The beautiful cover of this book was what had me originally wanting to review it and I'm so glad it captured my attention. I especially loved that the author explained the Japanese words and myths. It made for a much more enjoyable read. This is the first book I've read by this author and definitely not the last. This book has magic, romance, and a lot of action. Though it started out a bit slow once it got moving, I was unable to put it down till I'd read it all.
Emi is a strong, single-minded character that while being a bit naive was still very fascinating. I can't wait to see what Marie does with the next two books.
Emi is a strong, single-minded character that while being a bit naive was still very fascinating. I can't wait to see what Marie does with the next two books.
I absolutely loved Marie's Steel and Stone series and was incredibly excited to see that she has a new series starting. This book starts out pretty slow but it picked up a lot towards the second half and I ended up enjoying it.
I think part of what made the story slow at the beginning is that it is a bit of an info dump with all the Japanese mythology and terminology thrown at the reader. However, it does pick up pace quite a bit in the second half of the book and there is a lot more action.
I ended up enjoying the story quite a bit, I loved the action, and also loved the Japanese mythology that the story is based on.
As with the Stone and Steel series; Marie does an amazing job creating characters that are complex and easy to engage with. Additionally the action scenes are incredibly well written; I am not sure how Marie does it but the action scenes just absolutely grab you and have you on the edge of the seat. Marie also does a wonderful job creating a believable world that's nestled secretly next to our modern day world.
Overall this was a great start to a new fantasy series by Marie. I thought the start was a bit slow, but things really started to pick up in the second half. I am eager to read more about Emi and Shiro and figure out how they are going to balance the battle between the different ancient powers at work. I would recommend to those who enjoy urban fantasy and are interested in Japanese mythology.
I think part of what made the story slow at the beginning is that it is a bit of an info dump with all the Japanese mythology and terminology thrown at the reader. However, it does pick up pace quite a bit in the second half of the book and there is a lot more action.
I ended up enjoying the story quite a bit, I loved the action, and also loved the Japanese mythology that the story is based on.
As with the Stone and Steel series; Marie does an amazing job creating characters that are complex and easy to engage with. Additionally the action scenes are incredibly well written; I am not sure how Marie does it but the action scenes just absolutely grab you and have you on the edge of the seat. Marie also does a wonderful job creating a believable world that's nestled secretly next to our modern day world.
Overall this was a great start to a new fantasy series by Marie. I thought the start was a bit slow, but things really started to pick up in the second half. I am eager to read more about Emi and Shiro and figure out how they are going to balance the battle between the different ancient powers at work. I would recommend to those who enjoy urban fantasy and are interested in Japanese mythology.
