Shall begin by saying that I found the writing in this book to be so good. Had no problem at all connecting to the characters and the story. Which I loved so much. It was also a pretty fast and easy read, as I did not want to stop reading it even once. I loved that very much. And I cannot wait to start my copy of book two. Eee.
I do not think I will manage to write all that much about this book, to be honest. My mind feels pretty blank. At the moment I'm just so happy that I liked this book so much. Even with that very rude ending. Hmph. It was pretty evil, yet not truly that bad, and I was left feeling very happy about all of this book. The romance was completely beautiful. Sigh. And no triangle or weird drama. I am so happy. And I very much loved the characters in this book too. Especially the girl and the boy. But the side characters were done so well too. Everything about this book was pretty amazing. And the only reason for why I'm giving it four stars is because I did not fully love the book with all my heart. But I had no faults with it. At all. Yesss. And I liked all of it so very much. So good.
This book tells the story of seventeen year old Mariko. She is the daughter of a samurai, and her purpose as a girl is to marry well. Which she is not pleased with. Mariko has always wanted to be more. But it is not possible for her as a girl in this world. I must admit to not knowing much about the culture this book is about. But I have seen Mulan, and read a few other books, and so understanding this book was no issue. And oh, how I loved the setting of this book. It was simply stunning. Written so well. Loved every part of it.
Anyway. Back to Mariko. The book begins with her traveling to meet her betrothed. On the way there, she is attacked. All her guards are killed, and she was supposed to die as well. But she did not. She survived. Barely. Those chapters were a bit scary to read through. I loved it. Mariko does not want to just go back home, she wants to find out who wanted her dead. As she knows it was the Black Clan that attacked her. This search of hers will not be easy. Or safe. But it is such an epic adventure. I loved every moment of it.
And so begins this story. With Mariko trying to figure out who hired the Black Clan to kill her. And for her to figure that out, she has to dress as a boy, and join them. It is not easy for her. And I loved that so very much. It was so awesome and fun to read about her dealing with pretending to be a boy. And her getting to know the Black Clan men. They were all amazing to read about. I loved the cook a whole bunch. He was so adorable. And the leader was pretty awesome too, I liked reading about him. About all of them.
Another character that I loved very much was Okami. He is the strongest fighter for the Black Clan. He is pretty brutal and ruthless and just all kinds of amazing. I loved every moment that he was in. Eee. And I loved how Mariko started out hating him. And then slowly started loving him too. All the while he thought she was a boy. But that secret comes out. And it was done in the best way. And I loved every moment of it. Gosh. Okami was truly incredible. Brave and strong and kind and just the very best. I loved this man.
There was a little romance in this book. Not that much, but also enough. It was gorgeous. And I loved every moment between these two characters. Sigh. This book was very much about revenge, though. And Mariko trying to find out what almost happened to her. Also about her starting to care for all of these men, even though she is trying not to. There is also a bit about her twin brother, whom is searching for her. At first I pretty much loved him. But now I am not so sure. Ack. He was written really well, though.
So much is going on in this book. And I am not going to say more about it. Just that I really loved all of these characters. And the story was pretty incredible too. That ending was so rude, and I cannot wait to know what happens next. I think will two is going to be so epic. Fingers crossed. Flame in the Fist ended up being everything I had hoped it would be. It was so so good. And I'm so thrilled that I finally read this book. So curious to know what all of you think of this book too. If you have not read it yet, then you must.
So glad you enjoyed it! I enjoyed her other series but not sure about this one, tbh.
ReplyDelete