A review by katharine_opal
The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride 1 by Midori Yuma

emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I wanted to like this story so much more, but it sadly falls into the "This is an okay story" category for me. The female lead Nanao, is a woman who has a large amount of dark spiritual energy, but after an incident, becomes tainted by a yokai and is shunned by the rest of her family. After a fateful run-in with Yako, she is whisked away to be his bride. Unfortunately, this story has so many tropes shoved into it, that I struggled to take it seriously. The start was honestly interesting, I was curious about Nanao's "immersive dark spiritual powers" but it feels like it's barely touched on, except for some brief mentions. The art was very pretty. I don't know what it is, but something about this just didn't hit for me, which sucks cause I thought I'd love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
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