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A review by novelbloglover
Rain by Amanda Sun
4.0
Book Review
Title: Rain
Author: Amanda Sun
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance
Rating: ****
Review: After the way Ink finished I was super excited to get into Rain. We re-join Katie two weeks after she makes the decision to stay in Japan and I loved being reintroduced to the language and the culture of Japan. In these two weeks Katie hasn’t been able to get hold of Tomo although she doesn’t run into him at a festival and it is not long before the ink makes an appearance reminding Katie that it hasn’t forgotten her. We know from the previous book that Katie and Tomo are caught between the Yakuza and the Kami both fighting for Tomo’s power. As the consequences for their earlier actions begin to catch up with Katie knows she has to find the key to the ink’s power and the only person who knows more than Tomo is Jun. While she wants nothing to do with Jun she knows she needs his help to figure out what is going on.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel Katie and Tomo try to uncover why the ink reacts strangely when they are together although it seems to be getting more and more violent attacking them both frequently. In between all the mysterious things they both have to get on with normal life like school, family and relationship so this book has a lot more teen angst than the previous one as Katie and Tomo learn how to be together without the ink attacking and possibly killing them.
As we cross the 1/4 mark in the novel I was finding that this book was faster paced than Ink but there actually wasn't that much happening yet and what was happening was the same as the first book. One thing I noticed in this book is that Sun begins to introduce a live triangle between Katie, Tomo and Jun, normally I don't like love triangles but the wider context of the novel I actually enjoyed it. Katie with Jun`s help learns why she can influence the ink and now she must learn to control it although I didn't like the fact that Katie is meeting Jun behind Tomo`s back. I loved the way Sun reveals Katie's power and how she influences the other Kami, it was ingenious.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel Jun tells Katie that the only way Tomo will be in control is if he accepts what he is. Katie knows that Tomo will never accept the demon and always fight against meaning it is lethal for her to be around him especially with her own gifts. It is here that she realizes the only way she can save him is be convincing him to join the other Kami or leave him forever.
As we cross into the second half of the novel we see how much control the Kami has over Tomo and as Katie tries to distance herself from him she finds herself being drawn closer to Jun and the Kami the support him. I liked seeing Katie's internal struggle, she knows to save Tomo she has to let him go but she is drawn to him in many ways and her feelings lead her to try and interfere where she shouldn't.
As we approach the 3/4 mark in the novel things are getting darker and more dangerous for the Kami especially with Tomo`s complete lack of control but I did enjoy seeing the Kami band together to save Tomo from the darkness at the kendo tournament. When the true motivations of the antagonist are revealed Katie is torn between what she has to do and what she wants to do. Knowing everything that she does Katie knows that the battle that is going to take place could kill him. I loved that Sun drastically raised the stakes of the novel from teen romance to life and death.
As we cross into the final section of the novel we see an epic battle go down between the descendants of the kami, it is here Tomo learns he has the blood of two kami running through him which is why his ink is so violent he is fighting himself but with Katie at his side there is hope that they can win the war which is to come. I also like seeing Katie’s character develop a lot more in this book and I can’t wait to get into the final instalment of the trilogy as soon as I can.
Overall, I liked Rain but nowhere near as much as I liked Ink although I have high hopes for the final instalment of this trilogy; Storm. I would recommend this series to fantasy lovers and fans of fictional retellings, although I would advise new readers to be aware that there is a lot of language, kanji and culture relating to Japan which you might want to brush up on before reading this book otherwise certain aspects of the novel may be really confusing.
Title: Rain
Author: Amanda Sun
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance
Rating: ****
Review: After the way Ink finished I was super excited to get into Rain. We re-join Katie two weeks after she makes the decision to stay in Japan and I loved being reintroduced to the language and the culture of Japan. In these two weeks Katie hasn’t been able to get hold of Tomo although she doesn’t run into him at a festival and it is not long before the ink makes an appearance reminding Katie that it hasn’t forgotten her. We know from the previous book that Katie and Tomo are caught between the Yakuza and the Kami both fighting for Tomo’s power. As the consequences for their earlier actions begin to catch up with Katie knows she has to find the key to the ink’s power and the only person who knows more than Tomo is Jun. While she wants nothing to do with Jun she knows she needs his help to figure out what is going on.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel Katie and Tomo try to uncover why the ink reacts strangely when they are together although it seems to be getting more and more violent attacking them both frequently. In between all the mysterious things they both have to get on with normal life like school, family and relationship so this book has a lot more teen angst than the previous one as Katie and Tomo learn how to be together without the ink attacking and possibly killing them.
As we cross the 1/4 mark in the novel I was finding that this book was faster paced than Ink but there actually wasn't that much happening yet and what was happening was the same as the first book. One thing I noticed in this book is that Sun begins to introduce a live triangle between Katie, Tomo and Jun, normally I don't like love triangles but the wider context of the novel I actually enjoyed it. Katie with Jun`s help learns why she can influence the ink and now she must learn to control it although I didn't like the fact that Katie is meeting Jun behind Tomo`s back. I loved the way Sun reveals Katie's power and how she influences the other Kami, it was ingenious.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel Jun tells Katie that the only way Tomo will be in control is if he accepts what he is. Katie knows that Tomo will never accept the demon and always fight against meaning it is lethal for her to be around him especially with her own gifts. It is here that she realizes the only way she can save him is be convincing him to join the other Kami or leave him forever.
As we cross into the second half of the novel we see how much control the Kami has over Tomo and as Katie tries to distance herself from him she finds herself being drawn closer to Jun and the Kami the support him. I liked seeing Katie's internal struggle, she knows to save Tomo she has to let him go but she is drawn to him in many ways and her feelings lead her to try and interfere where she shouldn't.
As we approach the 3/4 mark in the novel things are getting darker and more dangerous for the Kami especially with Tomo`s complete lack of control but I did enjoy seeing the Kami band together to save Tomo from the darkness at the kendo tournament. When the true motivations of the antagonist are revealed Katie is torn between what she has to do and what she wants to do. Knowing everything that she does Katie knows that the battle that is going to take place could kill him. I loved that Sun drastically raised the stakes of the novel from teen romance to life and death.
As we cross into the final section of the novel we see an epic battle go down between the descendants of the kami, it is here Tomo learns he has the blood of two kami running through him which is why his ink is so violent he is fighting himself but with Katie at his side there is hope that they can win the war which is to come. I also like seeing Katie’s character develop a lot more in this book and I can’t wait to get into the final instalment of the trilogy as soon as I can.
Overall, I liked Rain but nowhere near as much as I liked Ink although I have high hopes for the final instalment of this trilogy; Storm. I would recommend this series to fantasy lovers and fans of fictional retellings, although I would advise new readers to be aware that there is a lot of language, kanji and culture relating to Japan which you might want to brush up on before reading this book otherwise certain aspects of the novel may be really confusing.