Review of 'Immortal'

Immortal is an Asian-inspired romantasy following Liyen, the heir to the Tianxia throne, as she tries to free her kingdom from the clutches of the Celestial realm.

Immortal takes place in the same world as Daughter of the Moon Goddess, but you don’t need to have read that book to understand this one. The characters from Daughter of the Moon Goddess aren’t mentioned; the celestial kingdom is the only connection you need to be aware of.

So relax; you can enjoy this book without prior knowledge of the other one. I liked it and read it for my book club, Read with Cyn’s Workshop. Despite loving the book, I unfortunately didn’t love it as much as Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

Characterization

The main character, Liyen, differs significantly from those in the previous duology, but I appreciate that uniqueness. She has a ferocity about her.

Immortal begins with Liyen being poisoned, and her grandfather sacrifices a lotus meant for the immortals to save her. He breaks his oath and then dies from a heart attack. Her kingdom, Tianxia, is ruled by celestials, who use their soldiers for protection, ultimately taking advantage of the kingdom.

Liyen is determined to do what her grandfather was unable to: use the magic of the lotus to free her kingdom from the immortals. Enter Zhangwei, the ruthless God of War, who is charming. Significant tension exists between them, along with a complicated history.

Liyen is a fierce character, but she often second-guesses herself, which leaves me with conflicting feelings. While there were moments I loved her, there were times I felt annoyed because she didn’t listen to her instincts.

This is one of my pet peeves with how strong female characters are often portrayed—they can come off as hard-headed, sometimes leading them into situations that undermine their strength. I think Tan did that here, unlike in her previous duology. I understand why she chose to portray Liyen this way for this story, and by the end, as more plot twists are revealed, things start to make sense. Still, it didn’t make those annoying moments any less frustrating. There are better ways to write strong female characters than making them entirely stubborn.

That said, I appreciated that Liyen undergoes significant character development, and Tan did a fantastic job developing the side characters as well.

The tension between Liyen and Zhangwei evolves in a way that makes sense as the story progresses. I enjoyed the plot twists and reveals; they were well executed within the novel’s scope and contributed to a fast-paced read, especially when Liyen enters the Nether Realms.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed Immortal. The moments where Liyen’s hard-headedness annoyed me were few and far between—only about three or four instances in the total 300 pages. This minor annoyance didn’t prevent me from loving the book, but it is why I don’t love it as much as Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, two kids (the perfect pair), and their two cats Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx (aka Girl).