This book is as beautiful inside as it is out! I loved the world, the characters and this story! The stakes felt real and the love the family had for each other was great! The romance was good. Please read this book!

2.5/5 stars. immortal is a YA fantasy about magical lineage, hidden pasts, and destined love. while the setup had potential, the execution didn’t quite land for me.

overall, the tone of the book skewed younger than expected, and the audiobook edition didn’t help—some of the voice choices made the characters feel more childish than they probably were on the page. it was hard to take the main character, liyen, seriously when she sounded like a melodramatic teenager who overreacted to every little thing. i cringed at the insta-love, and even when it was explained, it felt a bit too convenient. liyen's backstory ended up bordering on mary sue territory—powerful, special, and central to everything. finally, the villain lacked the kind of depth that would’ve made the conflict more compelling, and sounded like the classic 'bad guy' in a children's cartoon.

there’s definitely charm in the concept, but for me, the immaturity outweighed the payoff and i would recommend reading this one in print. if you're in the mood for light fantasy in an asian-inspired setting, it might still be worth checking out.

i received an ARC of the audiobook edition in exchange for an an honest review.

It took my a while to really get into this book but I am so happy that I was able to see it through. Sue Lynn Tan is one of my favorite romantasy authors and I am so happy she broke into the adult romantasy space. Immortal is a breath of fresh air for the genre and I felt like Tan's writing really helps it shine. My one problem would have to be the pacing though. I think I had a hard time getting through it because sometimes it would be so slow and then other times it would go so fast. I wish there was more of a balance. While the story is great, it is just that that seems to hold it back a bit for me.

This story follows Liyen, heir to Tianxia, who finds herself caught between duty and rebellion after a near-death experience drags her into the world of the Immortals. With a war god watching her every move and her kingdom’s fate hanging in the balance, she must navigate treacherous politics, ancient magic, and a romance that completely swept me off my feet. The tension between mortal and immortal courts was electric, the slow-burn romance was one of the best I’ve ever read, and Liyen is the kind of sharp, unbothered heroine I live for. The narration brought it all to life beautifully, and Sue Lynn Tan has absolutely cemented herself as an author I’ll be following closely.

Book slump be dawned, i finally finished this audiobook and it was magnificent *chef's kiss* very well written and beautifully thought out. I loved visiting the celestial kingdom once more and definitely need to add a physical copy to my shelf. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this ALC

This was a great book. Sue Lynn tan write amazing fantasy books with rich world and fantasy. Highly recommend.

This one was a lovely listen from start to finish. Sue Lynn Tan's writing is melodic and always a pleasure to read!

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read and review this audiobook!

I absolutely loved this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior and had been looking forward to more stories from that world. This one did not disappoint. The writing was beautiful, the audiobook narrator excellent, the action and plot were exciting...and the romance was absolutely swoon-worthy. Without spoiling anything, I would say that the ending to this novel was a bit more satisfying than her previous duology. I definitely recommend this one.

3⭐️ Interesting and at times very fun. However, it dragged quite a bit throughout the story. The big reveals were somewhat obvious and I’d sit there waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was a fantastic audiobook - princesses, a kingdom in peril, gods of war -- what fun!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC Audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Another beautiful story. I always find the pacing for these stories to be a little too slow for my taste, and this was true here as well. But the writing is incredible and just beautiful. The world feels like a dream, and this entire story was decadent,

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult, and Sue Lynn Tan for an Advanced Listener Copy of this title!

Liyen, heir to Tianxia knows her duty, even if it feels like chains upon her: she will one day ascend the throne and rule under the thumb of the Immortals, transcendent beings who once saved her kingdom from a precarious threat. Liyen's fate is prematurely sealed, however, when she is fatally poisoned and her grandfather, the king, steals a priceless and enchanted lotus to heal her. Enraged, the Immortal Queen sends her God of War to seek vengeance on Tianxia. With the death of her grandfather, Liyen is summoned to the Immortal Realm to renew her kingdom's obligations to the Immortals. Liyen, however, takes this opportunity to try and free her kingdom and learn the Immortals' secrets, under the watchful eye of the loathsome God of War. With dark forces closing in, Liyen must risk it all - her life, her freedom, and possibly her heart - to save her kingdom from crumbling to ashes, even if the attempt costs her all she cares for.

I immediately went and requested "Daughter of the Moon Goddess" after I finished this book because I am BEYOND stunned by how much this book shook me. Not only were the dynamics of mortal and immortal courts wire-tight with tension, but the romance is some of the best I have ever read thus far and had me squealing and gasping out loud while I was on my audiobook walks with this book. If you every actually want a man to rizz you up, you need to go call The God of War. Liyen was also such a delightfully snide FMC - you could not tell her anything and she ran rings around the men (and women) in her life who wanted to control her, and she did it with grace. I sometimes have a hard time reading stand-alones because I don't ever want the story to end, but this was such a well-thought-out and encapsulated story that I am completely satisfied (if not still pining, because it was soo good) and still thinking about this book days later.

The narrator did a great job moving between characters and captured the yearning, breathlessness, and tension well in her narration, and I would love to listen to more audiobooks they narrate.

Sue Lynn Tan is probably going to be one of my favorite authors this year if any of her other books are half as good as this one!

This was a beautiful book. The writing pulled you into the story with gripping speed and didn't let you go. I really adored the characters and didn't want the pages to end because you really just want to stay in the moment with the characters and the romance that has developed page after page. Reading this book was a joy pure and simple.

Sue Lynn Tan has been on my radar since “Daughter of the Moon Goddess” released. The author has an addictive storytelling style that turns Asian folk and fairytale into modernized lyric. “Immortal” was no exception. Liyen inherits a kingdom in shambles. A longstanding agreement between Mortal and Immortal is breached when her grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. But the right to rule freely and care properly for her people is not her own–at least not yet. Liyen is determined to convince the Immortal Queen to release sovereignty over her kingdom. What she doesn’t plan for is the deception, betrayal, and why the God of War, the Immortal responsible for the destruction of her kingdom, is constantly on her mind.

I really enjoyed how Liyen represented her strengths, especially in juxtaposition with the God of War–who himself is the representation of strength. The narrative lulls a bit for me around part 2, but picks up quickly for me heading into the other parts of the book. I’m excited for Sue Lynn Tan’s future works. I appreciate that I can always get my grubby hands on them from NetGalley and the publisher.

Absolutely loved being back in this world. The imagery is rich and I love that it was so easy to fall back into.

The story started so strong and I was immediately in, however, it started to drag toward the middle and it seemed like there wasn't much going on. Not to compare books, but the last ones were just so action packed that I wasn't ready for the slower pace of this one.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. I have loved every single book from Sue Lynn Tan thus far. She has a way with words creating a vivid, well crafted, and lush world. The narrator, Natalie Naudus, is also one of my favorite narrators. She breathes life to the characters Tan creates with such ease.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title.

I wanted to love this book, but just - didn't. This is the story of a love story between a mortal heir and the immortal God of War, a delicious forbidden romance, right? It was kind of - blah. The setting was vibrant, but lacking. The romance development was rushed, and - blah. The swoon-worthy romance scenes were missing - something. Dialogues were boring, and I was left wanting the rest of the story.

2 stars for - it was ok

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I was pretty iffy in the first part as I found the whole plan to hide what her grandfather did to be a little too direct of a setup moment for her needing to converse with the immortals. However, I think with the reveals I really came around to enjoying the premise and whole storyline with the lotus! Honestly the storyline and reveals were really well done. I think the political setup both in the 3 kingdoms and between the kingdoms was very well described and something quite interesting that I personally haven’t seen a ton. I loved the plot point of helping one kingdom would always hurt another kingdom. I also loved the discussion on how hard it was for our main character to “choose a side” especially as her main goal was to protect mortals in a world that doesn’t care for keeping morals safe. I was honestly so shocked about quite a few of them and they jumpstarted my interest in this book a lot even try time I reached a very cool/unexpected twist (which was pretty often!).

However, the love story in this book was not my favorite… which is really tough because most of the storyline really revolves around believing those two characters belong together (and I just did not really understand/enjoy the insta-love/fated mates trope). They loved each other long before I comprehended why they would even tolerate each other and that made it difficult for me. BUT… I thought the ending with them was quite cute. It may have taken me a VERY long time for me to warm up to the relationship, but in the end all the amazing plot reveals kept me going and I ended up appreciating both the plot and relationship by the climax.

First of all, the cover is incredible and gorgeous! I think that Sue Lynn Tan does such a good job of worldbuilding and combining folklore to create her stories.