Immortal

In the past few years, Sue Lynn Tan has been known for her popular YA duology, the Celestial Kingdom. (There’s also a short story collection that’s part of it.) Now, the author marks her adult debut with Immortal. It’s set in the same world as the Celestial Kingdom books, but completely stands on its own.

Why I Chose This Book:

I’ve been wanting to read the Celestial Kingdom duology; in fact, I started Daughter of the Moon Goddess a few years ago, but life got in the way and that book was put on pause. Sadly, I still haven’t gotten back to it, but I was excited to learned about Sue Lynn Tan’s adult debut, Immortal. Even though it’s set in the same world as her YA books, you don’t have to have read them to enjoy this.

What I Liked:

• Beautiful world-building of a China with gods and magical creatures
• Sickness, a healing plant, and a fight over who gets this treatment
• Liyen, a young woman rising to power and fighting back against men
• Three distinct parts

Immortal is divided into three parts, each better than the last. It took me a while to get into this book, but parts 2 and 3 definitely held my attention better than the first part. The twists in part 3 were amazing; I only wish more of the book was devoted to that instead.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Liyen is kind of an annoying character. She’s so argumentative and presumptuous. I wish she’d been toned down a bit to seem more realistic and justified in her anger.
• Rather long, and pacing could have been tightened up/

Final Thoughts

Overall I enjoyed Immortal, but I wish it had been a bit shorter, and that the themes in part 3 were explored further. It got better as it went, but I found myself wanting the book to end sooner than it did. That said, I am still interested in reading the Celestial Kingdom books. Perhaps those particular stories will be more to my taste.

Special thanks to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Immortal here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
Audiobook Narrator	Natalie Naudus
Audience	Adult
Genre	Romantasy
Setting	China
Number of Pages	468
Format I Read	Audiobook; Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	January 7, 2025
Publisher	Haper Voyager

Official Summary

“Treacherously beautiful and dazzlingly romantic. This book will steal your breath and your heart!” – Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Once Upon A Broken Heart

A young ruler must forge a delicate alliance with the untrustworthy yet magnetic God of War to protect her kingdom in this stunning romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, from Sue Lynn Tan, bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

The young heir to a mortal crown, Liyen ascends a precarious throne when her grandfather dies, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals and take vengeance against those she feels responsible for his death. 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.