Red Winter

It is a shock this book isn't more popular. For once, a retelling of Japanese mythology done right. You can tell the author did her research well, all the terminologies are used correctly and the writing never come off as being weeb-ish. The story takes place in fictional Japan, and since naturally all the characters speak Japanese, there's no random Japanese words being thrown around inappropriately in conversations for no apparent reason. After my not-so-good encounter with Flame in the Mist, Red Winter turns out to be a pleasant surprise for me when it comes to Asian-inspired stories.

As the protagonist, Emi is exactly what you'd expect from a shrine miko who was raised to fill the role she was supposed to fulfill. She's meek, obedient, pure... almost without any real “personality”, some would say. She does, however, evolve along the way and shows a very human reaction towards the truth she discovered. She's not exactly the best when it comes to battle and needs to be saved many, many times, but that's what makes it good because if she turns out to be a pro youkai slayer it wouldn't make any sense considering her upbringing. People may have diverging opinions regarding her personality and goals, but you can't deny that her characterization is consistent throughout the whole book.

There's a really nice situation reversal too for Emi. At the beginning, she's described as a very special figure with a very special role to play—just like the “chosen one” trope we all dread. After she finds out the truth though, everyone around her starts telling her to deal with it because her existence as a person is so small and insignificant compared to what she needs to accomplish by playing this very special role. It adds a nice twist without destroying or changing the “chosen one” trope entirely, I find that really clever.

I also like how we learn nearly nothing about Emi's new youkai friends. Both Shiro and Yumei reveal nothing but mysteries and unanswered questions, and for the most part I think it's fair trade since Emi didn't tell them anything about her identity either. It keeps the story intriguing since we get bits and pieces of information at a time, and it's fun trying to piece them together instead of getting a massive info dump. The other youkai that have appeared so far are given details that stay true to how they really are in the mythology too, such as Ameonna and Sunekosuri. Again, it's well-researched and doesn't make you cringe from inappropriate usage.

The overall vibes of the book is similar to the game Okami. There's barely any modern civilization mentioned (except for the one time Emi ventured into a city), and to be honest, I prefer it that way since this kind of story works better when the setting is closer to nature or is a rural location. It just adds to the mysterious / traditional feel, so I hope it stays like this for the remaining two books.

Also! The illustrations are GORGEOUS and really helps with the visualization!