House of the azalea, where thorn meets bud; Brother betrays brother, blood forgets blood. Young rice farmer Yin Wei was forced to become concubine to Prince Guan Terren - a monstrous wielder of poetry magic, and heir to the Azalea throne - to save her family from the famine blighting the land of Tensha. Now confined to the imperial court, Terren''s cruelty is not the only danger Wei faces. He and his honourable older brother are locked in a deadly succession war, while Terren''s thirty concubines are fighting a war of their own, for the position of future empress. To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself - even if it means learning the one forbidden poem that can kill Terren and save both herself and the nation. But there''s a problem - for the spell to work against a man she hates, it must be written with love.

Autorentext

Shen Tao immigrated to Canada at an early age, and grew up inspired by both Chinese and Western stories. She has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. The Poet Empress is her first book.

Klappentext

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK

'An impressive debut with real psychological depth' THE GUARDIAN
**'Richly imagined and politically driven'** THE I PAPER
**'In a class of its own'** THE DAILY MAIL
**'It now holds a standard for fantasy standalones'** GRIMDARK MAGAZINE
*'An epic world of literomancy and magical dynasty' SFX
'Tao's prose gleams with poetic precision'* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
**'Full of page-turning suspense'** KIRKUS
**'An intricate study of court politics'** LIBRARY JOURNAL
*'This dark fantasy stands out among the plethora of romantasy' BOOKLIST
'Vicious, gorgeous, and fiercely haunting'* CHLOE GONG
**'Sublime'** AMELIE WEN ZHAO
**'Enthralling'** ANDREA STEWART
**'Astounding'** CHELSEA ABDULLAH
**'Lyrical'** K. X. SONG
**'Devastating'** KRITIKA H. RAO
**'Fantasy at its best'** VAISHNAVI PATEL

TO KILL A MONSTER, SHE MUST BECOME ONE . . .

As the emperor lays dying, the once-great Azalea Dynasty plunges towards civil war. While its princes plot for power, a more hidden war - to become the next empress - occupies the imperial court.

Wei Yin - peasant girl turned concubine to the cruel Prince Terren - has already endured unimaginable suffering. Ripped from her family, she has no title, no allies, and no escape. But she does have a secret . . .

In the shadows of the palace, surrounded by enemies, she is learning a skill forbidden to women. Because when words are weapons and poetry holds an ancient magic, the fate of a girl - and a nation - can both be rewritten. All she has to do is compose the perfect poem - a tale so powerful, it can kill any man, even the next emperor.

The epic political arena of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang meets the intimate tragedy and luscious language of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in this sensational debut novel by visionary new talent Shen Tao, unmissable for die-hard genre fans as well as readers of literary fiction looking to make their first foray into fantasy.