New ARC Audiobook! Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, narrated by Natalie Naudus. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars. First, a review of the book: I loved the first half of this book, with its lush Chinese-mythology-inspired fantasy world, passionate banter between the two leads, and interesting cast of secondary characters and villains. However, the second half was a bit difficult for me--there was a huge betrayal that never felt redeemed imo, and there was a reveal that felt unearned and led to there being a large amount of ill-fitting, late exposition to try to explain the reveal and its consequences. Second, a review of the audiobook: overall, Naudus did a great job with a large cast of characters and making a lot of descriptions of the worldbuilding interesting. However (and this isn't a critique of Naudus--I love her work and am super excited for her debut novel later this year), her interpretation of the FML made her even more stubborn and antagonistic, and that was already a difficult part of her character. Overall, loved the beginning of this audiobook, but wasn't the hugest fan of the end!

I haven’t felt so excited to skip sleep to read something in so long. This was amazing. This is amazing. I devoured this in 48 hours. I felt giddy. I felt stressed. I LOVED the banter between the characters! I loved the story! The pacing was consistent! I loved everything!!! I want to read it again and again. The narration was incredible! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review! I will be screaming it from the rooftops and recommending to every customer to walk into my bookstore!

I received an eARC of this audio book for review from HarperAudio via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

DNF at 40%

This is romantasy novel incorporating many Beauty and the Beast elements. I had expected a political epic fantasy based on the blurb. The prose is well done and the world is interesting but the protagonist was so incapable of understanding cause and effect that I had to stop just as she was endangering her best friend's life... a friend who was on page twice by the 40% mark and who otherwise never entered her mind. It is also set in an established fantasy universe, The Celestial Kingdom. Unfortunately, I haven't read the previous installments.

📚Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
💙mf fantasy romance
💙enemies to lovers
💙forced proximity
💙touch her and die
💙slow burn
💙standalone

CWs for loss of a loved one, grief/loss

Story: 4/5
Audiobook: 5/5 (narrated by Natalie Naudus)
Length: 14h26min

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC in exchange for an honest review🧡

I read Daughter of the Moon Goddess back in September, at which point I immediately fell in love with Sue Lynn Tan’s atmospheric writing and storytelling. I was particularly excited to get my hands on a copy of this book, since I’m always itching to get my hands on a good standalone fantasy romance!

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan is a standalone fantasy romance novel set in the same world as Daughter of the Moon Goddess, but you don’t need to read The Celestial Kingdom series before diving into this one. This story primarily follows Liyen, heir to Tianxia. Her kingdom is pledged to protect the infamous immortals. This obligation is the result of Tianxia having called upon the immortals for protection against a dangerous foe in the past. When Liyen is on the brink of death as a result of being poisoned, her beloved grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. This is very significant, as there is only one enchanted lotus in existence. Enraged by this act, the immortal queen commands the God of War to attack Tianxia which ultimately ends with her grandfather’s death. In the aftermath of his death, Liyen ascends the throne with bitterness in her heart and a desire to bring an end to her kingdom’s obligation to the ruthless immortals. When she gets summoned to the Immortal Realm, she does whatever it takes to learn their secrets and find ways to bring about their downfall. This includes forming a tenuous alliance with the God of War…aka the last person she should trust given the havoc he brought down upon her kingdom. What follows is a sweeping tale filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, political intrigue, and love that defies all odds.

I really enjoyed this!! The setting and world building were lush and transportive, to the point I had a hard time putting it down. This book was inspired by Chinese mythology, but Sue Lynn Tan in turn crafted completely unique characters and plotlines. Liyen was such a refreshing and engaging heroine, especially compared to a lot of the more cliche fantasy romance out there right now. She was stubborn, passionate, brash, empathetic, intelligent, and strong. She loved with such abandon and was willing to do whatever it took to protect the people she cared about. She was also flawed in a way that felt so raw and human, which contrasted well with the mysterious immortals.

And can we talk about the romance?! Liyen and Zhangwei were absolutely everything, I loved them to pieces. They were both incredibly strong and grounded in their beliefs, which understandably resulted in them clashing at times, Zhangwei was so obsessed with Liyen, and he let it show in both obvious and subtle ways. I also loved how jealous he would get. He was much more open and vulnerable than what I would expect from a big bad immortal.

The plot itself was incredibly immersive and went in some very interesting directions. While certain plot twists felt a tad predictable, I wasn’t able to anticipate how things ultimately got resolved.

I listened to an ALC of this book and had a very positive experience with it. The narrator did a fantastic job, and I found it to be an entrancing listening experience. I genuinely had difficulty putting this book down and ended up listening to it in two separate sessions.

All in all, I really loved this and would highly recommend picking this up when it hits shelves on January 7th!

Brilliant!!! What an epic adventure. I went in totally blind and this was also the first book by Sue Lynn Tan that I’ve ever read and she has a new fan for life. Her words paint such a beautiful world, that my heart was lost from the first chapter. The pacing of the book is perfection, there is so much excitement happening that you just can’t put it down, but also details that she goes into with the world building, make every sentence count. Without giving away too much, this story is perfect if you like, adventures, romance, fantasy, twists and happy endings.

Story 5 stars
Spice 1 star
Tears 1 star

Sue Lynn Tan has delivered another beautiful story set among gods, goddesses, and the Celestial Kingdom. I adored the Celestial Kingdom duology and the short story collection, but Immortal had me glued to my seat. Often, when books are marketed as "enemies-to-lovers," the characters are rivals at best, but there are such vitriolic moments of hatred between these two that I wasn't sure how it would all come back together. Yet Sue Lynn Tan made it happen. Liyen and Zhangwei are a truly formidable pair, and I loved their dynamic of both hate and love throughout the story.

I also really appreciated that this was a standalone novel. While I’m usually left wanting more, this book left me feeling comfortable and satisfied with how their story unfolded—albeit a bit too perfectly. The setting in this world is always a favorite of mine. It's so whimsical and SLT paints such vivid imagery with her prose.

My one complaint, though light, is something I also noticed in her previous series: there is too much happening. So many events, action scenes, and twists occur that you rarely get the chance to dwell on the repercussions. At times, it can feel overstimulating. I would have preferred fewer action events and more character development stemming from them.

If you value both high quality fantasy AND well written complex romance, this is the perfect combo!

This audiobook was phenomenal! Natalie is such a good narrator. I overall loved this story by Sue Lynn Tan. I love the authenticity of the characters and the storyline was fantastic. I look forward reading more from Sue Lynn Tan in the future. Thank you so much for an early audio!

I just finished listening to Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, and it was such a beautifully crafted story. The world-building was clear and rich, making it so easy to lose myself in the story. As with any fantasy novel, it was a pretty heavy read, but one worth exploring.

Liyen was such a strong and relatable protagonist, full of determination and heart. Her devotion to her grandfather, who risked his life to protect her, was one of the most moving parts of the story for me. Their bond added so much depth and emotion, and it made me root for her even more.

I also liked how the themes of love and responsibility were woven seamlessly into the narrative. It wasn’t just talked about, it was reflected in every action and decision the characters made, giving the story so much emotional weight.

I listened to the arc via audiobook. The narrator’s tone, inflection, and pacing brought the story to life in a way that elevated the entire experience. Every emotional beat hit just right. I’m glad that I listened to this masterful standalone and am grateful for talented narrators!

Thank you, #NetGalley and #HarperAudio, for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

Liyen is the heir to Tianxia and knows she must pledge to continue serving the immortals despite her desire to free her kingdom from the obligation. When the immortal queen attacks her kingdom in retaliation for a stolen lotus used to save Liyen from poison, she meets the God of War. Soon, she finds herself learning more about the immortals, forging an unexpected alliance with him, and even more unexpectedly battling an attraction.

Sue Lynn Tan’s writing is always gorgeous, and it shines through in Immortal. The world building was beautifully done and the political intrigue had me so invested throughout the entire book. I loved the complexity of Zhangwei’s character as well as Liyen’s strong and determined traits. The enemies to lovers romance was really well paced, with just the right amounts of tension and banter. It was a slow burn that was so worth waiting for.

I listened to the audio and absolutely loved the narrator. She did a fantastic job bringing the story to life and capturing the emotions of both characters.

Thank you to Harper Audio, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

This is hard to review without spoiling some of the more interesting aspects but unfortunately this ended up just being generally 'fine' for me. Nothing particularly stood out in Tan's attempt at adult fantasy and honestly, this could have been YA if there was just a few less mentions of sex that didn't even have much of a spice factor. I judge adult novels with adult characters a little more harshly than their YA counterparts so that may be a factor in the general meh.

Due to the nature of the story, some of the relationships feel a little off which has an in-context explanation but we don't know that until much later and so it doesn't help us much in attaching to characters and caring about relationships. The story felt a little oddly paced giving me whiplash as we went from what could be one main plot of a novel to another totally different one. And unfortunately, I never got a very full sense of the worlds that we were in or the reason for some of the character's positions or conflicts.

It wasn't a bad story and I still felt interested in several of the plot turns but it just ended up not working in its entirety for me which was disappointing after enjoying Tan's first books and being excited for this foray into Adult Fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Natalie Naudus is the narrator and she is, as always, amazing.

3.5 Out of 5 Star

Immortal was very enjoyable and magically read. A great listen. And I would highly recommend it.

This was such an amazing fantasy read! The first book I’ve read by Sue Lynn Tan, but won’t be the last! The story follows Liyen as she tries to rule and protect her kingdom that’s under control of the immortals, with other threats surfacing. The characters and world-building were fun, but the best surprise was how good the plot ended up being, lots of unexpected twists from unexpected characters! Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book!!! It was such a c-drama coded book and I loved it. The intrigue, the plot, and the characters were all so compelling! Liyen was a great main character and she was so interesting. I loved how she had a lot of layers and was very strong without being arrogant. The god of war is my favorite I love him so much. I also appreciated the platonic friendship that Liyen had with her childhood best friend. It wasn’t unrequited love in any way and he really just saw her as a friend. I always feel that is so rare in books that there is a healthy male female friendship and neither has deeper feelings for the other. I love the daughter of the moon goddess series but I didn’t pick the winner of the love triangle so I was mad at the end. But I love Sue Lynn Tan’s writing so I gave her another chance and I’m so glad I did! This book did not disappoint and I’m so looking forward to her next books! I also love Natalie Naudus as a narrator! She’s so good!

First, thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for an early review copy. I enjoyed this SO much. I was looking forward to this release but it blew me away. The audiobook narration was fantastic as well. I primarily listen to audiobooks so I know first hand that it can make or break a book (I have DNF’d solely because of the narration) but I loved this one.

Immortal is now my top read of 2024, even though it doesn’t release until 2025, as I was able to get the ARC from NetGalley.

I am absolutely obsessed with Sue Lynn Tan (I’m pretty sure I was the first order for tickets to my local book signing in January). I have a shrine to the Celestial Kingdom on my bookshelf with multiple orders for every edition coming out of Immortal next month, which will also have its own shelf.

Seriously, if she writes it, I’m reading it, and loving it.

Immortal was a beautiful story which takes us back to the world of the Celestial Kingdom, which I absolutely adored. Of course, in this story, you see different parts of the map. I’d love to see even more stories in this fantastical world — so here’s my petition for that.

I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I shouted… this book gave me so many emotions.

I cannot wait to meet you next month and have all my special editions of Immortal in my collection. Please PLEASE put me on whatever list you need to, in order to make sure I get an ARC of the next book 🙏🏼 I beg you.

I LOVE the narrator <3

“ When your days are dark you forget the existence of dawn”

This was my first book by Sue Lynn Tan - I am a big fan, I need to go and read her duology The Celestial Kingdom asap!!

“ Dawn would be dark without you”

Immortal follows Liyen as she reels with the death of her grandfather, and attack on her city by the God of War. She must ascend the throne, all while hiding the secret that she possess the pearl lotus the immortals are in search of. Liyen is headstrong, witty, and dedicated to her people. She unknowingly summons the God of War. Zhengwei is the epitome of “grumpy sunshine” and “touch her and you die”. I absolutely loved the dynamics of their relationship

“ Don’t be a hero they don’t have happy endings”

Sue Lynn Tan weaves an incredible story with vast world building, character depth and development, betrayal, love, heroism, and plot twists you never saw coming.

* “I will make my own destiny”

“You would stay here, with me?”
“Forever, if you’ll have me.”
“I want you for longer than that.”

* I am home 😩😭

Thank you to Sue Lynn Tan, Harper Audio, Harper publishing, and NetGalley for an Audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When her grandfather unintentionally loses his life at the hands of the immortal queen and God of War, Liyen vows to use her new position of authority as ruler of Tianxia to free her country from the interference of the immortals. She is summoned to the Immortal Realm to pledge her loyalty, and she insteads takes the opportunity to learn as much as she can to secure her people’s freedom. In doing so, she must make a dangerous alliance with the God of War. New threats to Tianxia begin to emerge, and Liyen must risk everything she loves to save her people - and herself.

This was an absolutely perfect book to finish off the year with. The writing was beautiful, with many stand-out quotes and a good balance of action and dialogue. Liyen was great as a main character. I appreciated her ability to use her own perceived “weaknesses” to give herself an advantage over others, and I thought her personality was the perfect mix of hard and soft. The narrator of the audiobook did well with making the narration and dialogue distinct from each other, and I would definitely recommend it as a reading format.

I did think that the pacing got a little bit off during the last 20% of the book or so, and there were a couple of plot devices that I thought worked well in the story but didn’t really do much for me personally. But I enjoyed the book enough that I was easily able to overlook those two issues and enjoy the story for everything else that I did love about it. I would absolutely recommend this to fans of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this ARC. This is my honest review.

5/5 “For those we loved, the greatest disservice was to forget them.”

For the first like 200 pages I considered DNF because of the propaganda barrage in the world building. The confusing interactions between people that just seem incomplete somehow.

After the chunk of disillusionment that is the next few hundred pages the dots connected, the emotional investment came, and I binge read the remainder of the story.

Sue Lynn tan’s writing style was evident and magical as usual. Her imagery is beautiful, and her mc’s are dynamic and powerful. They make their own way in a world of tradition and distortion of reality. Almost all sides were victimized by two immortals in search of power.

Natalie Naudus is the narrator. She is excellent in her performance of this story and pronouncing the character names. If I had to read it myself I would butcher it. She is also excellent in Sue Lynn Tans other books 📚.

4.5/5 stars

Immortal is a standalone that brings readers back to the Celestial Kingdom. In this gripping fantasy, Liyen, heir to Tianxia, ascends the throne after her grandfather’s death, determined to free her kingdom from its oppressive ties to the immortals. When the immortal queen retaliates by unleashing the ruthless God of War, Liyen seizes the chance to uncover the immortals' secrets to protect her people. Amid political intrigue, perilous alliances, and a perilous attraction, Liyen must navigate a treacherous path to save her kingdom, risking both her heart and her destiny.

Sue Lynn Tan has done it again! I just recently finished her the Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology, and I sincerely wish Immortal was more than a standalone. I loved being able to return to the Celestial Kingdom, and I loved Sue Lynn Tan's storytelling in this epic narrative. The romance and the charisma/banter between Liyen and Zhanwei are impeccable. Their love and devotion to each other across time is the epitome of relationship goals. I loved the vivid world-building and the focus on the political challenges that Liyen has to navigate (she does a wonderful job at being a fair and just ruler in some of the most difficult situations). This book definitely tugs on the heartstrings!

In addition, I loved Natalie Naudus as the narrator - she has always done a fabulous job portraying Sue Lynn Tan's characters!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Sue Lynn Tan for allowing me early access to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that the romance actually had time to develop and that we saw them growing closer together instead of them immediately being in love. Sue Lynn Tan's writing was so immersive and it played really well in the audiobook edition of the book. It was such a gorgeous story.