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bookwolfash_13's review
4.0
My rating system
5- Gush/Absolutely Loved
4- Low Love/High Like
3- Like
2- Meh
1- Dislike/Hate
If it is a .5 star I round up
4 Stars
Third and final book in the Tales of Akatsuki series.
Okami is a retelling for A Little Red Ridinghood takes place in Feudal Japan but centuries after the events in Kitsune.
Recommend this for anyone that enjoys Japanese Mythology (with romance), fairy tale retellings, anime or manga.
5- Gush/Absolutely Loved
4- Low Love/High Like
3- Like
2- Meh
1- Dislike/Hate
If it is a .5 star I round up
4 Stars
Third and final book in the Tales of Akatsuki series.
Okami is a retelling for A Little Red Ridinghood takes place in Feudal Japan but centuries after the events in Kitsune.
Recommend this for anyone that enjoys Japanese Mythology (with romance), fairy tale retellings, anime or manga.
ewil6681's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookwormbunny's review
5.0
Okami by Nicolette Andrews is a Japanese twist on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. In this book, we are introduced to a variety of characters. Akane is a wolf yokai who is the guardian for her temple. She crosses over into another’s territory and garners the attention of Shin…a fellow yokai. Instead of turning her over to Akio, he lets her go. But he’ll pay a price for this kindness to her. Now Shino is tasked with bringing her back or forfeiting his own freedom to be sealed away in darkness for a hundred years. Akane is trying to protect a girl she loves from becoming tainted, so that she will not lose her to death, but there is a dark secret that pervades everything all around her. A quest for power, those determined to succeed, and a darkness that swirls all around.
Okami is an engaging story and perfect for those who enjoy Japanese mythology and folklore swirled into a familiar story. I enjoyed the variety of characters that the author gives us in this book. Akane is an engaging character. She’s a tormented soul because of what happened to her years before behind the loss of another girl. I’m pained behind how much she despises the wolf side of herself. She holds herself utterly responsible for what happened and fears losing control. Shin is another unique character. He is quirky and fun. I like how dogged he is to be free and how hard he fights for what it is that he wants. When I read that this book was going to be a Little Red Ridinghood retelling, I was expecting the story to follow more closely than it does, but I have to say that I enjoyed this story immensely.
My only real critic concerning this book would be that I would have liked a small index of some sort that tells the reader the different Japanese terms that the author uses in the story. I also honestly wish that there had been a way to identify the different yokai when not using their specific species coupled with yokai.
All in all, this is a book that I truly enjoyed. The author weaves an engaging storyline with a slow blooming romance. This book is beautifully written with characters battling their pasts as they seek a brighter future not just for themselves, but for those that they care about. If you’re looking for a good book that mixes, Japanese folklore with a fairytale retelling then this is the book to pick up. I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Okami is an engaging story and perfect for those who enjoy Japanese mythology and folklore swirled into a familiar story. I enjoyed the variety of characters that the author gives us in this book. Akane is an engaging character. She’s a tormented soul because of what happened to her years before behind the loss of another girl. I’m pained behind how much she despises the wolf side of herself. She holds herself utterly responsible for what happened and fears losing control. Shin is another unique character. He is quirky and fun. I like how dogged he is to be free and how hard he fights for what it is that he wants. When I read that this book was going to be a Little Red Ridinghood retelling, I was expecting the story to follow more closely than it does, but I have to say that I enjoyed this story immensely.
My only real critic concerning this book would be that I would have liked a small index of some sort that tells the reader the different Japanese terms that the author uses in the story. I also honestly wish that there had been a way to identify the different yokai when not using their specific species coupled with yokai.
All in all, this is a book that I truly enjoyed. The author weaves an engaging storyline with a slow blooming romance. This book is beautifully written with characters battling their pasts as they seek a brighter future not just for themselves, but for those that they care about. If you’re looking for a good book that mixes, Japanese folklore with a fairytale retelling then this is the book to pick up. I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars.
baskerville_book_reviews's review
5.0
I went into this book thinking it was a Little Mermaid retelling. Kinda shows how much of a grasp I have on reality, now that I think about it. I previously reviewed Yuki: A Snow White Retelling, I didn’t know I had all 3 books. While I spent the first few hours of this story lost and confused, I still feel I have a decent grasp of what was going on.
That’s not saying much though. I was still lost. There were a bunch of Japanese names and words being brought up, much like in Yuki. I’ve heard the names before (okami, oni, etc.) but I have no idea what they mean. I’ve also never had more than a passing familiarity with the Red Riding Hood story in any format. All this to say; I went into this with little to no context.
We’ve all seen the story about a pair who are reluctantly traveling together and slowly starting to have feelings for each other. It’s well done and even if you want to call it unoriginal, it’s a retelling. So it’s not like the book is pretending to be original.
The failing here is the pacing. All of the romance scenes are really sped up. They really didn’t do the whole “I can’t stand you and I can’t wait to not have to travel with you anymore!” thing. There were some sweet bonding scenes and scenes where they shared a moment and grew as characters. There was always so much more of import going on story-wise, the romance really took a back seat. The protagonists had chemistry but not the time to properly develop it in a way that didn’t feel rushed.
There was a super obvious scene. The moment I describe it, if you’ve read any romance before, you’ll know what I mean. The scene where one character finds out the other was lying about or hiding something, then gets pissed at them for a few chapters before forgiving them. That scene played out as expected, but it really felt wasted as it was over with so quickly, it really didn’t feel like it needed to happen.
The audio narration was great. I didn’t take any notes because there weren’t any repeated audio instances, I was always able to tell who was speaking. The narrator didn’t constantly mispronounce words and spoke in a clear, consistent tone of voice. It was a nice treat to have a competent narrator with clean audio.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
clairisa's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really good read!
I'm a big fan of Asian Mythology and especially Japanese. It was refreshing to read a novel that has these elements in it But the story focus more on the Okami (wolf shape shifters) if I'm not mistaken. Both Akane and Shin have a dark past and have a inner conflict going on inside from mistakes they've made in their past. That's what I liked about both characters that they were flawed and wasn't perfect in everything they did. When they met they both instantly dislike each other because of their strong personality and because both have they own duties that they need to carry out. But somehow they crossed paths again and we she how they learn more about each other and grow closer which was great to see. I highly recommend this book or the trilogy if like adventure with a little bit of romance.
I'm a big fan of Asian Mythology and especially Japanese. It was refreshing to read a novel that has these elements in it But the story focus more on the Okami (wolf shape shifters) if I'm not mistaken. Both Akane and Shin have a dark past and have a inner conflict going on inside from mistakes they've made in their past. That's what I liked about both characters that they were flawed and wasn't perfect in everything they did. When they met they both instantly dislike each other because of their strong personality and because both have they own duties that they need to carry out. But somehow they crossed paths again and we she how they learn more about each other and grow closer which was great to see. I highly recommend this book or the trilogy if like adventure with a little bit of romance.
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