“Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unshakable as the mountain. And you can do anything...”
When your favourite author of all-time releases a new book, it would be common sense to drop everything and read it. I, however, am apparently stupid. I did not read this when it was first released, and have just finished it today (I hit my yearly goal of 55 books, YAY!).
Spoiler free review real quick. If you love Mulan, ninjas/samurai, general badassery and a heroine worth rooting for, this is the book for you. It is not as good as Wrath and the Dawn in my opinion, but it is absolutely wonderful and proves that Renee Ahdieh is an incredible author.
I gave it:
★★★★
Spoiler Time
This. Book. Was. Awesome.
That is sufficient, but I won't leave you hanging there, incase some of you actually care what I have to think about this book. I feel like the story of this is one you know, but I'll try to explain in a little more detail.
Basically, a young woman named Mariko is on the way to the palace to meet her betrothed (a prince no less), when her convoy is attacked and everyone is killed except for her. She escapes and disguises herself as a boy, then decided to infiltrate the ranks of the rebel group that did this to her.
Mariko is smart, but not too smart, and strangely I liked that about her. She was naive, as she should be. She's never been out in the world on her own before. But she is educated and quick-thinking, and not afraid to stand her ground. Remarkably similar to Mulan, she impressed me throughout the entire novel. Her sacrifice at the end proved that she will but her friends (and boyfriends????) first, which I admire and respect.
Okami was a different story. He was vague, mysterious and all-together a little annoying. I liked what he stood for, but I needed more humanity from him. We didn't get much, until his relationship with Mariko developed a little further. I will say that I was not expecting the twist at the end, and it blew my mind. It made sense with his character and I really enjoyed how he developed. I only wish we knew more about how he obtained his powers (book #2--> This is on you).
The last character I want to talk about is Kenshin. He's Mariko's twin brother, and had some character development that caused me a great amount of pain. His relationship with Amaya was heartbreaking yet wonderful, and I want to see how that plays out in the future. That being said, he took a serious turn when he thought his sister was being held hostage. We're talking Finn in the 100 season 2. He grew sadistic but retained his goals. I loved the contrast between his act-first mentality and Mariko's think-first way of living. I am curious to see which side he is truly on.
Okay, that sums up the characters. Some closing points before I wrap this up *wrapping motion with hands*
- What the fudge is up with the emperor's side-chick. This woman has ambition and I respect that, but she may or may not be a psycho.
- I need to know what is happening in the next book. Mariko....why???? Okami is so much prettier.
- I need magic rules. Like now. I need a list of the rules because Okami's shadow thing is defying all rules of logic.
I think that wraps up my review. It's a clever, feminist, empowering action novel that everyone should give a chance to. If you like Mulan, you'll respect The Flame in the Mist.
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