Book: The Emperor's Enemy
Author: Jasmine
Mas
Pages: 448
Date(s)
Read: September 23rd, 2026 to October 3rd, 2026
Date
Published: September 15th, 2026
Rating: 2/5
Genre: Fae, Romantasy, Fantasy
Characters: 3/5
Writing style: 1/5
Story: 2/5
Ending: 3/5
Cover: 5/5
Format: Hard Cover
Date Bought: September 4th, 2026
Book Cost: $31.60
Review:
Wow, this
is a tough book to rate! It's bad, so so so bad and yet, I could not put it
down.
In the
emperors enemy Zora must work with her arch-nemesis, Tarantula. He's the
emporers right hand man and now that he's captured she has to train with him,
spar with him, and go on missions with him while trying to take down the
mysterious but equally evil empero Emperor'sr.
They both finding working together harder than they thought when both are both
polarized and attracted to the other in this true enemies-to-lovers romantasy.
OK, where
to begin. This book is bad, like astonishingly how-did-she-get-published bad.
To think someone actually read and published this trash is beyond me. It's a
train wreck.
The world
building doesn't exist at all. All I can glean is the world is somehow both
ancient and modern (there's missiles and planes but no photographers so they
just paint portraits of big events!) There's also weird modern things like the
term cosplaying or his request that she sit on his face (I'm not joking) that
really break the immersion in a fantasy world. None of the particulars in this
world fit together in any cohesive way. I just could not picture it, and
anytime I tried to make it make sense I just found myself stressed out with a
headache.
Aside from
the lack of world building everything is dropped suddenly and randomly, like
the author came up with it on the spot with no buildup or relevant background
information, events and missions just happen and you have no real context. A
good example is around three thirds of the way through she passes the trial of
some godlike being never once previously mentioned. No, the trial wasn't ever
before mentioned either.
God, the
more I think about it, the more I could kick myself for being taken in for thirty-one
dollars because of a pretty cover.
Here's
where things get interesting though, it's a bad book, there's no denying but it
does do some things well. First, the chemistry and yearning are off the charts.
I was so invested in the romance, more so than any books recently. The banter
is great, I enjoyed the animal sidekick and her friends. I have to admit that
despite everything holding this book back it was a total blast to read and I
couldn't put it down.
Essentially
this book is so bad it's good.
But will I
read the next one when it comes out? Maybe, but not at full price.
