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booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
Yumeko spends a lot of time hiding the fact that she's half kitsune, with repeated references to how she's averting her instinctual reaction of doing magic when she's in danger, and making sure to avoid reflections (e.g. water, mirrors) because her ears and tail will be visible in them. I love how Yumeko gradually collects people and decides to journey with them while Tatsumi only barely avoids constantly feeling frustrated because he has to keep from showing any emotions at all. It's a great grumpy/sunshine dynamic and I enjoyed it immensely. At first I was a bit frustrated by Tatsumi's "no emotions" routine, but gradually it becomes apparent that he isn't actually emotionless and that the Shadow Clan conditioning him to be this way is actually a combination of emotional abuse and literal torture. He carries a demon-possessed sword which will take him over if it can get a strong emotional reaction from him (and it can do some damage with even mild emotions).
The worldbuilding is gradual, with Yumeko often serving as the mouthpiece because she's excited to explain whatever now-relevant thing the monks had taught her. Having two main characters with occasional other points of view for brief stretches allows for a lot of worldbuilding conveyed through the different ways they view what's happening. Occasionally when the perspective switches there will be an overlap in the scenes to convey at least what the second narrator thought about what happened, with only minor duplications when describing the events.
A few minor characters are portrayed in frustrating ways, such as in an early incident where a canonically fat character describes a (now dead) yōkai as the only one who ever loved him. He’s then almost immediately killed. I think his size was supposed to indicate that he used his wealth to hoard resources, especially when a later section comments on how farmers often starve for at least part of each winter, but it comes across as fatphobic when combined with his lament.
The three narrators for the audiobook work well, with one narrator each for Yumeko's and Kage Tatsumi's perspectives, then the third narrator for other points of view. The plot follows their travels from one temple to another, and the battles they fight along the way. By the time they get there, several events have created a new goal for them which I assume is the subject of the next book. The overarching goal of the trilogy as previewed here is to keep anyone from using a scroll (which was split into pieces and hidden at several temples) to summon the Kami dragon. I'm very interested in where this goes next, I enjoyed the characters and the cliffhanger ending promises answers which I very much want.
The worldbuilding is gradual, with Yumeko often serving as the mouthpiece because she's excited to explain whatever now-relevant thing the monks had taught her. Having two main characters with occasional other points of view for brief stretches allows for a lot of worldbuilding conveyed through the different ways they view what's happening. Occasionally when the perspective switches there will be an overlap in the scenes to convey at least what the second narrator thought about what happened, with only minor duplications when describing the events.
A few minor characters are portrayed in frustrating ways, such as in an early incident where a canonically fat character describes a (now dead) yōkai as the only one who ever loved him. He’s then almost immediately killed. I think his size was supposed to indicate that he used his wealth to hoard resources, especially when a later section comments on how farmers often starve for at least part of each winter, but it comes across as fatphobic when combined with his lament.
The three narrators for the audiobook work well, with one narrator each for Yumeko's and Kage Tatsumi's perspectives, then the third narrator for other points of view. The plot follows their travels from one temple to another, and the battles they fight along the way. By the time they get there, several events have created a new goal for them which I assume is the subject of the next book. The overarching goal of the trilogy as previewed here is to keep anyone from using a scroll (which was split into pieces and hidden at several temples) to summon the Kami dragon. I'm very interested in where this goes next, I enjoyed the characters and the cliffhanger ending promises answers which I very much want.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Sexism, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Torture
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
vonny3492's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was gonna give this book a 2, but honestly the epilogue convinced me it was a little bit better than that. I think I found the narrators a bit distracting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
theyorkshirebookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore, Violence, and Blood
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
This was an enjoyable, well-paced and adventurous read. It reminded me a lot of the general plot of Tangled, Yumeko herself reminding me of the loving naivety of Rapunzel, which I loved. Don't get me wrong though - this book stands apart as its own story. I loved learning about the different types of yokai and how they worked in the world of Igamoto; for example, in the challenges they created for our main characters, and also how they affected the character building of Yumeko and Tatsumi. The opening chapter was simply incredible, giving a sample of the intrigue and adventure to come. I did wish we got a bit more character work overall, but obviously this is just the first book in this series, and there is plenty more time for it to happen. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Okay I'm VERY biased about this book because it basically has my favorite trope/character convention, and I feel like it's a trope I rarely see in books with western sff settings unless it's done... not to my taste. So this book was a completely delightful breath of fresh air, and I'm not really able to look at it clearly through other lenses, because I'm just so happy to have found this one!
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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.99a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Violence and Murder
fionac326's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder
aplanetarymind's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found this book quite different to what I was expecting, for whatever reason, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The pace certainly picks up towards the end, and I am now eagerly looking forward to reading the sequel. What attracted me to this book was its Japanese mythology elements, and I was not disappointed - I feel I've learnt quite a bit about Japanese myth and other things, namely historical/traditional objects and dress, and although the explanations of words can occasionally seem clunky within the text, I understand the need for this. I mean, as both a myth nerd and a sword nerd, what can I say?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Physical abuse, and Suicide