A review by mthevice
Empress by Karen Miller

dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.0

Hekat is a horrible person, who many will despise, despite the fact you must like her to some extent if you want to enjoy the book. 
Oh but if you do like her you will enjoy this book and only this book because she is the villain in the rest of the series and nothing actually matters in this book. This story really should have spent more time on her sons.
. But my real problem is that the book series verges on bigotry.
Hekat is the villain of the entire series along with her nation. Which wouldn't have been a problem if they weren't the only people of color in the story. Their culture is seen as barbarous by the European-inspired heroes and there's an entire arc that's dedicated to showing a character the errors of their culture. If you're apart of any black and brown communities you probably know exactly why this bothered me.