Name: The Poet Empress
Rating: 4.416666666666667 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 9781250456786

Shen Tao

The Poet Empress

Steph

Every once in a while, you come across a book so beautifully written, so carefully crafted, and so devastating that it leaves you stunned. The Poet Empress is exactly that. I kept thinking, How can something be this beautiful and this heart-wrenching at the same time? A lot of readers compare this to The Poppy War and She Who Became the Sun, and I see the comp. We follow Wei, a village girl who knows nothing about court politics, as she rises to become empress. Her journey is brutal; the imperial court is a place where betrayal is routine and kindness is a rare luxury. It reminded me so much of classic Hong Kong palace dramas like Beyond the Realm of Conscience, where consorts quietly (and not so quietly) destroy one another for power. What truly stands out is how the author tackles trauma, how unresolved trauma from your youth can shape, warp, and haunt the rest of your life. Some scenes were genuinely difficult to read, but I’m glad she didn’t shy away from showing the ugliness behind greatness: the sacrifice, the pain, the twisted belief that suffering is the only path upward. What made me the angriest and saddest was how the adults in these characters’ lives consistently failed them. Adults are supposed to protect you, but in this book, their negligence becomes the very thing that ruins a life. The nature-versus-nurture question is explored so well too. We hear constantly about how wicked Terren is, how ruthless, how monstrous, but who ever stopped to ask why? Who listened? Who cared? The only person who truly sees him is Wei, and her speech to him near the end had me in tears. I was literally bawling because everyone truly did fail him. For a debut, this book is astonishing. It honours Chinese culture beautifully, the magic system is fresh and fascinating, and the emotional depth is unreal. I’m going to need 3–5 business days to recover from this one.

orpheus

I came in with high expectations and closed the book with all of them met. While I do agree there are some flaws, I honestly had such a good time with this book and world and the politics and the brotherly dynamic that that by the end they did not matter. 

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun. In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful. Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves. Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House. But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center...at the side of a violent prince. To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love. The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

More detailed review to come later but 3.5 stars rounded up.

Ashley Denktas

'Vicious, gorgeous, and fiercely haunting' CHLOE GONG 'Sublime' AMELIE WEN ZHAO 'Enthralling' ANDREA STEWART 'Astounding' CHELSEA ABDULLAH 'Lyrical' K. X. SONG 'Devastating' KRITIKA H. RAO 'Fantasy at its best' VAISHNAVI PATEL TO KILL A MONSTER, SHE MUST BECOME ONE . . . As the emperor lays dying, the once-great Azalea Dynasty plunges towards civil war. While its princes plot for power, a more hidden war - to become the next empress - occupies the imperial court. Wei Yin - peasant girl turned concubine to the cruel Prince Terren - has already endured unimaginable suffering. Ripped from her family, she has no title, no allies, and no escape. But she does have a secret . . . In the shadows of the palace, surrounded by enemies, she is learning a skill forbidden to women. Because when words are weapons and poetry holds an ancient magic, the fate of a girl - and a nation - can both be rewritten. All she has to do is compose the perfect poem - a tale so powerful, it can kill any man, even the next emperor. The epic political arena of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang meets the intimate tragedy and luscious language of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in this sensational debut novel by visionary new talent Shen Tao, unmissable for die-hard genre fans as well as readers of literary fiction looking to make their first foray into fantasy.

The hotly anticipated standalone fantasy debut perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang and Madeline Miller

shania 🦢 ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Laura Mei

halfmoon

ash (smokedshelves)

Jenny Engel

Minnie Mazuera

Trinity

Susana Hoyos B

Felix Micah

House of the azalea, where thorn meets bud; Brother betrays brother, blood forgets blood. Young rice farmer Yin Wei was forced to become concubine to Prince Guan Terren - a monstrous wielder of poetry magic, and heir to the Azalea throne - to save her family from the famine blighting the land of Tensha. Now confined to the imperial court, Terren's cruelty is not the only danger Wei faces. He and his honourable older brother are locked in a deadly succession war, while Terren's thirty concubines are fighting a war of their own, for the position of future empress. To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself - even if it means learning the one forbidden poem that can kill Terren and save both herself and the nation. But there's a problem - for the spell to work against a man she hates, it must be written with love.

The Poet Empress

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