A review by bookphenomena_micky
Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Headlines:
Stepping up into leadership
Mortals v immortals
Unwanted attractions

There's something very grounding about returning to a world you know with new characters but you don't need the world building. Immortal took us on a journey of a jarring coming of age for Liyen as she became the Lady of her land, untrusted because of her age, her gender and previous ill health. I found myself relating to her previous life of fatigue, so that was an welcome little resonnance for me.

Liyen was mortal and the God of War, Zhangwei soon interfered in this mortal land, in search of a special lotus flower. Smoke and mirrors were constantly between these two for reasons that were slowly revealed across the length of the story. Liyen's dislike of Zhangwei gave this an inital enemies to more feel, but there was so much more to their story. The connection between these two was like the most powerful of magnets.

I enjoyed the movements between the immortal and mortal lands. The plot took the reader into a world of creatures that had been long-feared and they made for avid reading. Trust was a big theme in this book and I glued my eyes to the page as these characters navigated distrust to trust. It was a worthwhile journey.

As ever with this author's writing, she paints a vivid description of lands and people, down to their wardrobe and I love the imagery that creates for me as I read. I wholeheartedly enjoyed being back in the DOTMG landscape.

I will still forever long for Liwei to get a story again in this world and I hope one day, that will come to fruition.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the eARC.