The Poet Empress: Meet the epic fantasy debut of 2026

'Gorgeous' CHLOE GONG 'Sublime' AMELIE WEN ZHAO 'Enthralling' ANDREA STEWART 'Astounding' CHELSEA ABDULLAH 'Devastating' KRITIKA H. RAO 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. Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Poppy War, The Binding, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.