Empress of All Seasons

audio cd, 384 pages

Published Sept. 3, 2019 by HMH Audio.

ISBN:: 978-0-358-32974-9

(1 review)

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

7 editions

fiainros reviewed Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Review of 'Empress of All Seasons' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book came to me via Rich in Color, which reviews mostly YA books. I enjoyed this book.

The initial chapters and descriptions of the yokai made me think of the characters and races in the comic Monstress. If you are a cross-genre that enjoys Monstress, you'll like this book. Conversely, if you like this book, I think you'll enjoy Monstress quite a bit as well.

I'm not sure why this book is labeled a YA book. Initially, I thought the protagonist and major players were teenagers, but it quickly became apparent that they were at least in their 20s but and sometimes the timeline seemed liked they were in their early 30s. To me, the hallmark of YA is teen to early-20s protagonists. It's possible I misunderstood some of the timeline, but in that case, maybe it is YA due to some plot holes.

For example, part of my …

This book came to me via Rich in Color, which reviews mostly YA books. I enjoyed this book.

The initial chapters and descriptions of the yokai made me think of the characters and races in the comic Monstress. If you are a cross-genre that enjoys Monstress, you'll like this book. Conversely, if you like this book, I think you'll enjoy Monstress quite a bit as well.

I'm not sure why this book is labeled a YA book. Initially, I thought the protagonist and major players were teenagers, but it quickly became apparent that they were at least in their 20s but and sometimes the timeline seemed liked they were in their early 30s. To me, the hallmark of YA is teen to early-20s protagonists. It's possible I misunderstood some of the timeline, but in that case, maybe it is YA due to some plot holes.

For example, part of my issue with determining Mari and Taro's ages was based on the established timeline for the enslavement of the yokai by the current emperor. One would think for how powerful the yokai were, it would take longer than a decade and there would have been much more strife or civil war. One of the characters was at least an adolescent, if not a teenager, and she had been wearing a collar that Taro made since birth. It was a bit of a plot hole that the reader has to ignore to enjoy the story. It's not a huge one, the reader just needs not to delve into the timeline too deeply.

Another issue I had determining the protagonists ages was the ages of the people around them, as seen by the adolescent/teenager mentioned previously. There's Satoshi, Taro's bastard brother, who is high priest. Is he high priest merely by being the bastard son of the emperor? It appears he is actually quite skilled and good at his job, which implies having gone through all the training it would take to be high priest. So, that makes the younger, bastard brother of Taro at least in his 20s in all likelihood.

Another issue I had with the story was I just did not care about Akira. Maybe if Mari's friendship with him had been a little more developed at the beginning, so he didn't just seem like a lovesick sap, I would have cared a little more. He ends up pretty integral to the story, but I just didn't care about him.

Even with those issues, I really liked the story of Mari and Taro, and some of the side characters. The yokai were very interesting. While this appears to be a singular title, I would enjoy reading another story set in the same world, which was decently built.