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tragedies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It's my first time reading Julie Kagawa's work, and I'm so happy I finally gave it a shot. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
Reread (July 10, 2022): Loved this just as much as the first time I read it, if not more. Yumeko, Tatsumi, and the rest of the gang feel like old friends, and the writing is still as beautiful and immersive as I remember it to be. I honestly can't remember why I originally rated this four stars? I love everything about it! Can't wait to reread the next one. Hopefully, I can finish it soon, so I can finally start on the last book.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
teri_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story is actually more gory and bloody than I perceived it previously.
But you cannot not come to love Yokemi and root for Tatsumi and little Suki. Hers is the hardest story I have come across in my reading for quite a while.
Beautiful also, how all the storylines come together by the end of the book and open up to more mysteries and the question of what happens now.
This time round I struggled with the narrator's voices. Something just did not really gel with me.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Blood
mind control, mental abuse, demons, blood magicatamano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and War
morganish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The trope I'm talking about doesn't have a consistent name that I've found, but it's essentially "character(s) who are outsiders/ostracized from their communities because of something about them which is magically/abnormally monstrous/demonic/inhuman." Bonus points if this is a part of the character's identity that they have to hide. A lot of how this is done in western fiction correlates really strongly with our ideas of race, which always gives me a bad vibe and is most often written by white people trying to explore elements of race/racism in a one-dimensional way. But my favorite stories use this in a way that, at least to me, feels like a more general metaphor for not fitting in, having any complex/dual identity, or exists as a stand-in for other things like queerness or neurodivergence rather than race.
Shadow of the Fox has not one but two main characters who fit this bill for me. Yumeko is part kitsune, and spends a lot of her life trying to balance her yokai self with being passably human. And she spends a lot of this story trying to hide her yokai heritage and abilities from others. Kage - Yumeko's unwilling partner, future love interest and the other MC - is an assassin viewed as dangerous by his clan because of the demon he has to carry as part of his role, and is kept wholly separated from other humans because of it.
Those characters alone are enough to make me like this, but there's also a sacred quest, a lot of intriguing mini-adventures, a slow-burn romance, and a surprising found-family element as they pick up companions along the way (at least one who provides a delightful amount of humor).
I watched a lot of anime in my late teens and early 20s, so there are a bunch of Japanese-inspired tropes and world-building I picked up on quickly and really enjoyed. But I'm not sure if people unfamiliar with Japanese media will recognize a lot of those tropes, or if readers who are familiar will automatically like this book. But for me, this is definitely one of my favorite books of the year, and a series I absolutely plan on continuing.
If you like Japanese-inspired fantasy, adventures with angsty murder boys, enemies-to-lovers romances, found-family dynamics, or humor juxtaposed with horror elements, this book should be fun! It doesn't have much that I can recall in the way of queer diversity, though, and the one major caveat I have about the book is that the enemies-to-lovers romance doesn't play around: Yumeko and Kage might like each other, but there's a very real element of both of them being like, "hope he doesn't murder her because she's a yokai and he's a possessed demon-slayer, lol." If that's not your thing, you might want to take a pass. In general, I'd say the best parts of the story take a while to warm up to, so this story has a lot of things I love, but it might not be as exciting for all other readers.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Alcohol
Additional content warnings: *a romantic relationship where both parties are afraid that the male love interest might kill the female love interest. It's portrayed in such a way that it's based on fantastical storytelling elements instead of misogyny or IRL unhealthy relationship dynamics.xerlynz_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Death and Blood
There are fighting scenes with blood and death but it's not explicit. I'd say it's okay for YA readers. 13+