Thank you, Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quote:
What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?
How would that change the way you look at each stranger, knowing that they could be the epic romance across all of your lifetimes

Danggg, this book is something...I will say that I love and hate the book simultaneously.
Firstly, can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is - it's so eye-catching and contains hints about the stories taking place. It's also a play on the term "cut sleeve," developed during the Chinese dynasty, and the author used it in this story.

For a debut novel, this is well-written. Told from 3 different lifetimes, it can get very confusing, but the author's writing style makes the book easy to follow. I will say that the author has a penchant for minor cliffhangers in every chapter, which drives me crazy and makes the book so darn good!

The story takes place in three different timelines: (first) an emperor and a lowly clerk, (middle) an innkeeper and a fox spirit and (last) an artist and his muse Considering there are three lifetimes to follow, you either jump ahead by two chapters to know what happens in that current life or anxiously read the next chapter and suffer through my cliffys! Oh, and the guessing you will do among the 3 POVs to figure out who is who!

While this was marketed as an epic romance spanning lifetimes, I found the love story a little flat as it felt like "fate" or a string of coincidences seemed to intervene on their behalf. And when they are together, the love is destructive, obsessive, terrible and tragic. In short, this is the kind of love I hate, but it works amazingly for this story. So, if you expect an everlasting love that transcends through time and hope, stay awayyyy!

Highly recommend if you are looking for a solid take on the “cutsleeve” concept and multiple POVs in different lifetimes done amazingly right.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for providing the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up

I'm still unsure how to feel about this book. On the one hand, it's a well-written book with a premise that immediately caught my attention. I don't often come across stories with star-crossed lovers who are destined to meet across multiple lifetimes, even though I've been craving for it for so long. And a queer one, no less?!

“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.”

There's just something about stories where fate tethers one person to the other; the aching for the missing piece that would not make sense until it suddenly clicked one day when you real se you've found your soulmate. The yearning for something, for that someone that is beyond your own understanding and the way your soul will always long for its other half, in this life and the next. It is in itself a trope that is poetic and beautiful and bold, where you completely devote your whole heart and soul for this other person.

“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.”

But alas, this book did not deliver. What the synopsis promises as “undying love” turns out to be an instant, lustful, unfaithful infatuation. To me, the beauty of the soulmate trope isn't at all about instant attraction, but rather the gradual realisation that you've fallen so deep, the revelation of everything you have done for each other and would continue to do and it is what your destiny has led you to in all the millions other possibilities—especially when you've lived and met in another lifetime. You can't convince me the characters here are destined for each other when one can't even stay faithful, and the only thing tethering them were baseless instant attachment.

If there is one way to describe the main character, it's this quote from the book itself. Note that it's from the ARC so there may be differences in the published version.

“Dong Xian may be handsome but not as much as he is stupid, they all said, and his self-serving ambitions are only rivaled by his depraved sexual addictions.”

Dong Xian and his reincarnations just can't keep his thing in his pants, he let it lead and make all his decisions for him. Now I'm not going to slut-shame him for being promiscuous, but I draw the line at cheating. Especially after he said all those supposedly romantic words to his lover about forever and eternity, it's so revolting. Plus, if you were wondering if there is any mystery behind all these; the curse, the inexplicable meeting across lifetimes—don’t expect anything, those all amounted to nothing and concluded in a bland, unsatisfactory ending.

The writing, thankfully, saved the book. I love how the author used distinct voices, dialogues, and narrations appropriate of the time period. I also love how the author has interwoven the origin of the cut-sleeve emperor and his love for his male lover, Dong Xian. The cut-sleeve scene might be the only moment I felt touched by the romance in this book.

In conclusion, 2.5 star for the plotline and characters, but extra one star for the writing (and the pretty cover).

I had really high expectations for this book after reading the blurb, I read a lot of danmei so a book set in ancient China with a reincarnation plot (my favorite romance trope) sounded like it would be right up my alley. I was hoping for an emotional slow burn romance across multiple lives but unfortunately the execution of this story really didn’t work for me.

The story is split into three timelines: one involving the emperor and a clerk in ancient China, one involving an innkeeper and a fox spirit in China in the 1700s, and one in modern day LA. The historical timelines were much stronger than the modern timeline but the story was plagued throughout by shallow characters, wooden dialogue, and a plot that felt more like an idea than a fully realized final draft.

At no point did the relationship between the MCs feel like anything but infatuated lust. This is a very sex-forward book with no believable romance or emotional intimacy built into the story, no times that the characters actually had a connection unless they were boning (the characters even referred to it as “the true feeling” in one scene). And boy, those sex scenes were not fun to read. Most of the sex scenes aren’t between the MCs and there are lots of comically unsexy phrases such as “he impaled me victoriously”, “blanketing me in his meat”, or “pounded his pink plum”. The MCs feel very self-centered and immature which I found off-putting. Basically, I was rooting against their relationship and by the time a love triangle subplot became revealed I was well and truly over it. I started this book with the wrong expectations and wanted to DNF but it was an ARC so I felt obligated to read to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

CWs: substance abuse, death, gore, ableism, sexual assault/rape, cheating

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s been a while since I have devoured a book so quickly! I was captivated from start to finish by this story full of twists and turns! I found all three of the timelines equally as interesting!

The story wasn’t quite what I expected, it was more bittersweet than I thought it would be! I am not the greatest fan of open endings so I was not entirely satisfied on that point, but again that is simply my own preference!

I found the author style to flow very well and I am looking forward to more from Justinian Huang! Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy, what a gorgeous cover!

(Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this EArc)

I am a big fan of east asian reincarnation xinxia/donghua like novels or manga. I read the back of the expecting it to be like that and I am not disappointed. Like everyone has said in the reviews here, it happens over three timelines, lots of magic/beasts/fantasy/smutty elements involve in the book. like page 15 widened my eyes, like girl i didn't expect it would go that tangent. The world building is nice in this book. the setting doesn't only focus on east asia but south east asia as well, like Thailand was mentioned. LA is also the setting in the present day. It is pretty easy to follow the different time lines as it is indicated in the first page of every chapter. There are some things that i don't like about this story is how history repeats itself even after three timelines like River tells Joey how "they are still stuck in the Endless Palace him, Joey and Winston."

I like how everytime Dong Xian makes a promise it will end up not coming true again. Like Liu Xin asks him that they will trust each other and ofc. we know Dong Xian's affair with JunJun. like even up to the present day, you still hurt Liu Xin's feelings.

I really like the pacing and how the story is not so much info dump but leave room for world building and have a chance to enjoy its magic and fantasy.

I got a copy of this book as an ARC, and I have been putting up reading this book for months since I have received it but didn't expect myself to enjoy it. I mentioned that I didn't like some things in the book I meant more improvements in the world building though I understand that it is a debut novel, the author nonetheless made a really good debut novel (the suggestion is just in case he wants to write a series). I also wish we could've spent more time in the first timeline (preference since I enjoyed reading a lot of xinxia and donghua novels set in ancient china).

I like the cover, can't wait to get my hands on the hardcover.

I adored this interwoven Asian-based story with all my heart. It follows three different timelines of two men whose lives have been intertwined for centuries. We follow them through 4 BCE, 1740, and present-day Los Angeles. Slowly, along with the characters, we learn how they are connected to each other. Their romance was both beautiful and heartbreaking. It was quite hard to read at times because their love is quite destructive and painful. I’m a sucker for a tragic love affair, especially ones that make me cry. Add stunning writing and fantastical aspects to make a book I couldn’t get enough of.

Reincarnation stories have always drawn me in, and I knew I had to read this beauty as soon as I found it. It was intriguing trying to figure out who was who in the different time periods. I’m glad we kept going back and forth between each of them, and loved seeing how all the pieces fit together to tell their story. It felt like a puzzle, and I enjoyed how their identities were not always obvious.

There were times I did not want one of the perspectives to switch to the next time period. I wanted to continue with what was happening next instead of going to another time. Then, I would get completely hooked on the next one. It became a cycle I enjoyed every minute of.

This book will not be for everybody, but it has everything I could have wanted from this type of story. It took me about fifty pages to get into it, and then I didn’t want it to end. Also, I enjoyed looking into the historical aspects of this story. The emperor and Dong Xian are based on historical figures from Chinese history, and I like how the sleeve is a part of their story. So interesting.

I highly recommend picking up Justinian Huang’s The Emperor and the Endless Palace. I will be adding it to my home library. Huang’s writing was beautiful, and I cannot wait to pick up more of his work in the future. Here’s hoping for more from this world.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace is honestly one of the most unique fantasy romance’s I have ever read! Not only is the writing beautiful, but the plot of each storyline kept me excited to see where we were going next. I think it is hard to pull off a reincarnation story and Justinian Huang did it very well. I could feel the epic timeline without feeling like it was too much at any given point. Each storyline kept me guessing on who was who and I was thoroughly surprised by the end. Throughout the novel, I was interested in each point of view and wanted to know more. When it was time to switch at the end of each chapter, I was eager to learn more about the timeline I was going into and whatever was next in store for our characters. I also thoroughly enjoyed the mix of Chinese history and mythological elements. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. I wanted to know more about our characters, their lives, and see these romances bloom for a bit longer. I think that’s just a testament to how much I enjoyed reading this book. I can’t wait to see what comes next for Justinian Huang, and I will definitely be reading whatever it is!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC e-copy of The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang.

Spanning three sweeping timelines, The Emperor and the Endless Palace follows a narrator and his lover, who find each other in seemingly every universe.

This was… a lot. It wasn’t so much plot as it was a bunch of scenes I felt compelled to skip over. By the halfway point, I was content with giving up on the book. I don’t actually feel as if I wasted my time, only because I think that this author can write something truly valuable with time.

☆ ☆ ☆ - DNF

Given that it's a bit of a genre bender, this one was a bit much for me personally. I think there will be people who pick this up and immediately love it. It just wasn't that for me sadly.

Thank you to Netgalley and MIRA for the e-ARC!

I was ready to love this book. In the end, it leaves me a bit at a loss for a goos rating. I think I didn't quite delve into it with the right expectations and was then surprised.
Discovering and following our characters through three lifetimes was interesting, even if I found the past time lines more interesting because of the Fox-Spirit presence. The machinations in the Endless Palace gave a good tension until it died suddenly when one character seemed to stop intervening, despite what was given to glimpse about its nature. The present timeline was harder to grasp and care for.
I admit I have trouble considering this book a romantic book. One of the character has such character's trait and behavior that made it hard for me to believe he had true feelings. I also had some trouble understanding how both characters could be in love so quickly, since it felt more like desire or infatuation than love to me. There is a whole other thing with a third character that is portrayed in a certain way and... I can't accept the name put on these feelings when there is so much manipulation around. But again, it is probably saying more about me as a romantic reader than about the book.
The biggest let down for me the resolution that didn't fulfilled what I thought to be the main obstacle. It is an open ending (which I don't usually mind if there is a sense of closure), with a lot of doors still open through the different timelines and more importantly, the current one. I guess it can be a good ending but it doesn't work for me, it feels like the end of a first book in a serie.
This review might seem quite negative, but I enjoyed some part of the book! It was quick to read, the writing was nice. Maybe a bit too much of smut sometimes, but nothing too bothering.
I think this was simply not the right fit for me, but I'm sure it will be a great read for other readers! It is a love story more than a romance, spanning centuries with a drama background.

I was engrossed in one of the time periods and really wanted the whole book to be about that time period. The second part that really had my attention was with the fox spirit but that was more slow placed. The present day storyline was the hardest and most underdeveloped part of the story. I could have read 500 more pages within this world. I look forward to more from this author.

Historical fantasies are my JAM! I absolutly love every moment in the love story, it's sweet and heartfelt, but also has a fierce streak that will keep you flipping the pages. PICK THIS UP!

This was the quickest book I decided to dnf, it isnt that bad, i think the book just not for me. BUT everyone who love Asian-based fantasy. Please give it a chance to dive in.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Justinian Huang for my ARC copy,

i love books about soulmates. gimme any of those vibes and i'll eat it up. and i definitely did, here. it was captivating seeing the main characters battle for each other and seeing all their lifetimes together.

i did wish, however, that this wasn't as hard to get into as it was. the writing didn't suit how this book should've been written, to me. since this is historical fiction, i would've expected writing that flows better and is prettier, somehow. i enjoyed how the timelines flowed though and how everything came together! such a wonderful read.

I really enjoyed this story and following the MCs. I liked the reincarnation aspects and how we get to see them together each time and how their stories evolve. I enjoy learning about other cultures and their values in books like this. It’s not a history book but a story with those cultures in twined into them. There are some triggers that you should look up first if you have any thing that bothers you while reading.

This book gave me so much happiness when I started it. The world we are immersed into is so magical and beautiful I never wanted to leave. Hopefully there will be more stories added to the series.

Welp, this is a DNF. The writing style really didn't agree with me - too plain, when I prefer my prose pretty and lyrical to the point of purple-ness. No thank you! The story/stories also felt very bleak, and I was spoilered that there wasn't going to be a HEA??? That killed any motivation I had to keep pushing through this book. I'm just not getting the hype.

Not gonna lie: this is particularly heartbreaking. I was so looking forward to this book! But it’s just a case of, wrong book, wrong reader. I don’t think it’s objectively bad, but it’s not the kind of book I want to read – it’s written in a very Literary Fiction style, and the prose is…fine? But I was hoping for lush gorgeousness, and this isn’t that. Nor did any of the narrators (who are probably all the same soul reincarnated in different time periods) grip me – I didn’t care about their stories, their goals.

I’m shallow as hell; I like my fantasy pretty, and a) I’m not sure this qualifies as strict fantasy at all, and b) the characters are all tangled up in messes that felt cynical and/or sad and/or pointless. I don’t care about the gay club scene; all the backstabbing and viciousness of the imperial Chinese court just made me feel horrified and sad; the inn plotline was the one that most interested me, but that’s not saying much.

I wanted more magic; I didn’t enjoy the writing style; and I’m just…too raw for something this gritty and…realistic, I guess?

I think the right reader could enjoy this fine, if they go in with the right expectations, ie, not expecting a fantasy novel. For that reason, I can’t rate it too low; the problem is that I misunderstood what this book was going to be, and that’s not the book’s fault. But I did find it so dull that by 25% of the way through, I was having a hard time keeping myself awake, despite all the ScandalousTM stuff that was happening and all the Obviously Important plotlines that were just getting started - so not rating it too highly, either!

This was a very quick DNF for me. I did not jive with the writing style from the first page, and I couldn't force myself to continue.

The style is heavily narrative, which I don’t generally enjoy. The writing is somewhat clunky. I stopped after the first chapter/section (2%), but three stars for the target audience/right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.