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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the audio book cast for this! It was a really easy listen. I work while I listen and sometimes my job requires a lot of typing, so at moments I would get distracted and miss large chunks. If I had listened to this while not being distracted I probably would have rated this much higher. Loved the characters!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
I loved this book so much books about Japanese mythology never disappoint me there was nothing I disliked about this book at all. I loved all of the characters especially Yumeko and Tatsumi they were both very complex characters that were very interesting to read about. What I really liked about Yumeko was her kind and giving yet mischievous nature I really liked that she basically taught Tatsumi what it is like to feel I really felt they were getting a bit closer. What I liked about Tatsumi was despite his cold and unfeeling nature he is capable and much more than what was beat into him I really liked reading from his point of view. I loved the plot it started by telling of a mischievous half fox girl and then lead into tragedy with Yumeko meeting Tatsumi and the journey to get to a certain place beginning. I really loved how the story progressed to one mini story to the next saving people one time and doing other things I really loved this book I will read the whole trilogy soon. So overall this is a really good book will be continuing the trilogy soon.
Honestly I found the entire plot confusing, I felt that each characters personality fluctuated every few pages and I didn’t understand and of their motives, they also just got duller as the book went on and it seemed to me that most of the side characters were made important for no particular reason and decided to tag along on a quest they knew nothing about. I liked them all at the beginning but then I lost interest. That being said the last few pages of the book were amazing and I’m looking forward to reading the next book and seeing where the characters are taken.
Wowza. Not even sure where to begin with this one. The amazing Japanese lore, world building and characters just make this book into a total adventurous package. Julie Kagawa definitely nailed this one!
With our protagonist, Yumeko, she's young and very shielded from the world for good reason. I will say she came off very naive, almost baby-like, and while it annoyed me a bit in the beginning, I began to understand that she was growing with the story and becoming who she finally needed to be. She's the type of character you become proud of.
On the other side, I adored all of the side characters. Okame, Daisuke, and especially Tatsumi. Okame is the perfect character relief you’re always looking for. While much larger of a role is Tatsumi. He is our other main character on a journey of his own that quickly becomes tied to Yumeko. I adored his darkness and constant internal conflicts. He’s every bit the brooding protector and I loved every part of his story.
Overall, the world building and information on the accident Japanese demons and empires were out of this world. It look me a bit to get into the story, but once it took off, it really took off. I adored the last 40% of the book and honestly could NOT put it down. Absolutely fabulous read and cannot wait for the next book in the series.
Find this review at Shortie Says
With our protagonist, Yumeko, she's young and very shielded from the world for good reason. I will say she came off very naive, almost baby-like, and while it annoyed me a bit in the beginning, I began to understand that she was growing with the story and becoming who she finally needed to be. She's the type of character you become proud of.
On the other side, I adored all of the side characters. Okame, Daisuke, and especially Tatsumi. Okame is the perfect character relief you’re always looking for. While much larger of a role is Tatsumi. He is our other main character on a journey of his own that quickly becomes tied to Yumeko. I adored his darkness and constant internal conflicts. He’s every bit the brooding protector and I loved every part of his story.
Overall, the world building and information on the accident Japanese demons and empires were out of this world. It look me a bit to get into the story, but once it took off, it really took off. I adored the last 40% of the book and honestly could NOT put it down. Absolutely fabulous read and cannot wait for the next book in the series.
Find this review at Shortie Says
3.5/5 stars
Scroll down for my ENGLISH review.
🦊
La semana pasada terminó la #LCdelZorro y aquí les traigo mi reseña 😉
Hace mil años, el gran dios Dragón fue invocado para conceder un deseo terrible, y la tierra de Iwagoto se sumió en una era de oscuridad y caos. Ahora se concederá un nuevo deseo a aquél que sea el poseedor del Pergamino de las Mil Oraciones.
Criada por monjes en un templo escondido, Yumeko ha sido entrenada para ocultar su naturaleza, mitad zorro kitsune, mitad humana. Un día se ve obligada a huir con el mayor tesoro del templo, una parte del antiguo pergamino sagrado, cuando su hogar es arrasado por demonios del averno.
Con un ejército de demonios pisándole los talones, y acompañada por el más insólito de los aliados, los secretos de Yumeko son más que una cuestión de vida o muerte. Son la clave del destino del mundo.
Me encantó la cantidad de elementos de la mitología japonesa que la autora incluyó, no se limitó a una figura en específico, sino que exploró deidades, demonios, espíritus y profecías, creando un mundo complejo y lleno de misterios a cada vuelta de página. Hace poco leí El Bosque de los Mil Farolitos, también una fantasía basada en la cultura oriental, y se nota la diferencia en la construcción de ambos, si bien la construcción del personaje principal es mucho mejor en esa novela, esta es mucho más rica en detalles.
Ahora bien, los puntos flojos. Yumeko es mitad kitsune, como escribí más arriba, y se explora muy poco esta parte de ella, apenas si utiliza sus poderes, no se explica su pasado, y su personaje en general se desarrolla de forma muy superficial. Tatsumi, el otro personaje importante en la historia, se explora un poco más quizás, su arco es bastante interesante, pero aún así, ambas historias podrían haberse profundizado mucho más, este es tan vez uno de los pecados que se suelen cometer en la literatura YA, la superficialidad de los personajes.
English
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.
Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature, half kitsune, half human.
One day she is forced to flee for her life with the temple's greatest treasure-one part of the ancient scroll, when her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain.
With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko's secrets are more than a matter of life and death. They are the key to the fate if the world itself.
I loved the amount of Japanese mythology elements the author included, not limited to a specific figure, she explored deities, demons, spirits and prophecies, creating a complex world full of mysteries at every turn of the page. I recently read The Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, also a fantasy based on Far East culture, and the difference in the construction of both is noticeable, although the character development is much better in that novel, this is much richer in details.
Now, the weak spots. Yumeko is half kitsune, as I wrote above, and this part of her is poorly explored, she hardly uses her powers, her past is not explained, and her character in general is developed in a superficial way. Tatsumi, the other important character in the story, is perhaps a little more explored developed, his arc is quite interesting, but even so, both stories could have been exploited a lot more, this is one of the sins I often notice in Ya literature, the shallowness of the characters.
I still liked it, it has a huge potential, I really hope the next one is even better!
Scroll down for my ENGLISH review.
🦊
La semana pasada terminó la #LCdelZorro y aquí les traigo mi reseña 😉
Hace mil años, el gran dios Dragón fue invocado para conceder un deseo terrible, y la tierra de Iwagoto se sumió en una era de oscuridad y caos. Ahora se concederá un nuevo deseo a aquél que sea el poseedor del Pergamino de las Mil Oraciones.
Criada por monjes en un templo escondido, Yumeko ha sido entrenada para ocultar su naturaleza, mitad zorro kitsune, mitad humana. Un día se ve obligada a huir con el mayor tesoro del templo, una parte del antiguo pergamino sagrado, cuando su hogar es arrasado por demonios del averno.
Con un ejército de demonios pisándole los talones, y acompañada por el más insólito de los aliados, los secretos de Yumeko son más que una cuestión de vida o muerte. Son la clave del destino del mundo.
Me encantó la cantidad de elementos de la mitología japonesa que la autora incluyó, no se limitó a una figura en específico, sino que exploró deidades, demonios, espíritus y profecías, creando un mundo complejo y lleno de misterios a cada vuelta de página. Hace poco leí El Bosque de los Mil Farolitos, también una fantasía basada en la cultura oriental, y se nota la diferencia en la construcción de ambos, si bien la construcción del personaje principal es mucho mejor en esa novela, esta es mucho más rica en detalles.
Ahora bien, los puntos flojos. Yumeko es mitad kitsune, como escribí más arriba, y se explora muy poco esta parte de ella, apenas si utiliza sus poderes, no se explica su pasado, y su personaje en general se desarrolla de forma muy superficial. Tatsumi, el otro personaje importante en la historia, se explora un poco más quizás, su arco es bastante interesante, pero aún así, ambas historias podrían haberse profundizado mucho más, este es tan vez uno de los pecados que se suelen cometer en la literatura YA, la superficialidad de los personajes.
English
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.
Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature, half kitsune, half human.
One day she is forced to flee for her life with the temple's greatest treasure-one part of the ancient scroll, when her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain.
With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko's secrets are more than a matter of life and death. They are the key to the fate if the world itself.
I loved the amount of Japanese mythology elements the author included, not limited to a specific figure, she explored deities, demons, spirits and prophecies, creating a complex world full of mysteries at every turn of the page. I recently read The Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, also a fantasy based on Far East culture, and the difference in the construction of both is noticeable, although the character development is much better in that novel, this is much richer in details.
Now, the weak spots. Yumeko is half kitsune, as I wrote above, and this part of her is poorly explored, she hardly uses her powers, her past is not explained, and her character in general is developed in a superficial way. Tatsumi, the other important character in the story, is perhaps a little more explored developed, his arc is quite interesting, but even so, both stories could have been exploited a lot more, this is one of the sins I often notice in Ya literature, the shallowness of the characters.
I still liked it, it has a huge potential, I really hope the next one is even better!
DNF at 31% of the way through. Usually, an audiobook can help me get past some slow and sticky reading, but in this case it didn't help. Credit to the cast where it is due, but I found myself gravitating towards my other books.
One of these days, I will read another Japanese-themed fantasy that does NOT make me want to cringe. Ano, it was not today baka.
One of these days, I will read another Japanese-themed fantasy that does NOT make me want to cringe. Ano, it was not today baka.
adventurous
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