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reader_fictions's review
3.0
Amanda Sun’s Ink charmed me with its unique paranormal aspects, its lush Japanese setting, and the manga references sprinkled all around. Not without faults, I nonetheless really enjoyed it and have been waiting excitedly for Rain. I hoped to see an increase in the strongest aspect of Sun’s writing and a decrease in the weaker elements. Sadly, while still enjoyable, I don’t think Rain is stronger than Ink. The increase in the romantic drama aspects and a good deal of last minute infodumping made Rain very much a stereotypical second book.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
3.0
*I received a free ARC of Rain from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews
stephaniesbookreviews's review
3.0
There was a lot of relationship drama and some more confusing ideas, but I still enjoyed this book. Katie did a lot of things that made me roll my eyes at her, but she's still likable, as is Tomo. Jun is still crazy-go-nuts hidden beneath the ideal guy. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out in the next book!
ruthsic's review
4.0
American Katie Green has decided to stay in Japan. She's started to build a life in the city of Shizuoka, and she can't imagine leaving behind her friends, her aunt and especially Tomohiro, the guy she's fallen in love with. But her return is not as simple as she thought. She's flunking out of Japanese school and committing cultural faux pas wherever she goes. Tomohiro is also struggling—as a Kami, his connection to the ancient gods of Japan and his power to bring drawings to life have begun to spiral out of control.
When Tomo decides to stop drawing, the ink finds other ways to seep into his life—blackouts, threatening messages and the appearance of unexplained sketches. Unsure how to help Tomo, Katie turns to an unexpected source for help—Jun, her former friend and a Kami with an agenda of his own. But is Jun really the ally he claims to be? In order to save themselves, Katie and Tomohiro must unravel the truth about Tomo's dark ancestry, as well as Katie's, and confront one of the darkest gods in Japanese legend.
Rain continues from where Ink left off - Katie decided to stay back and see how life in Japan will go. Moreover, she wants to unravel the mystery of the ink that is somehow drawn to her. Staying back also means being with Tomohiro and for most part of the book they are blissfully together. But Tomo's kami heritage keeps getting between them, almost to the point where the ink starts to attack and get rid of her. Katie wants to find out why the ink is doing this and turns to her best source - Jun, who himself is out to woo Katie. Honestly, there is a bit of soap opera like drama between the three of them and two additional people which tries to undermine the fact that the kami in Tomo is taking over him.
The main plotline, of course is the fact that Tomo feels pretty hopeless about his status as a kami - an existence which is plagued with nightmares, and horrible things popping out to kill you. He feels like he should protect Katie from himself, as the ink seems to react to her more. Quitting sketching doesn't have an effect and he doesn't want to stay away from her. Both are trying to make it work but the ink is rebelling. I actually liked Tomo's development in this book. In Ink, he was more of the obnoxious jerk who, though with good intentions, is mean to Katie. In this book, he is sweet, understanding and sensitive to her - and moreover, shows his vulnerable side. Yuki says the boys have a pride thing but not once does he feel annoyed that Katie has to help him out, a fact I admired because if he would have gone all - I don't need no help - damn, dude, you would end up on my hate list. He even doesn't misunderstand the Jun situation and get upset with her (I almost expected that angst) but instead acknowledges her right to choose whom she wants to be with. The despair he feels when he learns his heritage, though - I feel Sun did a really good job of depicting his feelings even in second person. It was raw and heart-breaking, and this was only through Katie's eyes.
The writing, well, it is as beautiful as the previous one - dipping into Japanese culture, keeping the feel of the setting alive with lush descriptions. The characters are rendered wonderfully, each one having his or her own agendas and wants. In this book, the conflict (did not see that coming!) which was revealed towards the end gave for a nice climax after building up through the book. The ups and downs of their relationship, and the ties to the history and kami are blended wonderfully. It was a good sequel and I can't wait to see how the things get resolved in the final book.
Received an ARC from Harlequin Teen through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
When Tomo decides to stop drawing, the ink finds other ways to seep into his life—blackouts, threatening messages and the appearance of unexplained sketches. Unsure how to help Tomo, Katie turns to an unexpected source for help—Jun, her former friend and a Kami with an agenda of his own. But is Jun really the ally he claims to be? In order to save themselves, Katie and Tomohiro must unravel the truth about Tomo's dark ancestry, as well as Katie's, and confront one of the darkest gods in Japanese legend.
Rain continues from where Ink left off - Katie decided to stay back and see how life in Japan will go. Moreover, she wants to unravel the mystery of the ink that is somehow drawn to her. Staying back also means being with Tomohiro and for most part of the book they are blissfully together. But Tomo's kami heritage keeps getting between them, almost to the point where the ink starts to attack and get rid of her. Katie wants to find out why the ink is doing this and turns to her best source - Jun, who himself is out to woo Katie. Honestly, there is a bit of soap opera like drama between the three of them and two additional people which tries to undermine the fact that the kami in Tomo is taking over him.
The main plotline, of course is the fact that Tomo feels pretty hopeless about his status as a kami - an existence which is plagued with nightmares, and horrible things popping out to kill you. He feels like he should protect Katie from himself, as the ink seems to react to her more. Quitting sketching doesn't have an effect and he doesn't want to stay away from her. Both are trying to make it work but the ink is rebelling. I actually liked Tomo's development in this book. In Ink, he was more of the obnoxious jerk who, though with good intentions, is mean to Katie. In this book, he is sweet, understanding and sensitive to her - and moreover, shows his vulnerable side. Yuki says the boys have a pride thing but not once does he feel annoyed that Katie has to help him out, a fact I admired because if he would have gone all - I don't need no help - damn, dude, you would end up on my hate list. He even doesn't misunderstand the Jun situation and get upset with her (I almost expected that angst) but instead acknowledges her right to choose whom she wants to be with. The despair he feels when he learns his heritage, though - I feel Sun did a really good job of depicting his feelings even in second person. It was raw and heart-breaking, and this was only through Katie's eyes.
The writing, well, it is as beautiful as the previous one - dipping into Japanese culture, keeping the feel of the setting alive with lush descriptions. The characters are rendered wonderfully, each one having his or her own agendas and wants. In this book, the conflict (did not see that coming!) which was revealed towards the end gave for a nice climax after building up through the book. The ups and downs of their relationship, and the ties to the history and kami are blended wonderfully. It was a good sequel and I can't wait to see how the things get resolved in the final book.
Received an ARC from Harlequin Teen through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
littleflyleafreads's review
3.0
I found this book to be better than the first book and kind of the same as the last book.(i read the last book first by accident- that doesnt affect the rating though) The relationship between Katie and Tomo was better than in the first book. However, i didnt like it that Jun got involved in their relationship. I found him annoying for getting involved. I like that we get to know more about the Kami world though it's not that developed so the 3 stars. Well, i also didnt like Shiori and Ikeda being rude and nasty towards Katie. They annoyed me so much. Yuki was a really good friend though. Also, i like the fact that the parents or guardians are present in these books. It's great that they play a part in the protagonist s' lives. I really love the sketches that are added to the book. Anyway, this series in overall is okay. It does have issues but I just love the atmosphere of Japan that is being described and the idea of weaving in the Kami into the story.
northernbookfox's review
4.0
I need to think about it for another minute because right now it's sitting at a 4.5. I definitely liked this one better than the first one. It was much more intense and now that we know about the kami and all the background, it's cool to just get into the action and the mysterious backstories.
In terms of emotion, it was like this book was going skydiving and last minute it strapped me onto it's parachute pack and took me with it. I was so anxious throughout almost all of this book. The so much more tension in this book then there was in Ink. Either way, it was great, and I'm going to go pre-order the third one right now.
In terms of emotion, it was like this book was going skydiving and last minute it strapped me onto it's parachute pack and took me with it. I was so anxious throughout almost all of this book. The so much more tension in this book then there was in Ink. Either way, it was great, and I'm going to go pre-order the third one right now.
bibliotropic's review
3.0
The continuation of the Paper Gods series picks up 2 weeks after the previous novel left off, with Katie deciding to stay in Japan to be with Tomohiro and to learn more about her relation to the ink. But things take a turn for the worse when Tomohiro reveals he’s having greater trouble controlling his powers, Jun’s loyalties are less clear, and Katie herself finds out things about her heritage that make her question where she’s meant to be even more.
Rain was very much “Second verse, same as the first,” which means that if you enjoyed Ink, you’ll very likely enjoy Rain just as much. Same strengths, same weaknesses. I’m still enjoying the portrayal of Japan, though every so often there’s linguistic quirks that I’m not sure work so well in translation — most of the characters speak Japanese unless otherwise stated, which is translated into English for the sake of the reader, only every once in a while an English idiom will be thrown in, and I’m never sure whether I’m just supposed to assume the general intent was translated into something the reader will find more familiar rather than the author including Japanese idioms, or whether I’m meant to assume that the author assumes the same phrase crosses language barriers. More likely the former, since Sun thus far seems pretty decent when it comes to language, dropping Japanese words and phrases into the text in a way that makes for a highly entertaining vocab-building lesson, but those things have always thrown me out of the groove, in part because I’ve read so many books involving other cultures and other languages that utterly fail to understand that these things have their own norms and aren’t just North America with funny writing.
It got increasingly difficult for me to keep a handle on the characters, though. Certain characters strengthened, were made more secure and easy to grasp, but others seemed to practically flip on their heads and turn into the opposite of what I’d come to understand. Shiori goes from a sweet girl with an unrequited crush to a venomous backbiter. Ikeda goes from a tough but wary woman to much of the same. Jun goes from a nice guy with uncertain loyalties to someone who says he’ll take over the world by any means necessary, and at that point I was left wondering when some of these characters turned into caricatures. Ikeda and Shiori weren’t that developed to begin with, so their actions can be excused easily enough, but Jun seemed like he just suddenly lost his grip on reality and went full batshit-crazy.
That being said, I understand that this series takes many elements from shoujo anime, and that kind of twist isn’t entirely unexpected from that medium, so in that sense, I can understand the character shift a bit better. It’s still a bit jarring to read, though, and seems to come out of left field, even considering the events of the novel.
Rain was very much “Second verse, same as the first,” which means that if you enjoyed Ink, you’ll very likely enjoy Rain just as much. Same strengths, same weaknesses. I’m still enjoying the portrayal of Japan, though every so often there’s linguistic quirks that I’m not sure work so well in translation — most of the characters speak Japanese unless otherwise stated, which is translated into English for the sake of the reader, only every once in a while an English idiom will be thrown in, and I’m never sure whether I’m just supposed to assume the general intent was translated into something the reader will find more familiar rather than the author including Japanese idioms, or whether I’m meant to assume that the author assumes the same phrase crosses language barriers. More likely the former, since Sun thus far seems pretty decent when it comes to language, dropping Japanese words and phrases into the text in a way that makes for a highly entertaining vocab-building lesson, but those things have always thrown me out of the groove, in part because I’ve read so many books involving other cultures and other languages that utterly fail to understand that these things have their own norms and aren’t just North America with funny writing.
It got increasingly difficult for me to keep a handle on the characters, though. Certain characters strengthened, were made more secure and easy to grasp, but others seemed to practically flip on their heads and turn into the opposite of what I’d come to understand. Shiori goes from a sweet girl with an unrequited crush to a venomous backbiter. Ikeda goes from a tough but wary woman to much of the same. Jun goes from a nice guy with uncertain loyalties to someone who says he’ll take over the world by any means necessary, and at that point I was left wondering when some of these characters turned into caricatures. Ikeda and Shiori weren’t that developed to begin with, so their actions can be excused easily enough, but Jun seemed like he just suddenly lost his grip on reality and went full batshit-crazy.
That being said, I understand that this series takes many elements from shoujo anime, and that kind of twist isn’t entirely unexpected from that medium, so in that sense, I can understand the character shift a bit better. It’s still a bit jarring to read, though, and seems to come out of left field, even considering the events of the novel.
lejazzhotbaby's review
4.0
Oh man, that was so good. I'm going to have to share some quotes in this review.
Rain was the second book in the Paper Gods trilogy and it was just as thrilling as the first. There were some issues with...well...white girl being important within a Japanese mythos. The way it happened does make sense but it still makes me go meh a little.
Aside from that this was a great book that felt like it was really in Japan. It was realistic with clear cultural differences and I do like that. As well as that the use of the Japanese Kami and the shrines in this is really fascinating.
But do you want to know the best part of this book?
Satoshi Ishikawa.
I barely remember him from book one but this punk with the dyed white hair is officially a fave. Recently I've gotten back into watching anime again and I've been attracted to best friend ships that have angst in their present and/or future. So guess what Sato and Yuuto did for me in this... sob.
I mean, look at this...
"Aaaand now the whole gym knows you're in love with him," Ishikawa said..."You were as loud as me." I'd just meant it as a gibe, but I realized what I'd said the minute the words were out.
"Yeah, well," Ishikawa said, his eyes soft as he stared straight ahead at the kendouka. "It's you he heard."
My heart hurts now.
But seriously Ishikawa is probably one of the best characters. He's a future Yakuza member with a heart of gold, a teenage boy having to hide his sexuality in a homophobic culture and yet he's still supportive and cracking jokes. He's happy if Yuuto is and though he made some mistakes in book one, he was actually trying to help.
I actually love other side characters for similar reasons. Shiori is a bitch but is only lashing out as she's alone and didn't want to lose the one person she had and Ikeda is loyal to a fault, even if Jun doesn't feel the same way. I feel for these ladies and I feel like the side characters are part of what makes the book great.
I will be reading book 3 when I can and hoping for more Ishikawa!
Rain was the second book in the Paper Gods trilogy and it was just as thrilling as the first. There were some issues with...well...white girl being important within a Japanese mythos. The way it happened does make sense but it still makes me go meh a little.
Aside from that this was a great book that felt like it was really in Japan. It was realistic with clear cultural differences and I do like that. As well as that the use of the Japanese Kami and the shrines in this is really fascinating.
But do you want to know the best part of this book?
Satoshi Ishikawa.
I barely remember him from book one but this punk with the dyed white hair is officially a fave. Recently I've gotten back into watching anime again and I've been attracted to best friend ships that have angst in their present and/or future. So guess what Sato and Yuuto did for me in this... sob.
I mean, look at this...
"Aaaand now the whole gym knows you're in love with him," Ishikawa said..."You were as loud as me." I'd just meant it as a gibe, but I realized what I'd said the minute the words were out.
"Yeah, well," Ishikawa said, his eyes soft as he stared straight ahead at the kendouka. "It's you he heard."
My heart hurts now.
But seriously Ishikawa is probably one of the best characters. He's a future Yakuza member with a heart of gold, a teenage boy having to hide his sexuality in a homophobic culture and yet he's still supportive and cracking jokes. He's happy if Yuuto is and though he made some mistakes in book one, he was actually trying to help.
I actually love other side characters for similar reasons. Shiori is a bitch but is only lashing out as she's alone and didn't want to lose the one person she had and Ikeda is loyal to a fault, even if Jun doesn't feel the same way. I feel for these ladies and I feel like the side characters are part of what makes the book great.
I will be reading book 3 when I can and hoping for more Ishikawa!
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