Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC!

One thing Sue Lynn Tan is going to do is give us beautiful writing and a beautiful world. I love the world building and the overall story.

While Liyen was a bit frustrating at times I loved how she didn't compromise her beliefs and stood up for what she felt was right. It was refreshing to see an FMC who was smart, compassionate and could also admit mistakes.

The romance between Liyen and Zhangwei was sweet, I enjoyed the banter. While I was annoyed sometimes simply because I wanted a tad bit faster romance pace, I can appreciate how it all unfolded.

The story overall was pretty predictable but it didn't take away my enjoyment,

I definitely recommend!

Ngl, I got like 15% into this book and started reading reviews to see if other people were feeling the same way I was about Liyen. Poor, unfortunate, philosophical girl. Woe is her 😭 I was 🤏 this close to DNFing and I’ve never DNF’d a book in my whole entire existence. But, I pushed thru and the waxing poetic got less, and the action got more.

I really liked the little plot twists the fed the story and grew it into what it was. Not whiplash-eqsue twists but subtle foreshadowing?

Anyway, after I got thru that first 15%, it was all downhill from there, baybeeee. I really enjoy their authors writing style and the romance really hurt my feelings because like, where’s my OWN God of War, huh?? 4/5 recommend if you maybe wanna cry a little bit because a fictional couple has the most romantic story I’ve read in quite some time. kbyeeee

**I received this digital ARC FROM NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity!*

I wanted to love this one - I’m obsessed with books inspired by Asian mythologies, but Immortal fell a bit flat. The pacing was odd, and some parts of the book felt like they came way too quickly. I did like all of the characters, though. Thank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC

Sue Lynn Tan weaves such magical and whimsical stories that immediately draw me in. I loved being back in this world and seeing a different part of it. I had a feeling there was going to be a moment of an immortal becoming mortal for a time like the end of heart of the sun warrior.

I will read anything Sue writes. Auto buy author since DOTMG.

Liyen is Xingyin part two but worse.

I like Sue Lynn Tan, but I agree when people say this book is boring. The only good thing I can highlight is the perfect and detailed xianxia world building. As always, the descriptions are written very vividly and perfectly. Typical of Sue Lynn's writing.

But the characterization here is really boring. The premise is also strange. Like, what do you mean we have an immortal world guarded by mortals? Any way you look at it and justify it, it just sounds wrong. The huge power difference between mortals and enemies makes the main premise even more absurd.

Liyen changes easily. At the beginning of the story, we can see that she is devastated by her grandfather's death. However, the goal of revenge does not appear again in the middle of the story until the end. The origin of the immortal flower is also unclear.

Romance? Don't talk to me.

This is the stiffest romance in Sue Lynn Tan's writing history. It's predictable, shallow and childish. However, I do appreciate the drama-filled storyline here. It does feel like watching a Chinese drama. Both good and bad.

Thank you for the ARC.

I really do enjoy Sue Lynn Tan's writing and I love the Celestial Kingdom series. There is something so lush about her worldbuilding and it's nice to see her improve with each book (not that she was bad before). I've always loved when authors take mythology and put their own spin on it and this is no different.

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan takes place in the beautifully crafted Celestial Kingdom. If you’ve read Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Heart of the Sun Warrior, and Tales of the Celestial Kingdom, then you’ll be familiar with this world but don’t worry, Immortal stands perfectly fine on its own as a novella. It’s set in the same universe, but it’s a new story with a new set of characters and stakes.

This time we follow Liyen, our FMC, as she’s thrown into a journey of literal and emotional self-discovery, all while being caught in the middle of an immortal war. She’s carrying the weight of betrayal and heartbreak, yet still has to make impossible choices for the sake of her people in Tianxia.

She’s not alone, though. The God of War himself, Lord Zhangwei, joins her as she pledges loyalty… or beg for freedom (of protection) to Immortal Queen Caihong, a tradition the people of Tianxia have followed for centuries in exchange for protection from the Wuxin.

Just like with Daughter of the Moon Goddess, I found myself loving the way Sue Lynn Tan writes with so much depth and intention. Her storytelling always holds space for reflection. There are so many little pieces of philosophy and thought brought into her writing. I found myself just sitting with certain lines.

The romance in this one was beautiful. It was fierce, gentle, slow, and emotional. There’s barely any spice, but honestly, it doesn’t need it. The connection between the characters speaks louder than anything else, and it never overshadows the story.

I seriously have to SPEAK on this twist! I genuinely didn’t see it coming. A lot of the time, you can sense when an author is setting you up for something big, but this one hit me out of nowhere. I was so invested in what was happening that I didn’t even realize a twist was possible. It caught me completely off guard in the best way.

It took me a while to finish this one, not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because it’s slow-to-medium paced, and there’s a lot of world-building and background. You kind of have to sit with it. But honestly, it was worth every page.

Also, thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early (though I’m incredibly late on the review… I was planning a cross country move as a mother and wife😭) I’m truly grateful.

I loved this book. I enjoyed being back in this world. The writing is beautiful and poetic. The action is just where it needs to be. I really would recommend this one to others who love this world. It is just something about the writing in this one that makes you not want to go anywhere else.

Sue Lynn Tan is an auto-buy favorite author of mine. I’ve been excited for this book since she announced it. The writing style is beautiful and the world building was lush. “I was my past and my present- and I would forge my own future.”

This book had it all:
Rivals to lovers to enemies to lovers, beautiful mythology, different worlds, and a headstrong FMC.

Highly recommend this book and anything written by her.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC for my honest review.

I love anything written by Sue Lynn Tan and Immortal did not disappoint. It was a beautiful story full of action, love, and hope. While some sad parts I really really enjoyed it. Built in with some great twists and turns for the reader.

I thought this was advertised as a romance but the romantic side of this story felt weak to me. The story is interesting but I wasn’t fully invested in it until later on. I think if I knew of the twist earlier on I may have looked at the story differently and enjoyed it more.

3.5 stars. I adore Sue Lyn Tan’s writing. Her words never fail to pull me into another world. I didn’t find this book as strong as her other series. It took longer to get attached to characters and the relationship felt rushed. I feel like the second half of the book helped explain this but it was a bit difficult to connect with early on.

I just want to start this review by saying that I absolutely enjoy reading from this author so I was so excited to receive an out for her newest book.

I am a huge fan of Asian fantasy and this hit the spot 100%

I loved the characters the world building and the overall story. Anything this author writes I will happily read it.

5 STARS

I am not at all shocked that I found this book to be a soul hug and a gut punch at the same time. I have come to expect this combination from Sue Lynn Tan's work. She has the beautiful ability to create magical worlds that draw you in and make you never want to leave. You are taken on adventures filled with strife, love, magic, growth and lessons. This book was a highly anticipated read of mine after devouring Tan's Daughter of the Moon Goddess books; I was not disappointed. From the opening scenes with our main character's grandfather to the growing relationship with the God of War, every step was so well executed. I did not see the plot twist related to Liyen's origins, but it was so well done!

Sue Lynn Tan, please never stop writing. Thank you <3

Her writing is lyrical and crisp, and just thrusts you into these beautiful worlds, great for fans of Elizabeth Lim

This book had me interested right from the first page. The hook was good, the setup left a good path for it to grow from, and I was SQUEALING throughout the book wanting the characters to get together. The plot made sense, the world building was well done, the twists felt well placed, and the characters made you CARE about both sides of the major conflict.

I will 100% be recommending this to anyone who will listen, because it is a beautiful, tragic romance wrapped up with fantasy wrapping paper. It deserves every accolade that comes its way.

I so wished this worked for me but the FMC felt so off and bizarre to me. She was raised to lead yet seemed to blunder through it all. No one would believe for a second she was loyal to the gods with how much sass and attitude she gave them and her mistakes were almost comical. Sadly I saw all the twists and reveals coming and just felt this lacked the magic and awe I’ve come to expect from the author.

The romance was okay but I didn’t really understand what the god of war saw in the FMC or how she fell for him. It. All felt like they were just supposed to be in love rather than actually occur organically or be believable.

Definitely not my favorite of Sue Lynn Tan's book:( I struggle to finish this book esp at the beginning and ended up just want to get it over with.

Liyen, the FMC, is very pretentious and trying to hard to be savage but it just doesn't work. It felt very one dimentional in the end. Lead to to take unnecessary bad decision and lead to hurt other.

Her relationship with the God of War also lacking chemistry. The God of War has no personality than try to win Liyen over. No showing of his real power.

The political kingdom intricts seem promising at the beginning but turned out to be flat throughout the book.

The twists at the half end is such a plot armor and sudden burst of love just not working for me.

It was very potential and I understand how people might like it but it's just not for me this time.

Unfortunately, Immortal did not live up to the Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

Liyen is a sickly mortal ruler who has just been poisoned. Going against the Immortals that their mortal kingdom bows to, her grandfather givers her the Lotus, healing her. Unfortunately, the Immortals are also looking for the Lotus and Liyen has to figure out how to free her people from the Immortal's patronage and make sure they don't figure out that she has the Lotus. When the ever handsome God of War comes to her doorstep she has to deny the draw he has on her.

After the cheating trope there are two that I wholly dislike: insta-love and miscommunication. In Immortal not only is there insta-love but the lack of communication between the love interests for the first half of the book left me extremely frustrated. I understand why some details were left out of the story, but if I wasn't invested in Sue Lynn Tan as an author there is a very high likelihood that I would have not finished this book. That being said there were many twists and turns in the last third that make me happy that I continued reading, but there wasn't much about this book that made it feel overly special.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley.

Sue Lynn Tan’s prose is poetry—gorgeous, immersive, and soaked in myth. This edition is so beautiful I could cry and eat it like a snack. It felt like stepping into a dreamscape where heartbreak and magic are always flirting.