Book Review: Dark and Tragic, ‘The Poet Empress’ is the Fantasy Debut of the Year You Can’t Miss on Your 2026 TBR List
I actually cannot fathom this is a debut novel—it’s THAT good. AND it’s a standalone (which we know are in short supply). Seriously, add it to your TBR list immediately. The Poet Empress by Shen Tao had me from the first chapter, and as a certified Cdrama addict, I was sold the second the blurb said it was for fans of Cdramas. But it’s NOT a romance. Instead it’s full of intrigue, warring palace factions, a kingdom hit by famine, and a potential tyrant our main character must eliminate. I absolutely loved the character development we got from the FMC. She starts out quite naive and knows nothing of the palace workings, but we see her learn to read, empower those around her, and establish herself as a power player—all while being treated horrifically. This is a book where you need to check the trigger warnings. It’s dark, and deals with some heavy topics. All of the characters are complex, which I really appreciated. Did I tear up at the end? I did. And don’t even get me started on the super cool poetry magic in a world where only men can read. If you’re interested in Chinese-inspired fantasy, strong characters, the allure of power, and the complexity of love, this is definitely a book for you. Let’s get into it…
Special Edition featured above is by Illumicrate. The first edition print run is below:
Things to Know:
Fantasy Debut
Standalone
Political Intrigue and Power Struggles
Written magic system
NOT a romance
Historical Chinese-inspired setting
Trigger warnings: child abuse, SA, death, murder
Wei was such a strong complex character. She’s young, and after seeing her family affected by the famine, she’ll do anything, including being a concubine for the tyrant heir, Terren, who’s been known to kill someone for pouring his tea wrong. I loved seeing Wei go from an uneducated village girl to a powerful figure in the palace. Is she flawed? Yes. That’s the beauty of her character, and even she gets tempted by power more than once.
Terren, the evil prince, is also a super complex villain. I’m not sure the things he’s done are forgivable. But when the story unravels and you discover some monsters are made, I absolutely felt horrible for him. For much of the book, you’re seeing this juxtaposition of him as a child, sweet, caring, and carefree to the paranoid, evil maniac and you can’t help but wonder, what on earth happened to you for you to end up this way?! I felt ill and my blood boiled when I found out.
Maro, the first prince and technically who should have been heir was also an interesting character. Throughout the book, you’re hearing from his childhood journals, and he’s supposed to be this upstanding prince who cares about his people and integrity. But does he still live up to those things now? You’ll have to read to find out.
The magic in this book is so cool. I loved the idea of the princes writing “blessings”, and being masters of poetry, even writing dueling couplets. It was also an interesting take to have a world where women were not allowed to be literate. And of course, Wei is determined to bypass it. But her discoveries along the way are super eye opening. If anything, I do wish we could have spent some more time understanding how the different prince’s different magic worked/where it came from. They each have special sigils and power that can be used to benefit the country. And then there’s the writing magic, so I could have used a bit more detail.
The concept that in order to kill Terren, she has to write a heart poem, completely understand him and even love him when she hates him with every fiber of her being for what he’s done to her was…heavy. And a super interesting way to unveil the story in stages as she’s composing the poem.
Overall this was a beautifully tragic read where not is all as it seems, and things are much more complicated. I will be anxiously awaiting Shen Tao’s next book, because if this was her first, I can’t wait to read what’s next!
This audiobook was also beautiful, and I would highly recommend an immersive read because you get a lot more context hearing the Mandarin characters being pronounced. You can find the audiobook on Audible or Libro.fm (ProTips: Audible is 99 cents/mo for three months, one book a month, AND you can get two free audiobooks on Libro.fm with the code SWITCH right now).
Fave quote:
“I’m the only one who gets to take your life.”
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“Maybe it was possible to love somebody that one hated.”
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“I thought uncertainly of all the classics Ciyi had shown me, that detailed only the deeds of men. But perhaps the women were there too, between the lines, not visible.”
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