Empress of All Seasons

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 want to know those enchanted seasonal rooms? and yōkai, supernatural being that has to be enslaved by the emperor, then thrown a bit of the town between duty love, loyalty, and betrayal, vengeance, and forgiveness. I sense enemies to lovers trope, and gods and goddesses I am nothing but a drooling patsy when it comes to my favorite kind of trope. And It did not disappoint me.“Funny how love can drive you to hate.”That was just the premise. Let’s talk about how wonderful the prologue is, it is ensnaring, words flow eloquently, the story itself reveals of what had happened then, it builds up as the novel begins, done in such anticipating capacity, my words won’t do any justice over it. It’s ineffable. You’d just have a hard time trying to put it down.A rich and very atmospheric book, from the senses that we see and feel. It has described the setting really well, from Mari’s hometown and the City, the travel farther. Filled with mythology and cultures, growing wild with the new ones you meet too, cursed below creatures up to the mightiest gods and goddesses that casts upon curses, are mesmerizing to read. I am magnetized by it all.It has a reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but Empress of All Seasons surely brought something unique of a perspective in. It is enticing to read the how of these Seasons are and for the competitors, not to mention the traditionally rich and vibrant setting, thrown in there definitely something to watch out for. Possibly clutch your heart with then.“You must take this leap. The jump always makes the fall worth it.”I am not overselling things, there are some weak centers in the characters shift, I don’t really mind. I enjoyed the “how” the love growing amongst characters to be something natural especially in the depth of again family, duty, honor, and morals. And as it is set in an era of then filled with rich cultures and influences. It was complicated yet not truly. I adore these characters altogether, they make a pretty great team and opponents I suppose hehe.And lastly ending was something I really love! It hits me well and struck me as empowering too. I’ll leave it to that. And if you’re really curious it is something for you to find out. It’s worth the time, money, effort, and reading! Totally recommend it for everyone!Of course, given with the precaution of these; Trigger Warnings: systematic oppression; slavery, forced adoption, childhood abandonment.

gut

Empress of All Seasons is truly a gem—I couldn’t wait to get home and keep reading! The novel follows protagonist Mari as she embarks on a journey to win the throne of Honoku and, in line with her Animal Wife ancestors, steal the prince’s riches. Along the way, she is confronted with the struggles of a typical teenage girl: love, friendship, and the fight for independence. The battles are intense, the pacing is quick, and more than once the plot dares to unravel with a well-executed flick of Mari’s naginata. This is a book that you’ll pick up to read for a few minutes only to find yourself still hanging onto every word an hour later.Jean expertly crafts an entirely mystical world while creating struggles and characters that are relatable, and the story’s POV shifting kept me engaged. I was conflicted on Taro throughout and thought Jean did an excellent job wrapping his character up as the plot progressed. I felt for Akira and his need for love—and how refreshing that this quality fell to a male character rather than a woman! I certainly saw parts of myself and my own adolescent insecurity mirrored in Mari. Her realization regarding love at the end of the novel is a welcome twist that sets a wonderful example for young readers.Jean’s biting social commentary separates this book from the rest. From the horrific treatment of yokai to Mari’s own doubts about her ability as a warrior, she sends a crucial message about the importance of celebrating and supporting difference rather than shunning it. Will definitely be recommending this book to young and old readers alike!

Wanted to cry when I had completed it, quite want a second

This is an Asian inspire fantasy told from three different perspectives. You have Mari (a yokai), Taro (son of the sovereign) and Akira (half yokai and half human). The yokai are these creatures that take on animal attributes at will and have increased strength. The yokai have varying levels of aggression and sizes and some of them are just animalistic in general. Mari appears normal and human but she can turn into her beast form at will.The yokai are discriminated against by the emperor and are forced to be registered and wear a collar that keep their abilities in check which gave the story a dystopian vibe. The yokai are also forbidden from competing for the prince's hand in the all seasons competition. All the competitors have to survive in 4 different rooms each with one of the seasons in it.Mari, appearing perfectly human competes for the prince's hand. She is able to remain unregistered as a yokai because she lives in a remote area of the mountains.This book also has myths placed into the book to give you a feel for the culture and some of the background on why they have this competition and how humans the the yokai were created. It was a nice touch and made the story more distinct in its Asian hues.This book did a very good job world building and it did it without dumping all the information on you at once. It slowly introduced different aspects of the story so I never felt overwhelmed. My biggest complaint about this aspect is sometimes they would be discussing something and I would have to go back and reread it to make sure I didn't miss anything only to find out they tell you several paragraphs further down what they were alluding to. This made the book a little hard to follow at the beginning.This had many feminist aspects to it. Most of the men in this story were weaker than Mari and did not want a large amount of responsibility. But this also was at the beginning of the book and left plenty of room for character development. It was also feminist in that Mari had to give up being herself for the love interest and she lost a giant chunk of who she was by being in love. This sent a message that she was better off not being in love because she wouldn't be allowed to be who she really was.I had a hot and cold relationship with Taro, I started out feeling very indifferent to him and then I started to like him but by the end I went back to indifference. I loved Mari and Akira and there were a few supporting characters I also loved.Overall this book was very enjoyable and I absolutely loved the culture and the setting. It was unique and interesting.