The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Political Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Pages: 400
Cover: Hardcover
Age rating: 18+
Buy on: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble
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In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.
Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.
Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.
But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.
To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.
​​​Characters and Plot
THE FIRST 5 STARS OF 2026, I'M IN LOVEEEEEEEE!!!
Ms. Shen Tao will now need to pay for my recovery because I am UNWELL. First of all, I love the writing style of this book; it just fits perfectly with me, so beautiful and poetic and gut-wrenching. The pacing is amazing, doing maximum emotional damage with that one. The plot is gripping, soul-crushing, and the characters... Terrennnnnn
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I want to talk about Prince Terren. I went into this book fully ready to hate and wish hell on him based on the blurb, and I did because of how he initially treated Wei Yin. But then Shen Tao had to make him complex and broken, and now he's my favorite character, and I am mourning him. Now, I hold him accountable for everything he did; his ending was fully deserved (Wei Yin is THAT GIRL). But I mourn the boy he could have become, and his backstory... y'all please do check your triggers because it's bad, it is actually traumatizing.
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Ms. Shen Tao knows what she is doing by making Terren the most precious kid ever; he had 3 plushies, LOVE TO PLAY WITH HIS BROTHER MARO, and well, is willing to sacrifice everything for his brother, 7 YEARS (if you know you know). Terren loves his brother till the very end, and that broke me. Their early relationship in the diaries and stories was so sweet and fun... and then it got destroyed... This line:
Terren: I love you, Maro.
Maro: Go away.
THEY WERE JUST BOYS THE TRUE VILLAINS WERE THE FUCKING ADVISORS GASLIGHTING AND MANIPULATING THESE TWO.
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Wei Yin is a queen, I mean, she literally is one. The way she plots and schemes ate down, I love that she doesn't forgive her abuser just because he is a tragic, broken boy, which a lot of romantasy tend to do, which I hate :))
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Overall, READ THE POET EMPRESS, READ IT AND CRY FOR IT, JUST READ IT, IT'S AMAZING, IT'S DEPRESSING, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL. I recommend watching the anime Apothecary Diaries before you read this book, as they are both set in Imperial China, and the Apothecary Diaries will give you lore about how the Imperial China court works, and the show is peak as well. ​
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