It took a while to really understand the concept of this book, but once it picked up it was really good!

This was definitely a great ending for the duology. I will say I didn't expect it to end like it did but I loved it. Honestly love the morally gery characters in this duology and the folklore is amazing. Ren is one of my favorite characters in the duology, her character arc is incredible. I highly recommend the keeper of the night and the empress of time if you like morally gery characters , dark folklore and gore.

3.75

I think this was a very fitting conclusion to this duology, but I did not enjoy it as much as the first book.

For one, this book takes place 10 years after the end of the first book, which ended in a huge cliffhanger. And to some extent I understand that choice, like these characters are essentially immortal so a decade is pretty much nothing to them and we needed time to build up to the conflict in this book, and we do get an explanation of what happened in the intervening years, but I would much rather have seen it.

I also felt like the traveling across Japan on a quest aspect of the story was too similar and therefore less effective than the first book. While I appreciated the addition of Tsukuyomi and learning more about him and the Japanese gods, it didn't really hold the same interest to me as the Yoke in Book 1 and it felt more like Ren was scrambling and not like there was an actual plan or purpose.

I did love the discussions around familial relationships and identity- seeing different examples of sibling dynamics and seeing more of Ren trying to figure out her place as a biracial woman.

Overall, I think this a really solid YA duology and would highly recommend to anyone looking for darker fantasies or folklore/mythology based fantasies. I also loved Rebecca Yeo's narration. She brought so much emotion to Ren's descent into madness in Book 1 and growth and acceptance in Book 2, and I will absolutely be looking out for more of her work as well as more of Kylie Lee Baker's.

Does the finale stick the landing? You bet your butt it does!

I inhaled the first book in this duology earlier this month and book two was evidently no exception to that. I opted for the audiobook again, and big kudos to Rebecca Yeo for doing such a fabulous job! She told Baker's story really well and it was so difficult for me to stop reading.

The sequel picks up, surprisingly, ten years after the shocking events of the first book. Ren is Queen of the Dead in Japan, Hiro is dead, and she has spent the last decade devouring soul after soul after soul, hoping just one more will be enough for the darkness to give her back her brother, Nevin.

As before, this book is chockfull of morally grey characters, dark and gory scenes, and so much incredible mythology. I really did love it as much as the first, especially because we got to meet more yokai and multiple gods. There was a group of ghost pirates that showed up and honestly, they were my absolute favourites! I laughed so hard in that scene. And Tsukuyomi was a wonderful addition. He looks just like Hiro, being his brother and all, but he was so much better as a person and for Ren in every single way. Of course, Tamamo No Mae was great to have with a bigger role. The kitsune and Nevin are so cute together and I love the twist that comes up.

As with the first book, Ren's desire to fit into a place she can belong as a half Japanese Shinigami half British Reaper is just as much at the forefront. Queen of the Underworld yet neither her Shinigami nor the other gods take her seriously. When the new Reaper God of Death is found to be coming to take Japan from her, Ren has her work cut out for her to find allies. I wanted her to win so badly. You would think that by having the light powers of a Shinigami and the time stopping power of a Reaper she would be considered fearsome, but all they see is a foreigner and a young girl in over her head not worth helping. And I love the juxtaposition of how she's seen as useless to some, and a villain to those she loves most. And a villain she is at times. Her actions and how she justifies them can be quite dark, but that made me really love her character development.

The ending has a touch of bittersweetness to it, but I really liked that. I see Baker has another series coming out and I will definitely be lining up to read that one the first chance I can!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📚 - Fantasy / YA / Mythology
📖 - 416 pages
🎧 - 13hr 33min

The Sequel to The Keeper of Night, The Empress of Time continues the journey of Ren and her struggle to find her place in the (under)world. Filled with Japanese mythology and characters that do bad things for the right reasons (and good things for the wrong reasons too), this book is fast-paced and full of adventure. The audiobook version had the same narrator as last time: Rebecca Yeo. She did an excellent job and was very easy to listen to. I liked some of the twists and turns of the story and appreciated the resolution and ending. Ren steps into her place in the world and finds what she's been looking for all along.

Content warnings: Violence, gore, bullying, racism

In this exciting sequel, Ren is back ten years later, still facing the decisions she’s made up to this point. She’s now the Goddess of Death, which comes with its own set of difficulties. The Shinigami under her rule don’t want to accept her as ruler as they see her as a foreigner. She’s also been devouring human souls in hopes of becoming strong enough to bring her brother back. But things get really messy when Ren finds out Ivy, who is now Britain’s Death Goddess, intends to take revenge.

I’ve been so excited for this book to come out ever since reading The Keeper of Night last year! I’m so happy that this book exceeded my expectations. Ren was already morally grey in the last book, but in this one she becomes almost evil. I loved seeing how she changed over the two books and what she learned about herself.

This book also had such beautiful writing that further drew me into the story. I suspect I’ll reread sometime in the future, but I’m also super excited to read what Kylie Lee Baker writes next!

Audiobook note: The narrator, Rebecca Yeo, did an excellent job bringing Ren and this story to life!

I really enjoyed this sequel. I found it to be a little lighter and more hopeful than the first book, but not in a way that stood out as being wildly different genre-wise. The characters have changed in a way that feels realistic for what they have gone through. The story was unique, while still maintaining the style from the original. I don't know if there are any plans for a third book in this series, but if there is, I will definitely read it.

From my blog post & I spoke about both The Empress Of Time & The Keeper Of Night: This is an incredible duology. I listened to The Keeper Of Night in order to get ready to read the E-ARC of The Empress Of Time and the narrator really does a phenomenal job. I could seriously listen to her talk/read all day long because her voice has this resonate quality to it. She read both audiobooks so I kind of knew what I would get in terms of vocal performance but I wasn’t ever bored of her voice or the story when I got to TEOT. I read the E-ARC first and while I was in the middle of reading it, I got approved for the ALC so I did an audio re-read. While I knew what happened in the story, it’s was almost like experiencing it for the first time and I appreciate that as someone who is really not much of a re-reader. As a heads up, TEOT picks up 10 years after the end of TKON but it isn’t disconnected from the first book at all. You also get to meet a bunch of new characters while seeing some old ones. It’s truly a journey and I loved every moment of it, even the points that made me flinch (TW: violence & xenophobia).

Ren is back no longer a reaper/Shinigami but now the Goddess of Death, ruler of the underworld. Since the death of her beloved Hiro (by her nonetheless), her problems have intensified. She's treated as an outsider in Japan, her home simply because of her mixed heritage. But when the moon god, Tsukuyomi, arrives, Ren must travel around Japan in hopes of defeating Ivy, Britian's Death Goddess.

Anyone who's ever lived in Japan can tell you that Baker really hit the mark on Ren's treatment as an outsider. In the beginning, we see this a lot, and it had me nodding my head. Ren remains unlikable, but again, she's supposed to be that way. Sweet moon-gazing Tsukuyomi takes Hiro's place in this book, albeit a much sweeter version. I think the best thing about the first installment of this duology, The Keeper of Night, was the wicked AF yokai. Yokai barely make an appearance here, and that's just disappointing.

Rebecca Yeo once again reads for this series, and she's great as per usual. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC.

The Empress of Time is just as gruesome, violent and thrilling as The Keeper of Night. It is fast paced and full of adventure that keep the reader completely engaged. It’s dive into Japanese folklore is also fascinating. Baker provides us with a strong conclusion to The Keeper of Night duology.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#TheEmpressofTime #NetGalley

It might be more of a 3.5.

I’ve been pretty bad this year at keeping up with series and that’s what happened with this finale/sequel and I couldn’t read it before the release despite having both a digital and audio arc. The Keeper of Night was one of my top favorite reads of last year, so when I finally felt in the mood for this book, I finished it way quicker than I expected.

While the first book was about Ren’s descent into darkness, I think this was about what she is going in the darkness now that she is all alone. I can’t say that she has entirely become cruel or that she is a very bad person, but her compassion mostly only extends to Neven and what she can do to save him. The love depicted in this series is all angsty and gut wrenching, but no way any less impactful while reading. I don’t know if I like Ren a lot anymore but there’s no doubt that I still wanted her to succeed and protect her brother, gain the acceptance that she so craves, and make a home for herself.

But the plot itself didn’t feel as exciting as I found the first book. It almost was like Ren didn’t know much about what she had to do and was scrambling across Japan to figure it out - which felt too reminiscent of the first book. I also think meeting all the different Yokai in the first book felt exciting, so there wasn’t much new world building this time. Meeting a couple of new gods was fun but again I got the feeling it didn’t add much to the story.

Overall, while I did enjoy following the characters - old and new - again and see what they’ve been upto, the not very substantial plot slightly disappointed me. I think I just had too many expectations after loving the first one a lot. But I did love the narration of Rebecca Yeo in the audiobook and she made it a pretty fun and quick listen. Despite my conflicting thoughts about this book, I’m still definitely looking forward to the author’s new series next year.

This was an amazing story and one that I haven't heard before so it was really interesting. I was hooked from the first paragraph and read through this one quickly. I love how detailed and raw this is when describing the deaths and souls, while also be vulnerable and emotional describing the relationships. Great read.

First off, gorgeous cover! I liked that there was a ten year time jump because it allowed for Ren to become how she was without it being abnormal. It ended neatly with no real loose ends, which is a bonus. I did like the first book better though.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was such a fan of The Keeper of Night when it came out last year, that I knew when I saw book two available on NetGalley, I HAD to get it!

This duology follows Ren, a half reaper half Shinigami, who gets cast out of her home with the Reapers when she loses control of her Shinigami side. She travels to Japan with her brother, to prove herself to the Queen of Death.

I loved everything about this duology. From the Japanese inspired folklore to the depravity you get to witness her characters go though. Watching Ren struggle with her moral compass because she is so desperate to find a place she can belong, was a journey and I am totally here for it.
Bakers use of imagery to create such a dark setting, was hands down, some of the best I’ve read in a while. Between the dark writing, grey characters and all the body gore, Baker nailed the fantasy horror genre right on the head!

I highly recommend trying the audiobook for both of the books in this series. Rebecca Yeo did an AMAZING job bringing these characters to life. I heard her in the first one and was immediately hooked.

Absolutely recommend picking this one up for all those October!

I highly recommend you read Keeper of the Night before picking this up.

This is the origin story of a Villain. A morally gray character who may not be as evil as she appears on the surface. If you liked the back story of the wicked witch in WICKED, this might be one for you.

This book picks up 10 years after the end of the Keeper of the Night. Ren is older, yet still in the same position of not truly fitting in.

Ren's past in England comes to her in Japan and she faces her old enemies- the British Reapers. She is forced to face choices she made in the past and reconcile with herself and those she has harmed. The setting brings in a new cast of characters from Japanese mythology with new gods and goddesses introduced along the way.

I truly enjoyed this book duo. It has a darkness that is relatable. It is not a black and white- you are either good or you are evil mentality. There is that gray area where decisions are made by everyone. Those choices are complicated and have a lasting effect. It is here where this story really shines its light. This complexity makes this stand out and that is why I decided on a 5-star rating.

4.0
When I requested this book I was captured by the gorgeous cover. However, once I recieved a copt to listen to. I realized that this is the second book . I want to listen to the first book so that I can give a honest review. Thank you for allowing me to listen to the audiobook.

This is the second book in a duology. After the first book, I was gutted by the ending, but felt that it could have been a stand alone book. When I saw that it was in fact a duology, I was so excited to get my hands on this book.

This second book still follows the story of Ren. The characters from the first book still play important roles in the story. I love the Japanese setting, and the writing style is so good. It feels dark but it’s not scary.

I love that this is a story about a girl trying to find her place in the world. It’s not a love story, but love is an important player in many of Ren’s actions.

The audio on this book is very good. The narrator is so good at capturing the action and the soft moments. It is the same narrator for both books, which is a plus!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audio version of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the copy of this ALC!

Kylie Lee Baker can sure write a dark book! I'm here for it, and really enjoyed following Ren's journey in this book - which I did not so patiently await because of that book one cliffhanger. This was similarly dark with scary creatures, but this time, we had to just hope and wait to see if Neven would come back - or at least that's what I did because he's my favorite. I really enjoyed the action and twists toward the end, and was satisfied with how this duology ended.

3.5/5 Stars!

A fitting conclusion to the Keeper of Night Duology, Empress of Time is filled to the brim with more dark lore and lush prose.

The Empress of Time has a very similar feeling as The Keeper of Night, which could be either a positive or a negative depending on your perspective. While I loved jumping back into the world of the Keeper of Night, at times it felt a little too similar to the first book. I won't go into too many specifics on the similarities in order to avoid spoilers, but there definitely times where I felt like I was reading the same book in a different font.

Overall, though, I really did enjoy this story. The setting, the Japanese lore, and the relationship dynamics are all beautifully done. I also really appreciated the way Kylie Lee Baker addressed the struggle of being of mixed heritage and struggling to find ones place amongst either community.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

If you listened to the first book and liked the narrator, you will like the second installment as well. Rebecca Yeo is a fantastic narrator who does a great job tell this story.

Short ARC Review of the book:
This book picks up 10 years after the first book in the series ends. It is a fantastic conclusion to the Duology, and it keeps the reader intrigued throughout the entire book.