You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
gabby_hammer 's review for:
The Emperor and the Endless Palace
by Justinian Huang
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A love story that spans lifetimes, the Emperor and the Endless Palace follows two men’s relationship in three different eras.
On the pros side of this book, the characters are unapologetically queer. There are certainly some struggles with identity in the book, but overall the characters are loud and proud. I also learned some interesting Chinese folklore from this story, like the myth of the nine-tailed Fox spirits.
There were a few big cons for me in this book. Despite its framing as a love story, every relationship in this book felt forced and/or toxic. The “true feeling” between the love interest seemed to represent something closer to obsession than love. I can’t say that there was ever a moment when I was genuinely rooting for the characters to get together. I also was not a particular fan of the writing. There were a lot of cringeworthy moments, especially in the modern day scenes. This was not helped by the sex scenes. There has to be a better way to describe what’s happening without calling parts “swollen influence” and “pink plum”.
All of this for the characters to a) die b) cheat or c) not even end up together. This story had a lot of potential, but it just didn’t work for me. 2/5
On the pros side of this book, the characters are unapologetically queer. There are certainly some struggles with identity in the book, but overall the characters are loud and proud. I also learned some interesting Chinese folklore from this story, like the myth of the nine-tailed Fox spirits.
There were a few big cons for me in this book. Despite its framing as a love story, every relationship in this book felt forced and/or toxic. The “true feeling” between the love interest seemed to represent something closer to obsession than love. I can’t say that there was ever a moment when I was genuinely rooting for the characters to get together. I also was not a particular fan of the writing. There were a lot of cringeworthy moments, especially in the modern day scenes. This was not helped by the sex scenes. There has to be a better way to describe what’s happening without calling parts “swollen influence” and “pink plum”.
All of this for the characters to a) die b) cheat or c) not even end up together. This story had a lot of potential, but it just didn’t work for me. 2/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent