Seven Deadly Shadows

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess. But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world. Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared. With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani - Release date January 28, 2020

I was so wrapped up in this book that it wasn't until half way through it that I stopped to consider why the title made so much sense. Seven Deadly Shadows was a fast moving adventure that left me feeling like I had learned something along with feeling a connection with the characters. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started reading this book since it was written by two authors, but Alameda and Maetani did an amazing job weaving their writing into one seamless story line! From the start of this story I could sense that I was about to be wrapped up in a story that showed how one girl could learn to embrace her history and prove that she could step up to the challenge ahead of her, even when the odds were set horribly against her. 

Kira Fujikawa is a relatable character from the very beginning and remains that way throughout the entirety of the book. As a Miko, her job is to protect her family shrine from the Yokai that only she and her grandfather can see. She is witty and daring and is able to face all the evils looming ever closer as the Blood Moon approaches even while she balances school and a normal-ish life. Her personality is complimented by Shiro, an adventurous Kitsune with even more complicated family issues than Kira herself. The relationship that develops between the two of them is wholesome easy to see coming from the very first time that Shiro is mentioned. Together they have to hunt across Tokyo and Kyoto for seven gods of death who will join their cause to fight against the Demon, Shuten-doji, who seeks to destroy the sun goddess which would plunge the world into darkness once and for all.

One of my favorite parts about this book is that I was once again able to get wrapped up in all of the Japanese folklore that I love so much! It was interesting to compare everything I learned in this story to when I was reading Shadow of the Fox (by far one of my favorite books that I have read for this blog). Many of the general stories and types of monsters where the same, but each story had its respective master demon that the main character had to fight off. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough to know how much of the history entwined into each of these stories was made up to be used as a plot devise, but I will say that Seven Deadly Shadows, just like Shadow of the Fox did a wonderful job pulling me into it's world and making the Japanese monsters seem like something I had grown up hearing about! I only had two complaints about this book. First, is that everything felt kind of predictable. When the characters ran into a problem I knew it was going to happen chapters ahead of time and I could often think of the solutions they came up with before they did. Though there weren't any major plot twists I didn't feel that it made the story any less exciting since the story line moved so quickly. Secondly, I know the story was about Kira, but I fell in love with Ami's character when she first appeared in the beginning of the book and I wish she made a few more appearances throughout the story. 

This book was a captivating and fast paced read. I finished it in under 4 hours! Each chapter was able to develop the story while still keeping it moving in the right direction. This book deserves a solid 4/5 stars. (My New Year's Resolution was to start being more strict in how I rate these books so I won't be handing out 5/5 stars anymore unless the book really blows me away). Also, this book gets bonus points for beating me to the punch and promising a map in the final copy even though it technically is set in the real city of Kyoto! I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Japanese folklore or really any adventure story with a unique spin on it!

~ Alyse :)

Reviewed on January 20, 2020

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The Never Tilting World

                                               

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn. Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun. While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal. But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco - release date October 15, 2019

The concept behind this book is enthralling! The story is told from twin perspectives (from actual twins and their companions) in an amazing way that is able to build a unique world while still being full of adventure. The idea that every person has a "gate" that allows them to access their magical powers was a fascinating concept that merged elemental magic with your more typical specialized magic that a reader would typically encounter. Each of the cities that the goddesses live in are structured differently and seem to be able to portray the entire colony's personality in how they operate. Chupeco did such an amazing job getting me wrapped up in her world that I don't think I questioned her once throughout the book and that's including when Arjun had to milk Deathworms or when Odessa began to encounter galla from the underworld on a frequent basis. 

Odessa and Haidee are daughters of the goddesses that rule over Aeon, except one of their mothers should be dead. Somehow a sacred ritual was broken when the girls were a year old and it wound up splitting the world in two. One half never sees the day and the other doesn't know what life is like without a scorching sun perpetually over her head. Each girl sets out on her own for different reasons to see if they can make it through the abyss back to the place where it all happened. I love how the story was able to give each of the four characters you hear from a unique perspective and personality throughout the book. Lan is headstrong and wildly independent, but ever protective over her goddess lover; Odessa is incredibly shy but learns, through some shady methods, to branch out and figure out how powerful she truly is; Arjun is a boy who feels deserted by the goddess, but soon learns that he would give up his life to protect one; and Haidee is innocent but continuously curious about the workings of the world that she has found herself journeying through. Also, bonus points to Haidee for being a bad-ass mechanic that can fix literally everything and for having such a big heart that she can even win over Sand Sea dolpins! I love that girl so much and I have some personal opinions about the potential fate of her and Odessa (you'll have to read the book if you want the context to understand what I am talking about). There are some steamy love scenes, but also intriguing questions and adventures that each of the characters encounters on their journey. 

This book has an immense amount of creativity in it and that made it an awesome read! Everything in this book seemed to be well thought out, but nothing was bogged down by too much detail. There were so many interesting concepts from creatures to ways that each of the character's magic worked that I had never seen in a different book! I'm going to be a stickler and say that this book deserves a well-drawn map to enhance the way readers can interact with it, but at the same time I have to be honest and say that Chupeco did such a good job creating her world that I could see every path the characters took clearly in my head without a map to guide me. 

A definite 5/5 stars!!! Every time I picked this book up I did not want to put it down! I read it in about a week and would recommend it for anyone who is looking for a fantastical adventure to be immersed in or if you are just looking to find a new way to think about magic. I can't wait for the sequel and it's going to kill me to have to wait to see what becomes of the characters after how the story ended!

~ Alyse :)

Reviewed on October 15, 2019

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Winterwood

Be careful of the dark, dark wood . . . Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.
Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing. But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw - release date November 5, 2019

Shea Ernshaw is one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE authors of ALL TIME (my other top favorite author being Sarah J Maas) and I LOVE anything she writes.  Technically, this is a stand alone novel, but I would also highly recommend Ernshaw's first book, The Wicked Deep, because it is just as fantastic (if not even more so) as this book.  And, the town of Sparrow from TWD is in Winterwood since they're set in the same universe.  Hopefully she'll write more from this magical universe, which is actually set in Oregon!

If you love witches, you'll love Winterwood.  Nora Walker comes from a long line of Walker women, all witches, but Nora thinks that she might have missed out on the magic, the nightshade, the rest of her family has had.  The Walker women are one with the ancient Wicker Woods, the cursed forest where she finds Oliver, the sweetheart maybe-villain who went missing from the Wayward Boy Camp from the other side of the lake.  If you've read The Wicked Deep, you already know that Winterwood is going to have a beautiful, heartbreaking love story written into the mystery.  I absolutely adore Shea Ernshaw's romances.

The atmosphere of the novel is FANTASTIC.  I wanted to curl up into the pages and see Jackjaw lake for myself, with all the snow, the cold, that forest, the stars, and I'd especially like to explore cemetery for the Walker women next to the lake.  The environment is just so beautiful sounding and captivating, just like the town of Sparrow and the ocean from The Wicked Deep.  All of Shea Ernshaw's books are lush and beautiful and always leave you wanting more, and Winterwood was no exception!!  I read a bunch of reviews that say the plot was predictable or that the characters weren't as in depth as they would have liked, but I don't feel that way at all.  I was VERY surprised at certain points and I thought the characters were totally believable!  The only thing that I'm sad about was I heard the final version is going to be different from the ARC version, but that just means I'm going to have to buy it again.  Money well spent!

10000000000000/5 stars for another excellent Shea Ernshaw novel.  I heard that she wants to continue writing more stories within this Sparrow/Wicker Wood-Fir Haven universe, and I will immediately buy anything else she writes.  Obviously I recommend this, and also Wicked Deep.  I finished this in 4 days.  I might have to go reread Wicked Deep now!  

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-Taylor

Reviewed on October 3, 2019