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Empress of All Seasons

Emiko Jean

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Mar 12, 2019 Tien rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, young-adult, fantasy

I really truly wish to love this book but... Even while loving the lush ancient Japanese world, it was just so. very. slow. going. If you have no patience or you feel like reading something fast-paced, I'd recommend you to read something else first. This is a book where you'd read to enjoy the world - but only if you love this type of world which I do hence I was able to keep going and finish the book.

The last 50 pages were pretty exciting but felt very very very rushed. I think quite a bit of a ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Nat rated it liked it

Shelves: retellings, ya

This was sort of a weird book that didn't really go in the direction I was expecting it to. I guess that's not a bad thing, but it made it seem like it really lacked cohesion. There was a lot of focus on the competition and the other girls, but then (view spoiler). The Snow Girl plays a prominent role, but we never get a strong sense of her character because it always sort of se This was sort of a weird book that didn't really go in the direction I was expecting it to. I guess that's not a bad thing, but it made it seem like it really lacked cohesion. There was a lot of focus on the competition and the other girls, but then (view spoiler). The Snow Girl plays a prominent role, but we never get a strong sense of her character because it always sort of seems like she's performing. Did the characters get what they wanted? It's hard to say. (view spoiler) The book just feels really disjointed. (view spoiler) There's this whole thing with Akira being able to see auras and seeing stains from death, and (view spoiler). (view spoiler) It just really felt like this book didn't know what it wanted to be, and was really jerky and inconsistent. What were the themes? What was the main plotline? What was the point? There were parts I really liked, and I liked the mythological elements, but it was just so all over the place that I got to the end and just thought "wait, that's it?". An weird book with lots of potential that somehow manages to squander it. ...more

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