FORMAT/INFO: The Poet Empress will be published by Bramble on January 20th, 2026. It is 400 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: To save her family and her village from starvation, Wei will do anything - including offering herself as a consort to the cruel Prince Terran. But upon arriving at the palace, it becomes clear that the fate of more than just her village is at stake. A succession crisis threatens to tear the country apart, and if Prince Terran is victorious, he will bring only more war and suffering to the land. Determined to protect her people, Wei begins to learn to read and write - skills forbidden to women - so that she can craft a spell to kill the prince, despite his magical protections. But for such a spell to work, Wei must find the words to capture the truth of the prince and how he was shaped into the monster he is today.

The Poet Empress is a dark tale of quests for power that walks the line of finding empathy for damaged people without absolving them of their own actions. I want to say off the top that I find it odd that this is being published by a romance imprint, as it doesn't fit any of the usual hallmarks of a romance story. This is a fantasy tale that examines the relationships that drive our lives, including the love between brothers. But this is not a tale with a happily ever after, nor a sweeping love story.

I also want to note that this book does deal with dark themes and actions, but it is not an explicit book. Any sex scenes happen off-page or are described vaguely in terms like "the childmaking act." There are still elements in the plot that are dark and disturbing (check the content warnings at the front of the book), but you will not be subjected to overly detailed descriptions of violent assaults or encounter any broader explicit sex scenes.

So if The Poet Empress isn't a romance, what is it? It is a court drama mixed with a dash of mystery. In order to do anything in her new home, Wei has to survive, and to do that, she needs power. But in her quest for power, will she lose her own moral compass? It's the dilemma Wei has to reckon with as she shapes what kind of consort she will be. Is violence the only way to earn respect or is there another way? Wei is offered no easy solutions, and is often forced into split-second decisions to survive yet another plot to kill or discredit her. I love games of social chess, where people are trying to trap each other through societal rules and clever words, and The Poet Empress delivered.

At the same time Wei is grappling with court politics, she is also trying to craft a poetry spell to kill Prince Terren, and for the spell to work, she has to be able to capture the truth of him in verse. This is where the mystery element comes in: how did Terren go from a timid but friendly child to the cruel despot he is today? Wei has to get the story of Terren's life from multiple people, as each one only has one part of the story. While one person can report on an incident in Terren's life, it's only by speaking to someone else that Wei can get the context and motivations for Terren's actions. I enjoyed the slow unraveling of the prince's life, to have the pieces click into place as we begin to understand what drives not only him, but the other people in Terren's life.

Even while enjoying this exploration of Terren, I was worried that this story would end up hand-waving away the prince's horrific acts because of the trauma in his life. Thankfully, while this tale gives us empathy for the struggles a person can secretly be going through, it still holds them accountable for their actions. As Wei points out, people endure great suffering all the time without becoming monsters themselves.

As for Wei herself, she is great to watch and a complicated character. While she comes to the palace as part of a selfless act, she isn't above being petty and vindictive. As she grows from naive farm girl to calculating consort, she relishes the fear she can instill in others. She goes on her own journey of how far she will go to amass power and what she will use that power for.

The Poet Empress is an intriguing tale of power, the fate of nations, and the secret pains we keep from the world. It's a tale of haves and have nots, about how common folk are left to suffer because those in power are too busy trying to protect their own legacy. And while it's not a romance, it's certainly about how the relationships in your life can define you for both good and for ill.