"The Emperor and the Endless Palace" by Justinian Huang is a genre-bending romantic thriller that spans across different timelines and explores the themes of love, fate, and reincarnation. The novel weaves together multiple stories set in different eras, all connected by the threads of destiny and the enduring power of love.

In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is tasked with seducing the young emperor, leading to a tale of blood, sex, and intrigue. In 1740, a lonely innkeeper becomes involved in a mysterious quest for a rare medicine, setting off a chain of events that brings about otherworldly terror. In present-day Los Angeles, a college student encounters a beautiful stranger, feeling an inexplicable connection that transcends time.

The narrative explores the concept that the feeling we call love is actually a form of metaphysical recognition, where souls remember each other from previous lives. The central characters, reborn lifetime after lifetime, find themselves drawn to each other amidst the complexities of different worlds and timelines. The novel delves into the challenges and tests faced by the characters as they navigate their interconnected lives and the power of their undying love.

"The Emperor and the Endless Palace" promises to be an unpredictable and captivating debut that challenges conventional notions of true love, blending elements of romance, fantasy, and thriller across diverse settings and time periods. The novel invites readers to explore the mysteries of fate and the enduring nature of love that transcends the boundaries of time itself.

This book is such an experience! Multi-timeline books are always one of my favorites because it takes careful reveals and points of contact to make them tie together, and this book definitely managed that! I spent two-thirds trying to piece together who was who across each lifetime, and I love how it stayed with a cyclic nature of reincarnation where the connections of lives keeps replaying previous roles. I’m not familiar with Chinese history, so it took me a while to realize who Dong Xian was, but when I realized this was a retelling/reimagining with the emperor who originated the cut sleeve euphemism, it was like a mind-blowing moment. This was just really good, and so intense in so many ways. I had trouble putting it down once I got pulled in, and I couldn’t wait to see how each of the lives would play out. And that ending! It feels so open while firmly finishing this story. I was utterly enthralled and can’t wait for others to have a chance to read this twisty reincarnation story.

This is a really strange one, but I enjoyed my time with it! I'm finding it a little difficult to pull my thoughts together, since the book is quite jumbled (intentionally so), splitting itself between three time periods and three lifetimes. We follow the same two characters as they reincarnate and inevitably fall in love anew each time—the intrigue comes from the how, when, and why. The writing is absolutely beautiful (and distinct within each time period, too, which I loved), so in that sense, the book is a delight to read. Something about the characters didn't really sit with me, unfortunately; I maybe wanted longer chapters to allow for more time with each set of characters at once, since the smaller chunks often made it hard for me to connect with them and their individual plights. The pacing is also kind of weird—glacially slow at times, but the ending goes by so quickly that it's a little hard to follow. I was honestly a little bored until maybe halfway through, at which point the book starts kicking itself into high gear, and I stopped wanting to put it down. So I've got my issues with this book, but I still can't help but recommend it anyway; it's fun and frantic and weird in a way I've never quite seen a book be weird before.

A courtier is called to seduce the younger emperor. An innkeeper helps a visitor but unleashes a terror. In modern LA, a student meets a stranger and feel a sense of deja vu. Six stories but all intertwined...

A book worth the time to read! Terrific characters and terrific plot. Really enjoy the historical portion especially.. I like the subtle romance throughout the book. An interesting book...

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to Netgalley and Justinian Huang for my ARC copy,

This book introduces us to six men across three lifetimes and three historical periods, all repeating the same love story. In Han Dynasty China, a courtier navigates a tumultuous royal court while growing closer to his king. In 1700s Chine, an innkeeper navigates an encounter with a beautiful, mysterious man who is a nine-tailed fox. And in modern Los Angeles, a previously straight-laced medical student goes on a surreal adventure, falling in love with a mysterious foreign stranger.

I would best describe this book as being Cloud Atlas meets Song of Achilles, with strong themes of Chinese mythology and queer Asian identity. Would definitely recommend it to fans of authors like Xiran Jay Zhao (Iron Widow), and Nghi Vo (The Empress of Salt and Fortune), Shelley Parker-Chan (She Who Became the Sun) and Natasha Pulley (The Kingdoms). I loved watching the different timelines converge, and the way the author gave little pieces of information at different points give the reader clues. My favorite POVs were River's and the Han dynasty setting. I think that this was a really great debut for Justinian Huang and I am looking forward to future books.