Immortal – Sue Lynn Tan

Published: January 2025

Pages: 464

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Summary

As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia.

Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.

But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal… even if it means losing her heart.

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My thoughts

This was a dazzling and immersive journey into a world of celestial beings, ancient magic, and breathtaking landscapes. From the first page, I was utterly captivated by Liyen’s story, a young woman thrust into a world of gods and immortals, fighting for her people and her legacy.

Liyen is a strong, resourceful, and fiercely loyal character. Yet she is also vulnerable and very humanly flawed. Niave at the start of her journey I really enjoyed reading through the story and seeing her growth and development. Such determination to forge her own path and protect her people. There were many easy choices which could have been made but Liyen does not care for easy, she cares for what is right. Her love knows no bounds, even to those that are perhaps, less deserving of it.

There are many compelling characters which adds more depth and richness to the story. Although at times I was questioning some of the earlier developments, I needn’t had worried, the pieces came together in a wonderfully way answering all those questions I started to pull together. Sometimes a bit too convenient but this is more of a light-hearted story so I gave it a bit of leeway.

All is not what is seems and I loved that with this story. I read the Fairyloot version of this story and there is a bonus chapter at the end which really pulls the story together. The frustrating thing with this is I don’t think this bonus chapter is in the standard edition and it doesn’t seem to be available on her website. It’s not a great reader experience to have certain content locked behind a paywall when – I feel – that this chapter is really needed to feel the full weight of the story. I adore Sue Lynn Tan but I wasn’t onboard with that approach in this book.

Now, the main love interest the God of War is a handsome, powerful fellow. But he’s also incredibly shallow and we don’t get much insight to him. I suppose, finishing the book it makes sense to a certain degree, I still feel underwhelmed by him. Being strong and having long, dark hair and a chiselled jawline is not enough for me. I want to feel the inner workings of their mind and see the pits of their souls (too much?). What I mean is that I want more than the surface level details, so the God of War fell short to me on that respect. I think the male characters in Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess series are far superior in the way they’ve been written.

But saying all this, the themes of love, sacrifice, ambition, and the search for belonging are explored throughout this narrative. I really did enjoy this book and I finished it in a day so I was definitely hooked, despite the relatively small shortcomings I had on reflection.

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Would I recommend?

I would yes, especially to readers that want to break into more fantasy. It was an enjoyable read, more light-hearted than what you may expect in adult fantasy books. I love the Celestial Kingdom after finishing Daughter of the Moon Goddess and so I was glad to come back to that same world.

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