Immortal is a sweeping and beautiful romantasy taking place is the same world established in Sue Lynn Tan’s previous series, The Celestial Kingdom. I haven’t read any of her other work so this world was new to me. Thankfully Immortal is a standalone and Tan is a wonderful world builder. The book centers on Liyen, her personal struggles, and her relationship with Zhangwei. This is very much a slow burn romance and completely closed door, but the relationship is lovingly written. I shifted between the audio and print versions and found them both lovely. Natalie Naudus is an amazing narrator so if you prefer audio you’ll be very happy with her. While I was entertained the entire time and found Tan’s writing engaging, I wasn’t blown away by Immortal. Some moments felt a bit stiff, I didn’t warm much to Liyen as the MC, and the ultimate climax of the story felt a little rushed. But I do think if you are a fan of fantasy then you’ll really enjoy this and it would be very worth your time. .

Although this audiobook was not for me, there are a few positive things I would like to note. Natalie Naudus is a wonderful narrator, and I always enjoy listening to her. She is talented and conveys emotion very well. I tend to lean towards fantasy stories in the first person, so that helped me get into the book more easily at the beginning. The plot is an interesting concept. The visuals were also vibrant, so I did enjoy how they painted the picture of a beautiful world for me to imagine.

Unfortunately, I have more critical notes that I will list out below. I would have DNF'd this audiobook if I did not receive it as an ARC generously provided by the publisher.

Pacing:
The beginning of the book felt slow. I got the idea that the intention was to set up the world and draw the reader to Liyen, but I did not find myself invested in her story or liking her character. It also failed to set up the stakes or show me what the journey might look like for her. Later on in the book, I continued to struggle with the pacing. Characters would encounter a problem or decide to do something, then it would just be resolved easily and they would move on. There wasn't much delayed gratification that kept me wanting to see what would happen next. High stakes scenes were happening in rapid succession at the end of the book, and each scene felt like it should be a culmination or final showdown, but then more and more of them kept happening, which made me lose interest.

Characters and relationship development:
I found Liyen to be immature and lacking complexity. I'm not sure if her indignant attitude was intentional, but it did not draw me to her. When it came to the leadership of her people and her relationship with the immortals, she seemed to be ruled by emotion and spite. Her relationship with Zhangwei (even after the plot twist) felt very surface-level and perplexing to me. I could not see what drew them to one another, which made their bold claims of devotion feel inauthentic. Her initial disdain for the God of War felt very heavy-handed and overstated. The conversations between Zhangwei and Liyen felt like they were supposed to come across as witty banter, but for me it was just bickering that did not add to their story and made their relationship development take steps backward. About three quarters of the way through the book I felt like finally I cared about the characters slightly more, but not enough to make it an enjoyable read for me.

The Writing
I was surprised to learn that this was not the author's debut novel. The writing overall felt very plain to me and lacked nuance to the level that I believe it may be better suited for a juvenile level reader (minus the more adult themes). The narrator repeatedly was stating direct pointsith points that could have been woven into the exposition more naturally, allowing me as the reader to engage my thinking and draw guided conclusions. The dialogue between characters also seemed to be an attempt at world-building or cluing the reader into the motivations of characters, and that felt unnatural and cumbersome to me.

I also really struggled with the wide fluctuations in volume in the second half of the audiobook. I was continually adjusting my speaker volume to compensate.

Despite this book not being a good fit for me, I can see some appeal that I believe many readers will enjoy. I think it may be a good fit for new adult readers who enjoy “romantasy”, so I will likely still recommend it to certain library patrons.

Thank you again to HarperAudio Adult for the Audio ARC.

This book was absolutely beautiful! This is written in a way that makes it so easy to picture everything and this world is easily one of my favorites! The concept of immortals has been done many times but what I love shoot this particular interpretation is how well the dynamic/ power struggle between mortals and immortal is done. The way these relationships formed between those in power and those they rule over felt very realistic instead of choosing one emotion they felt a wide range towards the dynamic in place and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them manage everything.
As for the romantic relationship I enjoyed towards the end and I’ve always loved this type of trope, however in the beginning of their relationship it all felt rather rushed even knowing what I know of the end. The characters in the beginning felt rather juvenile for a little bit and the mood swings were off the charts. They eventually got to a place where everything felt more natural and I always loved them together (especially around like 80%). Sue Lynn Tan is definitely an auto-buy author and with writing like this is no wonder why.

Sue Lynn Tan knows fantasy! I was immediately pulled into the story. Natalie Naudus breathes life into the characters as the narrator. I enjoyed the pace of the story! The world building didn't feel tedious and I found myself immersed in the romance. The plot was equally engaging; filled with strength, adventure, and the unexpected.

4.5*

I will follow you to the ends of the earth. This book is stunning. I the writing is beautiful. I have not read any other novels by SLT, but am infinitely more intrigued and will be adding daughter of the moon goddess to my TBR. The twist in this book took me by surprise, I went in knowing nothing and not having read daughter of the moon goddess, I was very pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the romance in this book, I feel like there was enough tension and it was not an instalove (which can be much harder in a standalone). The ending didnt feel rushed, but it did feel slightly over dramatic and soapy at moments. Overall I really enjoyed this and was a great way to start off the 2025 reading year! :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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