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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