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kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
This is an interesting and fun introduction to Andrews' fantastical ancient Japan where Yokai such as trickster foxes, Dragons, witches, boar-headed guardians of the forest, and okami-wolves live secretly alongside the usual human lords and warriors.
There is definitely an emphasis on the fantastical. And Andrews throughs her own spin on the Yokai hierarchy, with main character Rin part of a Dragon Lord's service one of her enemies, Naoki, part of the guardian of the forest's retinue. The magic is usually transformational, strength and "sending out spiritual awareness" while the actual curses and magic are interestingly mostly done by a human witch who causes the most trouble in this story.
I have to admit, I got a little lost as to whom the witch might be helping and whom she might be harming. She ends up appearing to almost all the main characters and nudges them on one path or another. I also got a bit mixed up in the second half of the book because we're introduced to like four or five love-pairings. We don't spend enough time with any of them, except for Rin, the Kitsune main character, to really get to know them so I felt a little lost at times.
I enjoyed the first half of the book more that focused alot more on the love triangle of Rin, cursed into speechlessness and sent to sabotage the human Lord, Hikaru's, treaty with another powerful family for reasons we never end up finding out, Hikaru the already-married human lord, and Shin, the okami friend of Rin who secretly loves her. Watching them interact was fun. The world is believable enough as a fantastical Japan, sometimes the details (such as Hikaru's brother's name Hotaru, which could be a legit samurai name but not one I'm familiar with) were more on the imaginative side. But that's not an issue with enjoying the story.
But then we get a whole mess of other characters I hadn't grown to love yet, and as I mentioned above, that got confusing after a while. And part of that confusion might just be a personal prejudice of my own against multiple POV jumping. I don't mind a few jumps between two or three, but in order for me to really enjoy a story, I want to spend time feeling things from the main characters' perspectives. This one had us jumping into the heads of many of the main couples, so again, not necessarily something that other people would mind.
If you are a manga/anime lover, or enjoy Japanese mythology, you'll like this story.
There is definitely an emphasis on the fantastical. And Andrews throughs her own spin on the Yokai hierarchy, with main character Rin part of a Dragon Lord's service one of her enemies, Naoki, part of the guardian of the forest's retinue. The magic is usually transformational, strength and "sending out spiritual awareness" while the actual curses and magic are interestingly mostly done by a human witch who causes the most trouble in this story.
I have to admit, I got a little lost as to whom the witch might be helping and whom she might be harming. She ends up appearing to almost all the main characters and nudges them on one path or another. I also got a bit mixed up in the second half of the book because we're introduced to like four or five love-pairings. We don't spend enough time with any of them, except for Rin, the Kitsune main character, to really get to know them so I felt a little lost at times.
I enjoyed the first half of the book more that focused alot more on the love triangle of Rin, cursed into speechlessness and sent to sabotage the human Lord, Hikaru's, treaty with another powerful family for reasons we never end up finding out, Hikaru the already-married human lord, and Shin, the okami friend of Rin who secretly loves her. Watching them interact was fun. The world is believable enough as a fantastical Japan, sometimes the details (such as Hikaru's brother's name Hotaru, which could be a legit samurai name but not one I'm familiar with) were more on the imaginative side. But that's not an issue with enjoying the story.
But then we get a whole mess of other characters I hadn't grown to love yet, and as I mentioned above, that got confusing after a while. And part of that confusion might just be a personal prejudice of my own against multiple POV jumping. I don't mind a few jumps between two or three, but in order for me to really enjoy a story, I want to spend time feeling things from the main characters' perspectives. This one had us jumping into the heads of many of the main couples, so again, not necessarily something that other people would mind.
If you are a manga/anime lover, or enjoy Japanese mythology, you'll like this story.
bitchburgerbibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
2.5
dreadwyrmtai's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
lavendermarch's review against another edition
3.0
This book was very slow, and the characters bugged me. 2.5 stars.
toloveisdestroy's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning was very tough to get through but it was good overall. I enjoyed the spin on the little mermaid with the blending of Japanese folklore.
nightshade_novels's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of both Japanese culture and fairy tales, so to have them come together in one book was really nice.
I was surprised at the fairly happy ending as most traditional fairy tales, and in particular the original version of the little mermaid, do not end well.
This is a book that I would enjoy re-reading at some point in the future.
I was surprised at the fairly happy ending as most traditional fairy tales, and in particular the original version of the little mermaid, do not end well.
This is a book that I would enjoy re-reading at some point in the future.
bookwolfash_13's review against another edition
5.0
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
5 Stars
Kitsune is a wonderful A Little Mermaid retelling that takes place in Feudal Japan. Instead of a mermaid though the heroine Rin is a yokai, kitsune to be specific. She saves Hikaru a human from being killed by a boar yokai in the forest. Rin gets a curse placed on her and she has to kill him to lift it, but she falls in love with him over the course of the novel.
I highly recommend this book to 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
5 Stars
Kitsune is a wonderful A Little Mermaid retelling that takes place in Feudal Japan. Instead of a mermaid though the heroine Rin is a yokai, kitsune to be specific. She saves Hikaru a human from being killed by a boar yokai in the forest. Rin gets a curse placed on her and she has to kill him to lift it, but she falls in love with him over the course of the novel.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Japanese mythology (with romance), fairy tale retellings, anime or manga.
roshreviews's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.25
In a Nutshell: This is supposedly a retelling of ‘The Little Mermaid’ but it has hardly any similarities to the original. (And I mean the ‘original’ by Hans Christian Andersen, not the Disney version.) Mixed feelings, but the lore elements were outstanding. Not as good as the second book of this series, but not bad as well.
Story Synopsis:
Rin is an immortal kitsune (a magical fox with shapeshifting abilities). However, a witch’s curse has turned her into a human without the ability to utter any sound. To regain her abilities, Rin has to fulfil the witch’s directive within the next fortnight. This would have been an easy command to carry out, except that it involves Hikaru, a human who is the eldest son of a local lord and will do anything to protect his clan. When Hikaru spies Rin, he feels an instant connect with her, but when the “lady” who charmed him doesn’t even speak, he feels torn between his heart and his duties.
Okay, the story involves a lot more than this and I can’t do justice to it here. It focusses on Rin, Hikaru, their attraction and clashes, and if/how things will return to how they were. Also involved in the proceedings are a boar, a dragon, a wolf, and a disgruntled second son, and the proceedings include clan rivalries, angry ‘guardians’, and a lot more. It is very complicated to sum up here!
The story is written in the third person limited narration of various characters, though Rin and Hikaru get the maximum chunk.
Where the book worked for me:
✔ Loved reading all the parts connected to Japanese lore – kitsune, yokai, and many other names that I don’t know how to spell because I heard the audiobook. 😛
✔ I had ended up reading the second book of this series (<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4860752387”>Yuki: A Snow White Retelling</a>) prior to this one. I love how neatly the ending of this segued into the second. At the same time, the second works perfectly as a standalone too. The author’s plot is well-planned!
✔ Rin is a wonderful lead character and carries the story well on her shoulders. I liked Shin as well, though Hikaru failed to live up to my expectations.
✔ To me, its biggest plus point was that it gave me a nice background to the procedings in Yuki.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ This is a very distant retelling of the original fairy tale, though it is as dark as the Hans Christian Andersen version. Moreover, my brain refused to accept a ‘Little Mermaid’ retelling set in a forest. I missed the ocean!
❌ The plot becomes repetitive in between. Unlike in Yuki, there is a whole lot of rambling and hardly any action. Everyone is just mouthing the same thoughts again and again. (Plus, a few of the scenes are really silly.) This book definitely required a better editor.
❌ The pacing is quite slow, a problem exacerbated by the repetition mentioned above. It picks up only in the final quarter. (Having the audiobook helped.)
❌ There are too many characters, and too many character perspectives. After a while, it becomes tough to remember who was who and who is fighting under whom and against whom. Many of the characters are interconnected, which worsens the problem.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 9 hours, is narrated by the talented Joanna Roddy. Reading a slow-paced book in the audio version is definitely a benefit. At the same time, there are too many sub plots during which the narration keeps shifting to the respective character. If you are the kind who loses focus easily in the audio version, stick to reading.
On the positive side, the author does seem to have sharpened her craft after this book because most of the flaws I mentioned were not present in ‘Yuki’. I still want to read the final book of this trilogy, especially as it focusses on Shin. I want to know what happens to him.
Overall, I liked ‘Kitsune’, but I didn’t love it. Worth a one-time read.
3.25 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the author through ‘StoryOrigin’ and these are my honest thoughts about it.
Story Synopsis:
Rin is an immortal kitsune (a magical fox with shapeshifting abilities). However, a witch’s curse has turned her into a human without the ability to utter any sound. To regain her abilities, Rin has to fulfil the witch’s directive within the next fortnight. This would have been an easy command to carry out, except that it involves Hikaru, a human who is the eldest son of a local lord and will do anything to protect his clan. When Hikaru spies Rin, he feels an instant connect with her, but when the “lady” who charmed him doesn’t even speak, he feels torn between his heart and his duties.
Okay, the story involves a lot more than this and I can’t do justice to it here. It focusses on Rin, Hikaru, their attraction and clashes, and if/how things will return to how they were. Also involved in the proceedings are a boar, a dragon, a wolf, and a disgruntled second son, and the proceedings include clan rivalries, angry ‘guardians’, and a lot more. It is very complicated to sum up here!
The story is written in the third person limited narration of various characters, though Rin and Hikaru get the maximum chunk.
Where the book worked for me:
✔ Loved reading all the parts connected to Japanese lore – kitsune, yokai, and many other names that I don’t know how to spell because I heard the audiobook. 😛
✔ I had ended up reading the second book of this series (<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4860752387”>Yuki: A Snow White Retelling</a>) prior to this one. I love how neatly the ending of this segued into the second. At the same time, the second works perfectly as a standalone too. The author’s plot is well-planned!
✔ Rin is a wonderful lead character and carries the story well on her shoulders. I liked Shin as well, though Hikaru failed to live up to my expectations.
✔ To me, its biggest plus point was that it gave me a nice background to the procedings in Yuki.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ This is a very distant retelling of the original fairy tale, though it is as dark as the Hans Christian Andersen version. Moreover, my brain refused to accept a ‘Little Mermaid’ retelling set in a forest. I missed the ocean!
❌ The plot becomes repetitive in between. Unlike in Yuki, there is a whole lot of rambling and hardly any action. Everyone is just mouthing the same thoughts again and again. (Plus, a few of the scenes are really silly.) This book definitely required a better editor.
❌ The pacing is quite slow, a problem exacerbated by the repetition mentioned above. It picks up only in the final quarter. (Having the audiobook helped.)
❌ There are too many characters, and too many character perspectives. After a while, it becomes tough to remember who was who and who is fighting under whom and against whom. Many of the characters are interconnected, which worsens the problem.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 9 hours, is narrated by the talented Joanna Roddy. Reading a slow-paced book in the audio version is definitely a benefit. At the same time, there are too many sub plots during which the narration keeps shifting to the respective character. If you are the kind who loses focus easily in the audio version, stick to reading.
On the positive side, the author does seem to have sharpened her craft after this book because most of the flaws I mentioned were not present in ‘Yuki’. I still want to read the final book of this trilogy, especially as it focusses on Shin. I want to know what happens to him.
Overall, I liked ‘Kitsune’, but I didn’t love it. Worth a one-time read.
3.25 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the author through ‘StoryOrigin’ and these are my honest thoughts about it.
ewil6681's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25