Short and Simple Reviews: Soul of the Sword & Shadow of the Fox

This is a place for books that I didn't fully review.

Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)

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.

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Review

I listened to the majority of this book on audio. The audio was great and I liked that the book had different narrators for each POV. I read the last fifty pages in hardcover and it was fairly easy to switch. I usually worry about switching between audio and traditional when it comes to fantasy, but it wasn't difficult. I did notice that the chapters don't identify who the POV is, and it's all in first person, so reading the book in print may be confusing.

Anyway, I found the use of Japanese mythology in the book very interesting and the world-building was fantastic. The book mainly follows an adventure plot, in which the two main characters go on a journey to a certain location and fight various things along the way. While I liked the adventure aspect, it sometimes made me forget why they were on the adventure in the first place. Yumeko being half-kitsune especially felt like it was pushed aside doing the middle portion of the book. I did like the cast of characters and I think it ended in an intriguing way.

Overall, I did like this book. It's not my favorite book by Julie Kagawa, but I liked it a lot more than Talon. 

I hereby give this book

3.5 Stars

Meaning: I liked it, but it wasn't quite amazing

One thousand years ago, a wish was made to the Harbinger of Change and a sword 
of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. It had one task: to seal away the powerful demon Hakaimono.

Now he has broken free.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has one task: to take her piece of the ancient and powerful scroll to the Steel Feather temple in order to prevent the summoning of the Harbinger of Change, the great Kami Dragon who will grant one wish to whomever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. But she has a new enemy now. The demon Hakaimono, who for centuries was trapped in a cursed sword, has escaped and possessed the boy she thought would protect her, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

Hakaimono has done the unthinkable and joined forces with the Master of Demons in order to break the curse of the sword and set himself free. To overthrow the empire and cover the land in darkness, they need one thing: the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

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Review

I did not like this book as much as book one. The book is a slow start and I expected a lot more after the ending of the first book. It felt like there was a lot more filler and I found myself uninterested. Yumeko also did not seem like a very large character in the beginning. The driving force in this book is that she wants to save Tatsumi, and it is alluded that they have feelings for each other, but I did not really care for their non-romance. I want them to be together, yeah, but I never felt romance between them. [highlight to view spoiler] I was a lot more interested in the romance between Okame and Daisuke [end of spoiler] The book does eventually pick up speed and the last portion was very riveting. I still think the use of Japenese mythology in this book is amazing! I will be continuing this series as I did like this book, it just took a while for it to get really interesting. 

I hereby give this book

3 Stars

Meaning: I liked it