Immortals was a pretty solid standalone novel. Though typical for me to always want a little bit more from a standalone, I think the author did a good job developing the story, the characters and ended with openings to potentially addition books with this characters but wrapping up the story. The audiobook was fantastic and the narrator did a great job portraying the characters.

Like Sue Lynn Tan's other books, this one hooked me from the beginning. Her ability to beautifillusyrate the world makes it such an immersive experience. Liyen is a wonderful protagonist that learns not everything is what it appears to be. Her strength of character and depth of love was heart-wrenching at times. I also loved this book for it's ability to portray m/f platonic relationships in a positive light. Great read.

4.5 stars! ✨ Big thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, and to HarperAudio for the audiobook ARC! 💖 Huge shoutout to NetGalley for making this magic happen! 🌟

Okay, guys, this book was EVERYTHING! 😍 Immortal was like diving headfirst into a world of magic and mystery and not wanting to come up for air! 🌬️ It’s the perfect mix of fantasy, romance, and political intrigue. The writing is SO beautiful, the world-building is next level, and let me just say, the chemistry between Liyen and Zhangwei? Scorching 🔥 I couldn’t stop flipping the pages (or hitting play on the audiobook)! 📖💥

✨ Tropes that gave me life ✨
✧ Enemies-to-lovers 💘
✧ Forbidden romance 💋
✧ Morally grey MMC 🖤
✧ Political intrigue 🏰
✧ Betrayal and vengeance 💔
✧ Forced proximity 🏠
✧ Impulsive, bold FMC ⚡
✧ Slow burn 🔥
✧ Fated mates 💫
✧ "Touch her and die" 😤

Where do I even begin?! 😅 Liyen’s journey from unsure heir to fierce ruler is SO captivating. She’s bold, impulsive, and makes decisions that will have you rooting for her even when she’s messing up (lol, same). 🙈 And Zhangwei, the God of War?! WOW. He’s ruthless, calculating, and SO magnetic. The tension between them? Literal fire. 🔥🔥

The romance? Deliciously slow-burn (my fave!). Every “will they or won’t they” moment kept me on the edge of my seat. And when they finally give in?! SWOON-WORTHY. 😍 The back and forth between Zhangwei’s cold exterior and Liyen’s fiery determination was EVERYTHING. The “touch her and die” energy? Can’t get enough. 😤💥

The world-building? Chef’s kiss 💋 The magic, gods, betrayal—it’s all so lush and atmospheric, and I was 100% here for it. Buttttt, I gotta admit, the first part was a tad slow for me. 😬 The political drama took over for a bit, and I was just waiting for things to get exciting. BUT, once the action picked up around 30%, I was hooked. The tension, the stakes—it all had me gripped for the rest of the book. 🙌

And the climax?! OMG. I was literally gasping, crying, and had my heart in my throat the whole time. 😱❤️ It was everything I didn’t know I needed, and totally worth the build-up. The ending might not have been crazy wild, but it was deeply satisfying and made me smile through the tears. 😢

Also, let’s talk about the audiobook—Natalie Naudus did an AMAZING job narrating this story! Her voice really brought the characters to life, and the tension between Liyen and Zhangwei was even more intense with her narration. I loved how she captured all the emotional highs and lows, especially in the more dramatic moments. She absolutely nailed it! 🎧✨

Overall, I’m SO glad I got to read this early. Immortal has ALL the magic I love: betrayal, love, politics, and characters you can’t stop thinking about. If you’re into epic fantasy romances, this is your book! ⭐️

CW:
- Blood
- Death
- Violence
- Death of a loved one

I can’t wait to see what Sue Lynn Tan does next! If you’re a fan of epic fantasy romances, you NEED this one! 💖

Thank you Net Galley for providing the audioARC for an honest review!
Sue Lynn Tan has done it again and even better. This book has the perfect balance of romance and political struggle that you will leave you satisfied. The character's dynamic is perfection and I was choking on my tears at the end because the book was over. She is an autobuy author for me and if you have ever wanted to read anything by her or mythology fantasies. THIS IS IT!!

Absolutely loved it!!! As a fan of the author’s other works I was very excited about this book, and it definitely lived up to the hype! Beautifully written, the main character, Liyen goes through an intense journey in order to protect her kingdom. There is an intense romance as well that I did enjoy, my only drawback is that the twist was quite predictable as it’s a very common trope, but overall still enjoyable. Would definitely recommend giving it a read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperAudio for an ARC of this book! I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend. It has a bit of a slow start and I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the book but the story developed into a very interesting read and was not what I was expecting. For those of you who like romance but don’t care for spice, you’ll be happy with this book. The author did a great job with building a very unique world and being able to imagine all the different places you go in the book. Great read overall!

𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙪𝙚 𝙇𝙮𝙣𝙣 𝙏𝙖𝙣 (audiobook ARC)
Read by Natalie Naudus

Sue Lynn Tan is always an auto-read for me. I love how she weaves a story and brings the settings and characters of her books to life. Natalie Naudus is a spectacular narrator, who's able to bring feeling into words and does a phenomenal job with differentiating the voices of the book's characters.

BOOK REVIEW:
I'm so glad the Celestial Kingdom lives on in Immortal. I was sad when we ended with Tales of the Celestial Kingdom because I loved every book so much. The way Tan writes is so captivating and the storylines are so intricately woven. As much as I loved the story of Xingyin, Leiwei and Wenzhi - I think I extra love the story of Liyen and Zhangwei.

Liyen is a strong, stubborn and compassionate FMC who inherits a kingdom after her grandfather dies. She is pulled from every direction by the court and her family, as she tries to navigate her new role as leader. In her attempts to end her kingdom’s obligations to the Immortals, she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, where she meets The God of War, and is kind of forced to work alongside him. In this book we get to grow with Liyen from a flawed human to becoming a fierce leader.

Zhangwei, The God of War, is known to be ruthless. But how ruthless is he? Is Liyen safe with Zhangwei or must she continue to risk her life to save her kingdom?

I was so drawn to this storyline, because I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope - especially one with twists. This one does not hold back. I don't want to give away too much beyond what is in the synopsis, but if you love complex characters, fantastical world building, forced proximity, and enemies-to-lovers, I think you will enjoy this book.

Thank you @NetGalley and @HarperAudio for the Advanced Audiobook of IMMORTAL. IMMORTAL releases on January 7, 2025.

#Immortal #SueLynnTan #NatalieNaudus #NetGalley #HarperAudio #AudiobookARC @harpercollins

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager and Harper Audio for providing me with an Audio ARC of Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars
0.5/5 spice level
5/5 narration

I have not had the pleasure of reading Sue Lynn Tan’s previous works yet, but I absolutely will be reading her Celestial Kingdom series now. That being said, I know a lot of people have been asking if Immortal can be read separately or it you need to read the Celestial Kingdom novels first, and I will repeat what the author herself has said, “While set in the same world as Daughter of the Moon Goddess, the story features new characters and can be read wholly independently of the Celestial Kingdom books, nor are there spoilers of the series within.” Having read only Immortal and not her other works, I completely agree that this book can be read independently without feeling confused or lost. I am, however, very excited to be able to stay in this wonderful world by going back and reading her other works.

Immortal is an enchanting and whimsical novel about Liyen, the ascending heir to the throne of Tianxia. Liyen is a strong protagonist that I really enjoyed being in the head of. She is witty, stubborn, and intelligent. I loved her quick thinking and had a fantastic time with her banter with the God of War, Zhangwei. Zhangwei had me giggling like a school girl and I was loving it. I also appreciated that there was a real depth to his character. Being the God of War, you can easily assume some things about him. Hot-headed, violent, bloodthirst, etc. But he was a completely unique character, and not a stereotype. This was actually a part of the storyline as Liyen also had many preconceived notions about him. Getting to unravel both their characters throughout the book was so interesting and enjoyable.

I do need to mention, however, that I had a really hard time rating this book. I gave myself a week after finishing it to come up with more concrete thoughts and I still feel like I don’t have them. The first 50% of the book was fantastic for me. It was an easy 4.75 star rating. The second half, on the other hand, kind of fell flat for me. It was more of a 3 to 3.5 star rating, as I lost a lot of my interest in the story. The two halves felt like two different storylines. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood when I was reading the second half but I had to push myself to keep reading, which was the opposite of how it was with the first half. I do think I’ll need to re-read the story sometime in the future to give the second half another chance. I’ve glanced at a couple of other reviews since finishing this book and it seems like some other people also had problems with not really caring or being invested in some of the plot. It also seems to be a common consensus that the first 10% is a bit slow but then it really picks up and sucks you in. I definitely would agree with that.

In regard to the narration, as I did consume this book in an audio format, I absolutely loved the narrator. I have enjoyed previous narrations by her and am very glad they chose her for this audiobook. I think she does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life and giving them an almost tangible personality. It truly felt like a movie in my mind, and that’s a compliment to both the author, Sue Lynn Tan, for her vivid imagery, as well as the narrator, Natalie Naudus, for bringing the story to life.

Overall, I think Immortal will be a hit, especially with Sue Lynn Tan’s already established audience. I also think that new readers of hers will have a great time with Immortal and, like myself, pick up her other works to continue to get their fill of this world.

While I decided to not finish this at 57%, I can see how this will be an amazing book for the right person! The premise of this is promising and I love the enemies to lovers relationship between liyen and the god of fire! I find the romance to be strong in this one but the plot and world building seems a bit lacking to me. At 57% I felt that the plot had not progressed enough to my liking and it’s definitely a slower read. Again, I think this will be great for the right person, just not for me!

I was not a big fan of the narrator for this one. The way she read the dialogue seemed over exaggerated and a bit immature, which distracted from the story.

Overall, I think the romance was strong in this one and the cultural fantasy elements were intriguing, but I found it to be overall lacking in plot and the narration didn’t help.

"Immortal" by Sue Lynn Tan follows a young woman named Liyen who is ruler of Tianxia, a city kept closed off from the rest of the world by the immortals. When Liyen is given a healing lotus highly coveted by the immortals, Liyen must hide it at all cost or risk the wrath of the immortal realm. As Liyen fights to free her city from the immortals tyranny, she must also guard her heart against the god of war, Jueng-We, while protecting her people from both the immortals and the wu-shin.

I'll admit, the cover got me. Sue Lynn Tan always has such amazing covers for her books. I had read this author's previous works and wanted to try another to see how it compared. While I enjoyed "Daughter of the Moon Goddess", I hated its sequel and was hoping this book would be this authors come back.

What I though was done well in this book was the beautiful writing. Sue Lynn Tan has such a way with words that makes every sentence feel luscious. I also think the audiobook narrator did an amazing job! I have listened to her work before and really enjoyed it-I think she does a great job pronouncing the foreign character and location names in an authentic way, and is very engaging to listen to. You can hear the character's emotions through the tones and inflections she performs. There were a lot of twists and turns in the plot, some of which were obvious, some which were a bit of a surprise, and I think a lot of readers will appreciate how the story wasn't super straight forward.

Unfortunately this was not my favorite story. I felt it dragged, had a lot of similar story beats as her other series (betrayal, redemption). There were definitely some plot holes that I could not figure out, as well as I didn't really see the motivation for Liyen hating the immortals so much when we don't really get to see what's so bad about living in Tianxia. I also did not feel any connection between Liyen and the main love interest. It starts as insta-love, and the insta-love is explained about 70% of the way through the book, but by the time we got there I was convinced there was not connection between the pair. It also drove me nuts that Liyen's love comes to help her escape from the situation she gets herself in near the end of the book, and instead of trying to figure out how to escape, they make love multiple times. I'm like "Hello!!! You are trapped dummy! Please save this for another time, you need to get out of here!" In general I think this book could have just skipped the intimate scenes as they did not add anything, but at least should have been done at literally any other time *facepalm*. I had a hard time with this book because I found Liyen insufferable and a lot of the plot just dragged too much or had a plothole. However, reading it via audiobook is what saved me because the narrator was so good!

Personally, I think this book is a 3.5/5 stars-its got beautiful writing but the plot just didn't grip me. However I will bump it up to 4/5 stars for the awesome narrator!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for providing an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for the ARC of “Immortal” by Sue Lynn Tan in exchange for an honest review. This author has been on my radar for a while and I am honestly surprised I haven’t read anything from her until now.

“Immortal” is a standalone, romantic fantasy, set in the same universe as Daughter of the Moon Goddess. This story is beautifully written and features everything I love about this genre: political intrigue, magic, and a slow burn with passion that defies the odds.

Our FMC, Liyen, is faced with many difficult choices as she unravels the secrets of the mortal and immortal realms. Liyen’s character development is undeniable as this story unfolds.

I adored the God of War. His intensity and powerful nature hooked me from the first time we meet him. MORE PLEASE!

Sue Lynn Tan writes with beautiful prose and the world building in this book is incredible. Her previous books are now higher on my priority list.

“Immortal” is a beautiful novel that follows Liyen, an heir to the kingdom oppressed by The Immortals. Her grandfather, the ruler, dies by the hand of the immortals and Liyen swears vengeance upon them. On this journey of freeing her people and ending the reign of these gods, she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, where she seeks out knowledge and secrets in any way possible to bring about the downfall of the immortals.

The narrator- Natalie Naudus was a fantastic narrator. Each of her characters had a distinct voice, even with there being many male characters. Her voice invoked such emotion and I was mesmerized. I was drawn into the story and could picture everything. Her cadence was easy to listen to and her range of emotion was well done.

Liyen is an amazing FMC. She is an empress of a kingdom that seeks to rid her of her throne. She is a granddaughter distraught with the death of her grandfather. She is so full of self determination and motivation that nothing could stand in her way. She is smart and clever in finding solutions to what feel like impossible problems. But it isn’t so outrageous that she is invincible. She has her trials and her flaws but still chooses to continue on and fight for those she loves and what she believes in. The world building is very well done and the writing is beautiful. I am loving that we are in an era where every book surrounding mythology isn’t just Greek anymore. I love learning about other cultures and hearing their stories.

I loved it and absolutely recommend it to anyone that loves fantasy because it is a really good book. Anyone that likes high fantasy, gods, immortals, a strong FMC, a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance subplot, and mythological creatures, this book is for you.

3⭐; Something about this just wasn't right.

I think my main issue with Immortal stems from the similarity it holds to a plot point in the Celestial Kingdom duology; there's a realm/kingdom filled with evil demons who are the primary antagonists, except they're not actually evil, they're just under bad management and trying to obtain the livelihood owed to all sentient beings. Am I talked about the Cloud Wall / Demon Realm of the duology or the realm of the Wuxin in Immortal? I couldn't get past this aspect of the story, it just felt like a reused concept and made things feel flat for me.

On top of that, Liyen and Zhangwei's romance did not spark joy for me, which is definitely not good since this is a romantasy. It felt like insta-love and even when it is revealed that Liyen has a forgotten history with the god of war, there still wasn't any way for her to have known that when she went all googoo for him.

I was confused by the second half of the story and felt like things weren't really given enough time. The betrayal of Aunt Shou, but not really. The loss of Chengyin. But not really. The transformation and reclamation of Liyen's past and immortal self. But not really. It all just felt kind of like a cop-out, which I don't enjoy.

One thing I can absolutely praise this story for is Sue Lynn Tan's continued excellent writing style. Her verbage and descriptions are just as lush, lyrical, and majestic as they have been in previous titles and I think she has only improved with her prose.

Another amazing aspect is having Natalie Naudus back. I feel like maybe she kept it a little too close to her voices from the Celestial Kingdom narratives, but she is an amazing narrator and I love that she came back for this title.

Overall, Immortal falls short where it should have hit hard, and wasn't the slam dunk I hoped it would be.

I tandem read and listened to the audio and let me tell you...AMAZING. The narrator did an amazing job at making me feel like I was a part of the story. One of my top audios of the year!

An interesting story. Very well written. Loved the mythology of the world and loved the world building.

Immortal is a standalone book set in the same world as the beautiful Celestial Kingdom series. A richly detailed world unfolds filled with mythology and touches of whimsy. The narration of the audiobook is done with gentle shifts in tone for characters and situations — leading to a pleasant and engaging listening experience.

Liyen, is an fmc who goes through many transformations as the secrets of her life begin to unravel alongside the rich storylines. Her story begins with her poisoning and her loving grandfather betraying the gods to get her the only thing that can cure her. The sacrifice he makes ultimately causes his death and sets in motion Liyens ascension to the throne of Tianxia. However, she must get the approval of the very gods her grandfather betrayed in order for her to solidify her rule.

Tan does a wonderful job weaving complexities of mythology, politics, misogyny, love, sorrow, and poses the age old questions of is there ever truly a right and a wrong when it comes to war?

The evolution of the relationship between Liyen and the god of war is one that snares you the further into the book you get. Seemingly simple at the start; filled with tension and banter, the thought crosses your mind that this is just another bit of insta love. Yet, Tan subtlety gives us bread crumbs that their love is more than what you are initially led to believe. I enjoyed the journey and evolution of this romance, yet, I wished for more tension and connection. Liyen, while her strife is understandable — she also has a brashness that detracts from the underlying connections.

The action in the book struck me as if I was watching a movie, it played out move for move in my head with a beautiful vividness and would genuinely translate well to a cinematic setting (think bold and beautiful colors like jet li in hero with each world having its own unique and vivid coloring at least that’s how I envision it).

Overall Immortal was enjoyable yet, had some minor pacing issues where some aspects of the book felt as if they progressed rather quickly and some just slowed. The initial world building lacked a little however Tan made up for that as the other realms were introduced. Liyen had moments where I felt extremely annoyed at her actions and her overly judgmental and stubborn thought process. However, as the story progresses it largely resolved. The last 25% of the book really kicked upped the action! If you’re looking for a mostly quick paced read, with Chinese mythology and wonderfully woven storylines then I definitely recommend giving Immortal a read.

Thank you to the author, publishers, and netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook!

I really enjoyed this beautifully written tale! Daughter of the Moon Goddess was one of my favorite duologies, so I couldn't wait to be back in the world of the Celestial Kingdom! This story had magical world building, exciting twists and a slow burn romance! Sue Lynn Tan is becoming a new favorite author and I can't wait to read more of her books in the future!

Book 📖: Immortal
Author ✍️: Sue Lynn Tan
Rating out of 5: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: January 7, 2025

Blurb: To save her life, Liyen is given the precious enchanted lotus, but when the immortal queen comes looking for the lotus, Liyen must face the consequences for her kingdom’s survival and their hopeful independence from the queen’s influence.

Review: This was such a fun standalone fantasy book! 😍 I always enjoy a good standalone fantasy because it means that I don’t have to wait for other books to come out, and I just get to binge it all in one sitting 😅.

I fell in love with this book! The setting was beautiful and atmospheric, the characters were strong, powerful, and wise, and I had a blast reading it!

Like her other books, I felt like this book had a couple different parts. As we moved from one Realm to another, the setting shifted with along with the momentum of the plot. This kept the story moving forward quickly, as well as introducing us to a wonderful variety of locations. 🥰

I loved the complexity of the end of this book. It would have been really easy for the author to make everything black-and-white and wrap it up quickly, but instead she really took her time to show Liyen making choices that a compassionate and wise ruler would.

🗡️ The God of War had such a good arc, and I loved watching all of the lies unravel to the truth beneath. 🙊 I had so much fun with his scenes, and the tension between them was great!

🪷 Liyen was clever and cunning, and she grew into herself so much throughout this novel! She truly wants what’s best for everyone, and I appreciate it that she didn’t fall into making rash decisions that would frustrate the reader.

Overall, I highly recommend this beautiful book that delves into Chinese mythology and the realm of the Celestial Kingdom, but with a whole new cast of characters and motivations! ❤️

Thank you #netgalley and #suelynntan for this early release copy!

I was really excited to get the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan especially after being so impressed by her Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology. This book had many of the same rich folklore and mythology elements I loved in the duology that just piqued my interest so much and created such a beautiful and intriguing world in this high fantasy romance. I really liked in this book the variation of the immortals and mortals and the dynamics that presented not only the main characters, but also the plot. The romance was really strong in this book and I think stood out more than the romance of the duology. It was more romance led than plot driven, but that being said, I really liked the romance and the twists that the main characters had due to the love story they shared and how that was woven throughout the book.
The audiobook narrator did a great job. I was able to follow along well and differentiate between the dialogue and characters. It was a good audio read and I enjoyed it. I recommend it.
I received an advance listening copy of this novel from Netgalley and Harper Audio. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content: closed-door romance with a bit of fade to black.

Wow, Sue Lynn Tan sure knows how to write a breath taking fantasy novel. This novel was just as beautifully written as her previous novels. I loved that it took place in the same world as the Daughter of the Moon Goddess, but a with many different elements. It even included "easter eggs" from her previous novels. Loved the romance between the new main characters. It was a lot more spicy than her previous novels too. Loved it! Looking forward to the next Sue Lynn Tan novel! Loved Natalie Naudus's narration of this novel. She's one of my favourite narrators and any book she narrates is an auto listen for me :)