yvo_about_books's review
5.0
Finished reading: May 1st 2017
“Sometimes we must fall forward to keep moving. Remain motionless—remain unyielding—and you are as good as dead.
Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
As soon as I saw the cover and the mention of Mulan, I was sold. Flame In The Mist has been on my list of most anticipated 2017 releases ever since, and I still cannot believe my Netgalley request was actually approved. I read a teaser back in January in one of the Buzz Books editions, and what I saw was GOOD. So good that my expectations were extraordinary high when starting this new series by Renee Ahdieh, but somehow Flame In The Mist managed to be ever better than expected. I practically devoured its pages and loved every single minute of it. The setting, the writing style, the characters (Mariko, Okami!!!), the plot... It doesn't happen often that I hand out the full five star rating, but I just couldn't give this story any lower. Both the worldbuilding and the writing style feel rich, engaging and very well developed and executed. I also enjoyed that Flame In The Mist is set in Japan and talks about a culture I'm personally not all that familiar with. The characters started to grow on me almost instantly and I LOVED Mariko as a main character. A little note though: even though this story basically blew me away, I did feel my love would have been even greater without the romance... It's not all that distracting, but there is a hint of a future love triangle I'm not that sure/happy about. It was too insignificant to influence my rating though. I just cannot wait to find out what the future has in store; the wait for the sequel is surely going to be a long one! If you like the genre, this is definitely a must-read.
Even though Mariko has a long list of skills, she has long known her future has been out of her hands simply because she was born a girl. She is the daughter of a prominent samurai and at the age of seventeen now promised to the son of the emperor's favorite consort. Mariko has no choice but to do as her father wishes and accept this political marriage, but it seems like fate has different plans for her in store. In route to the imperial city of Inako, the group is ambushed by a gang of bandits known as the Black Clan and Mariko narrowly escapes with her life... She is believed to be dead, and Mariko decides to use this to try and find the Black Clan. Will she be able to discover who was behind the attack and will she be able to restore the honor of her family?
If you like well developed fantasy reads with gorgeous prose, setting and interesting characters, you are in for a treat with Flame In The Mist. The only thing that would have made me enjoy this story even more would have been the exclusion of the romance scenes; otherwise this first book of a new series is simply perfect. In fact, I can't wait to read the sequel and the first book hasn't even been published yet... More than recommended!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
ansella's review
4.0
I wasn't sure whether to rate this 3 or 4 stars, it's more like 3.5 stars. I will pick up the next book to see if the journey continues to get better!
july2104's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
evaantonia's review against another edition
4.0
I finished "Flame in the Mist" yesterday on our way back home from France. I really liked this book 😊 This was a very fast and adventures read and I REALLY hope there will be a second book because after this ending I NEED to know what happens next!!😄
nicki_j's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the sequel. My favorite part was the political intrigue that is playing out besides the main character's story. That's the good news. T
he bad news is that the main character was extremely underdeveloped. She is described in the book description above as an "accomplished alchemist." Excuse me? I saw no evidence of alchemy. She did build a bomb but that's about it. She also talked about how strange and weird and curious she was her entire life. But I saw approximately zero evidence of any such weirdness. The truth is she was a naive rich girl who resented being married off and throughout the book, she went through a journey to become a warrior who is mentally and physically stronger. There was no need to make her out to be some sort of enigma because that character arc was enough. All of the references to her as being an outcast and/or prodigy just became annoying.
Also, this book is a bit of a retelling of Mulan, a way underrated (in my opinion - why don't more people love Mulan?!) Disney movie. So obviously I loved that. The entire time Mariko was at the Black Clan's camp, I the song "Someday, I'll make a man out of you..." was playing in my head.
he bad news is that the main character was extremely underdeveloped. She is described in the book description above as an "accomplished alchemist." Excuse me? I saw no evidence of alchemy. She did build a bomb but that's about it. She also talked about how strange and weird and curious she was her entire life. But I saw approximately zero evidence of any such weirdness. The truth is she was a naive rich girl who resented being married off and throughout the book, she went through a journey to become a warrior who is mentally and physically stronger. There was no need to make her out to be some sort of enigma because that character arc was enough. All of the references to her as being an outcast and/or prodigy just became annoying.
Also, this book is a bit of a retelling of Mulan, a way underrated (in my opinion - why don't more people love Mulan?!) Disney movie. So obviously I loved that. The entire time Mariko was at the Black Clan's camp, I the song "Someday, I'll make a man out of you..." was playing in my head.
libraryofdreaming's review
1.0
The Wrath and the Dawn is one of my favorite books so I came to this book with very high expectations. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It was just not a good book. The setting could have been amazing, but it was underutilized. The characters were all very bland and I didn't feel the romance at all. It's possible that the sequel might focus on the court more and so be more worthwhile, but I'm not running out to read it.
kleinerbuechernerd's review against another edition
4.0
Was für ein Ende, es wurde nochmal richtig spannend! Irgendwie war für mich aber einiges nicht nachvollziehbar, was am Ende passiert ist... ob das an mir liegt?
breerashel's review
5.0
This book was amazing! From the first page I was hooked, wanting to know more until the very last page! I felt like a person starving person with the way that I devoured every word that Renee Ahdieh wrote! I don't usually go for any kind of historical elements in books but there was something magical about the book being set in feudal Japan that had me transfixed. I enjoyed the way that the characters spoke with such formality when speaking with each other as well as learning about the history and traditions of the people. I really felt immersed in the culture.
I absolutely loved Mariko! The author was able to portray her as a strong, independent woman but also showed her vulnerabilities/flaws. She was at times too confident in her skill set and let her emotions get the better of her. She was stubborn and able to see things clearly at times because she was so bullheaded but was humbled over the course of the book. I love the growth that the author was able to show for her in the book. Although she is the main character of this book the author also features other strong women leaving me with the impression that they are the ones to watch out for in the war being waged in the book. That is not to say that there are not strong men in the book as well. I loved all of the men that were a part of the Black Clan especially Okami and Ranmaru. They had a quiet type of strength that they didn't lord over others. They fought when necessary and at times relished in the battles that they fought. I fell hard for Okami. He was such a complicated person and I still don't feel like I have figured him out.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Renee Ahdieh began with basic elements which grew into a twisted plot for power by different parties that were motivated by justice, honor, power, and/or control. A few of the characters were clearly pawns unbeknownst to them to be used for the bigger players' means. I did not see the some of the reveals/twists in the book coming but I hope that some of them are explained further in the sequel. I also hope that the author goes into more detail about the beasts in the forest as well as the magic that certain characters are able to wield. I don't remember the magical elements being explained but I could have missed something.
https://fictionedtodeath.blogspot.com/2018/01/flame-in-mist-flame-in-mist-1-by-renee.html
I absolutely loved Mariko! The author was able to portray her as a strong, independent woman but also showed her vulnerabilities/flaws. She was at times too confident in her skill set and let her emotions get the better of her. She was stubborn and able to see things clearly at times because she was so bullheaded but was humbled over the course of the book. I love the growth that the author was able to show for her in the book. Although she is the main character of this book the author also features other strong women leaving me with the impression that they are the ones to watch out for in the war being waged in the book. That is not to say that there are not strong men in the book as well. I loved all of the men that were a part of the Black Clan especially Okami and Ranmaru. They had a quiet type of strength that they didn't lord over others. They fought when necessary and at times relished in the battles that they fought. I fell hard for Okami. He was such a complicated person and I still don't feel like I have figured him out.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Renee Ahdieh began with basic elements which grew into a twisted plot for power by different parties that were motivated by justice, honor, power, and/or control. A few of the characters were clearly pawns unbeknownst to them to be used for the bigger players' means. I did not see the some of the reveals/twists in the book coming but I hope that some of them are explained further in the sequel. I also hope that the author goes into more detail about the beasts in the forest as well as the magic that certain characters are able to wield. I don't remember the magical elements being explained but I could have missed something.
https://fictionedtodeath.blogspot.com/2018/01/flame-in-mist-flame-in-mist-1-by-renee.html
ceriyates's review
4.0
I struggled with the first 80 or so pages, and ended up putting this aside for a couple of months before picking it up again, but when I gave it a second chance I read the remaining 300 pages in two days. The end was a little weird but I'm definitely interested in how the second book is going to go.