thank you to netgalley and harlequin books for the eARC!

y’all- this book was such a good read. 4.5 stars! it’s hard to describe what makes particular writing styles captivating, but this prose had whatever the magic ingredient was that kept me engrossed- the pages just flew by. this is a fantasy love story (but maybe not a romance) with fated lovers across lifetimes, and I enjoyed each of the three time settings we got- each had some intrigue, stakes, and interesting interpersonal dynamics.

it’s a deeply queer story with moments of eroticism, but not in the titillating BL way particularly. the eroticism felt like it more fit into the atmosphere of the story, it contributed to the love but also the power dynamics and some of the magic and misfortune of the story- this is not a HEA romance or pure smut. at the same time, this book is a meaningful expression of queerness, but one in which homophobia is not a constant presence (though it does feature occasionally).

at first, I was frustrated by the consistently changing pov’s (as we switched between the lifetimes). however, as we got further in, and I started to try to figure out how the storylines interrelated, I didn’t mind, and was drawn in by each of the timelines. I found the ending pretty satisfying and thought it matched with the vibe of the story, but I could have done with a little more exploration of how the stories connected (purposefully vague here to avoid spoiling- the book wasn’t confusing but I thought it could have been delved into more) and some idea of what the future would look like (even if through mysterious vignettes).

don’t go in this looking for classic romantasy- I don’t think the same guarantees apply. it also reads more like a queer story written for/by queer people, rather than oriented towards straight people, so keep that in mind. however, I highly recommend it as a character-focused, heartbreaking exploration of queer love and reincarnation, with historical and modern settings.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang was an unexpectedly wonderful spicy romantasy debut. This queer romance novel was everything I was hoping it would be.
I adored everything about this story.
The characters, the world, the writing it was just so captivating. I couldn’t put my Kindle away.
In this exceptionally smart and sweeping romance… Justinian Huang’s writing is crisp and incredible, the characters are fully engaging, and the story is delightful.

Thank You NetGalley and MIRA for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was an awesome read! The story line and plot keep you interested and I loved following the MCs along the timelines . This book holds your attention and has you wanting more. The chapters are short it’s an easy read I can't wait to see what else the author has in store with this series

This was great! Both the romance and the story line/plot were fantastic. I loved following the 2 characters through their different lives. This book constantly held my attention and had me wanting me. I can't wait to see what else Huang has in store for us!

Unfortunately this was a really quick DNF for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for this review. However this book needs major editing before it is published.
The sentence structures are wild and all over the place
We info sprinkle and speak about people we have never met.
The entire thing is confusing, foxes can’t be men so he finds comfort in men however he meets his fox who is a man?
The thing that did it for me was the use of italics instead of quotations for dialogue. That is wildly confusing and should be fixed. It comes off as inner dialogue and not spoken word between characters.
This could have been a great book but as a critical reader I can’t look past major plot holes right off the bat and really rough grammar and editing.

Give me a story about soulmates who are fated to find each other in different timelines, and I know I'm going to be obsessed with it. And this was no different, I absolutely loved it.

It was very different from what I expected, and it took a long time before I was able to make sense of the story and connect all three timelines together. But the pay off was sooo good and so entirely worth it. Because of that, I think this will be really fun for me to reread as well.

I absolutely adore stories that show how queer people have always been here and always will be, and I found this story to be very touching because of that. We went so far back in time, and it was incredible to find out the earliest timeline is actually based on real people from history.

DNF @25%

I really wanted to love this book. It had such an intriguing premise and setting, but it wasn't for me. The writing style just was not to my liking. It wasn't bad, but it especially didn't match the vibe of ancient Chinese fantasy - you know?

The biggest thing, however, is the pacing. This book has incredibly short chapters, which I normally love, but in this case, works against the book. With 3 timelines and 3 POVs, the short chapters completely draw me out of the story. I cannot form any attachments to the characters or the settings when I'm being flip flopped back and forth between periods.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people out there who will love this book! I, unfortunately, am not one of them :(

I absolutely loved this book! I love a multi-timeline because it takes a lot of planning to get all the pieces in order! I also enjoyed how across timelines, characters kept playing similar roles as those previous. I did do some Googling of Chinese history to get a reference for who a character was, which was brilliant. This story had twists and turns, and I was here for all of it. I could not put this down and definitely recommend reading this reincarnation book!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc! All opinions are my own!
I am honestly not even sure how to repeat this because I thoroughly enjoyed this book but the ending feels like the ending of the first in a series. However, I am pretty sure this is a standalone, so I am unsure of how to rate it. If this is a standalone, then I think the ending needs some additional work. It felt very unconcluded and almost like there was a missing chapter. If this is a series or if the story will continue, I will be very satisfied as I really enjoyed the story. The story felt very unfinished, and the ending felt very abrupt for a standalone especially one with such a detailed and intricate plot. For me, if this book is a standalone, then it reads about two stars, but if this is going to be continued, then I would rate it around four stars.
I absolutely love the premise and a lot of the main themes of the story. The way the reincarnation was done in the story by having each perspective be a different timeline was phenomenal. It's a little confusing to begin with but once you start to recognize the characters it becomes a lot easier to understand. I think the twist for the story was also done remarkably well. I completely didn't expect the twist, but once I knew it I could see the groundwork the author had led in previous chapters.
Also, I didn't mind the themes of sex and sexuality throughout the story. This is definitely an adult and mature book and it's clear that these things were not done to be romantic or spicy but to enhance the story and be a part of the narrative. While some word choices might have jumped out (pink plum) overall, it wasn't very overwhelming, and I could understand the direction the author was trying to take. Furthermore I also absolutely love the characters and the cycle these characters were trapped in. Not only are they complex and real but there is no true good or bad. These characters continuously make bad choices and are trapped in the cycle of rebirth and cruelty to each other. They feel this overwhelming love and obsession with each other that translates really well on the page for the reader.
Overall I really liked the story and hope to see you there more of this world or an addition to the ending.

This is an exuberantly weird book that is simultaneously confusing, hilarious, and heartfelt. It follows three men in three different times: He Shican in 1740s China; Dong Xian in 4 BCE China; and River in present day California.He Shican is an innkeeper who is approached by a 9-tailed fox; Dong Xian is an ambitious member of the court at the Imperial Court who uses his sexuality to ply information from the men around him; and River is a med student who recently came out and is spending time sowing his wild oats. It's not much of a spoiler to say that the three men are connected in some metaphysical way, as are their lovers.

The book is a real experience, especially Dong Xian's portions. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but the way he embraces his sexual escapades combined with his willingness to be manipulated by wilier members of the court makes his third of the book something that has to be experienced.

Would I have loved a less ambiguous ending? Sure! As it stands, though, the book gave me enough hints for me to construct my own satisfying head canon for what happened and what happens next. If you're looking to read something truly different, this knocks it out of the park.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and most importantly the author for this amazing debut read. I truly do not know where to start. I loved this story. The fantasy, the imagery, the characters, and most important the forsaken love shared across the time lines. I loved how the author gave life to three different lives and was capable of drawing them back into each other with each chapter. I loved the romance and feelings that each character encountered. I will be keeping my eye out to see what comes next from this author.

Thank you to Frenzy Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So I have some very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the concept was rather intriguing. The story spans three timelines and two men are reincarnated over and over again and keep meeting in different lifetimes as a sort of fated, yet cursed, soulmates. There was plenty of court politics, intrigue, betrayal, magic, mystery and more, and the plot held my attention throughout. The author connected the timelines in an interesting manner and the story unfolded in such a way that it left me guessing on several points until the end.

On the other hand, with three timelines, the story was constantly hopping all over the place and didn’t stay long enough with any set of characters to allow me to get invested in any of them. There were three drastically different settings, and while I can’t decide which I liked the best, I can say it wasn’t the modern day setting. That timeline felt the least developed and contained the resolution of the entire book, which wasn’t the most satisfying either. There were several interesting side characters who were clearly reincarnations as well, but the story didn’t pay them much attention at all and just left them as loose ends.

I feel like the blurb didn’t set the right expectations for this book, it certainly isn’t romantasy in my book – I wouldn’t even call it romance as the relationships were insta-lovey, infatuations or just plain toxic. There was also way more sexual content than I was expecting – and it got old very quickly. The writing was definitely weaker in these parts as it started to feel extremely repetitive and I found myself skimming through most of it. This book should also come with quite a lot of content warnings, as this was kind of on the edge of what I’m ok with reading.

Overall, while the concept had potential, this book just didn’t work for me. I’m still kind of annoyed that the biggest question throughout the story didn’t get a proper resolution – it had a rather open ending which is something I don’t like, and made this feel more like the first book in a series than a standalone.

DNF'd

E-ARC provided by Netgalley

I was very excited to read this book when I applied for the arc. When I got approved I literally was jumping with excitement. I started reading and quickly discovered that this was something that was going to trigger me and was definitely not for me. To me this book feels more like an erotica than a romantasy. I was really excited for the LGBT+ lovers fated across the centuries plot but couldn't get past the first 1/3 of the book before I DNF'd because I couldn't get past the spice.

I'm sure this would be a great book for some but it just wasn't for me personally.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

This was a very surprising story. Told in three POV's (the same POV's?? they're the same souls who keep being reincarnated) this was an incredible read that blended different timelines into one. I was excited and anxious to read each new part. I enjoyed trying to connect their past lives with their present lives before the story itself told us who was who. (I still ended up being wrong though). I was so intrigued by each chapter and wept a little over its very sad end. I had so much hope for River and Joey in their present life but apparently it wasn't meant to be. I also felt really bad for Calvin in this story who sounded like a really good person who genuinely loved River.

I know this isn't the final version of the book and that the actual final draft is much longer so I'm excited to read the physical book (which I've already bought a copy of) and meet the author (I'm going to do this at an event soon). I'm going to have so much fun reading over the story again and I can't wait!!

In 3 separate timelines we are told of the lives and sexual exploits of three men. One is the story of an innkeeper seeking mythical creatures in 1740. One the story of a court clerk and his Emperor and the intrigues of politics in 4 BCE during the Han Dynasty. One in modern day Los Angeles between a newly out young man about to start med school, and a trophy boyfriend of a billionaire. The way that the chapters move between these 3 time periods and perspectives is very engaging and keeps the reader guessing as to how they tie together and what is going to happen next in each one.
LGBTQIA Asian Romantasy was so exciting to me because while it is such a hot genre, I have been dying to see some diversity in it. This was not what I was looking for. First it is missing a critical piece of Romance, so it falls more in line with relationship fiction/erotica. The sex scenes are graphic and frequent, and yes I would say they were beyond mainstream acceptability if the couple were M/F. The fantasy elements are also fairly inconsistent, with it mostly being drug fueled in the modern story, while the story in 1740 includes shape shifting, alchemy, and love spells. It was engaging enough to keep me reading to the end hoping for that happily ever after.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions in this review are my own.

Thank for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review. Off the bat I can tell I will not enjoy this book, the style of writing is not typical in most books of this genre, and almost seems clinical and detached. We have explicit sex scenes within the first few chapters, and they are also described in a detached manner. Just overall not for me.

[arc review]
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace releases March 26, 2024

<i>“How do you know when you are in love? I learned early on that for people like me, there are no grand gestures, no bold declarations painted across the sky. There are only little hidden moments, intense yet fleeting as shooting stars, that quickly burn away into night.”</I>

Well, this was not what I was expecting.
Huang’s debut spans many millennia through reincarnated characters that are destined to be together, though I found that the plot heavily relied on erotic scenes, so much so that there were 3 different instances just within the first 3% before the reader has the chance to understand what the premise actually is.

With an endless love trope, you would hope to have this overwhelming yearning between the characters in all lifetimes, but there was a huge lack emotional and romantic depth — it was literally just feral fucking until it was too late in the story to be convincing or meaningful.

From a structural standpoint, this story would have made more sense if the present day pov was told from Joey instead of River, so that it would have been parallel to the pov’s of He Shican in 1740, and Dong Xian in 4 BCE.

Some would say that less is more, but in this instance, I think this would have benefitted from a couple hundred more pages to further develop characteristics and fantasy elements.

Even with the love triangle, classifying this as a romance would be reaching.

cw: mention of suicide, drug use, SA, grooming

*received as an Advanced Reader Copy*

I will be filing a personal injury claim against one Mr. Justinian Huang for the ANGUISH he has put me through with this masterpiece. I read it in one sitting. I was pulled in by the setting, the characters, the concepts. It was beautiful and the prose was perfect.

I will be rereading it after it’s published on the finalized copy and I genuinely can’t wait to cry my eyes out again.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️
Spice: 3/5 🌶️

This one was so unique! I hadn’t read a queer (MM pairing) romantasy based on Chinese folklore+actual history up until this book. It was spicy 🥵 and not always in the conventional way (razor blade scene, IYKYK). It was also twistier than I expected it to be 😳

There are storylines in 3 different time periods—4 BCE, 18th century, and modern day. Each storyline revolves around male characters inextricably drawn to each other… fated to be a part of each other’s lives, and to possibly repeat history.

I initially went in expecting a sweeping, swoony romance but it was more erotic, messy, and wild. Once I checked out the author’s IG it made more sense haha. I should’ve looked there first :)

The Emperor and the Endless Palace
By Justinian Huang

FIRST, and this is important:
“What if I told you, he begins, that the feeling we call love...is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?”

ALSO, from the publisher:
“In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.

“In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.

“And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.

“Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.

“As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both.”

🏯 NOW THEN. THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE is the debut novel by Justinian Huang - and what a debut it is! The author wrote this book during a stressful lockdown, and it has evidently come kicking and screaming and landing hard into the light of day. Thank goodness for Justinian and the wonderful network of people who pushed him and encouraged him to go for it.

🧩 As you can see from the description, the plot is not simple or straightforward. There are, in fact, a few plots. But the reader gets a quick sense of their interrelatedness and we come to understand in short order that these stories and these characters are all hurtling toward each other.

🇨🇳 🇺🇸🇹🇭 Fortunately, each chapter is very clearly marked with the time frame - ancient China, 18th-century China, and contemporary Los Angeles and Bangkok - and the narrator. But who really is the narrator in each? Do their characters parallel each other? You’ll have to figure that out for yourself. Here’s what I will share: “An ambitious courtier in an ancient palace. A humble innkeeper in the woods. An artist obsessed with a singular muse. A beautiful mystery to the very end.”

📜TEATEP is a queer romantic fantasy - a romantasy, as this genre is now known - and the worlds that are built in this book must be discerned by the reader. Just know this: the world that Justinian has built is actually based on a number of real historical figures and some of the actual lives that they actually lived. Of course there are characters added and there is an old folktale that the author references as well. So, I want to call it a historical romantasy.

💚 But, beyond the “actual” of it, is the imagination with which Justinian Huang has woven this tale. It’s a story of real love, unrequited love, hearty lust, star-crossed soulmates, dark magic, ancient heirlooms, dangerous intrigue, past lives, current lives, and Remembered (and unremembered) lives. And it’s kind of incredible and quite heartstopping.

❤️‍🔥 And let me also tell you that the queer Asian men who form the center of these tales - and THE ultimate tale - are hot and spicy and sweaty and loving and slutty and edgy and off-the-hook - in ALL the good ways. This book is haunting and also a romp and a love story. Er, a few love stories.

🍑 I just will never forget forbidden peaches (ALL kinds of peaches) and snakes and a blue cat and a big Buddha and circuit parties and money boys and “my influence” and poetry and true feelings and a blue butterfly and finger kissing and remembering with a capital R.

🦋 If you know me, you know I love a good soulmate story. This is anything but a typical one, and I highly recommend it. You won’t forget this book. I know I won’t. While I was reading it, it made me feel that there ARE magic and fate and things-going-on-I-don’t-know-about. And - real or fantasy - that #truefeeling is why we read fiction.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review, published on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Instagram. This book will be published on 26 March 2024.