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A review by xan_van_rooyen
Shadow by Amanda Sun
3.0
I love Japanese culture and really enjoy anime and manga, my husband has been doing kendo for years, I have several Japanese friends, and Western friends currently living in Japan, so I'm not new to this scene, which is why I couldn't wait to dive into the world of The Paper Gods series.
This being a short prequel, was really just a teaser, providing a little bit of back-story for the novel to come.
Katie's voice was great. I loved how broken she felt and how she was struggling to get a grip on her new life. That felt genuine and real and I could really sympathise with her.
Tomohiro. Something about his voice just didn't feel boy-like to me. Much of the dialogue between the Japanese characters reads like badly translated anime subtitles and came across as a bit contrived and not very natural, especially when interspersed with Western expressions that stood out in a narrative littered with Japanese words, terms and culturally specific references. These parts just didn't flow for me. I also do not understand Tomohiro's connection to Shiori or why that girl has to rely on a guy at a different school to rescue her from bullies all the time. That story-line didn't impress me much.
Beautiful cover. Great premise. Some interesting characters. I think I'll have to read the novel to find out more.
This being a short prequel, was really just a teaser, providing a little bit of back-story for the novel to come.
Katie's voice was great. I loved how broken she felt and how she was struggling to get a grip on her new life. That felt genuine and real and I could really sympathise with her.
Tomohiro. Something about his voice just didn't feel boy-like to me. Much of the dialogue between the Japanese characters reads like badly translated anime subtitles and came across as a bit contrived and not very natural, especially when interspersed with Western expressions that stood out in a narrative littered with Japanese words, terms and culturally specific references. These parts just didn't flow for me. I also do not understand Tomohiro's connection to Shiori or why that girl has to rely on a guy at a different school to rescue her from bullies all the time. That story-line didn't impress me much.
Beautiful cover. Great premise. Some interesting characters. I think I'll have to read the novel to find out more.