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A review by frenchtoast_n_books
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
3.0
I'm glad I stuck this one out.
What's it about? Yumeko, a half-kitsune, raised by monks spent her life trying to prove herself to be more than yokai. When her temple is attacked by demons searching for a piece of the dragon scroll, she is sent on a mission to protect it. Meeting Tatsumi, a samurai of the Shadow Clan, she believes she may actually succeed in her task to bring the scroll piece to another temple for protection. Dodging demons becomes the least of her worries when a blood mage is after her and Tatsumi himself harbors a demon trapped in his blade. Will her illusions and secrets be enough to get her to her destination?
What I thought? The beginning half of the book was a struggle for me. Whether that stems from my frayed emotions and reading slump, or the book's writing itself is unknown. I didn't like Tatsumi's POV or the intermittent POV of the spirit Suki. The audio narrator for Tatsumi was also grating everytime he attempted a female voice. This prompted me to put the book down for several months and then I was prompted to try again.
My experience reading the second half was very different, so I think my reason for disliking the first half was mostly due to my emotional state at the time a few months prior. I still prefer Yumeko's POV but Tatsumi's was much less grating than before. The pacing felt better and the plot had me hooked. I'm really glad I gave this book a second chance.
In short: First half was a struggle so I put it down. Decided to give it a second chance and it was worth it.
What's it about? Yumeko, a half-kitsune, raised by monks spent her life trying to prove herself to be more than yokai. When her temple is attacked by demons searching for a piece of the dragon scroll, she is sent on a mission to protect it. Meeting Tatsumi, a samurai of the Shadow Clan, she believes she may actually succeed in her task to bring the scroll piece to another temple for protection. Dodging demons becomes the least of her worries when a blood mage is after her and Tatsumi himself harbors a demon trapped in his blade. Will her illusions and secrets be enough to get her to her destination?
What I thought? The beginning half of the book was a struggle for me. Whether that stems from my frayed emotions and reading slump, or the book's writing itself is unknown. I didn't like Tatsumi's POV or the intermittent POV of the spirit Suki. The audio narrator for Tatsumi was also grating everytime he attempted a female voice. This prompted me to put the book down for several months and then I was prompted to try again.
My experience reading the second half was very different, so I think my reason for disliking the first half was mostly due to my emotional state at the time a few months prior. I still prefer Yumeko's POV but Tatsumi's was much less grating than before. The pacing felt better and the plot had me hooked. I'm really glad I gave this book a second chance.
In short: First half was a struggle so I put it down. Decided to give it a second chance and it was worth it.