Take a photo of a barcode or cover
nini23 's review for:
Shadow of the Fox
by Julie Kagawa
I enjoyed reading Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series - paranormal YA romance - and came into this eyes wide open knowing it's another YA romance series which I normally avoid quite assiduously. But what hooked me was the promise of Japanese mythological creatures starting from the main character Yumeko being a half-kitsune (half-fox, half-human). Julie Kagawa definitely delivers in this aspect - the book contains all manner of Japanese ghosts (revengeful, greedy, hungry, zombie with their attendant terms of yurei etc.), Japanese animal spirits (giant centipedes, spiders), Japanese demons of varying strengths (oni being the most formidable), Japanese nature spirits, Japanese gods (kamis of good luck, journeys etc.).
Characterization - not much new here. We have the trusting naive kind wide-eyed girl Yumeko who needs the protection of ..... A feared expressionless cold assassin Tatsumi. No points for guessing what's going to happen between those two. The plot pacing was noticeably predictable... arrive at destination x...slay demon/spirit.....journey to next destination ....help villagers in trouble.....next challenge...slay giant centipede....next, defeat master swordsman Demon Prince. Rather like an animated manga video game.
I yearn for the best of both worlds - a book of Japanese mythology and folklore with adult themes like the challenges of living in a conformist patriarchal society. And some literary writing. And buck some cliches - how about having the female be the feared assassin with the godslayer sword instead? But I noted at the end of the book this was published by Harlequin Teen so ....
Characterization - not much new here. We have the trusting naive kind wide-eyed girl Yumeko who needs the protection of ..... A feared expressionless cold assassin Tatsumi. No points for guessing what's going to happen between those two. The plot pacing was noticeably predictable... arrive at destination x...slay demon/spirit.....journey to next destination ....help villagers in trouble.....next challenge...slay giant centipede....next, defeat master swordsman Demon Prince. Rather like an animated manga video game.
I yearn for the best of both worlds - a book of Japanese mythology and folklore with adult themes like the challenges of living in a conformist patriarchal society. And some literary writing. And buck some cliches - how about having the female be the feared assassin with the godslayer sword instead? But I noted at the end of the book this was published by Harlequin Teen so ....