Fantasy Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Wicked Fox was — Wicked!

By Brookelorren on June 17, 2019June 16, 2019Leave a Comment

I first heard about Wicked Fox by Kat Cho this spring. From the title, I thought “meh” but then I saw that cover. Then I knew I had to read that book. I was fortunate enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy through Bookish First — I’ve had a lot of good luck with them recently and have started to love them. The book was amazing! I’ll be sharing this book with my daughter.

Jihoon is a teenage slacker in the equivalent of his junior year of high school (I’m just going to dispense with last names and name suffixes for purposes of this review, even though they’re in the book). Miyoung is also a teenager, but she has a secret: she’s half gumiho, which is like a Japanese kitsune or a Ninetails in Pokémon. This story takes place in modern-day Seoul, Korea, so the mythology is a little different.

We discover early on that Miyoung is not your average gumiho: these creatures are immortal, but they have to feed off of the gi, or energy, of unsuspecting humans once a month in order to live. Miyoung always tries to find the dregs of society to feed off of; she doesn’t want to harm the innocent. When Jihoon discovers her secret, she doesn’t destroy him; she asks him to keep her dangerous secret. When she shows up at his school, things could get a little bit awkward. Jihoon tries to strike up a friendship with her, but she tries to push him away.

Like any good story, that isn’t the end. Miyoung’s life is in danger, and Jihoon might become collateral damage. Dun dun dun! You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

What I Liked

I liked a lot of things about this book. One of the things I love about it is the setting. I’ve read several books in the last year that take place in a fantastic place inspired by medieval Japan or China, but nothing that took place in Korea. The book immersed me in this world: the food, the clothes, the way people address each other. I’m a student of history and a little bit of archaeology, so I appreciated some of the details that matched up with some of the history books and archaological magazines that addressed this culture.

The characters were great too. Jihoon didn’t live in this bubble where he finally popped into life when he met Miyoung. He has friends and family members, and not all of it is good. Miyoung also has a family history, and you can’t help but dislike her mother. Towards the end of the book, you discover that not everything is as it seems.

The book also has a great theme of abandonment by family members, and how it can affect you. Both Jihoon and Miyoung have complicated histories with their families, and it affects how they relate to the people around them. I thought it was well done.

What I Liked Less

I loved almost everything about Wicked Fox, but if I’m going to get nitpicky, there’s a part towards the end of the book where Jihoon has health problems and he has to pay the rent from his own labor and go to school… it seems a little unrealistic. But this is really nitpicky; I loved the writing style and I just saw this as a minor plot hole.

Conclusion

Should you read Wicked Fox? Absolutely! This book is great if you like contemporary fantasies, enjoy books set in Asia, and like books that are light in the romance department. There really aren’t any scenes that are objectionable for younger YA readers.

The book winds up nicely, but there is room for another book in the series. A second book is planned, and I already added it to my TBR.

Wicked Fox will be released on June 25th, but you can pre-order it now.

The Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag

By Brookelorren on June 16, 2019June 15, 20193 Comments

I’ve been having fun recently doing book tags, and I recently found the Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag over at The Bookworm Dreamer and I decided to do it!

Rules:

Thank the person who tagged you and link back to their post
Link to the creator’s blog (thebookwormdreamer.wordpress.com) in your post
Answer the prompts below – all fantasy books!
Tag 5 others to take part
Enjoy!

5 Star Book

I loved this book! I read it on my breaks (and before/after work) while I was still working at my old job, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

After reading this, I just had to pre-order the sequel, Smoke in the Sun. It wasn’t quite as good as the first book, but it was still pretty good! Her new book, The Beautiful, comes out this fall, and although I don’t really care for vampires, I’ve had the opportunity to read a preview and it looks good too.

Always Going to Recommend

Another book I loved was An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir! I’m patiently waiting for the fourth and final book in the series to come out, but the first three have been outstanding.

I love how these books (and Flame in the Mist) have such unique settings. There are plenty of amazing fantasy books set in a Renaissance Europe-ish place, but it’s pretty fun to see fantasy settings set somewhere else too.

Own it But Haven’t Read it Yet

Pretty much every week I visit web sites on Top Ten Tuesday and I say to myself “I really need to read one of V.E. Schwab’s books”. I own multiple books written by her. Despite saying this every week, have I read any of her books? Sadly, the answer is still no.

Someday. Soon (I think). I’ve said that about other authors and eventually started reading their books, so Ms. Schwab’s time will come as well.

Would Read Again

I hope to read the Carve the Mark duology sometime soon. Ms. Roth is coming out with a new book, The End and Other Beginnings, on October 1st, and it has two short stories from this universe in it. Besides, even though I’ve read the first book from this duology four times (once in Spanish), I’ve only read the sequel, The Fates Divide, once. It was a great book and I’d like to read it again. Sometimes books are better the second time around because you see more.

In Another World

Strange the Dreamer was set in such a unique world with unique people. Lazlo and Sarai’s relationship was sweet, and it had great villains too.

Muse of Nightmares had some surprises to it, and although I don’t think we’ll see any new books from this series come out (maybe a novella though), this story left the door open for some great fanfiction. I’m not inspired to write any at the moment, but maybe someone else has written some?

Back on Earth

The Clockwork series is another trilogy I would like to reread at some point. If they didn’t keep coming out with amazing new books!

At any rate, the Shadowhunter’s books are an excellent example of fantasy books set in the real world. They’re all connected to a specific time period (which I’m sure is a challenge because they have to be somewhat historically accurate as well) and yet, they’re full of magic and otherworldly creatures.

So that’s the Quick Fire Fantasy Book Tag! I have to admit, even though I like doing tags, I never know who to tag (I don’t know who would be interested; I don’t want to leave anybody out, etc.) so I’m just going to say, if you want to do it, then consider yourself tagged! If you decide to do this one, please tag me so I can go see what you came up with.

Spin The Dawn

By Brookelorren on June 10, 2019June 10, 20192 Comments

I recently finished reading Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (thank you Netgalley, for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy) and I loved it! Just look at that gorgeous cover! And there’s magic! After reading this book, I definitely plan on reading the second book in this series.

I have to admit though, for a while I wondered “why did I request to read a book about sewing?” Because as much as I love the cover and the whole magic thing is great, there was a part of me that started thinking what can be interesting about sewing? As it turns out, there’s way more to this story than a girl making clothes.

Maia has always wanted to be a tailor. I love her. She has three brothers, but loses two of them in the war. Her father isn’t the same as he used to be, debilitated by a broken heart. And when her other brother comes back from the war, he has a bad leg. And he’s never been able to sew. So when the emperor sends envoys planning to take a family member to become the emperor’s tailor, Maia decides she needs to impersonate her brother and go in his place. She can’t go herself because girls can’t be tailors. It’s either that, or she’ll have to marry the baker’s son. Eew.

When she gets there, things aren’t as easy as they seem. She has to compete for this position. And the other tailors play dirty. But even after the competition, that’s not the end of the story. There’s way more to it. So much more, that there’s another book (which I definitely plan to read). But I can’t say much more because spoilers.

Not only are there evil villains, magic, and political intrigue in this story, there is also a love interest. I really like them together. But I can’t say any more about that either.

Can I think of anything I didn’t like? Not really. It’s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it for people that enjoy fantasy. The book isn’t out until July 9th, but you can pre-order it now.

Brave Book Tag

By Brookelorren on June 9, 2019June 7, 20194 Comments

I was tagged by Novelties to do the Brave Book Tag (thank you!). This tag was started by Book Princess Reviews.

Scotland: Land of Magic, Castles, and will-o’-the-wisps

Name a Magical Book Setting

For this prompt, I’d have to go for the world of Caraval by Stephanie Garber! The whole premise of the world of Caraval is that everything is magical and you don’t know what is real.

There’s magical dresses, time that seems to slip away, people that end up trapped in playing cards, and villains who can end your life with just a kiss. What could be more magical than that?

Clan Dunbroch: Merida’s family clan

Name Your Favorite Bookish Family/Gang

For this prompt, I’d have to go with Kaz Brekker and his literal gang in Six of Crows. While they don’t all choose to be part of the group at first (Matthias certainly wouldn’t have chosen to begin this adventure with the rest of them) they all seem to belong together by the end. They all have faced hardship in their lives, and with the help of their friends, they become better people. I just love this group together.

Merida: princess, brilliant archer, and doesn’t need any man

Name a Heroine Who Doesn’t Accept Her Fate

Do evil people count as heroines? I don’t know, but I’m gonna go for it anyway. Adelina Amouteru of The Young Elites certainly doesn’t accept what fate was going to throw her way.

Her dad was going to sell her to a guy who was going to use her as a mistress and then probably throw her away, she runs away and is almost burnt at the stake, and then she ends up becoming one of the most powerful people in the world… I would call that not accepting your fate.

The Highland Games: Eligible Fight for Merida’s Hand in Marriage

Name a Book Where the Stakes are High

Literally, the fate of the world is at stake in City of Heavenly Fire. I can’t think of any higher stakes than that. We learn later, when reading Queen of Air and Darkness, just how high the stakes in this book really were. Thule (the world where they don’t win during this time period) is a complete nightmare. Good luck to these people, because I don’t want to live in the nightmare world where they lose.

Elinor: Mama Turned Mama Bear

Name a Character that Goes Through a Big Transformation

This particular prompt doesn’t say that it has to be a good transformation, so I’m gonna go with Catherine from Heartless. She goes from this sweet girl that just wants to bake to the ruthless Queen of Hearts. Is there any bigger transformation than that?

You have to feel sorry for her. And a little angry with her parents. But ultimately, we choose our own fates.

Bear Brothers: Adorable, Mischievous Baby Bears

Name Some of Your Favorite Scene-Stealing Characters

For this prompt, I’m going to have to go way back. I’ll nominate Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the Dragonlance Chronicles. He’s a mischievious kender who is innocent like a child, but at the same time, always manages to rob you blind (although he’d say he was just borrowing things).

While he’s not the star of this show, he’s definitely an important part of the story and these books just wouldn’t be the same without him.

Mor’du: Demon Bear, Secret Prince

A Villain with a Complex Backstory

There are actually multiple villains in Muse of Nightmares, and quite a few of them have complex backstories. One of the villain characters is Minya. She’s angry about what happened, and from her perspective, she has a right to be. But she also doesn’t see the full story.

One of the things I like about this story (in addition to the gorgeous writing) is that as readers, we see that both sides are harboring unnecessary grudges and have misunderstandings about the other side. And fortunately, it all works out.

So that’s the Brave Book Tag. If you’d like to do this tag, I pick you! If you decide to do this one, please let me know so I can see what you came up with!

The Land of Yesterday

By Brookelorren on June 8, 2019June 7, 20192 Comments

I recently read The Land of Yesterday by K.A. Reynolds. Isn’t that a gorgeous cover? It’s an adorable middle grade book that deals with the feelings one experiences when dealing with loss.

When Cecelia’s brother Celadon dies, she’s left feeling guilty. In order to get her brother back, she attempts to travel back to the Land of Yesterday — a place full of magic and dangers. To top it all off, her mother has also left for the Land of Yesterday, plus the house has gone crazy and is imprisoning her father. Will Cecelia be able to fix everything? Or will she also end up trapped in Yesterday?

On the surface, this book seems like a scary adventure full of magic, but there is a deeper meaning to this book. There are several beautiful quotes in here, such as this quote about recovering from grief:

When we’re ready, we can finally move beyond Yesterday and return to living in Today
p. 235

Or how death is permanent:

If someone died in Today, they couldn’t return to the land of the living.
p. 244

The book is full of clever names, like the town they live in: Hungrig (it means hungry in German). The book seems to capture the world through a kid’s eyes and seems to have humor that a kid would enjoy. For example, some characters that haven’t experienced loss speak gibberish in the land of Today.

Although this book isn’t on my list of favorites, I thought it was cute and had a lot of beautiful quotes. My boy (who is 12) also read it. He didn’t gush over it like he does with Lauren Magaziner’s books, but he didn’t have anything negative to say about it. I think some of the clever names went over his head.

I would recommend this story especially to kids that are dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

By Brookelorren on June 6, 2019June 6, 20192 Comments

Cassandra Clare’s Ghosts of the Shadow Market came out on Tuesday, and I was so excited to read it! While I know a lot of the novellas came out earlier, I didn’t buy them and decided to wait until this week to read them. I loved this book, and am now excited to try to find time to reread some of these books!

This book assumes you are familiar with The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices. My review may contain spoilers for these books.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market contains ten short stories (some of which are novella length). Jem/Brother Zechariah is a constant presence in these. They should probably be read in order (at least for the first read-through). There is a common thread running through these stories: Jem is looking for the Lost Heir. The stories take place between 1901 (with the children of The Infernal Devices characters) and 2013 (which occurs after The Dark Artifices).

What I Loved

The Characters. Because this book takes place over a long period of time, there are a ton of characters in this book. Some you’ll be familiar with, but there are others that will appear in The Last Hours trilogy. I never realized that Lily (the head of the New York vampires) was so smitten with James Carstairs! It was fun to see little Jace and the little Lightwoods years before The Mortal Instruments, along with the other characters.

The Worldbuilding. This is one of the things that I love about Cassandra Clare’s books. The world and lore is so intertwined and full.

The Historical Background. I’m a student of history, so I’m familiar with The Great Depression, World War II, etc. The book was well-researched, and I even learned something. When London was bombed, the shops tried to stay open. Some of them that had been bombed were still open, hanging out signs saying they were “more open than usual.” I thought that was funny (I checked, and they actually did have these signs out).

The Humor. I laughed out loud in several places in this book. “Isabelle is the love of my life, but her seven-layer dip is like the nine circles of Hell,” Lily’s constant nicknames for Jem, and several other places in the book were quite funny.

The Story. In Ghosts of the Shadow Market, you get to find out things that happened after Queen of Air and Darkness, and how Alec and Magnus ended up adopting Rafael. While it won’t be necessary to read this book to enjoy The Last Hours or The Wicked Powers, this book enriches the Shadowhunter universe.

What Could Be Better

Because The Last Hours won’t be released until next March, it took me a while to figure out who was whose kid (and don’t quiz me even now, I’m still a little fuzzy on these). I still enjoyed the stories that took place in 1901, but I think I will like them better once I’m more familiar with these characters and who is who.

One of the stories takes place in 1989 and one of the characters refers to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. The song came out in 1983 and was mostly popular in that year and 1984. I really couldn’t imagine someone referring to the song in 1989 unless they were hopelessly behind the times. Which perhaps the character is.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices, I recommend this book. If you haven’t read all twelve of those books yet, I recommend you read those first. Ghosts of the Shadow Market adds to the Shadowhunter world and advances the story. It’s made me more excited for Chain of Gold, which is coming out next March!

Fantasy Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on June 4, 2019June 3, 201948 Comments

Hello! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl)! Today we’re talking about books from our favorite genre. I like all sorts of books, but I tend to read a lot of fantasy books, so we’re going to go with that (although dystopian might be making a comeback soon, so there’s that). This week, I’m picking five fantasy books (or series) that I love, and five that I’m looking forward to reading.

An Ember in the Ashes Quartet – Sabaa Tahir

I’m looking forward to reading the final book in this series next year, but for now, this series belongs up here. I read these three (long) books in three days. They were difficult to put down! I originally got the first two books from the library, but then I had to own the set (even though they don’t match, because one’s Kindle, one’s paperback, and one’s hardback).

Shadowhunter’s Books – Cassandra Clare

I love these books! I guess this would belong in the upcoming release books too, because we have Chain of Gold to look forward to next March, but these definitely belong on this list. I’m also getting Ghosts of the Shadow Market today, which I’m excited for. They’re shipping via UPS (which typically arrives later at my house than the post office) so I guess I’ll be reading something else until it arrives.

The Young Elites Trilogy – Marie Lu

Of course this one had to make my list. I adore Magiano and Adelina! Even though Adelina is evil. I really need to finish the fanfic I started writing telling this series from Magiano’s POV (which will continue on and will have a happier ending). This is my first week as a full-time writer/homeschooler, so I should have more time to work on it now!

Flame in the Mist Duology – Renée Ahdieh

I was originally going to put the Grisha Verse books in here, but then I realized “didn’t I talk about all these books last week?” so I decided to throw in something new instead. This might be the first fantasy book I read based in a medieval Japan like place, and I loved it! I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was at work.

I wasn’t sure about reading Ms. Ahdieh’s new book about vampires, but I got the chance to read the beginning of The Beautiful the other day, and it was really good, so I’ll probably read that one too.

The Cruel Prince Trilogy – Holly Black

This book had me hooked from the first page! I love Holly Black’s writing. I can’t wait until The Queen of Nothing comes out later this year! Yes, I know Jude and Cardan don’t really have the model relationship, but they’re not exactly model citizens themselves. I couldn’t put down the first two books in this series and think I finished them the day they came out.

New Books I’m Looking Forward To!

I’m really looking forward to Wicked Fox by Kat Cho! I got to read the first part of the book through Bookish First, and I won an ARC through them! I haven’t received it yet, but I’m going to my mailbox with expectation every day (although I have some other books I need to read first). I actually won three books (two through them, one through Goodreads) so this isn’t the only bookmail I’m anxiously awaiting.

October 1st is going to be a huge release day for me, because not only is Rebel coming out that day, but so is The End and Other Beginnings (Veronica Roth) and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo! The cover features Matthew the famous Book Snake (who also appears on the cover of Queen of Nothing, another book I’m getting)!

Speaking of The End and Other Beginnings, here it is! It is a collection of short stories, including two stories from the Carve the Mark universe and “Inertia”, a story I adored from Summer Days and Summer Nights! I don’t own that book so I’ll be happy to read that story again.

Oh, and I just read in Entertainment Weekly while writing this article that “Inertia” is going to be turned into a movie! If you read this blog a lot, you know I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I definitely want to go see this one!

I really liked Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett (my review will be up in a couple of weeks) and when I found out that she’s coming out with a fantasy novel where a girl has to hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring, I thought “sign me up!” Netgalley was nice enough to approve me to read The Lady Rogue, although it’s in protected PDF format and I’m having trouble downloading it, but I’m sure I’ll get that figured out before it comes out in September.

I’m excited for The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White to come out this November! Camelot is such an interesting legend (I happened to get Once and Future on sale on Sunday) and this sounds like a great book. I’ve still only read one short story by Kiersten White (despite owning more than one of her books) but I hope to remedy that soon.

So there’s ten books from the fantasy genre – 5 I love, and 5 I’m looking forward to reading! What books are you looking forward to reading? I can’t wait to see what you all came up with today.

The Evil Queen

By Brookelorren on June 3, 2019June 3, 20194 Comments

We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Disney cartoon came out over 80 years ago and, to be honest, the story feels dated. The Evil Queen is a Snow White retelling that gives the story an interesting twist.

Everly is a girl who grew up in a typical high school in America. Only she’s not normal. Everybody seems to hate her for some unnatural reason. She doesn’t know why. She’s only had one boyfriend (over the summer) but he broke up with her before school started again because he was embarrassed for people to think they were together. She’s very cynical towards life.

Her mother always told her fairy tales, like most mothers do, but she doesn’t think anything of it until she starts seeing a girl other than herself in her mirror. The girl is kind to animals, helps the villagers… the calls the girl Angel.

One day, Everly’s world is turned upside down when she realizes that the girl in the mirror is an actual girl living in a land called Enchantia, she is a sorcerian, and she has to leave her current world for the fairy tale one. She falls for a boy who hates sorcerians (although he doesn’t know she is one). Events outside of her control force her to do things that make her think that she’s the Evil Queen in the Snow White story. While everybody seems to be against her, her sister seems to be in trouble and she’s helpless to save her.

Things aren’t exactly as they seem, but you’ll have to read the story to find out what happens.

What I Liked

This story is unlike other fantasy books I’ve read. In most fantasy books, the characters talk differently. Everly, who came straight from your local high school, talks like a teenager. Sometimes the locals in Enchantia don’t really understand her, since she’s using contemporary slang.

The Enchantian characters in this book also don’t seem like your typical Disney characters straight from the 1930s. Prince Charming and Everly exchange sexual innuendos, and two of the female characters are romantically involved. It’s nice how the story breathes a spark of new life into an old classic story.

This story also conveyed the message that we are who we choose to be, not who we are fated to be. I can’t say much more without giving away the plot, but not all the characters seem to fit into their given roles.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t care for the prologue, but I don’t like most prologues. Everly had her problems at time, but that’s typical of teenagers.

Overall

Overall, I thought The Evil Queen was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale. If you’re looking for a story about a damsel in the forest washing clothes for some elderly dwarfs, this isn’t it. What it is is a story about a girl from today, who gets thrust into a fairy tale world, thinking she’s expected to be one character, but discovering that she can make her own choices and isn’t necessarily stuck to one particular role. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the second book in the series when it comes out.

Soul of the Sword

By Brookelorren on June 1, 2019June 1, 20192 Comments

I was recently given the opportunity to read Soul of the Sword, the second book in Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox trilogy (thank you, Netgalley). I loved this book, just like I did the first book in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion when it comes out.

Since this is the second book in a trilogy, there are spoilers for Shadow of the Fox in this review. I wrote a review for the first book if you’re interested.

Kage Tatsumi is now possessed by the demon Haikamono, who is still trying to find the scroll for his own reasons. He now knows that Yumeko is half-kitsune, but for now, they part ways. Both of them are still trying to get to the Steel Feather Temple.

Soul of the Sword still has the great Japanese-inspired setting and rich mythology that Shadow of the Fox had, but the characters and the world develop more fully in this sequel. We learn more about the corruption that has seeped into the universe, as well as more of the history.

Yumeko develops into a stronger character in this book. Although she keeps her sweet spirit, she continues to develop as a person, taking her destiny into her own hands and fighting for her friends. She needs this strength of character (as well as the kitsune magic she is getting better at wielding) when she faces enemies towards the end of the book.

Suki, one of the minor characters in the first book, takes a more important role in Soul of the Sword. I was wondering why she was in the first book; in the second book, her role becomes clearer. I still think that she will have a part to play in the final book of this trilogy.

Yumeko and Tatsumi continue to develop feelings for each other in this book, but will they ever have a happy end together? At the end of this book, I don’t even know if they’ll end up together. There is another couple in this book, but I won’t give it away here. I did see it coming long before they actually became something of an item.

The book doesn’t exactly end in a cliffhanger, but Yumeko and Tatsumi’s job is not done. There is a twist at the end that I didn’t expect. I definitely want to read the next book to find out how this story concludes.

Shadow of the Fox

By Brookelorren on May 29, 2019May 30, 20193 Comments

There are some authors that I consistently see, week after week, and always think “I have to read something by that author” whenever I see their name mentioned. Julie Kagawa was one of those authors. So when Netgalley offered the Soul of the Sword ARC, I had to apply for it. Then I realized it was the second book in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. Luckily for me, I just happened to have seen the book on sale earlier this month and I picked it up (sadly, it’s not on sale as I write this). I loved this book and am enjoying the second book in the series at the moment.

Yumeko is half-kitsune (kitsune are magical fox-creatures in Japanese folklore). She grew up in a temple, and is quite naïve to how the world works. Still, she has a pure heart. Suddenly, her life is thrust into chaos, when the temple is attacked and she is tasked with guarding a scroll. Should she fail, the world could descend into darkness. At the same time, she runs into Kage Tatsumi, a boy who has been tasked with finding the scroll. They end up traveling together to try to find the Steel Feather Temple. If Tatsumi finds out that Yumeko is kitsune or has the scroll, it could be curtains for her.

What I Loved

This was a really cute adventure story. Yumeko is such a sweet, innocent character who always seems to see the best in people. As she travels with Tatsumi, they are attacked by someone who wants to stop them from getting the scroll. Still, her kind, optimistic nature attracts other characters that join her, vowing to protect her (despite the fact that Tatsumi would rather be traveling by himself in the first place). Tatsumi and Yumeko start to develop feelings for each other in this book, but don’t expect any kisses any time soon.

The setting to Shadow of the Fox is gorgeous. It is full of Japanese mythological creatures, and I kept highlighting words for me to add to my book journal later on. The world itself has a vibrant history of its own. Since I’m reading the second book at the moment, I’m seeing more of the world, and I absolutely adore it.

There are also complex villains and relationships in this book. In the very beginning, we are introduced to Suki, a young maid who is killed by her mistress. How does this all fit in? You actually don’t really begin to see much of how she fits into the whole story in this book, but there is more in Soul of the Sword. Who is attacking Yumeko and Tatsumi? I’m just beginning to see the bigger picture in the second book, but there’s a lot here.

Conclusion

Should you read Shadow of the Fox? Yes, if you enjoy Japanese inspired fantasy and fun, sweet characters. I’m definitely a fan of the series, plan to read the third book at some point after it becomes available, and am likely to read more Julie Kagawa books in the future.