Sunday, January 18, 2026

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

 


Sometimes it pays to just say “why the heck!”


I have been reviewing books I get from NetGalley on this blog for several years, but it is still rare that I get offered a book I did not request. So I was startled last month to get an email offering me an audio eARC of The Poet Empress, a book by a debut author with an interesting magic system - poetry could create magical effects and in order to craft a death spell you would have to live the target. Intrigued, I accepted the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 


I really enjoyed this book. Don’t get me wrong, it is super grim, starting off with starved babies and moving on to ripped out tongues and torture,  but I really liked the voice of the protagonist and how she learns how to handle herself as a concubine striving to be empress. This was an engrossing audio book. I listened at 2x speed. 

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