The Empress by S.J. Kincaid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy
Content: A couple of non descriptive sex scenes, talk of sex, steamy kissing scenes, recreational drug use, A very brutal killing.

It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—but having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress.

Wow what a follow up to The Diabolic. This did not go at all the way I thought it would. It alternated so many times between heartbreak and hope that I was never sure how things would end up. Quite honestly my stomach was in knots by the end of this! Predictable it was not.

I do need to point out that I don't feel like this series is for young teens at all. There are some gruesome killings in this series and they are a bit shocking for a YA book. I'm not saying they are happening right and left, but the few that are included in the series are brutal. There is also recreational drug use and that bothered me more than the killings. I'm not sure this book is sending a very good message to teens about drug use. Sure this is a messed up society, but when the main character is of the opinion that drugs are the best way for her friend to cope with loss of loved ones that just doesn't set well with me. Nemesis is of course a bit of a flawed character and she is not equipped to handle the grief her friend is experiencing. After all, she only just started dealing with real human emotions herself, but the way the sentence was written bothered me. Here is the sentence as it is written: "Drugs are a most excellent means of coping with grief." I just can't feel comfortable with that.

There is also quite a bit of talk about sex in this book. Nothing in detail, but we are told of some real voyeuristic traditions in this book involving consummating relationships. This is a hedonistic society so it makes sense in the context of the book, and it being a YA book, we get no details at all, but I feel the subject matter is too mature for young teens.

My only complaint about the writing itself would be that sometimes I feel like the author doesn't quite think her scenes out completely. One in particular is where Nemesis and Tyrus have gotten ready for bed. Tyrus has removed his clothing and is seemingly in his underwear. He has placed the all-important scepter that he has to carry around with him on the nightstand. Before going to sleep they talk for a while and then something happens that causes them to suddenly have to leave in a huge hurry (I won't spoil what it is here). The circumstances in which they had to leave did not allow him to get dressed then and there, and you would think he would have been very concerned about the scepter at that point, but it isn't mentioned. Quite a bit happens and we are never told that Tyrus retrieves the scepter or whether he finds clothes to put on at some point. So I'm just picturing him running around doing all of this in his underwear. Also the scepter just reappears later in the book like he has had it all the time.

Despite those things, overall I really enjoyed reading this book. As an adult, I appreciate that this series excludes some of the annoying tropes that are prevalent in YA books. No love triangles and teen angst here. There is more revealed about the religion, and the banning of technology that helps to clarify some things that were fuzzy to me in the first book. I thought this was pretty well done and it made me rethink my criticism of that aspect of the series. I don't want to spoil anything about the plot, but I will say that things don't end up all rosy at the end and we are left in a place that is not good. Because of this I wanted to hate this book, but I also loved it. This book evoked such a jumble of emotions. I'm definitely going to read the next book, but there is no date set yet for when it will be published. It's going to be torture waiting!



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