Tag Archives: Erika Gill

Review: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

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5 Stars | Received as an ARC via Netgalley.

I saw the blurb for Shadow of the Fox on Goodreads, and my first question was: “How much like Inuyasha is this book?” Another reader answered that it had similarities but otherwise not at all…

First thing first, I loved this book and I want more, now. Secondly, it is incredibly like Inuyasha, except maybe written by someone who saw an episode once and then gender swapped all of the characters. No time travel, but the main character is a half yokai (nature spirit/demon) who is on a journey with their cursed budding love interest to find ancient artifact pieces, which, when reassembled, will grant the bearer a wish. Sound familiar?

Yumeko, who is half kitsune (fox spirit), was raised in a temple by monks, and is generally fox-like and mischievous, until an oni (greater demon) destroys her home and she runs off to protect this scroll fragment from falling in the wrong hands. She meets Tatsumi, who is a demonslayer from the Kage (Shadow) clan, the bearer of the sword Kamigoroshi (god-slayer), which is in danger of possessing him if he feels feelings. As you may guess, he meets a girl and starts feeling feelings. Along the way the two gather a ragtag band of misfits/warriors and have episodic adventures…including a run in with a wind witch *coughKaguracough*. Predictably, nearly every male character they run into is charmed by Yumeko. Oh, also they meet a miko (priestess) who distrusts yokai…

Now, to defend Julie Kagawa, a lot of the tropes and folklore elements in both Inuyasha and Shadow of the Fox are common, not to mention how much more depth into the historical (albeit) fictional setting of Iwagoto readers get. In addition, the journey is an almost universal trope in literature the world ’round. Kagawa does a great job of creating likeable characters that aren’t half as annoying to read as some anime and manga characters I’ve seen. I loved this book.

Despite my adoration, I’m very curious to hear and read the reviews of people who picked up the book having no cultural frame of reference. Descriptions of clothing, architecture, and certain customs might be entirely lost on someone who didn’t spend their childhood-adolescence, and, let’s admit it, chunks of their adulthood watching Japanese TV, or has not studied the language. I say this because I’ve read books set in other cultures and time frames and was lost without the cultural frame of reference (e.g. Russia, . This is not something I feel I have the authority to criticize Kagawa for, as I am not Japanese and Shadow of the Fox was completely accessible to me. Can you tell I’m trying very hard not to sound like one of those insufferable anime geeks?

Anyway, read this book.

What I’m reading: Jo Walton, mostly.

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Among Others by Jo WaltonToday I completed my 2018 Goodreads reading challenge! I was looking over the books I’ve read this year, and  it occurred to me that I haven’t been blogging about them much, if at all. I’ve discovered a number of fantastic books, and I need to yell about them more, obviously.

Have you ever heard of Jo Walton? If yes, we are in a fight, because you didn’t tell me about how WONDERFUL she is. I read Among Others about a month ago and I haven’t been so joyfully wrapped up in a book in ages. Each page was like a discovery, an old friend newly met, and like a really good lucid dream. Walton, like my all-time favorite author Diana Wynne Jones, is originally from Wales, and while I wouldn’t say they write alike, they both are certainly masters of creating a conscious, enthralling narrative.

The Just City by Jo Walton

It’s sort of like when you meet someone who just gets you. I could gush for days and years, but I am on the third book of Walton’s Thessaly trilogy, and I’d rather be reading that, honestly. The first book, The Just City, is about Apollo and Athena’s involvement in gathering scholars and philosophers throughout history, plunking them on an island, and trying to set up Plato’s Republic in reality. While I’m not personally a huge fan of Plato, or The Republic, I do love philosophy, and there are so many historical figures that are transported to the island, and Walton does an incredible job with this premise.

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

In other news I’ve been reading Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid series, which I’d always stupidly written off because of the cover art (I am stupid). I assumed it was a cyberpunk series, and I was dead wrong. It’s about a family of cryptozoologists, and how they study and protect sentient and animal fantastical creatures. So good. The series jumps around in viewpoints from the different members of the Price family. Antimony is my favorite viewpoint to read, but Verity’s adventures are what start the series, and she is a pretty cool character too.

There are tons of other books that I need to blog about, but these are the ones that have been stuck in my brain lately.

Review: Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber

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Caraval (Caraval, #1)Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Enchanting and fun, much like the game of Caraval is supposed to be.

This book reminded me a great deal of the Capri parts of Ellen Raskin’s Figgs & Phantoms, a young adult book mired much more firmly in reality. This book is a fairy tale murder mystery, and was really fun to read. I couldn’t put it down. I am looking forward to the sequel: Legendary.

Anyone interested in fantasy books with a bit of romance, and the allure of the carnival/traveling show/theatre/mystery-type books will enjoy it. I would also recommend it to fans of high stakes YA game settings, such as The Hunger Games, Mask of Shadows, and Throne of Glass.