Description
Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.
China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing—and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands—she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.
Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.
Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths—and rising—to restore the balance Rujia’s disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning…
My Review:
When I saw this beauty up on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it. (I’ve read A Song to Drown Rivers, so I knew Ann Liang is a gifted storyteller, even if I wasn’t happy with the ending of that book.) And this one looked to be right up my alley as far as books go. Romance. Multiple Realms.
So let me get what I didn’t like about this book out of the way. There’s multiple f bombs in the second half of the book. One of the things I prefer is what I read is, the language that I might hear in my daily life, is not what I read. It totally threw me out of the story. But by then I was so invested in what was happening, really wanting to know what the Death God was going to do next, well, I kept reading.
Now for what I loved.
The writing is beautiful. The yearning is there. You literally fall in love with Rujia and Death. You can understand what brought them to where they are, why they are making the choices they do. This isn’t a one of them is evil one is good enemies to lovers, it’s a two sides of a single coin romance. Beautifully done. And the ending is one that will have you wiping some tears away.
And I personally don’t believe that Junyi failed his tribulations.
If you are a fan of Chinese dramas, this book will surely delight you. You’ll see bits of your favorite characters, settings, and tropes inside the pages.
And this time, the ending is satisfying.
Roxbury Books 