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Summary from the publisher:
Each royal 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.
My take:
Empress of All Seasons is set in an ancient Japanese-inspired world, where Mari lives in a small village with other yōkai women. Her clan survives by marrying rich men and stealing their wealth to bring back to the clan. Though Mari is seen as “not beautiful” by everyone—her mother included—her last hope to stay with the clan is to train to compete in the deadly tournament. Even though her secret friend, Akira, who is half yōkai and the son of nightmares, urges her to run away with him, Mari’s loyalty to her clan runs deep.
I was intrigued by the story’s direction, especially with its three points of view: Mari, Taro, and Akira. As for the love triangle, Akira’s role felt the most realistic. Mari and Taro fall in love at first sight, but Mari must keep her yōkai identity a secret, while Taro, the cold prince, struggles with his own emotions due to his upbringing. Akira, on the other hand, overcomes his fears to be worthy of Mari. Even when she cannot return his love, Akira stays by her side, remaining a loyal friend.
At the beginning, Mari shows a strong sense of loyalty and honor. By the end, she retains those qualities but learns not to let others’ expectations define her.
This is true freedom, to love oneself enough not to care what others think.
The end had an unexpected twist (actually, quite a few), one that showed a lot about unconditional love. However, I think the pacing was uneven. The first part was slow, building the back story. But then the middle of the story speeds up a lot. Then it slows down again at the end with a short, two-page epilogue that could have had more chapters.
I would give Empress of All Seasons 3.5 to 4 stars. The story’s message came through beautifully, and I really enjoyed how it was executed, even if the pacing was a little off at times.
Rated: Mild, for some violence and two or three uses of mild profanity.
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