The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker

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The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
The Keeper of Night #2
Published by Inkyard Press on October 4, 2022
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Representation: biracial protagonist (Japanese and British), mostly Japanese cast
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher

In this riveting sequel to The Keeper of Night, a half Reaper, half Shinigami soul collector must defend her title as Japan’s Death Goddess from those who would see her—and all of Japan—destroyed.

Death is her dynasty.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough is no longer the girl who was chased out of England—she is the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. But her problems have never been greater. Her Shinigami see her as a foreigner on the throne. Her brother, Neven, is gone, lost in the deep darkness. And her fiancé, Hiro, has been killed by her own hand.

Then Ren receives the most troubling news yet—Reapers have been spotted in Japan, and it’s only a matter of time before Ivy, now Britain’s Death Goddess, comes to claim her revenge.

Ren’s last hope is to appeal to the god of storms and seas, who can turn the tides to send Ivy’s ship away from Japan’s shores. But he’ll help Ren only if she finds a sword lost thousands of years ago—an impossible demand.

Together with the moon god Tsukuyomi, who shares an uncanny resemblance to his brother Hiro, Ren ventures across the country in a race against time. As her journey thrusts her into the middle of scheming gods and dangerous Yokai demons, Ren will have to learn who she can truly trust—and the fate of Japan hangs in the balance.

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

Trigger & Content Warnings: blood and gore, death, racism

Although The Keeper of Night wasn’t my favorite and was a struggle for me at times with its pacing, I overall enjoyed reading Ren’s story, and I was looking forward to The Empress of Time and what Kylie Lee Baker had in store for our very angry (and morally grey?) protagonist who just wants to find a place where she’s accepted for who she is.

This sequel is set ten years after the end of the first novel after Ren has proven herself worthy and claimed her place by Death’s side, and then ultimately becomes the Goddess of Death herself after killing Hiro. She’s lost her brother, Neven, to the deep darkness, and we quickly learn she’s trying to find a way to get there so can get him back, even if that means eating more souls than she could count and breaking all the traditional rules of death.

But while she now rules Japan’s underworld, being a goddess comes with its own set of problems as well, namely her Shinigami seeing her as a foreigner who stole the throne by seducing Hiro and therefore had no right to sit on it or give them orders. She’s continuing to experience some of the same problems she faced when she first stepped foot in Japan after fleeing from London, except she doesn’t even have the one person remaining she cares for by her side. Much like she did in London, she feels alone and isolated, and the only thing keeping her going is the hope she’ll be reunited with Neven again.

As such, Ren’s relationship with Neven continues to play an integral role in The Empress of Time and is the driving force for all of her actions. Her identity also continues to play an integral in the sequel as well, and while I did feel Ren sort of flatlined as a character compared to the first novel, I overall liked her character arc by the time I got to the end and looked back across both novels.

The Empress of Time is very much a journey novel; a good part of the novel, after Ren finds out the Reapers are in Japan and Ivy is coming for her, is her trying to appeal to the god of storms and seas and then trying to find a legendary sword lost thousands of years ago so he could help her. It’s very much slow-paced and heavily focused on world-building, but I also found myself a lot more engaged and just overall invested in finding out what happens.

Like the first novel, this one is just as dark and gory, and Lee Baker doesn’t hold back with those descriptions. The visuals clearly paint the world created, and I found myself truly immersed in the world from page to page, even though I usually struggle with books featuring a side quest for a portion of the book. I also loved seeing the different yokai along the way and the appearances of some of the gods/goddesses, especially Tsukuyomi, who quickly grew to be one of my favorite characters. I especially enjoyed his banter with Ren.

While it’s definitely not my favorite, The Empress of Time is an overall solid conclusion to The Keeper of Night duology that ties everything up nicely without feeling rushed. I think I personally enjoyed this more than the first novel (which feels a little strange because it’s usually the other way around) because it just left an overall feeling of satisfaction, and I’m honestly looking forward to reading future novels!