YA Fantasy Review : Shadow of the Fox /Japanese influence/

My Rating – 3.5 Stars Goodreads

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn. Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart. With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. 

Well to begin with , this book was so different from the usual Young Adult Fantasy . This was an altogether a whirlwind ride of a story that was heavily inspired from the Japanese Mythology . Huge amount of Japanese words are used in chunks to maintain the authenticity of the book ..But a small problem arises here that it takes a while for the reader to actually grasp the story . Since I was reading on a Kindle , I had to highlight some paragraphs to grasp the storyline. The protagonist, Yumeko is a half human & half kitsune, (Kitsune refers to a Fox ) As I was reading the book I came across the fact that Fox is creature of great importance in the Japanese Culture and mythology. So Yumeko is the possessor of the scroll and she needs to reach the temple before the scroll falls in wrong hands . Enter Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai who has been ordered to bring the scroll . Both of them make an unlikely pact and travel towards the temple in the kingdom’s capital. When they travel , they have encounters with demons , wind witches , blood magic , ghosts and what not . Demons are fought and alliance are made on the way .

So basically the story is that our two protagonist are in a journey from one place to another and that’s in huge portions in the book . The adventures that occur on the way helps in unveiling Yumeko and Tatsumi ‘personality slowly and as they are the key to the fate of the world itself. (which is half filled with demons and Oni). Some sparks fly between them as well (but no as such romance elements). The ending was such that had a lasting impression on me and I was shocked for a while . A highly conceptualized Young Adult Fantasy with a bunch of elements , developed characters and a intriguing story . I personally enjoyed this read and can’t wait for the next book!!

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