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teddie_valetine98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75 rounded up for GR!
it took me a bit to get into this book, but it’s extremely sweet, and very much gives Sophie Hatter vibes. miuko is funny, relatable, and realistically flawed; there were points where I facepalmed at her choices, and I liked that! I was also reminded of over the garden wall a bit? loved that too
I found that some of the “episodes” in muikos journey felt overlong or even unnecessary; the plot is very neatly made, but some of the threads felt like they didn’t need to be there. I also think that the made-up language was… cool at first, but ultimately became tiring and distracted me from the actual story. i really didn’t like how often the author defined a word in the text itself; most of them were easy to pick up via context clues, or didn’t matter enough to need explanation. i think this author had a lot of fun making this language, and it’s excellent, but it bogged down the writing for me. If the explanations had been saved for an authors note or even a silmarillion-esque set of tales to explain the in-universe etymology, I would’ve loved it! extra sentences in a paragraph just to explain the meaning of one word not so much.
all in all, a fun time!
it took me a bit to get into this book, but it’s extremely sweet, and very much gives Sophie Hatter vibes. miuko is funny, relatable, and realistically flawed; there were points where I facepalmed at her choices, and I liked that! I was also reminded of over the garden wall a bit? loved that too
I found that some of the “episodes” in muikos journey felt overlong or even unnecessary; the plot is very neatly made, but some of the threads felt like they didn’t need to be there. I also think that the made-up language was… cool at first, but ultimately became tiring and distracted me from the actual story. i really didn’t like how often the author defined a word in the text itself; most of them were easy to pick up via context clues, or didn’t matter enough to need explanation. i think this author had a lot of fun making this language, and it’s excellent, but it bogged down the writing for me. If the explanations had been saved for an authors note or even a silmarillion-esque set of tales to explain the in-universe etymology, I would’ve loved it! extra sentences in a paragraph just to explain the meaning of one word not so much.
all in all, a fun time!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War
aelis_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
spookily's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
unsure's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I highly recommend. All of the characters are well written and complex, but still likeable. The villain and the main character act as foils to each other, but both of their motives are easily understood.
This is such a good look into the impact of power on a person's character, and the importance of choice and freedom.
This is such a good look into the impact of power on a person's character, and the importance of choice and freedom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, and War
yilliun's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Solid book exploring Japanese mythology and a journey to find oneself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
pagelikebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Abandonment
Moderate: Colonisation and War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Transphobia
cyan_altaria's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
A exciting tale of being true to yourself and defeating evil, all strongly rooted in Japanese mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Death, Murder, and War
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Miuko: "Come on. There is so much more out there than this."
Senara (eyes glittering with tears, or perhaps excitement): "For a girl?"
Miuko: "For anyone brave enough to look."
This was both exceptional and not quite for me. It felt a little disjointed and repetitive at times, but I often feel that way about fairytales and quest adventures. So much of the action seems to unfold and redirect on the go that it can feel like being in a pinball machine. Not that this wasn't brilliantly plotted — it obviously was — with interesting characters, a fascinating mid-story shift, a take down of patriarchal oppression, and a girl finding the strength to make mistakes and try again and again as she fights the demons around and within her.
Senara (eyes glittering with tears, or perhaps excitement): "For a girl?"
Miuko: "For anyone brave enough to look."
This was both exceptional and not quite for me. It felt a little disjointed and repetitive at times, but I often feel that way about fairytales and quest adventures. So much of the action seems to unfold and redirect on the go that it can feel like being in a pinball machine. Not that this wasn't brilliantly plotted — it obviously was — with interesting characters, a fascinating mid-story shift, a take down of patriarchal oppression, and a girl finding the strength to make mistakes and try again and again as she fights the demons around and within her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This adventure is funny from page one. I'm far more used to ya fantasy relying on angst and despair, etc., so this approach was glittering and exciting for me from the start.
Miuko is a gloriously chaotic protagonist who speaks her mind even when inconvenient (for herself as much as anyone else) and loudly enough for all to hear. When she is cursed to slowly turn into a malevolence demon, Miuko takes up with an even more chaotic magpie shapeshifter spirit, Geiki, who likes shiny things as much as he dislikes superfluous (all of them) rules. Another pleasant departure from genre norms is that this friendship never becomes romantic. Miuko thinks Geiki's handsome, so I think if you want to ship it as a future option, go for it, but during this story's timeline, her feelings are firmly platonic and no less fierce for it. There's no pining, no jealousy, no toxic possessiveness.
In their quest for information on breaking the curse, a library B&E is necessary because women aren't allowed, and their ridiculous escapades valiantly returned all the missing joy from my life. I also appreciated the footnotes, which range from helpful to snarky. My favorites were the swear words, with footnotes assuring us they were too rude to translate while also providing grammatical options for our own usage.
Sexism is a sad reality in this world, but it fuels both plot and humor as Miuko expands her horizons. There's also non-binary and trans representation. While the gender binary is pretty strongly adhered to among humans, non-binary humans can serve as priests, and demons and spirits can do whatever they want because human rules are stupid and limiting. I appreciate the author's message on gender and power. Miuko ponders that yes, she has limited power as a girl, but she also doesn't want to wield power in the way men do. I did find that the resolution of the conversation was pretty simplistic and happy-go-lucky, but it was thoughtful overall.
My only problem while reading was that the humor nearly evaporated in the latter half of the book in conjunction with a plot shift that I didn't fully dislike but was less engaging for me nonetheless. A time travel element didn't fully make sense to my small brain, and a complete changeover to a new set of supporting cast members had a lesser claim on my heart.
This is a solid ya fantasy read, all the more pleasant for the ways that it dodges the expected, tired pitfalls of the genre. It has a lovely approach to gender with a triumph over power structures that assign worth on a strict system according to gender binary. If you're looking for a ya fantasy read with laughs and colorful, snappy world-building, this would be a great read for you.
Miuko is a gloriously chaotic protagonist who speaks her mind even when inconvenient (for herself as much as anyone else) and loudly enough for all to hear. When she is cursed to slowly turn into a malevolence demon, Miuko takes up with an even more chaotic magpie shapeshifter spirit, Geiki, who likes shiny things as much as he dislikes superfluous (all of them) rules. Another pleasant departure from genre norms is that this friendship never becomes romantic. Miuko thinks Geiki's handsome, so I think if you want to ship it as a future option, go for it, but during this story's timeline, her feelings are firmly platonic and no less fierce for it. There's no pining, no jealousy, no toxic possessiveness.
In their quest for information on breaking the curse, a library B&E is necessary because women aren't allowed, and their ridiculous escapades valiantly returned all the missing joy from my life. I also appreciated the footnotes, which range from helpful to snarky. My favorites were the swear words, with footnotes assuring us they were too rude to translate while also providing grammatical options for our own usage.
Sexism is a sad reality in this world, but it fuels both plot and humor as Miuko expands her horizons. There's also non-binary and trans representation. While the gender binary is pretty strongly adhered to among humans, non-binary humans can serve as priests, and demons and spirits can do whatever they want because human rules are stupid and limiting. I appreciate the author's message on gender and power. Miuko ponders that yes, she has limited power as a girl, but she also doesn't want to wield power in the way men do. I did find that the resolution of the conversation was pretty simplistic and happy-go-lucky, but it was thoughtful overall.
My only problem while reading was that the humor nearly evaporated in the latter half of the book in conjunction with a plot shift that I didn't fully dislike but was less engaging for me nonetheless. A time travel element didn't fully make sense to my small brain, and a complete changeover to a new set of supporting cast members had a lesser claim on my heart.
This is a solid ya fantasy read, all the more pleasant for the ways that it dodges the expected, tired pitfalls of the genre. It has a lovely approach to gender with a triumph over power structures that assign worth on a strict system according to gender binary. If you're looking for a ya fantasy read with laughs and colorful, snappy world-building, this would be a great read for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism