 16, 2018 rachel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: rep-poc, paranormal-fantasy-uf, review-copy, own-kindle, 2-star

if you prefer plot over characterisation, this will be more your thing

🍂 Rep: #Ownvoices Japanese cast.

🌻 Trigger warnings for body shaming, slavery, systematic oppression, rape, child abuse, parental abandonment, self-injury, childbirth, forced adoption, death, murder, exile, death by starvation, cyclones, poisoning, explosions, fire, animal attack, animal cruelty, animal death, and bullying.

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Nov 07, 2018 Kathy - Books & Munches rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-s, read-in-2018

The thing that got me to pick up this book is very simple. Empress of All Seasons is an Japanese-inspired young adult fantasy, written by a Japanese author.

I do have to apologize though.. Because this is a ridiculously short review due to one thing and one thing alone: I procrastinated on writing it and.. well.. apparently I suck at writing reviews weeks after reading the book. Lesson learned, I swear.

Apart from the own voice-aspect, I absolutely loved the themes Emiko Jean incorporated in this ...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Lauren Stoolfire rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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 woul I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is a uniquely creative new standalone YA fantasy. While it wasn't quite a favorite, it still has things to love about it. The concept of the novel drew me to it right away - I mean, it's a fantasy novel inspired by Japanese culture, mythology, and folklore after all. Right from the opening chapter I knew the author's vividly descriptive writing style would completely suck me into world of Honoku. Now that I've finished reading the novel, I can officially say that Jean's world-building is absolutely phenomenal and is the overall standout of the book. The setting and descriptions are so well written that I felt like I was actually there seeing everything first hand, especially when it came to the season rooms. As blown away as I was by the world-building, the characters and character development left something to be desired. I never really connected with any of the perspective characters. They were all intriguing, but none of them really stood out. All have the potential to be great, but they fall a little flat. Also there are times when the pacing isn't balanced - there are sections that moved much too slow and then others where too much was going on to keep up with.

Overall, Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean is a good standalone YA fantasy novel. It has moments of real greatness when it comes to world-building, but then there are other places like character development that could do with some work to really polish it off into a truly unforgettable story. If you're interested in Japanese culture, folklore, and mythology or even Princess Mononoke, I do recommend giving Emiko Jean's newest richly atmospheric release a try. ...more

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Jul 11, 2018 J.A. Ironside rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, asian-inspired-fantasy, buddy-reads, fantasy, netgalley-edelweiss, non-euro-centric-sff, ya

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded up

Do you like the anime films of Studio Ghibli? Do you have an appreciation for the aesthetic of Miyazaki? If so you’re going to love the world building in this book. There were times when the descriptions of the places and creatures of this book evoked the visuals of that anime in a visceral way.

The plot follows Mari, a yokai girl (one of the Animal Wives), who has never quite fitted in amongst her people because she ...more

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Oct 09, 2018 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, fantasy, adventure, emiko-jean

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.

This one is again a young adult fantasy–adventure, set in a world inhabited by humans and by yōkai (beasts, some of whom are part human, or have the ability to transform), the latter being subjugated by humans, kept in collars with all kinds of restrictions. Our heroine Mari, belongs to one group of yōkai, the Animal Wives, who are exceptionally beautiful and have a human form (with the ability to change into beast My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.

This one is again a young adult fantasy–adventure, set in a world inhabited by humans and by yōkai (beasts, some of whom are part human, or have the ability to transform), the latter being subjugated by humans, kept in collars with all kinds of restrictions. Our heroine Mari, belongs to one group of yōkai, the Animal Wives, who are exceptionally beautiful and have a human form (with the ability to change into beasts at will), and who marry rich men and make away with their fortune. Mari not having been blessed with the looks of the other animal wives, her mother plans a different future for her. She trains her rigorously to win the ultimate contest, a battle against the seasons, held in the imperial palace to choose the bride for the prince, and in effect the next Empress of the land. On the other side, we have the prince Taro, who doesn’t wish to either be a prince, nor a ‘prize’ in a contest, and is happiest when he is with his inventions, working with metal to create various things. And we also have Akira, a half-human-half-ghost, who has been Mari’s friend and loves her but feels he needs to prove himself to earn her affections. This is a story that has many aspects of course, love, family, the contest, betrayal, and duty, but at the heart of it is the distinction/discrimination that one people makes against the other, and the consequences for them both, and for the world they (we) live in.

I had requested this fantasy title mostly because of the Japanese fairytale–folklore background to it, and I really enjoyed these elements—the story is told from the perspective of three characters, Mari, Taro, and Akira, but interspersed between their chapters are stories of the gods and goddesses, who face similar struggles, similar issues as we do, and must face the consequences as well. The elements of the seasons too were enjoyable (certainly a different idea), and the monsters pretty imaginative as well. From other reviews, I see a couple of criticisms of this book were on account of its plot being too similar to other books of this genre, and of the contest, which seemed like the main ‘event’ in the book so to speak, being too short a part of the book. As far as I first goes, I did see some similarities with other such books involving contests and such (The Hunger Games, for one), but since I haven’t read very many titles in the genre, it didn’t bother me too much. Plus, I actually rather enjoyed the plot, I wasn’t sure how things would pan out in the end, and in fact I really liked the ending of the book (definitely not a typical one). The pacing too was good—the book moves really fast (I’d probably have read it a lot faster, except that it was an e-book, and I am generally slower with those). Re the second criticism, however, I agree, the contest part did feel a little too short considering that was basically what everything was centred on. The characters too were quite likeable, though the ‘villain’ of the piece was pretty obvious, and the romance was just ok (while it was building up ok, again it felt like everything happens too quickly). But the central points of the story on discrimination whether against genders or against just different living creatures, I think stood out well and is one that can’t be made enough times. An enjoyable read for me, and certainly one that much more than just a fantasy–adventure!
...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Ishmeen is currently reading it · review of another edition

THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR GIVING ME AN ARC FOR THIS OMG IM SO EXCITED!!!!

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Apr 28, 2018 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, history-japanese

Mari is a yokai, a supernatural being. Her clan is the Animal Wives, who are a very cunning, beautiful, and cold type of yokai. They enchant human men, marry them and rob them and return to their village with their husbands' riches. Mari is that rarity, a homely Animal Wife, which earns her mother some scorn among the fierce women. But her mother trains Mari in weapons, and from childhood sends her to kill roaming samurai as practice.

Mari hates to kill. She has an ambivalent relationship with h Mari is a yokai, a supernatural being. Her clan is the Animal Wives, who are a very cunning, beautiful, and cold type of yokai. They enchant human men, marry them and rob them and return to their village with their husbands' riches. Mari is that rarity, a homely Animal Wife, which earns her mother some scorn among the fierce women. But her mother trains Mari in weapons, and from childhood sends her to kill roaming samurai as practice.

Mari hates to kill. She has an ambivalent relationship with her mother, who is determined that Mari will go to the capital and compete against all the other women in order to marry the crown prince. Who she can then kill, and be empress of all the treasure . . .

Mari is not quite alone. She has two friends , one of whom is Akira, who has inherited his mother’s scars. He’s the Nightmare’s son, able to zip around invisibly. He becomes one of the POV characters, along with Prince Taro, who loathes being crown prince, and means to escape by means of his amazing inventions in his lab.

So here we have the basic YA setup of the dreaded Love Triangle, but hang onto your hat, because there is absolutely nothing predictable about how the story goes.

Mari arrives in the capital after being escorted by maimed samurai (a not-insignificant encounter), and is ready to compete against all the other young women. The “gladiator coliseum” (because yes, one immediately thinks of Hunger Games and its many copies) are the four magical rooms in the palace called the Seasons. Each is quite deadly.

Emiko Jean takes the time to not only immerse the reader deeply in Japanese mythology, and vivid imagery of a magical, mythic, dangerous Japan, she gives all the character life and complexity, right down to the servants and spear carriers.

The result is a tight, fast-paced, emotionally intense adventure novel with splashes of mythic wonder. My only complaint is that the ending feels rushed, forcing events to (view spoiler) close. But getting there is a terrific experience.

Copy provided by Netgalley ...more

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May 18, 2018 Fadwa (Word Wonders) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-reads, 2018-releases, fantasy, ownvoices, poc-indigenous-rep, sent-for-review, young-adult

*I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange of an honest review*

Ok but...can someone explain to me what just happened???

Ok no I actually know what happened, IT WAS PRETTY DAMN CLEAR. AND IT WAS AMAZING.

Not gonna lie, this book and i were off to a rocky start. As much as I loved the setting and worldbuilding some minor things (that i'll detail in my full review) kind of made me go :// at the book. But

BUT.

THOSE LAST 100ish PAGES. THOSE WERE FUCKING AMAZING. MADE ME CLUTCH MY PEARL ...more

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Jan 08, 2019 Ellie (faerieontheshelf) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: asian-fantasy, fantasy, from-book-box, stand-alone-novels, ya-lit

↠ 3.5 stars

Uhhh okay I’m really NOT sure what happened here - I was so so incredibly excited for this one, but it just went in a direction I did not expect at the end and pulled down a solid middle and okay-ish beginning. My mind for the last 75% of the book was just ???? filled with question marks.

Honestly I’m really surprised this novel wasn’t a duology because reading the ending really makes me think it should have been. I would’ve been so happy to read a second book, as I loved the world ↠ 3.5 stars

Uhhh okay I’m really NOT sure what happened here - I was so so incredibly excited for this one, but it just went in a direction I did not expect at the end and pulled down a solid middle and okay-ish beginning. My mind for the last 75% of the book was just ???? filled with question marks.

Honestly I’m really surprised this novel wasn’t a duology because reading the ending really makes me think it should have been. I would’ve been so happy to read a second book, as I loved the world this was set in. The worldbuilding was one of my favourite aspects by far, and I love the idea of Seasonal Rooms - even though they too needed a bit of development/explanation.

Frankly, my biggest stick with this is that I just didn’t connect with/like any of the narrators and it 100% affected my view of the story. Mari, the heroine, was alright - she was kind and I admit I did like her - but I never felt like she was fully characterised, and sometimes she felt bland. Akira, a childhood friend of hers, just never seemed to have a full purpose besides mooning over Mari and then joining a rebellion to save her and he just a seemed a bit apathetic. Taro was interesting at first because of his love of engineering, then he had insta-love for Mari, and then towards the end of the book he kinda became a massive a-hole who was a bit too possessive of Mari and honestly what even?? His character took a massive 180 that seemed very out of character.

As for secondary characters, those were very cool. I loved how the girls in the tournament weren’t catty to each other, and occasionally teamed up. Asami was interesting, and Hanako was also cool - and she was on-page sapphic so I liked her.

For the romance in this book, maybe it was supposed to be a love triangle but Akira just seemed like he never had a chance to me. And Taro had immediate insta-love for Mari, which was so frustrating, and though their romance had its sweet points, it also felt very rushed and unrealistic at parts. This kinda ties into the pacing, where all I really have to say is that this book would’ve likely benefited from being longer and having more development both plot wise, character wise and romance wise.

Sometimes I also had problems with the speech in this novel - it erred on the side of being just a little too modern. Not to say modern speech can’t be used, but in some fantasies it just doesn’t fit. It also took me a little while to adjust to the writing style - it felt bulky at first but by the end I was very much used to it.

There were also themes in this book that were interesting (the role of women in society etc) and there were good lines expressing those themes, but in the end they felt a little underdeveloped too. Girls of Paper & Fire has similar ideas done in an arguably better way.

Also the villain actually wasn’t who I anticipated in the end (I thought it would be Akira turning to the dark side or something but nope). Frankly, I’m still not entirely sure what his motives were.

Despite this, I know this book will really work for some people (I have friends who liked it which is good.) Unfortunately it wasn’t for me, but I will be keeping an eye to see what Emiko Jean publishes in the future.

TL;DR: a Japanese-inspired fantasy standalone, it has lovely worldbuilding and interesting themes, but undeveloped characters hinder its full potential. ...more

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Jan 19, 2019 Brooke — brooklynnnnereads rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

I decided to pick this up as it was the group book for the Winter Biannual Bibliothon of 2019. Prior to reading this, I had seen it talked about online with fairly good reviews.

I did really enjoy the plot of this novel and although it did somewhat remind me of "The Hunger Games" in some ways (the competition while in the Season rooms), it was exclusively its own in other ways.

I also found the involvement of Japanese mythology extremely interesting. As I have no pre-existing knowledge i ...more

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Dec 19, 2018 Becky (Blogs of a Bookaholic) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: diversity, fantasy, kick-ass-heroines, romance, subverting-stereotypes, ya

I AM SO CONFLICTED ABOUT THIS BOOK. On paper, this story is made for me, in reality, I found it oddly executed.

The world set up of this novel is fascinating. Mari is a Yokai who comes from a village of gorgeous women, whose culture is to use their charms to woe men, steal their fortune and then return to their village to share the riches. Love is frowned upon, and any boys born are floated away on the village river. Mari is not beautiful, so her mother has trained her for another destiny, to tak I AM SO CONFLICTED ABOUT THIS BOOK. On paper, this story is made for me, in reality, I found it oddly executed.

The world set up of this novel is fascinating. Mari is a Yokai who comes from a village of gorgeous women, whose culture is to use their charms to woe men, steal their fortune and then return to their village to share the riches. Love is frowned upon, and any boys born are floated away on the village river. Mari is not beautiful, so her mother has trained her for another destiny, to take place in a competition where she must battle four rooms that represent the 4 seasons. If she wins, she will become Empress and can steal the Prince’s fortune.

However, there are a few barriers, Yokai are second-class citizens who are collared and regulated, if Mari’s true identity is discovered she will lose her freedom. Not all the competitors are playing fair either. The Prince has also taken a shine to Mari, and she feels her hard centre softening to his charm.

This novel should have been SO GOOD, but overall, I found it quite disjointed. The initial draw for me was the season-themed competition, but I actually found this the least interesting part of the book. Each room seemed to be over very quickly and Mari usually got through them by chance rather than using her years of training. I found the palace set up and Mari’s culture far more fascinating!

Mari was a reasonably solid protagonist, even if I didn’t always agree with her choices, and there’s an interesting cast of side characters to back her up. Her friend the Son of Nightmares joins the Yokai resistance. The Prince is somewhat morally grey and loves to tinker with mechanics. Mari’s relationship with her mother is also complex and interesting. Most of the relationships and conversations also had a distinct feminist undertone.

Ultimately, though, the characters all felt a bit… basic and lacking depth. I also didn’t feel the romance arc was successful although I could see SO CLEARLY what the author wanted to do with it and so wanted her to pull it off! I think if the characters had gotten the same attention as the worldbuilding, and the story had an extra 100 pages (being a stand-alone novel), this may have gotten a different rating! ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Justine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2018, young-adult, fantasy, arc, netgalley, ownvoices, at-a-drop-of-a-hat-would-reread, wonders-will-never-cease, the-pacific-ocean-is-jealous, diverse-and-marginalized-authors

*in the afterlife here cries all seasons, a reader named Justine*

UPDATE

Empress of All Seasons is an #OwnVoices Japanese fantasy novel, written by Emiko Jean. It has amazed me in many ways from the premise to the last bit of the ending, especially that ending. It is a story that tackles love, friends and family, honor, duty, and morals.

“The rules were simple: Survive the Rooms. Conquer the Seasons. Win the prince.”

A book that had blown me away, right off the bat. The premise alone, who doesn’t wa ...more

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Aug 26, 2018 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways, books-owned

i won this book in a giveaway here on goodreads and the moment i took this book out of the mailbox, i started reading it. from the first paragraph, i was hooked in this story. It was so unique and i've never read anything like it. Empress of All Seasons is like a mix of Mulan, The Hunger Games, and The Selection. which if you ask me, is a great combination. this was a fast paced, fun read with such wonderful characters. i was so satisfied with the ending of this book, i can't imagine a better en ...more

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