PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen
DATE PUBLISHED: 02nd October 2018
PAGES: 409
SUMMARY:
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.
Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.
Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.
There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.
With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.
REVIEW:
This book reads like you are watching an epic anime. The action is present from the very first scene, and so is the blood shed. This book weaves together seamlessly, and it is so difficult to put down once picked up. I wanted to devour this in one sitting. Warning: You may need to put your life on hold before jumping into the will ride that is Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox.
Yumeko is a character I instantly found endearing. Not only because, unlike her fellow Kitsumi, she had a strict moral compass that she would not waver from. But, because she was a flawed character and they are some of the best to read. Her journey, both physical and emotional, was believable and had me as a reader invested.
The action in this book was constant. I could not go a paragraph without having my heart constantly in my throat. I was so invested in the characters that I simply needed them to survive. The pacing was perfect. I never felt bored or that there were filler text, which can be a problem in fantasy novels.
Asian inspired fantasy novels are really shining through in the current book community and I couldn’t be happier for it. I love the level of diversity in these novels and learning something new about another culture whilst immersing myself in a fantastical world. I am waiting on baited breath for the sequel to this epic, heart-stopping, completely enthralling novel.
I received a digital review copy of this title from Netgalley.
Keep Calm and Read On,
Kati
To Be Read 