booksofmyshka's review against another edition
3.0
I was provided with an e-arc of this book by Netgalley and was super excited to read it. The Wrath and The Dawn is one of my favorite duologies so I was hoping this book would be just as good. Unfortunately, it took me two weeks to get through.
This book was kind of a Six of Crows situation for me. The story was good, but to me it felt kind of.. flat. I missed the magic that the TWATD duology possesses, what made those books so wonderful. Flame In The Mist did not have that. It has the potential for me to love the characters, but it felt like Ahdieh just missed her shot with me. The writing style was immediately identified as Ahdieh’s, but yet again, something felt off.
It took me two weeks to plough through this book, even though the story was not bad at all. But whenever I put the book down, I just did not feel like picking it up again. I’ve seen a lot of people give it 5 stars, and for the story I’m still giving it 3 stars, but that’s it. It’s sad, because I absolutely loved TWATD and was hoping to love this one too. But alas, it was not meant to be.
This book was kind of a Six of Crows situation for me. The story was good, but to me it felt kind of.. flat. I missed the magic that the TWATD duology possesses, what made those books so wonderful. Flame In The Mist did not have that. It has the potential for me to love the characters, but it felt like Ahdieh just missed her shot with me. The writing style was immediately identified as Ahdieh’s, but yet again, something felt off.
It took me two weeks to plough through this book, even though the story was not bad at all. But whenever I put the book down, I just did not feel like picking it up again. I’ve seen a lot of people give it 5 stars, and for the story I’m still giving it 3 stars, but that’s it. It’s sad, because I absolutely loved TWATD and was hoping to love this one too. But alas, it was not meant to be.
findingthefantasticstory's review against another edition
4.0
I found this really interesting. I've never really read anything like this before. I lived the ending and can't wait for the sequel!
karissa_'s review against another edition
3.0
“There is such strength in being a woman. But it is a strength you must choose for yourself. No one can choose it for you. We can bend the wind to our ear if we would only try.”
3.5
With all the action going on in the beginning, I feel like it took me too long to get into this book. It just didn't capture my attention, like Renee Ahdieh has been known to do (hello, The Wrath and the Dawn). I often found myself re-reading constantly, skimming quite a bit, or just finding any means to not read. However, because I love Ahdieh, I kept pushing and now I'm pretty thankful I did. The ending has me anticipating the second book in the series - where I'm positive I will fall in love with this series.
“I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.”
As usual, Ahdieh is able to write a strong feminine character who has talents that lie in things other than her beauty, which I love. Mariko wasn't someone I ended up loving - but I do respect her and all her curiosity. That's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the cast, as well. They just didn't resonate or stand out in a way that made me connect with them or their story but I didn't hate them, either, so I guess I'm here for them?
However, if you're familiar with Renee Ahdieh's work, you know that she can capture a romance between twounlikely counterparts. And while we all know it is predictable, Renee just has this amazing way with words that makes this totally okay. She makes even the coldest of hearts (me lol) swoon, and I've found quite a few of my new favorite love quotes through her - something that I didn't realize was at all possible. I have a very slight feeling that there may be a love triangle approaching in the not so distant future, which I really hope I am wrong about because the set up at this point in time would make it seem forced, so I really hope this is avoided at all costs.
“You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.”
While this book wasn't The Wrath and the Dawn, in the sense that I loved it straight a way and don't ever question how much I adore this book, Flame in the Mist was a fairly good story with an interesting plot. Feudal Japan is one of the eras that I'm most drawn too and to find a story that featured it heavily and beautifully was great! It may be a bit hard to stay focused on but the set up for the next book seems to be totally worth the read!
3.5
With all the action going on in the beginning, I feel like it took me too long to get into this book. It just didn't capture my attention, like Renee Ahdieh has been known to do (hello, The Wrath and the Dawn). I often found myself re-reading constantly, skimming quite a bit, or just finding any means to not read. However, because I love Ahdieh, I kept pushing and now I'm pretty thankful I did. The ending has me anticipating the second book in the series - where I'm positive I will fall in love with this series.
“I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.”
As usual, Ahdieh is able to write a strong feminine character who has talents that lie in things other than her beauty, which I love. Mariko wasn't someone I ended up loving - but I do respect her and all her curiosity. That's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the cast, as well. They just didn't resonate or stand out in a way that made me connect with them or their story but I didn't hate them, either, so I guess I'm here for them?
However, if you're familiar with Renee Ahdieh's work, you know that she can capture a romance between two
“You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.”
While this book wasn't The Wrath and the Dawn, in the sense that I loved it straight a way and don't ever question how much I adore this book, Flame in the Mist was a fairly good story with an interesting plot. Feudal Japan is one of the eras that I'm most drawn too and to find a story that featured it heavily and beautifully was great! It may be a bit hard to stay focused on but the set up for the next book seems to be totally worth the read!
evee88's review against another edition
5.0
rereads r so nice. I finished this in 2 days... and I remember how freaking much I loved this book. Though it wasn't as good as the 1st read (it never is) I'm really happy I reread this book. 10/10 would recommend LOL
suchmeow's review against another edition
2.0
Eh there was some enjoyment in the beginning, but as the story progressed I felt plot points began to feel rushed and even more illogical. Mariko was supposed to be clever and everyone always talks about her being clever, but for the majority of the book she acts like an idiot.
booksandsunsets's review against another edition
5.0
For those who are tired of society's expectations of being a woman, this book will definitely relate to your feelings. What makes the main character so lovable and relatable is her flawed uniqueness. I was not expecting to like this book but Flame in the Mist captivated me. I fell in love with the characters and the words. The interesting character development and twist of events made me not put the book down despite the clock saying it's already 2am. I have to warn you, future readers that this book has a cliffhanger. My heart is in pain for I do not favor cliffhangers yet the ending did not annoy me at all. It just made me want to buy the next book.
nicolenikonetz's review against another edition
3.0
This one has caused me more indecision than I care to admit. While I originally gave it a four-star rating, it's been bugging me and nagging at me, and after looking at some of my other three-star ratings and other four-star ratings, I just think it fits in better with three stars.
Directly after reading it, I had wanted to like it so badly, that I feel like I was more forgiving about some elements of the book that simply weren't as good as I would have liked. And while there were strong points (For instance, I still like the romance as well as the relationships between Mariko and the other members of the Black Clan), there are also some weaker points as well.
For example, the world-building is pretty simplistic; both social forces and individual characters were done more in black and white, bad and good, than in grey. Grey is always more interesting. The idea that their society thinks women are weaker and that Mariko's father thinks her only worth is in marriage is an overdone, old idea that doesn't really hold any of my interest. It just felt like another tool to show that Mariko was different because she was smart and curious rather than docile. While she may be different from what women are expected to be in that world, it didn't make any sense to me that she would be literally the only person to question it. If she has grown up in this sort of place, what happened to her that made her think differently? Why and how has she come to recognize the injustice in her society, and, knowing this injustice, why does she think that her family will recognize her worth beyond marriage if she infiltrates a dangerous gang? If anything, wouldn't her family just disown the un-lady-like behaviour? The premise there felt weak, just an excuse to get her to join the Black Clan.
While that did bother me, I did appreciate her intellect and the fact that she wasn't one training montage away from being super badass. She does have to face her privilege and question herself as she gets further into the world of the Black Clan. I also liked that she wasn't some ultra-chaste ultra-innocent girl, and wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. While her banter with the other members of the Black Clan did feel very forced in the beginning (why would so many criminals talk about so much philosophy???) their relationships did grow into something I would consider a strong point in the book.
Her brother Kenshin, however, was not something I would consider a strong point. He felt so distant and static, and I really didn't see any reason to like him very much. So duty bound and boring.
The plot is rather slow for the most part, and I feel like Ahdieh relied a lot on using Japanese words to create the feeling of being in a Japanese-themed world. It never really took on a life of it's own. It does pick up nearer to the end, though, and I became more invested as time went on. But sadly, I don't think it was enough to really warrant a 4 star review.
It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't amazing. It was really just okay. And the problems I had with it - the simplistic and flat world building, plot and pacing, and certain aspects of the characters - didn't outweigh the positives. Just kind of . . . balanced them out. So a 3 star review makes much more sense, I think.
Directly after reading it, I had wanted to like it so badly, that I feel like I was more forgiving about some elements of the book that simply weren't as good as I would have liked. And while there were strong points (For instance, I still like the romance as well as the relationships between Mariko and the other members of the Black Clan), there are also some weaker points as well.
For example, the world-building is pretty simplistic; both social forces and individual characters were done more in black and white, bad and good, than in grey. Grey is always more interesting. The idea that their society thinks women are weaker and that Mariko's father thinks her only worth is in marriage is an overdone, old idea that doesn't really hold any of my interest. It just felt like another tool to show that Mariko was different because she was smart and curious rather than docile. While she may be different from what women are expected to be in that world, it didn't make any sense to me that she would be literally the only person to question it. If she has grown up in this sort of place, what happened to her that made her think differently? Why and how has she come to recognize the injustice in her society, and, knowing this injustice, why does she think that her family will recognize her worth beyond marriage if she infiltrates a dangerous gang? If anything, wouldn't her family just disown the un-lady-like behaviour? The premise there felt weak, just an excuse to get her to join the Black Clan.
Spoiler
Which, ironically, wasn't even the group set out to kill her anyways!While that did bother me, I did appreciate her intellect and the fact that she wasn't one training montage away from being super badass. She does have to face her privilege and question herself as she gets further into the world of the Black Clan. I also liked that she wasn't some ultra-chaste ultra-innocent girl, and wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. While her banter with the other members of the Black Clan did feel very forced in the beginning (why would so many criminals talk about so much philosophy???) their relationships did grow into something I would consider a strong point in the book.
Her brother Kenshin, however, was not something I would consider a strong point. He felt so distant and static, and I really didn't see any reason to like him very much. So duty bound and boring.
The plot is rather slow for the most part, and I feel like Ahdieh relied a lot on using Japanese words to create the feeling of being in a Japanese-themed world. It never really took on a life of it's own. It does pick up nearer to the end, though, and I became more invested as time went on. But sadly, I don't think it was enough to really warrant a 4 star review.
It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't amazing. It was really just okay. And the problems I had with it - the simplistic and flat world building, plot and pacing, and certain aspects of the characters - didn't outweigh the positives. Just kind of . . . balanced them out. So a 3 star review makes much more sense, I think.
characterprimary's review against another edition
2.0
DNF @ pg165
I dropped this book 4 weeks ago. Decided to pick it back up again. Now I remember why I dropped it. Life is too short to read about characters who speak in cringe edge-lord monologues and have no personality
I dropped this book 4 weeks ago. Decided to pick it back up again. Now I remember why I dropped it. Life is too short to read about characters who speak in cringe edge-lord monologues and have no personality