I liked seeing her struggles and how strong she was becoming.

However, she has been trained in weapons instead and now plans to secure the position of empress for them, even though yokai are forbidden from participating in the competition. Mari is a yokai Animal wife who has never fit in, as she’s not as pretty as the other women of her tribe and especially her mother is incredibly hard on her. We get a lot of insight into them and all of them had their flaws and vulnerabilities. 🌷 I really came to love all the characters. Marriage and love, they aren’t achievements.” “At one point, she’d thought (spoiler) completed her. Thank you to HMH Books and Netgalley for providing me with a digital Arc in exchange for an honest Review! Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy. 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. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. And it would be, if she weren’t hiding a dangerous secret. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. All are eligible to compete-all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.Įach generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku.

Empress of all seasons