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giigii_graceless's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lauraalexandra's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
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
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.