Reviews

Katana of Trust by A.C. Ward

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amojicorns's review against another edition

3.0

mixed feelings
it wasnt bad
but it wasnt good either
the book felt like just an prologue of a story
a girl on an island who had to go there when she was little to avoid killing
10 years later an heir (guy) comes to the island because the island appears every 10 years comes to fulfill this prophecy and the two meeting and having some sort of connection because they both have this mark.
thats it

I mean the book didnt have many pages so
but not bad

theelizabethjoy's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

alyssanwelt's review

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

ratnix's review

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3.0

The one that does not fight can never win
2.5

I don't really know how to make a synopsis about this books so without spoilers so: The main characters are Shou and Masaru.Japan.Kami.A tengu.Historical fiction.The end.

First of all,I really liked the writing.I could feel that the author loved writing every piece of it and loved crafting the entire world so we stan that.

My main issue is the relationship between the two main characters.The most part of the book takes place in a day(I think) and it seemed to me that they developed a friendship waaaayyyyy to fast than it takes,especially for Shou,a girl who has spent the most part of her life on an island surrounded by kami and away from humans.

Spoiler

I think it'd be much more interesting if Makoto had brainwashed Shou that humans were vile and evil,causing her to doubt herself if she must save Masaru and all that.I think it went too fast for my taste

Also,I didn't really like Masaru's thoughts towards women but from what I understood he has a reason behind these thoughts and it was normal for this time of period to think like that????I don't remember exactly but I have a feeling he'll turn into the greatest simp the world has ever knew

AAHH something else that i forgot:I would have preferred Shou wasn't for the most part a damsel in distress...because she grew up training and surviving on an island away from civilisation and and and and you'd think that she'd be a better fighter than the samurais but they are always there for her aid.Thankfully she stands up for herself towards the end and rejects Masaru's protection but it'd be nice to see her fight with her vines without someone (*coughs* Masaru) having her back or something.

Here's something irrelevant: For some reason,I imagined Shou as Mumei and Kurusu(plus an eye patch) from KIF

lizzy25d's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

weaverl13's review

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3.0

This is a 3.5, which I think is mostly as it was quite short, and I usually read longer books where everything has time to develop and I get emotionally invested.

"He was very much like them, acting as if the current moment was the most important, not what would come beyond."

Having read and really enjoyed The Potential of Forgetting , I was really excited to get this ARC (thank you to A C Ward and Book Sirens for it!). As I've said, this book is shorter than what I usually read, with the plot happening over one day. Nevertheless, it was entertaining, with the plot moving along at a good pace. There were a lot of action scenes and the battles felt tense, you weren't fully sure who would survive and what injuries there would be.

The setting with the mysterious island and the God-like kami was fascinating. I particularly liked the rock kami and them liking being patted, but not touched for a long time. They seemed quite cute to me!

Masaru seemed a really interesting character, I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops in future books. I'm glad this is a series, as I know seeing characters develop I will get more invested, and probably give higher ratings. Shou is a fighter which I like! Makato...I don't know how I feel. He seemed too possessive of Shou, yet he did help her...

I would have liked more backstory to the characters, and explanation about the prophecy to help it all feel more real to me. Also the cursed line: "she let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding" was used.

Overall, I would recommend this as a quick read with interesting plot, that will keep you hooked throughout. I read it in one sitting!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.