Tuesday 6 September 2022

Book Review: The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker (YA Fantasy)

Title: The Empress of Time
Author: Kylie Lee Baker
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: 5 October 2022
Pages: 304
Format: eBook - PDF
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: ARC via NetGalley

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough is no longer the girl who was chased out of England—she is the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. But her problems have never been greater. Her Shinigami see her as a foreigner on the throne. Her brother, Neven, is gone, lost in the deep darkness. And her fiancĂ©, Hiro, has been killed by her own hand.

Then Ren receives the most troubling news yet—Reapers have been spotted in Japan, and it’s only a matter of time before Ivy, now Britain’s Death Goddess, comes to claim her revenge.

Ren’s last hope is to appeal to the god of storms and seas, who can turn the tides to send Ivy’s ship away from Japan’s shores. But he’ll help Ren only if she finds a sword lost thousands of years ago—an impossible demand.

Together with the moon god Tsukuyomi, who shares an uncanny resemblance to his brother Hiro, Ren ventures across the country in a race against time. As her journey thrusts her into the middle of scheming gods and dangerous Yokai demons, Ren will have to learn who she can truly trust—and the fate of Japan hangs in the balance.

 

Having enjoyed the first book in this duology, I was keen to see how Ren's story would end. The Empress of Time started a little slowly, but the action soon picked up and there were some enjoyable, well-depicted sequences. Ren was still a compelling character, and I had fun following her journey, but some of the other characters, such as Neven, didn't come across as well as in the first book. Tsukuyomi was a good addition, though, and I liked learning more about him as the tale progressed. The ending was essentially satisfying and wrapped everything up well. Taking the books individually, I don't think this second volume had quite the impact of the first for me. However, it was still good to see the resolution of the tale, so if you enjoyed book one, I recommend finishing the series. It gets 4 stars from me.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No comments:

Post a Comment