The Empress of Time Series: The keeper of night #2 Published by Harlequin on October 4, 2022
Source: Blog Tour
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Diversity & Multicultural, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
Pages: 304
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Goodreads
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 fiancé, 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.
Review:
The Empress of Time is the second book in The Keeper of Night #2, which follows the story of Ren, who has become the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. Thematically this continues to explore our main character’s struggle to find where she fits as a biracial woman, rejected on both sides. But more than that, it’s a story about complicated sibling relationships that still involve intense, protective love. Their relationship remains one of my favorite sibling relationships. It’s imperfect and imbalanced, but it works and is necessary. To see Neven come back hardened after a century in the dark was fascinating. I’m so glad they reconciled — watching him pull away from Ren was hard. Empress of Time is just as dark and atmospheric as Keeper of Night, diving more profoundly to the corners of Yomi as Ren wrestles with her ghosts. The conflict between Ren and the Reapers was captivating, especially when you see Ren use all her powers together. The way these two siblings fight with time was exciting to read. Also, that ending was entirely unexpected for me but so good!
About Kylie Lee Baker
Kylie Lee Baker grew up in Boston and has since lived in Atlanta, Salamanca, and Seoul. Her work is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, & Irish) as well as her experiences living abroad as both a student and teacher. She has a BA in creative writing and Spanish from Emory University and is pursuing a master of library and information science degree at Simmons University. In her free time, she plays the cello, watches horror movies, and bakes too many cookies. The Keeper of Night is her debut novel.
