Review Detail

The Empress of Time is the second book in The Keeper of Night #2, which follows the story of Ren, who has become the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. Thematically this continues to explore our main character’s struggle to find where she fits as a biracial woman, rejected on both sides. But more than that, it’s a story about complicated sibling relationships that still involve intense, protective love. Their relationship remains one of my favorite sibling relationships. It’s imperfect and imbalanced, but it works and is necessary. To see Neven come back hardened after a century in the dark was fascinating. I’m so glad they reconciled — watching him pull away from Ren was hard. Empress of Time is just as dark and atmospheric as Keeper of Night, diving more profoundly to the corners of Yomi as Ren wrestles with her ghosts. The conflict between Ren and the Reapers was captivating, especially when you see Ren use all her powers together. The way these two siblings fight with time was exciting to read. Also, that ending was entirely unexpected for me but so good!