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 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.
Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: November 6th, 2018
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
Not everyone is all good or all bad.
I’m going to use this quote as a starting point, and say: not every book is all good or all bad. Because it perfectly encompasses how torn I feel about Empress of All Seasons.
I think that ultimately, and sadly, I fell in love with the idea of this book based on its synopsis more than I did with the actual book itself.
🎋
I loved the idea of Mari setting out to win a competition based on wit, cunning, strength, daring, and confidence, defying expectations placed upon women of having to be beautiful in order to matter, be seen, or be worthy.
The rules were simple: Survive the Rooms. Conquer the Seasons. Win the prince.
My excitement and curiosity were also sparked by the set-up of the competition—four rooms representing four seasons that need to be conquered—and by the fact that Mari wants to win the competition, yes, but not for the reasons others may think.
🎋
I appreciated the representation of Japanese culture immensely; all the little details such as descriptions of food, and clothing, that were woven into the narrative so delightfully, and made me want to board a plane, and fly to Japan myself, and I also loved that the book was very much feminist.
Men are conditioned to take. Women are conditioned to give. (…) Long ago, [we] decided to stop giving and start taking.
🎋
What disappointed me a lot, however, were the pacing of the story on the one hand, and the characters on the other. Too much of the book, it seemed to me, dwelt on Mari’s life in the village, laying out scenes that felt negligible to me, and seemed to be at odds with the part of the story taking place at the palace.
In contrast, the actual competition, and what I expected to be the heart of the book, felt almost as if it was sped through, and passed me by in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
🎋
I wish the characters had had a more carefully crafted personality, and more depth, and didn’t feel like pieces in a chess game, their traits and actions molded to suit an already established plot with a clear-cut path.
The character development itself lacked finesse, and resulted in some of the characters suddenly feeling almost as if they were completely different people—and the one character I did take to, and found very intriguing, turned out to be merely a minor side character, much to my dismay.
🎋
What saved Empress of All Seasons for me were the last fourth or so of it, the conclusion that made my head spin, and its empowering, and powerful message, depicting so very clearly that we create our own happy endings—happy endings that don’t hinge on romantic entanglements.
Do not let your fear decide your fate.
I believe that this book will appeal to a lot of readers, and definitely those who favor a plot-driven story over character-focused arcs, and who find happiness in experiencing a wonderful Japanese representation.
When Emiko is not writing, she is reading. Most of her friends are imaginary. Before she became a writer she was an entomologist (fancy name for bug catcher), a candle maker, a florist, and most recently a teacher.
She lives in Washington with her husband and children (unruly twins). She loves the rain.
November 12
Rafael of The Polar Bear Reads
Carmel of Bookablereads
Jonathan of Wander with Jon
Nikki of Take Me Away
November 13
Vivian of Vanilla Angel Pages
Jen of Jen D Bibliophile
Jenny of Levicorpvs Blog
Hanamae of The Wraith Reads
Cristina of Girl in the Pages
November 14
Shaine of Wanderer in Neverland
Akisha of akithroughbooks
Ela of The Ultimate Fangirl
Princess of Princess and Pages
November 15
Leilanee of ofsparksandmagick
Salwa of Salwa’s Reading Solace
Dexter of Dexterous_Totalus
Avery of B for Bookslut
Kat from Novels and Waffles
November 16
Lily of Sprinkles of Dreams
Joel of Descendant of Poseidon Reads
Imogene of Amidst the Pages
Leslie of Bibliophilekid
November 17
Myrth of Cliste Bella
Justine of Bookish Wisps
Athena of The Night Faerie
Ramnele of Bookdragonism
Erika of The Nocturnal Fey
Have you read Empress of All Seasons? What did you think?
Is it on your TBR?
What are some Asian-inspired fantasies you’ve read, and loved?
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Great review! I agree that the last few chapters were amazing! 😊
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Thanks, Jen! 😊
The last few chapters really managed to sway my opinion on this book! How did you like it, overall? 🙂
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I enjoyed reading this! I really liked Mira! 😊
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Love your review 🙂 I still want to read this though. For the rep, mostly, and the feminism aspects.
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Ahh thank you, Surina! 💙
I mostly read it because of the rep as well, and I found the synopsis really intriguing. The feminist aspects were definitely a big plus for me. 🙂
I hope you’ll enjoy it! I’d love to hear what you think, when you’re done with it. ☺️
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You’re so sweet!! And amazing!! 😍 Thank you Lily and have a good day!
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Ahh what 🙈 you’re too sweet sndjsjnsf thank you!! 💕💕
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The Japanese culture and rep sounds amazing ❤ sorry you didn't love it but still lovely post! Can't wait to read it for myself!
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Aw thanks, Kay! 💗
I hope you enjoy it!! I know that so many readers who loved & I can’t wait to hear what you think. ☺️
Happy reading, Kay! I hope you’re having a lovely weekend. 💕
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I agree with you-I did feel a little disappointed that the competition itself ended up being such a small part of the book. The characters I thought were likeable even if not great. But what stood out to me was that point she was making on discrimination, which is an important one and can’t be made enough times. So I quite enjoyed it. Gave it a four.
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Ahh yes, I felt like the synopsis was a bit misleading? I didn’t like Akira at first, but he did grow on me, and the same thing happened with Taro, only in reverse. 🙈
& I agree, the themes she touched upon are really important. 😌
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! 😊
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Lovely review, doll! ❤ I'm sorry that this one fell a bit short from your expectations! The concept of it certainly sounds amazing, but bland characters and unpleasant pacing is always a shame. I hope the next book you read proves to be more enjoyable!
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Thank you, Kelly! 💜
I was definitely expecting more from the book in terms of characters especially. Are you planning on reading this? ☺️
Thank you!! I hope whatever you’re reading is amazing. ✨🌟
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I definitely have it on my tbr, but am not sure when I’ll get to it! I also have a soft spot for Japanese culture, so that’s another reason why I might have to read it! Hahaha. 😊
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Ahh well I hope it’ll be a wonderful read for you, when you get to it, then! 🙂
(Let me know when you get to it? 💜)
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[…] Lily of Sprinkles of Dreams […]
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Lovely review Lily! From what I read by other reviewers, I think the strength of this book lies on the world building, but not so much on the pacing, characters and romance. I’m really curious of how I would think of this book then!
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Thank you, Tasya! 💕
I’ve seen that as well! I definitely would have read it with different expectations, had I known it beforehand, but to be honest, I didn’t exactly love the world-building, either, as I didn’t find there to be much of it? 🙈
I’d be so curious to know what you’d think of it as well! Are you planning on reading it? 🙂
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yes, but not exactly in a rush 😀
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🙈😄
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Great review Lily! I’ve been hearing similar things about the characters, so I’m a little hesitant about picking it up. But I am kinda curious about that last 1/4! And I’m picking up Girls of Paper and Fire this weekend and I AM EXCITE. 😀
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Thank you so much, Kathy! 💞
I know, I’m definitely not the only one who felt this way! I’m really saddened that I couldn’t love this book more, but characters are so important to me, and,,, well.
AHH yay, have you started yet?? 😍
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I just got it today! Hopefully I can start it tomorrow. 😀 And this cover is even more amazing in person. 😍
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I’m so excited for you!! & ahh right? It’s so beautiful 😍
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!!
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you’re such a good reviewer
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— says the Queen of reviewing books.
But honestly, I struggled a lot with this one, and it’s not my best, so thank you!! ❤
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😡 <- me reacting to this blasphemy
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👀
🙈
😭
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It’s frustrating when a book is kind of a slow ride but the ending is amazing! I guess at least it made it worth going through the less interesting parts.
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Definitely! I mean, it being slow wasn’t the main issue for me, but it did contribute to my overall not-so positive feelings … the ending really salvaged a lot for me!
Have you read this book? 🙂
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Sorry you didn’t love this one! Random question… do you ever feel conflicted having to give a less than glowing review as part of a blog tour? It’s something I struggle with!
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Aw, that’s okay, but thank you! 🙂
Yes, definitely!! It’s happened to me twice, one time I really disliked it, and had to DNF, because I found the writing horrible. I told the tour organizers that I’d prefer to drop out of the blog tour, and they were really nice and understanding.
Is there a book you’re struggling with currently?
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Thanks for the feedback! It’s not an issue I’m currently having but I did struggle with one or two in the past. In one case, I ended up just doing a blog spot rather than a review, as I wasn’t able to drop out of the tour. In the other case, I just tried to make my review as positive as I could and stated that even though it wasn’t perfect for me, other readers might enjoy it!
I just wondered, as I tend to always see glowing reviews as part of blog tours and yours is one of the first I’ve seen that gave a different opinion! It’s refreshing to see 🙂
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I think if I really couldn’t drop my stop, I’d go for a blog spot, because it’d just feel insincere to me, if my review didn’t 100% line up with my opinion of it. But I always try to include that others might enjoy it more than I as well (most of the time, that seems to end up being the case, too).
And thank you! That’s so kind of you to say. 🙂
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I agree with most of your thoughts here. The could have been better especially in the character development side. Nonetheless, I still think this is still one of the better books out there. I have read worse haha!
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Ahh yay, so glad we share similar thoughts on this books. And definitely! Three stars is by no means a bad rating, quite the opposite. 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!! Happy reading xx
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Lovely review, Lily! I’m sorry you didn’t completely fall in love with that one, it sounded really promising! At least the second part of the book made it all worth it I guess 🙂 I hope you’re loving your next read better 🙂 x
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Thank you, Marie! ❤
I honestly love the synopsis, and everything else about this book's set-up, but,,, oh well. & thank you!! I'm definitely enjoying The Dark Vault much more. 🙂
Happy reading to you too, Marie! I hope you’re loving your current read. ❤
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Great review, Lily, and one I really agree with! I loved the competition aspect of this book but felt it was rushed over. One of my main ideas for this book was that the first half (including the competition) could have been one book, and the ending (which I felt was rushed SO MUCH and crammed into a few pages) could have been another book altogether. I loved the idea but the execution fell flat. 😦
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Thank you so much, Aimal!!
Ahh I’m so glad you agree, I felt like I was the only one who noticed that/had that impression, and everyone had nothing but praises for this book? And definitely, I loved the idea as well, but the book turned out to be nothing like I would have imagined.
I’m sorry this one didn’t work out for you, as well. 💞
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[…] @ BookishlyRebecca // Camillea @ CamilleaReads // Lily @ SprinklesofDreams // Fadwa @ WordWonders // Kelly @ JustAnotherBookintheWall // Emma @ EmmaReadsTooMuch […]
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Great review, Lily! I am sorry that this one didn’t completely work for you.
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Thank you, Kaleena!! 🙂
Aw, that’s okay! I hope you love your current read! 💚
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Okay, so you articulate my thoughts on this book so perfectly. Especially what you said about the characters. The plot had so much potential, but the characters were really hard to connect with. I especially feel like Akira, though an interesting character, was not essential to the story. Anyways, thanks for such a great post! Your reviews are always so excellently written 🙂
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Thank you so much, Kat!! I read your review as well, and I really loved it – it’s so aesthetically pleasing as well, I can’t even imagine how long it must have taken you to write and format, haha.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope you’re having a wonderful week. 🧡
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You read my review ????? *tears up* Aw shucks, thanks Lily! It did take kind of a long time to make all the little tree graphics, but once I had the idea in my head, I couldn’t not do it. I have a problem ahhaa.
And you deserve all the kind words, Lily! You were one of the first people I talked to on my book blog, and I will always remember how supportive you were then and are now! You deserve all the awards! 🙂
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[…] Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean // PH Blog Tour Book Review […]
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[…] Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean // PH Blog Tour Book Review […]
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