The Empress of Time

Almost a year ago, SK and I started our buddy reading journey with Kylie Lee Baker’s The Keeper of Night. This duology series has a strong hold on us and when we finally got around to reading the conclusion, The Empress of Time, we had so much more to say! If you haven’t read our discussion of The Keeper of Night yet, head over there first. Then, check out the synopsis for The Empress of Time and then read on for our thoughts.

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The Empress of Time

Kriti: Similar to the beginning of The Keeper of Night, we meet Ren in The Empress of Time devouring a soul. She has become a legend, a demon that haunts Japan and kills people without any reason. She has her reasons but no human will ever know. The Empress of Time takes place ten years after the events of The Keeper of Night. Ren lost her brother, Neven, to the darkness and had to kill her fiance, Hiro, to stop his schemes. In this book, Ren is lonely. She is focused on one and only one goal – to become so powerful that she can break into the kingdom of darkness and bring back Neven. She is devouring the souls of criminals to gain strength and bit by bit, the wall separating her palace from the darkness is developing cracks. 

As a half-reaper, she can hear the whispers of the people around her. The burden of her birth isn’t something she can let go and she carries on by being cruel, the only way she knows to be powerful. I found The Empress of Time to be a fascinating tale because of Ren. She is still whiny but her focus and drive to get something done is stronger than ever. I have loved side characters more before but in this book, Ren was everything to me. I got lost in the depths of her despair and rooted for her to resurface. SK, what did you think of the Ren we met at the beginning of The Empress of Time and the one we left at the end of The Keeper of Night?

SK: I was fascinated and heartbroken by Ren from the beginning, wrapped in the heaviness of her guilt and grief from the end of the last book. One thing that struck me from the beginning is how Ren is so driven to bring Neven back in part because she knows he’s afraid of darkness and she knows he’s trapped in a darkness filled with monsters. It’s basically his worst nightmare, and she’s desperate to save him from it, crushed by the guilt of her own mistakes that led him there. And for ten years, she beats her head against this wall of “if I can only be strong enough, I can save him” even knowing that it’s ten years of living in a nightmare for him and he may never be able to forgive her for that. She might never even find him. But she tries anyway. She flings her entire self at that wall over and over hoping this time she’ll be able to break through. She’ll do anything, sparing herself and the world nothing, to bring back her brother– even if those things are not things he would want her to do, even for him. And I think that’s the crux of her mental state at the beginning. So wrapped up in her own desperate self-sacrificing that she can’t see anything else, any other path. 

Tsukuyomi’s arrival is a shock to Ren. His uncanny resemblance to Hiro brings back memories of the man she adored. He brings news of reapers looking for her. He has been commanded by his father to help Ren so she has an unlikely companion to work with now. The worry of the gods is that death will fall in the hands of someone else. They don’t really believe in her to stand her ground. Whether help is given by choice or out of obligation, when two people have to work together, they get to know each other. Ren struggles with separating Tsukuyomi from his twin brother while hiding her deepest secrets but as a god, Tsukuyomi has lived long enough to get her secrets without being told.

I was actually horrified for a moment thinking he really was Hiro come back again, and as I read, I mirrored Ren’s horror in the book, along with this careful, suspicious slow acceptance that Tsukuyomi isn’t Hiro. But is he any better? Or worse. So that really worked for me.

Ren holds on to a lot of pain from Hiro, and it affects her greatly in this book. That I think helps to really complete the duology feel, and it creates conflict between her and Tsukuyomi. I much appreciated the difference even (maybe especially) with Tsukuyomi’s decision at the end. What are your thoughts on Hiro and Tsukuyomi?

Ren knew Hiro in a way that no old else does. Or at least she believes that to be the case. She is mad at his family for never showing up after he passed away and that anger comes out on Tsukuyomi when he finally does show up for completely different reasons. I commended Tsukuyomi’s decision at the end as well. It felt more real than the cliche endings we often see in books where people just fall in together, as if having a romantic partner is the end goal of every story.  

What did you gather of Hiro and Tsukuyomi? How were they different? How were they alike, apart from being twins? 🙂

I really appreciated how Tsukuyomi was treated in this book, this slow peeling back of lies and uncovering the past wounds and deeper truths. I also really loved how masterfully that matched Ren’s arc and what she learns about herself and how to move forward. Tsukuyomi is a character I appreciated a lot more than I liked Hiro– I love his quiet strength and self control, and I love how his self-sacrificing was a foil to Ren’s, and how she could learn things about herself by realizing the damage he was doing by making the same mistakes she was making. I also really appreciated the ending, too, in which they’re in a better place together but there was no need for them to be partners, because they each still had their own messes to clean up before having space in their hearts for a healthy romance. That read really strong to me, and was refreshing too. They fixed a lot, but there was still a lot of growth to be done– but the door remained open for future potential. 

I agree wholeheartedly with you here! It was heartbreaking to read of Ren’s struggles with the Head Shinigamis. Using ceremony to gain respect and then anger and horror to command attention are sad tactics Ren has to resort to. Seeing her walk away from them and take on the reapers by herself made me worry for her immensely! SK, what did you think of those scenes and how Ren approached the Head Shinigamis? 

The Head Shinigamis made me so mad, lol. I just wanted to shake them, just like I wanted to shake Ren for half the book, but they were an excellent way to underline how Ren felt so very isolated and alone, with no one she could trust. She’d definitely made a mess of things in the last book, and I liked that it wasn’t swept under the rug, even though I wished someone in the book would have a little care and understanding, lol. That mirrors the first book wonderfully though, with her leaning on Neven’s care and understanding. 

Later, when it was pointed out that she didn’t even know how to use Izanami’s katana, no sword fighting skills whatsoever, I was baffled. Ren, in her focused pursuit to gain access to deep darkness so that she can save Neven forgets to upgrade fighting skills? She did learn Japanese thanks to Chiyo’s constant pestering so her decade was not devoid of education, thankfully. What do you think Ren was doing in the years we skipped over?

I think it comes down to her feelings of not being enough and her single-minded devotion to eating hearts, actually. When it was revealed that she hadn’t spent time on becoming a katana expert, at first I was surprised, but I quickly felt that actually made sense for her character–she makes things harder on herself than necessary a large amount of the time. 

The Empress of Time has breathtaking action. We go a deep look into the time freeze that reapers employ, how it affects them in real time as well as over the course of their lives. This is a fast moving book with lots of obstacles. I got some obstacle fatigue like 50% through. But the emotions and characters are so well done that it makes sense to be tired with them! I love the writing and the pace. I felt as high strung as Ren. I could feel her frustration and helplessness but she has to keep going. And she does. What did you think of the action scenes in this book?

I love the way the time freeze was used in both books! It was a great way to add an element of both surprise and tension, an extra strategy in the action sequences. I actually didn’t feel any obstacle fatigue– I simply devoured the book. I was planning on chewing it over slowly, but alas, that became no longer an option by like the fourth chapter or so! I really enjoyed the interweaving of the emotional components with the action sequences and the battle with the Reapers was really well done, I thought. 

With Ivy and the reapers coming to Japan, Ren is terrified. The one person who has always haunted and taunted her is Ivy. She has been bullied, called names, crushed by Ivy in uncountable ways and the last thing Ren needs is for her to come here. In the course of asking gods for help, meeting Yokai and traveling Japan, Ren admits to herself that doesn’t know the boundaries of her abilities. She is afraid of her power, the darkness that resides in her through Izanami. But more than that, she is so used to living where she has to show her worth and that she matters to no one. She counters this by becoming vicious and merciless. What did you think of Ivy? Was she and the reapers truly a threat that Ren thought them to be?

I think Ivy’s biggest powers were always inside Ren’s mind. And by that I don’t mean that she’d have been fine if Ren ignored her–Ivy was always a bully and ignoring bullies doesn’t always work. But Ren worked herself up with Ivy all the time, creating an even bigger threat in her mind from the one that was always there. She absorbed Ivy’s attempts to shame and humiliate her and believed Ivy was right, in some small portion of her soul. So that was why Ivy held so much power over her, and why it made sense to me for Ivy to be the climactic battle. Every time someone rejected Ren, it proved to her that Ivy was right, that her father was right, etc. That she would never be enough. And that’s a horrible thing to think about oneself. It tears away your power, and it can be so paralyzing with its despair. But with Ren (and Tsukuyomi) learning in this book that others’ perceptions of them aren’t necessarily true, that they can believe they’re better people than other people see them as, that was very very cool to me, and I really appreciated it and how it was done.

There are two ghosts in this story: One is Izanami, always whispering to Ren, wanting her to give in to darkness and devour everything. And then there is Hiro. Ren taking the throne is his legacy and as someone who has trouble trusting other people, Ren is left with deep wounds because of Hiro. What did you think of the role Izinami played in The Empress of Time? Had you expected her to remain a character in the story?

I had not expected Izanami to remain a character, but once I saw the effects of her voice and the themes of the book came into play, it made a lot of sense. Ren is trapped in this complicated family dynamic of old grudges and past wounds and lies and misunderstandings, all layered on top of her self-doubt and her fear of being fundamentally unlovable and worthless. To have Izanami in her ear, whispering at her made a lot of sense, and went along really well I thought with her increasing acceptance of herself and confidence instead of desperation. Her struggles are so hard, and she has so much trouble learning the lessons she needs to learn, but then again, so do people in real life, too. 

Getting to know the gods of Japan was a great adventure! They are not perfect and there is clearly a hierarchy of influence in their circles as well. While the gods were born into it, Ren was not. She stumbled upon the throne of death but she cannot walk away from its responsibility. She continues to aggravate her misery (by becoming someone she knows Neven would despise) and she uses it to portray authority when she approaches the gods. I was proud and fearful for her at the same time.

Yes, I felt the same way!

Sometimes The Empress of Time felt like a meditation on legends. Ren is observant and is able to pick out the differences between the paintings depicted in god palaces and those told to her by the gods themselves. Was there a god in particular that you felt drawn to? 

I don’t know a ton about Japanese mythology, so learning more through Ren’s adventures has been an absolute blast. I’m an unabashed mythology lover, lol. I obviously loved Tsukuyomi, and he was probably the one that drew me the most, which isn’t surprising given his role in the book. But I also found myself drawn to the god under the sea, and also our lovely sun goddess with her nearly unreachable palace of light. And yet each was so deeply flawed and so human, something that makes mythology so accessible as a way of examining the messes we find ourselves in–and the ones we make for ourselves!

The Yokai were a huge part of The Empress of Time. They feared Izanami while she was the goddess of death. After Ren took the throne, she left them alone. I loved meeting so many different Yokai and the festival that brought them all together was fun to imagine. I liked the many shapes that they took as well as their powers. Ren may have asked the gods and her head shinigami to help but she never imagined being aided by the yokai. I felt that there is a kinship to be found for Ren in the yokai. Many of them have been despised and ignored for who they are. She can relate.

Yes, absolutely! I really appreciated her interactions with the yokai and the understanding that while they could be at times monstrous, they were not simply monsters, no more than she was. I loved that they tended to be shunned and overlooked just like she did, and yet, they played such an important role. That there was a deeper understanding to be made there, and that there could be respect and partnership, even. That was excellently shown, for me– they were an excellent mirror.

I want to discuss the significance of the title. To me, it alludes to the powers of reapers as they can control time. What did it mean to you?

Oh I loved the title. I think it bookends beautifully with the Keeper of Night. She starts as a Reaper, controller of time, but accepts this nighttime shadowed world hoping to find home, and that reflects in the title of the first book. Then, this second book, she’s an Empress (thanks to Izanami) of sorts, but she’s still also a Reaper, so the title again reflects that she’s got both parts as part of her whole, even if they’re mixed up a little from the previous book–she herself, is mixed up and mirrored from how she was in the previous book, after all.  

I had not expected Neven to come back. I was hooked as soon as he showed up. Time has passed and he is older now. Surviving in deep darkness took away some of his youth but I still found him mostly true to his The Keeper of Night self. What did you think of his return? What role did it play in the rest of the story?

I was not expecting Neven to return either, but I was so glad he did, even if he wasn’t the Neven Ren and I knew and loved anymore. I was so invested in the two of them learning to repair their relationship and learn how to trust each other again. He was a harder version of himself, which made sense but broke my heart, but at the core of him, he was still Neven, so wise at times and still so loving even if he’d learned to guard his heart and even if he was so angry. Ren’s decisions had a steep cost, and Neven had paid a hefty portion of that cost, and so it made sense that he would not be the same person he was at the beginning. Even so, he still carried with him that bright spark of hope that I love him for. 

There’s a lot in here with sibling relationships and love as well, with Tsukuyomi and Ameterasu and with Neven and Ren. What jumped out at you about those pairings and how they affect both Ren and Tsukuyomi?

I love that you mentioned the sibling pairing! Especially for the reapers and shinigami who live long lives, the relationships with siblings have lots of time to evolve and change. I found the tensions between Tsukuyomi and Ameterasu quite interesting. How each perceived events that had transpired and how much hate and anger Ameterasu carried against Tsukuyomi was heartbreaking, especially considering he does want to have a relationship with her.

Ren’s struggles with Neven are similar. It is hard to imagine Neven as an older man. Since the book was from Ren’s perspective, I often fell into thinking of him as the young boy that he was. She tries to give him his independence but it is very hard for her to not put herself in front of him when the going gets tough. I liked her protectiveness and admired her growth as an older sibling. What did you think of the many sibling relationships shown in this book?

My thoughts are very similar–both of the main sibling pairs did an amazing job of mirroring the rift of the other, and how if both sides actually want to reach out, time and effort can help to build that bridge. Of course, the sea god also showed that both sides have to want to reach out, which was a great point too, I think. 

What did you think about the musings on the nature of love and neglect, of love and pain in this story? Especially regarding Ren’s choices in the first book and the second with the light of her father’s confession?

Ren’s father plays a huge role in shaping her throughout the books. Though he gave her a place to live in, she was always an outsider even in her own house and that drove her to find solace in other places, only to find out that her wanting is not enough. 

Ren has believed she’s alone all her life, and that’s another thing that really makes this duology sing as a duology for me. The first book was hard at the ending and though well done, I was a bit upset. But completed, it all works even better, I think. Ren goes from feeling alone to truly believing she’s alone, losing her brother and killing Hiro at the end of the first book and we pick up there at the beginning of this book. How do you feel the theme worked for you by the end of this book?

I loved this book so much! Ren’s life is obstacle after obstacle and same as her, I just want her to be accepted. But that isn’t going to come until she accepts herself. Something we talked about when we discussed book one. This was a great duology and I am so impressed that the author could weave these characters, emotions, situations and trials all together! At the end of The Keeper of Night, I knew the follow up book was going to be a dark plunge in a deep pond. It felt exactly that way. I am so happy I read this series. It’s on my to-buy list though I might just steal them from my brother who has book 1.

Absolutely– this duology was just masterfully done, and I’m so impressed with the author’s skills! This goes right up there with Strange the Dreamer for me–just an incredibly well told duology.

Second books are hard to write. As readers, we often don’t like the second book in a series as much as the 1st or the 2nd. SK, what has your experience been with the 2nd book as an author and reader? Are they different to write? How does the length of the series affect the impactfulness of a second book?

Yeah, definitely, second books are difficult! It’s so hard because as a reader, I hate the feeling of let-down when I read a second book and it doesn’t deliver on the promises and the craft of the first book. It’s so disappointing when that happens! As an author, of course, I try to make sure I don’t fall into those traps myself, but it can be difficult and honestly if I didn’t have so much control over the publishing myself, I’m not sure I’d be able to pull it off. I had the freedom to craft an ending for my first book in the series that wrapped up that main conflict while still kicking off the next book, because I’m going to finish the series no matter what. If I didn’t have that assurance, well, that makes it a whole lot more difficult to balance those things. 

I think length of the series matters a little, because the middle book tends to be the hardest, I think, because it’s carrying the most load of overall series arcs and it’s hard to balance all that without getting bogged down. Middle books are like the keystone for arches, I think. So in a trilogy, your middle book is also your second book, so you have that added complication to the second book. At least trilogies are quite common, so readers are prepared! For me, I’m finding the third book to be more difficult than the second (but also so, so cool to write), because that’s my middle book is the third book, since I’ve got a 5 book series going on. So it’s the third book that’s juggling all those pieces for me. 

I’ve never written a duology, but I imagine part of the challenge would be to pair so nicely with the first book without the first book feeling wholly incomplete by itself. So it’s a matter of expanding and going farther from what was set up in the first book, and then twisting those elements and carrying through the themes. So you end up with two stories with their own arcs that nonetheless create a perfect, complete pair side-by-side.  That’s what blows me away about this particular duology, the skill with which that was done, and how satisfying it was!

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Thanks for making it to the end of our discussion! The Keeper of Night has been an amazing series and I didn’t realize until scheduling this post that it was our first buddy read. Since, we have also read and adored The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (discussion) and we are planning to read Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao next.

Have you read this book or started on this series yet? Tell us your thoughts in the comments or link to your reviews so we can check them out. If you are convinced to pick it up, add it to your Goodreads and Storygraph shelves.

Check back tomorrow for an interview with Kylie Baker!!

Head to the buddy reads page to find other detailed book discussions!

Cover Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash