Review: The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker

The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This book comes out today October 4, 2022.

I enjoyed the narrator. She did a good job with the narration of the various characters.

This picks up where book one left off, however about 10 years have passed for Ren who has claimed the title of Goddess of Death. She is still searching for her brother Neven in the deep darkness and much like she did in her previous life she is still trying to find her place in the world. She wasn't respected as a British Reaper, and the Shinigami that she now rules over don't respect because of her foreign heritage. Ren gets word that the head of the Reapers and Ren's worst enemy, Ivy, is on her way to take over Japan and kill Ren. Ren isn't sure she is capable of defeating the British Death Goddess and attempts to make alliances with the other Japanese gods and goddess. To do so she embarks on a quest to find a long lost sword.

I really loved the myth and lore of the first book, and while that concept carries over into this book it isn't the main focus. We do get a glimpse into the larger god and goddess structure which I always find fascinating. We spend much of the book with Ren on her quest to find help to save Japan from the impending invasion. She is a powerful Goddess in her own right, but she has a hard time accepting her new power and role. Much of the book is spent with Ren warring with herself about her own abilities to save Japan and fight the Reapers. There was a bit too much negative self-talk for my liking and I found it frustrating at times. I wanted Ren to embrace the darkness, power, and her anger and harness them into something productive. While I thought the ending was perfect, it took a long time to get there. Ren's character growth was quite the journey, but it was worth it. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll leave it there.

Much like the first book this installment walks the line between fantasy and horror. There are some very dark, violent, and gory scenes. In that sense I feel like the world building was well done, and that is something the author does very well. The descriptions are vivid and detailed. The magic system isn't explained much in this book, but I don't recommend reading this as a standalone. You should definitely read The Keeper of Night first to really understand the magic system and get a better understanding of the Reapers and the Shinigami. I think if you picked this up first you'd be completely lost. This does answer alot of the outstanding questions I had at the end of book one about what was going to happen with Ren, Neven, and the rest of the characters. I felt the book ended with a fitting conclusion to the duology.

Overall, I enjoyed this conclusion and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

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