Emiko Jean

One girl must compete to become the next empress while keeping her monstrous identity a secret in this Ancient Japan-inspired standalone fantasy.

Empress of All Seasons

Elda Mengisto

** spoiler alert **
           "Men are conditioned to take. Women are conditioned to give."

Apparently, there's a lot of competitions that involve getting fame, royal status, or marriage throughout young adult literature. And just as many books involve revolutions and standing up for a certain society, such as with the Hunger Games. Empress of All Seasons primarily focuses on the former at the beginning of the novel, with the latter slowly unfolding as the book goes on.

Mari participates in the competition of all seasons, in which human girls would have to solve riddles to get scrolls and eventually conquer the heart of the emperor. The twist is that Mari was part of the forbidden yokai group--people who could transform into monsters and are effectively lepers in society. 

The role Animal Wives play in this Japanese-based society is quite interesting to say the least. The quote above states what they believe the status quo is; the fact they take their grooms' wealth is meant to subvert this through pure force and aggression. However, when one of Mari's friends cannot love the one who gave birth to her child, there's also a longing for something more, which I found curious. Especially as we get through her relationship with Taro, which has some really good chemistry in it.

As I was skimming through the author's note, Jean remarks how Akita's character was based on her mixed-race past; while I didn't get much of it in the characterization, I also liked his subplot in which he plans a rebellion to free the yokai from (ironically) Taro's chains; however, when we get to the denouement, it felt rushed to the point of being forced. 

I would've preferred the last sixty pages or so to be condensed into another novel; however, it manages to show off the final battle well. One of my favorite quotes came from this scene:

"She tightened her hand around her naginata. 'I will fight, always,, by your--on your--side' She felt Akira smile She looked at him. At one point, she'd thought Taro completed her. Now she realized that he didn't. She was complete by herself." (335)

I love the self-realization she has when she fights for her fellow Animal Wives. However, I also was touched by her scenes with her mother as they prepare on what to do to protect them. In addition, the scene where Mari intervenes to seemingly save Taro's life, despite what had happened, touched me. I was quite scared to think she might've been dead for a moment--her journey was great, and I didn't like such an ending.

The use of mythology was perfectly woven through throughout the book, and gave some background on what would happen next. However, the epilogue for this novel felt a bit rushed as well--it conveyed a happy ending of sorts, even with Mari never marrying again, but a lot of the information can be used for a sequel. If not, maybe an anthology of short stories about her reign and its flaws? And what type of governmental system would come out of it?

Empress of All Seasons, while having quite a few cliches for its plot, is a strong, fast-paced novel about identity, ambition, and discrimination. It fuses mythology well and has decent pacing until the last sixty pages or so. And if you want to read more diverse literature this year, this is a good place to start. (8/10)

Elisa Bieg

This book was completely different from what I expected, and that’s a good thing. The world building, the story, the characterization, the events — all unfolded so smooth, but... how can I put it? It was all whispered, not shouted. It was all SO subtle, not shoved in your face. And I loved that SO much.

Then, 3/4 in, it all shifted to a different pace — the narration becoming sharp and rugged, the dialogue bordering into preachy. And it lost what I had been loving so much about it, and with it went most of its fourth star.

That said, the mythology in this books is wonderful, and the book is very nearly worth reading for the mythology alone!

But it bothered me so much, that in the last 1/4 I felt like it was trying too hard to make a statement through the mouths of the characters, without sufficiently backing it up in the plot. I felt like the story I had been enjoying so much was derailed, and the shift wasn’t done skillfully enough to feel like it belongs with the rest of the story; it felt forced.

So I’m giving this 3+ STARS but recommending that if you’re considering it, you don’t let this discourage you from reading it; because it truly does have some beautiful parts and I think it could be enjoyable to a lot of readers!

Becky

3.5 stars

This wasn't quite what I expected. It was enjoyable and I didn't want to put it down. I mean I read it all in a single day, but it definitely felt like this book suffered from being a standalone instead of part of a series and the pacing was off. It spent lots of time developing an interesting concept in the first half of the book and then it rushed in through a whole heap of story very quickly and I stopped caring when it began to rush. Of it had kept the pace of the start it would have been a longer book but I'd have enjoyed it a lot more.

I liked the conclusions drawn by the end. It sent a good strong message and I loved that... but it could have had more impact of the end had been a stronger.

Toni Turner

This is wonderful! It's full of beautiful Japanese culture and mythology, amazing interesting characters, and overall a totally beautiful story. Just!! It was just perfect!!! One of my new favorites!!!
I love all of them <3

Kath Lau

"Not every happily-ever-after includes a man."

The story introduces us to Mari, an Animal Wife yōkai who can transform into a terrifying beast. Her mother trains her and pushes her to join a competition. Mari, together with hundreds of other women, has to compete and conquer the deadly seasonal rooms. The last woman to survive will marry the prince and becomes the new Empress. The problem is, only humans are allowed to compete.

The story is set in a Japanese-inspired world which is one of my favorites in this book. The world-building mixed with Japanese mythology are both captivating and interesting to read. The characters are all complex and relatable. It's also fascinating to read more about other kinds of yōkai (supernatural monsters/spirits).

The author's writing is lyrical and atmospheric. I loved the small details. From the food, weapons, and up to the patterns of their clothes. The idea of the seasonal rooms is also brilliant. There were a lot of inspiring messages in this book. Plus, there's so much girl power and it made me so happy and proud.

Some common YA tropes are present in this book. There's insta-love which felt very unrealistic and thankfully, the love triangle wasn't that big. The pacing was quite slow especially in the beginning and became way too quickly towards the end but I still loved how everything turns out.

Empress of All Seasons is a unique YA standalone fantasy that is worth reading especially if you love mythical creatures, diverse characters and own voices novels.

Winter 2018–2019 Kids’ Indie Next List In 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 yokai, 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 yokai 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-yokai 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.

Joan 

It was a good book but after the couple got together i dropped it. Maybe deserves a reread

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS SENT A PHYSICAL ARC IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

Emiko Jean really has a way with words, and I mean that.

This book was a whirlwind of emotions, a rollercoaster of events, and so much more. Jean really brought the characters to life and managed to build their personalities and actions to resonate the plot.

The animal wives really managed to piss me off, though. I found it really annoying that they judged Mari based on how she wasn’t up to their standards of beauty, but I also found that it helped strengthen the main character and provided toward the storyline.

On top of that, I loved how the sequence of events took place. While I was in shock of the actions of a few characters, I wasn’t so much by others. For me, it’s kind of easy to find the depths of certain characters, especially ones I share something in particular with. For Mari, it was easy to piece some things together, but not all.

However, the surprises just kept coming, especially toward the end.

"Perhaps it is because I am so small; nobody ever believes that I can do big things."

This quote really took me. Like I said before, Jean has a way with words. When I saw this quote, I knew I had to bring it up. This is exactly what people are looking for. People are looking for something to speak to them, and this really resonated with me as I continued my read through the book.

Now, about that ending. I was a little let down by it, to be honest. When I was closing in, I noticed how there weren’t enough pages left to go through a whole big finale. But, once again, Jean took me by surprise and gave me something I wasn’t expecting. To be honest, I would have preferred a sequel instead of the “this is what happens after this” sequence.

Other than that, the book was completely beautiful. I loved how the plot flowed, how the characters developed, and the many hidden meanings and morals planted in between the lines. For that, I rate Empress of All Seasons 4/5 stars.

In a deadly tournament to become empress, any may enter but only one will survive, and one competitor doesn't just plan to win, she's going to steal the Emperor's fortune. . . In 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, and you can marry the prince. All are eligible to compete - all except yokai, 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 yokai 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-yokai 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.

Empress of all Seasons

Manon van Heumen

This was a great book, I really enjoyed reading it!!

Katerina Thorson

4/5


  "Success and failure are merely illusions. They are not yours to hold."


Okay, give me a moment. Just let me catch my breath here. After reading Descendant of the Crane I was hesitant to place myself into another Asian Fantasy world. It's kind of like, do I want to get bit by the same snake twice? However, I am so grateful that I said f*ck it and delved head first into this gorgeously written prose. 

This is a story that takes a strong feministic approach and follows a young yokai woman in her battle of, not only establishing herself as a woman in a man driven world, but striving as an equal rights opportunist. Born into the "Animal Wives" clan, Mari has always been looked down upon especially for her "plain" figure. The Animal Wives pride themselves in their beauty and to be able to steal a man's heart. So instead of focusing on her looks Mari focuses on her skills as a warrior. And can I just say she is one bad-ass bitch. However, her mission now..to steal the prince's heart and his fortune in a battle against other girls with the same goal.

This story captured me from page 1. I felt myself flipping page after page, drinking up the prose that the author was laying down at my feet. I was like a rabid dog. There are very few authors that can capture me so intently. The plot moved at a swift and thrilling pace leaving me begging for more. 

As I stated, this book takes on a huge role for Woman equality, feminism, as well as a lot of beauty symbolism. This is proven multiple times throughout the book. We have a village of just woman, a young girl who state's multiple times that men are not always the happily-ever-after, and other strong females all vying to have a voice in this world. For once, I was grateful that the romance was not overdone. Yes, it played a vital role to the book; however, the woman empowerment was so much more.

I also noticed that beauty is mentioned tremendously throughout the book. The author plays a lot with the idea of beauty and self-love. We are given a young boy who is disfigured, a main character that is considered plain in her village, and a struggle between inner and outer beauty. I loved watching all the symbolism and ideology of what beauty is to each person fall into place. Truly magnificent.


  "Men are conditioned to take. Women are conditioned to give. Never let a man take anything from you. Your smiles, your humor, your body."


Mira: was riveting to watch grow and fluctuate as a character. I loved how powerful she was in her own way but understood that it's okay to ask for help when needed or understands that not everything can be accomplished alone. While I was not a fan of her instant love of the prince - as this book seems to have a focus on the idea of feminism and beauty - it was very interesting to see her come out of her own obscurities on what Yokai believe of humans. All in all Mira was my favorite character. 

Akira: (what is with this name and me not liking the character!) is a long time best friend of Mira and is also a Yokai, a ghost demon. He is able to meld into the shadows and definitely would make a great assassin. However, there were quite a few things I disliked about Akira. One of them is his belief that he should get what he wants since he had such a bad life. Which I agree, he deserve a break from the shit he has to deal with. But going about it in the way that he did - meh no thanks. I also dislike that AFTER Mira told him she held no feelings for him, he still continued to go after her and felt the need to prove his love. DUDE, she don't love you. 

Taro: is like any other prince we have ever encountered. A moody young man with a crappy past but seems to have a soft side hidden underneath his cold ass heart. Literally he has been dubbed the Ice Prince. I do wish that there was more character development with him and that he wasn't like every other stereotypical prince we have read about. Not only that but he literally falls in love with Mira so fast I was like "wooahhh slow down there buddy". So, like I said insta-love, not a fan of it in this case. 

All in all this was a magnificent read and I have heard that there might be more to this book coming? If that is the case I will definitely be picking it up. If not, that is okay because this book left off at an amazing place and it just shows that woman are truly beautiful and powerful creatures. We need more diverse books like this in our world! 

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Casandra Sandu

3.5⭐️

The beginning and middle of this book were entertaining, full of Japanese folklore, awesome characters and action packed. Unfortunately, the ending seemed really rushed and when I was hoping I would get a sequel, it ended abruptly with a two page epilogue. (I’m still shook by the ending, but I wanted 1000 more pages of it.) I was surprised by the multiple plot twists and I loved the world building and the characters!

Lisa Beasley

I am so torn in writing this review. On the one hand I really enjoyed parts of this story. Mari as a character is very likeable and her personal journey is well done. Akira is another interesting character and, in my opinion, the most fully developed. And Taro, well, I liked him to begin with until he became an idiot. 

I really liked the world building and the different yokai and aspects we saw of the culture but there were strands of instalove which weren't great and the end seemed super rushed. 

Overall a 3.5 stars. Enjoyable but a little lacking.

In 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 yokai, 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 yokai 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-yokai 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.

Beth Bartholomew

This quote and theme ran throughout this beautiful book, which is a story about choosing your own path. Based on Japanese legends, this book follows Mari who has to face four seasonal rooms that had Hunger Games like challenges to become Empress. She is part of a dejected group in society, creatures that are alienated by humans called yōkai, enslaved if they are caught by humans. There are different types of yōkai, Mari is an Animal Wife, whose purpose in life is to seduce men and then steal their wealth. Mari's clan believe she has not been blessed with the beauty usually seen in the Animal Wives, so she has a different task. Instead of seducing a man, Mari is to win the tournament to become Empress, something she has been training for her whole life. Instead of using her looks to steal a man's fortune, she is to use her skill. 

Mari's challenges in this tournament are in the form of four rooms, named after each season. To start with hundreds of girls were going up against her, this was then narrowed down to ten and then five. Each room was made to break the girls, to try and make them loose and in some cases, to kill them. This is why this book is being compared to The Hunger Games and these scenes are also the ones I enjoyed reading about the most. Seeing what Emiko Jean's imagination could bring together to be a danger for the characters was great fun. 

The whole way through this book is the mention of the paths each character can take. We meet many, many new characters in this book, all of whom's paths change when they intertwine with each other. They decide their own fate in the decisions they make throughout this book. A brilliant example of this is Akira, Mari's best friend from home, a half-human half yōkai male called The Son of Nightmares. Akira follows Mari when she leaves to try and become empress and in doing so discovers his own path and a cause he wants to fight for. 

This book was so well written, it completely drew me in and made me not want to put it down. We saw glimpses of other characters when the narrative perspective changes on some chapters, which allowed us to know more about Akira and Taro (the Emperor's son). Ultimately both of these characters had their flaws, but this only made Mari look even more kick arse. She was a character with morals and beliefs, but also with dilemmas and hard decisions to make, which made her all the more real to read about. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it.

Empress of All Seasons

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