DNF

The more I read this book, the more I dislike it. There’s something with the writing that I don’t like and although the historical parts are good, I can’t get into the rest of the story.

This book was AMAZING! I loved the idea of being soulmates throughout many lives. The jumping between the past and present flowed perfectly and was easy to follow along. Highly recommend this one

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The writing was absolutely stunning, but between all those sexual content, I coudn't not find the essence of the story.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It unfolds before you like a fascinating puzzle. However, marketing it as romance is an odd choice. It is about love, attraction, and betrayal. But there is no fidelity to any kind of happiness ever after or happiness for now, that romance as a genre demands..

What you do get is three storylines across three different times., 4BCE, 1740 and present day. The use of language in each is realistic, but jarring when the baldness of the 21st century rubs against the norms of earlier periods. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the connection between the three stories becomes apparent, but in each the layers of sexuality, love, politics, and power differ..

I'm not sure I felt resolved at the ending, but it was a compelling read.

Normally I go into reading others reviews on a book before writing my own but with this one, I am strictly only looking at my own. One thing I will say about this book is that there is no dull moment. It’s something that makes you want to read more and more. But what I will say is that because I kept on reading the book, when I finished I was like —“That’s it? I want more!” And now I wish for more; more to what will happen next. I loved the bouncing between timelines as it felt all connected but I wish I would’ve understood the connection sooner than I did. Would I market this as a romantasy? I would rather it be marketed as an erotic romantasy because though so many books probably get head to turn away from reading it, I think it would’ve been better to let the world to understand the importance of all the erotica within the main character’s connection/bond.

Gosh, what to say about this book. I went into this one with high expectations, as I had seen people with similar taste as mine speak highly of it, along with the concept being so interesting. And in some ways, it met my expectations but in others it let me down. I feel conflicting things about this one. The style of writing was very striking, and the changing time periods and point of views were really captivating. I didn't find myself really connecting or understanding the characters, especially the 3 main ones whose point of view it was in. I think this was in part because of the writing style. I also found the ending to be a bit of a letdown with the way the tension was built up throughout the story. I don't need an ending that's neat and tidy, but without getting into spoiler territory, this ending in some ways felt like nothing had changed. I like an open-ended ending but this was a bit too open-ended for my liking. There was also a lot more drugs and trippiness than I was expecting, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I like weird confusing storytelling, but it's worth noting as the cover and description don't really give that vibe. I guess my consensus is that this was conceptually really cool, and the writing style was distinct, but in the end certain elements and plot points just didn't work for me.

This book wasn't really for me. I just didn't vibe with the writing style and I couldn't keep up with the three-timelines-at-once storytelling.

That said, the setting was fascinating and I flew through this book. While this is tagged as romantasy, it's really not that romantic and focuses far more heavily on the sex.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Two men fated to find each other in every life time, ancient Asian palaces, nine-tailed fox spirits, and a story of everlasting love and betrayal.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a story over 3 timelines. In these timelines two men have to balance their desires for safety, power, and love. Readers will be taken through 4 BCE China, the wild woods of 1740, and present day LA circuit parties as the three timelines blend and diverge in an epic story full of danger and desire.

I loved every moment of this book. It is difficult to fit 3 fully developed relationships into one novel but TEATEP was able to hook me into each storyline and care about each character within their own timeline and how they fit in the story as a whole. At first the novel does feel a bit like instant love between the characters but as the story progresses and the pieces fit together the reader is painted a complete portrait that is truly a masterpiece. The final portrait is honest in its tragedy and indulgent in its passion.

- I found THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE to be a gorgeous and frustrating book. The concept is fantastic and romantic, but the execution left something to be desired.
- I loved this conception of fated mates, weaving in ancient mythology, welding this magic with the glitter of modern circuit parties.
- However, we jumped so quickly between timelines that the relationship didn’t actually have much space to grow beyond us just being told that they were drawn together. Any actual reasons or chemistry were absent.
- Some plot threads kind of disappeared, side characters reappeared or didn’t without much logic, and I’m honestly not sure what was happening in the final scenes.
- Side note: I see so many reviews hating on the euphemism “my influence,” but I thought it was funny, lol.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a brilliant work of fiction loosely based on Chinese history. The story follows queer Asian men from three different timelines and settings who are all somehow interconnected.

The descriptive prose, sense of adventure, and emotions captured within this part retelling are incredible. Some passages resonated deeply with me (especially concerning finding one's self and becoming who you are). There is the perfect amount of suspense and missing context that makes you want to keep reading to figure out what is happening and you can't help but wish for a happy ending as you sort out who is who and how their stories are connected.

*Possible spoilers re: story direction ahead*
I wouldn't call this story a romance. The conclusion is a little open-ended, which I generally don't like, but I think in this case, it was done well (although I do wish we were left with a little more). It's bittersweet and alludes to significant character growth. There is a little bit of a lack of depth for our romantic partners but I think it supports the notion presented that love isn't easy - it's multi-faceted - and our actions in love speak more than our words.

At times while reading, I had the thought that this story wasn't meant for me, but I adored it all the same. I think that anyone could appreciate the suspense, the twists, and the turns. It is a spicy gay male fantasy novel. Some reviewers have labelled it erotica; however, I disagree. The actual incidences of sex support the writing and aren't at all a main plot point. I think that many readers are likely not used to having descriptive sex scenes from this perspective. I would urge readers to go into this with an open mind and the knowledge that everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in our stories. In my opinion, the beautiful story that Justinian Huang has created is groundbreaking for the LGBTQ+ community where stories like this one are just starting to emerge and become mainstream.

A breathtaking debut.

Note - TW: non-consensual sex

Thank you Harlequin Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

No one is more disappointed than I am when I didn't love one of my most anticipated releases for this Spring. THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE is marketed as a romantasy, it is certainly NOT. I am bummed because not only do I feel like this book is mismarketed as a romantasy, but this book fails to execute on its premise. Two souls meeting over and over again across generations and falling in love? What's not to love? What's not to love is the relationships between the two main characters are driven by lust and toxic relationship dynamics. There was no emotional intimacy between our love interests so I found it extremely difficult to root for their relationship across generations. The majority of the sex scenes felt overly gratuitous and didn't further the plot in any way, shape, or form. I really couldn't wait for this book to be over.

I will say, the audiobook was well done and I enjoyed the full cast narration but that's pretty much it,

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, follows two people who are connected by the threads of fate and wrapped up in a love story - their connection spans multiple lives, and they are re-incarnated and fated to find their way back to each other in every lifetime. While there isn't a lot of plot other than watching how their love starts and plays out but each time and how beautifully heartbreaking it can be. The author has done a fantastic job at writing a fast paced and captivating story the leaves you feeling statisfiingly content.

In The Emperor and The Endless palace two lovers are tied to each other across multiple lifetimes. There are some really interesting and poetic themes. The book was pretty sex focused, just know that.

The reincarnated lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so I was extremely excited for this book, but unfortunately the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like this book wasn't served well by its marketing since it is not a romantasy and also skews toward erotica at times. I still really love the premise and will look for more reincarnation romantasy stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy to review.

Although the erotica aspects of this didn't always work for me because of word choice that pulled me out of the moment, the actual relationships were interesting. This is not a sunshine and roses type of romance.

The plot was what pulled this up. I was really interested in how the story unraveled. Definitely messy and toxic, but I didn't feel it was romanticized by the end. I also liked how the different timelines were handled and how information is revealed to the audience over time.

I can see this working for a lot of people as long as they're not expecting a typical romance.

This was such a fun sexy queer novel filled with bits of history that made it an amazing read. Highly recommend to anyone who loves gay history.

My immediate thought when reading this was Cloud Atlas meets specific Chinese history (Emperor Ai of Han) and mythology with lots of gay sex, and that stayed true for a majority of my read. 😂 I enjoyed all of the different POVs, and feel like I had one fave timeline in the grand scheme of things. I must admit I got lost with the plot at some points, but appreciated the journey nonetheless. 👀

I enjoyed thie concept of the red string theory amd the reincarnation aspect of this story. And that it was boy love and hownthey obviously alwwys felt drawn to each other through every reincarnation

I didn’t finish this. All porn with no plot what so ever. There was no real character development or world building. Even the dialogue between the characters is immature and ridiculous! There’s no real relationship between any of the main characters that is meaningful. Overall, I had high hopes but was extremely disappointed. This was an arc and I really wanted to finish it but it just wasn’t doable for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

This book follows 2 men through multiple timelines as they reincarnate and fall in love with each other in each lifetime they experience. I loved the world building in this book!! It had such beautiful imagery with ancient Chinese palaces and emperors, an innkeeper’s story in an enchanting forest setting, and a modern timeline in the rave scenes of LA.

The plot of this book was so intriguing and I couldn’t wait to find out how the timelines interconnected and where our MMC’s ended up. I did enjoy the writing style and overall enjoyed this book! It felt like a reimagining of an ancient Chinese story with some romance wrapped into it. In the end, I felt connected to the characters but it was heartbreaking and I wish I had more story about the MMC’s!