Shadow of the Fox

Ngl I tried to read this book 2 different times, but for whatever reason, I couldn't really get into it(as much as this book seems really cool, hopefully I can actually read this once I eventually have the rest of the trilogy)

DNF'ed. This is a painfully predictable anime written as a book. The character tropes are overused and shallow. You have an uwu fox girl and a stuffy ninja boy. They both lack common sense. The story also reminds you constantly that it's Japanese by littering words such as “ne”, “ano”, “sugoi”, etc. The actions of the characters are not well thought out, no matter if you're reading of the wise monk or a highly disciplined Shinobi.

DNF

I doubt I'll finish it. There's too many books I think I'm more interested in.

BTW the fox in the cover is ugly. Foxes are not ugly.

Half kitsune Yumeko resides in the Silent Winds Temple, where she is taught to hide her yokai nature. But Yumeko still casts the occasional illusion to cause mischief and bend the rules. Little does she know her yokai nature will be the very thing that may save her life. When the temple is attacked, and all within it but her are slain, she is asked to perform one final duty for the temple. Carry a piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers to the Steel Feather Temple. And do not let it fall into the hands of those who would use it, for they would cast the world into darkness once more.

Yumeko is a clever and manipulative character. Her use of assumptions and miscommunication is done so artfully and her fox nature is charming. Though she has nothing but good intentions, lies continue to build throughout the story. Readers are left wondering just when everything is going to tip over and expose Yumeko’s truths. Yumeko is also such a contrast to the second main character Kage. Where Kage is cold and mission focused, Yumeko is sincere and curious about everything she encounters.

Kage’s character is one fraught with complications and a dark past. Taught to withstand pain and feel no emotion, Kage is the exact opposite of Yumeko. He does not understand the concept of kindness, and whenever Yumeko uses it to better their situation he is surprised it even works. The shadow clan has honed him into nothing more than a weapon. And knowing he seeks the very scroll piece Yumeko keeps hidden on her person, ups the tension anytime he comes close to discovering it.

The Japanese mythology brought to life through Shadow of the Fox was fascinating. The world of demons, magic, lore, and samurai was enchanting. The use of the Japanese language within the context of dialogue was wonderful. Listening to the audiobook made it all the more enjoyable as I can guarantee I would not have pronounced the words correctly, even though phonetically I recognized a few. And the audiobook narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

I did find the use of honor and explaining its importance overused. While I understand Yumeko is new to the outside world, and the significance, or lack thereof, for certain castes to bind themselves by honor, she’s clever. It only needs to be explained in detail once. It also seemed to be the caveat to plot points, and a surefire way of making characters move in directions the author wanted them to. I needed a bit more variety.

Shadow of the Fox has a wonderful cast of characters to follow. The blend of personalities and moral codes brought together makes for an interesting story. Julie Kawaga built a world of Japanese mythology that explored the darker side of magic and demons, while still maintaining a young adult fantasy tone. I am curious to see where the story goes, as much is left to accomplish at the end of book one and I will for sure be reading book two.

Been a while since I read a YA novel that I enjoyed.

Fast-paced, enriched and descriptive in culture, a fun and page-turning read. I winced when I saw how young the protagonists were, and there were some overtly dramatic moments and one-liners that had me covering my eyes with my hand in secondhand embarrassment. YA is a writing style that I've definitely outgrown, which has just been reinforced by reading this. But all-in-all, it was good, and I'll be continuing the series. I do hope that we have some more breathing moments and some more character arcs in the novels to follow; I thoroughly enjoyed the finale, despite all of the teenage-language-riddled jidaigeki. I would've enjoyed it more if it was adult protagonists, geared towards adults. That's not to say that teenagers can't save the world, but should we be putting the pressure on them to do it? Hm, hm. Anyways! Enjoyable.

this is extra fun when you imagine aespa giselle as yumeko

At first this title was a bit difficult for me to get into, I kept getting hung up on specific words or characters that are taken from Japanese folklore. But after a little googling, I was hooked on this title. The first few chapters focus on giving you a backdrop to the magical system and the differing forces at play. Due to the plot line and characters, I found myself thinking that it should be adapted into an anime series!

The Wicked Fox is inspired by Japanese folklore and this was another book, I just couldn't put down. On the backdrop of a dragon that can grant any wish every thousand years for the one who holds the Scroll of a Thousand prayers, enter a girl who is half Kitsune, a fox that possess magical abilities and the ability to ward off evil. Growing up at a monastery and hidden from the world due to her unnatural abilities, Yumeko learns about the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, when the monastery gets attacked by demons looking for the scroll. Upon the destruction of the monastery, she escapes with a part of the scroll and goes on a journey to another monastery to ensure the safety of the scroll from demonic influences.

Upon her escape, she meets Kage Tatsumi, a demon slayer, who assists her on her quest, but little does she know that Kage is tasked by the Shadow Clan to retrieve the scroll no matter the cost. Follow these characters and other unlikely characters (including a dishonored Samurai and a royal), in their quest to go to the monastery who knows the secret of the Scroll of a Thousand Papers and the location of all of the pieces of the scroll. From battles with demons, understanding honor, and learning about inner power, this title is a must read for those who enjoy fantasy.

This was a very fun book with some intriguing characters. The dialog is fun and the relationships between the characters entertaining. My biggest complaint is the cliffhanger ending.

I really liked this book! I was a bit unsure at first because the dual (sometimes three) perspectives were confusing. They didn't get any less confusing. Sometimes I'd be reading and forget whose head we were in and that's why I only gave it 4/5 stars instead of 5/5. But overall I really enjoyed the plot, the pacing, the characters, the romance. Yumeko is so cute and innocent in the outside world. And Tatsumi is the brooding antihero we love in a story. I also didn't really expect to like Okame as much I did either. Surprises abound! I am here for this story and I put a hold on the other two books as soon as I finished the first one. I wish I had them in physical copy but I'm so excited to keep reading I'm going to start them right away.

Episodic travel story.
Really fun and entertaining.

4.5/5 stars! ❤
This book was just

I'm going to start out by saying that I'm a big fan of Japanese mythology and folklore and stories of the supernatural and also a big anime/manga fan, so I feel that had a huge influence on liking this book. If I'm honest, the writing wasn't great (and my edition had A LOT of editorial errors - a male character suddenly was a she in a couple paragraphs and it had nothing to do with gender identity), there wasn't really anything revolutionary or fantastic about the story or characters, however, it did for whatever reason had me liking it anyway because it had a lot of elements I really enjoy. It actually felt like reading a manga or anime and I almost kind of viewed it that way as I read it. I liked the fantastical and magical elements a lot and the fact that it was heavily influenced by Japanese folklore was a big bonus, as it isn't explored a whole lot in fantasy. I think my like of this book was more personal than anything, so I find it hard to review in that light. I think if your looking for something new or groundbreaking, don't look here. Shadow of the Fox is pretty typical with really only its setting being what makes it any different. I did genuinely enjoy the characters and their journey, in a sort of comfortable familiar way that reminded me of quest fantasies in anime/manga or video games that I am fond of anyway, so it was an easy fun read for me personally. If that is also your thing, I think you'll enjoy it, but if you prefer a challenge or that type of story isn't your cup of tea, then I'd steer clear.

Probably more of a 4.5 but I'm rounding it up.

I read the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa ages ago and really loved it a lot. It was probably one of my first introductions to the Fae world and it was fantastic. But I never read anything else by the author, for whatever reasons. Even this book wasn't really on my radar, and I probably wouldn't have thought about it except for my decision to read more Asian author's works this year, and like always the brilliant recommendation from my dearest friend Nandini. I have now come to a decision that I will blindly pick up any book she loves because she is always right. And this book was no different.

As it's been a while, I don't really remember much about the author's writing style. So, reading this book felt like discovering a new author. Right from the first page, we are introduced to a new world - one with its own myths and legends and stories, an interesting political system, the legendary samurai warriors, the ascetic monks who are much more than just spiritual guides, magic users and blood mages, and a very fascinating variety of supernatural creatures. I loved being in this world and getting to know more about it. I'm not an anime or manga fan, so I don't know any Japanese terms which made it difficult to keep track of all the words that the author was using initially, but I got used to them quickly after a little note taking and then it was a joy to read. I love when author's toe the line between using many native words and explaining them to unfamiliar readers. Kagawa explains in some cases, leaving us to understand some ourselves by gathering the context and I really enjoyed that process - I don't mind putting in that effort to understand a new mythology and culture which I know nothing about. This book is also mostly a journey, with the characters on a quest and these are my favorite kinds of books. The author manages to introduce us to interesting legends and other side characters during the MCs journey and it made the story all the more fun. The pacing is pretty slow but even throughout until it ended with a bang and I kind of liked it that way. The action sequences are very well written and I was thrilled every second of reading them, wondering how the fight would unfold.

Yumeko is a kitsune who has lived her whole life among the monks at the Silent Winds temple and it makes her slightly naive, innocent and just enjoying playing pranks on others. However, having to suddenly lose her home and the only people she has even known, and then travel to an unknown place on a high stakes quest is a huge challenge for her - but she never balks from this duty. She is young and doesn't know the way of the world but is cunning because of her half Fox nature, has no clue what to do in social situations, her total ignorance of sarcasm is hilarious and she is just so trusting - everything about her endeared her to me so much. I just wanted her to be ok and protect her. But it's in this innocence lies her strength, her resolve to do the right thing.

Tatsumi on the other hand started off as a cold blooded demonslayer, who has to always control his emotions so as to not be possessed by the monster in his sword. But getting to know his terrible backstory was horrifying - how he has been raised and trained to be an emotionless killer, a weapon to be yielded with no thoughts of his own, loyal only to his clan. But the journey he undertakes with Yumeko, albeit disgruntingly completely turns his life upside down. She gets him to let down his guard, possibly trust someone other than his clan, even start having thoughts and emotions unrelated to his mission. It's a revelation to himself, and watching him fight it was both delightful and painful. But the tentative friendship that develops between them is beautiful and while there is a possibility of romance, it's too slow burn to even contemplate yet - but they do start caring for each other and it'll be interesting to see what happens next after that cliffhanger ending. The side characters who they meet during their journey together make up this quirky group whom I have come to love and can't imagine anything bad happening to them at all.

There are so many underlying themes in the book that make up the core and heart of this story, loyalty being one of the most important. Yumeko is loyal to her monks but it's love that guides her, Tatsumi to his clan but it's more due to being trained whereas Okame seems to have been betrayed by those he was loyal to and now questions the point of it. But it's the loyalty they unwittingly develop for each other that guides them on their journey ultimately, even if they try to deny it all the time. Yumeko might be very naive and innocent, but it's her inherent trusting nature that forms another major crux of the story - her belief that everyone should be given a chance despite their past actions, that there is always a hope for redemption if given the option, that there is always something more to the story behind someone's actions. I loved this faith she had in second chances and how it informs every decision she makes, even in dreadful circumstances. It might not always help her in the short term, but I think her belief that every kindness will have unknown consequences might just have a huge impact in the later books and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Finally, I just want to say that this Japanese mythology inspired fantasy was a delight to read and I would highly recommend it. If you are a fan of reading about a group of unlikely heroes undertaking a quest, then this book is perfect for you. This one has everything you can ask for in a fantasy - great worldbuilding, wonderful friendships, magic and monsters and prophecies. I absolutely loved this one and I'm actually glad being late to the party, because I only have to wait less than two months for the sequel and to know what the next journey for these heroes is going to be like.

Actual rating: 3.5

I'm VERY conflicted

I loved the Japanese mythology. It was a great way to know the Japanese legends and its customs. But the story was really slow and it wasn't going anywhere. And then, at the last chapters, the story became SO intriguing that I couldn't stop. I found Yumeko annoying and I disliked her. However, as the story progressed, I got to like her and sympathize with her. (Go, Yumeko!)

Soooo... yeah, I'm conflicted. I still want to know what happens next, especially with THAT twist at the end that left me astonished. But I'm still not sure if the next book will be a great investment or a complete waste of money.

This story that takes place in Edo Japan and relies heavily on Japanese folklore - yokai, kitsune, oni, etc. The main character, Yumeko, is half-kitsune (fox spirit) which I'm not sure how that works but it enables her to live in both the human and yokai worlds and grants her abilities. The only downside is that kitsune are not trusted as they are believed to be very mischievous and dishonorable (think Loki from Norse mythology) so she has been taught by the monks of the shrine she grew up in to hide that part of her.
Oni are sent to the temple to find a piece of an ancient scroll that summons a dragon kami (god) to any mortal that holds it and the oni destroy the temple and everyone in it, but Yumeko manages to escape with the scroll piece and runs into Tatsumi, a young oni-possessed warrior sent to also retrieve the scroll. From there it turns into a typical adventure tale with new characters popping up and joining their team like a ronin (master-less samurai), a priestess who can communicate with yokai, and a young noble. You also get the side arcs of Tatsumi's clan (demon fighting ninjas) and the mystery of Yumeko's past and kitsune heritage.
Besides the setting and mythology, the plot itself is nothing new so I found myself kind of bored. There were some good action sequences and I did care for the two main characters (the side characters need a lot of more development) but the constant word repetitiveness/translation (this probably won't bother people who have no knowledge of Japanese but it was redundant for me) and the obvious sequel set-up was frustrating. I couldn't say if my love and knowledge of Japanese culture and folklore (admittedly mostly from anime and manga) helped or hindered my enjoyment of this book. It certainly helped with not having to look up words and being able to picture the creatures immediately, but it would be interesting to be able to see from a total novice's POV how this book reads.
I do want to continue the series but, much like her Iron King series, it was just not quite as good as I'd hoped.

This was an interesting read. I really enjoyed the world and the premise, plus there were demons so I was intrigued. I was not able to really connect with the characters though, but it was still a solid read!