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readwithmesashamarie's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this book up until the very end. It felt extremely rushed and did not match the organic flow of the story. If this had ended differently this could have easily been a 4 or 5 star read. The mythology, the history, and the writing up until the ending were all superb.
sumna_sova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
arpa_25's review against another edition
4.0
This book tells a unique story that I've read in a long while. As I didn't have any idea about japanese myths and folk tales, this book gave me a window to explore that world. I felt connected with the characters and loved the MC's brother Neven. The sibling trope was one of the highlights for sure that brought warmth AND frustration to the story. I can't count how many times I shouted at both Ren and Neven for their sometimes foolish reactions and unwise decisions. But I think that was the purpose of the first book???? And Ren's spitful decisions sometimes made me stare at the words and sigh. Specially when she said over and over again that neven doesn't understand anything (I've lost count of how many times she said that) when her brother left everything and travelled across the world with her, only to be infatuated with Hiro. Ignoring neven and prioritizing Hiro was what made me angry. And the ending that was what I feared and worse. The relationship between Hiro and Ren became too romantic too fast and once again perhaps that was the purpose of the author so that it seemed suspicious or even ominous to the readers? I had made up my mind that if anything happened to neven I would stop reading.....but yeah I'm reading the sequel now so see you there!
jesi_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book; I got it as my Book of the Month choice for November, because the premise seemed so cool. An agent of death, reaper of souls, stuck between two different worlds thanks to her mixed heritage? On a mission to impress a goddess of death and earn her place in one of the worlds after she's cast out of the first?
So promising, but I still didn't like it.
Ren's entire character is best described as "reactionary." She has very little agency in her own story--a theme that's brought up a few times, by herself, so credit where credit is due--but even with that in mind it's tedious. Things happen to Ren: She does not happen to the story.
The pacing felt strange to me. It starts slow, accelerates randomly with the inciting incident, then slows back to a crawl while Ren literally packs her bag and leaves. Her brother, Neven, comes along with his newly adopted stray cat (the cat is killed within five minutes saving Ren's life for some godforsaken reason) because he loves his sister. Then a huge chunk of time is skipped over for her journey to Japan, and they both turn up horrifically out of place.
Ren and Neven manage to get into Japan's equivalent to the world of Reapers they've just fled, but it really does feel like they're fumbling around in the dark. Again, the plot happens to these characters; the characters just have to cope with what's being done to them. They get help from an apparently disgraced Shinigami named Hiro, which is the only reason they make it as far as they do. Ren barely speaks Japanese and can't read it, rendering her especially ill-equipped in their new world, and is dependent on Hiro to educate and inform them of the targets Ren has been assigned to kill.
Ren's descent into darkness is sorta-quasi-foretold, but not enough to really keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what's going to happen. Morally grey characters are intriguing when done well, but Ren just comes across, again, as reactionary and lashing out. She's swept up in the tide of the plot, but is blind to anything outside of what she wants. Ruthlessness is interesting; her blindness to what other characters might want from her and how they might manipulate her is irritating.
Her dismissal of her brother's concerns reflects this. Neven has valid concerns and a strong instinct towards empathy and compassion. Where Ren might torment the dying as she takes their souls, saying there's no heaven or hell and only death and refuses to comfort those afraid to die, Neven spends time with those he reaps and tells them stories and listens to their stories in turn. Neven is belittled as too soft to be a Reaper, and Ren is equally short-tempered with his kindness. Neven has a feeling something is off with Hiro and is incredibly suspicious, but Ren overrules him and Neven gives in to her wishes because he loves her.
The action stops-and-starts through the main portion of the book. At no point was I ever really concerned about if they would succeed, nor was I worried about what their plan would be. Ren's overpowered, so there was no point investing emotional energy into it. The romance with Hiro is forced at best, and his unwavering dedication to Ren is a disturbing red flag, and I feel she pivots too quickly to his side, forsaking her brother (and his dedication to her) entirely without a second thought. I genuinely read that part anticipating her having some secret, master plan to get away from Hiro and get back to Neven, having seen what Hiro has become and how she herself has warped, but no. It was probably the part of the actual story I was most disappointed in.
I feel like the story would have been far more interesting if it was told from Neven's point of view. Neven, too, is an outcast from the other Reapers. He's labelled as too kind and is generally seen as a disgrace to what the ideal Reaper is or should be. A story about the soft-hearted Reaper, who brings death with gentle hands and comforts you as you go, and his unreciprocated dedication to his sister as she struggles to find a place for herself would be heartbreaking and far more compelling.
So promising, but I still didn't like it.
Ren's entire character is best described as "reactionary." She has very little agency in her own story--a theme that's brought up a few times, by herself, so credit where credit is due--but even with that in mind it's tedious. Things happen to Ren: She does not happen to the story.
Spoiler
The pacing felt strange to me. It starts slow, accelerates randomly with the inciting incident, then slows back to a crawl while Ren literally packs her bag and leaves. Her brother, Neven, comes along with his newly adopted stray cat (the cat is killed within five minutes saving Ren's life for some godforsaken reason) because he loves his sister. Then a huge chunk of time is skipped over for her journey to Japan, and they both turn up horrifically out of place.
Ren and Neven manage to get into Japan's equivalent to the world of Reapers they've just fled, but it really does feel like they're fumbling around in the dark. Again, the plot happens to these characters; the characters just have to cope with what's being done to them. They get help from an apparently disgraced Shinigami named Hiro, which is the only reason they make it as far as they do. Ren barely speaks Japanese and can't read it, rendering her especially ill-equipped in their new world, and is dependent on Hiro to educate and inform them of the targets Ren has been assigned to kill.
Ren's descent into darkness is sorta-quasi-foretold, but not enough to really keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what's going to happen. Morally grey characters are intriguing when done well, but Ren just comes across, again, as reactionary and lashing out. She's swept up in the tide of the plot, but is blind to anything outside of what she wants. Ruthlessness is interesting; her blindness to what other characters might want from her and how they might manipulate her is irritating.
Her dismissal of her brother's concerns reflects this. Neven has valid concerns and a strong instinct towards empathy and compassion. Where Ren might torment the dying as she takes their souls, saying there's no heaven or hell and only death and refuses to comfort those afraid to die, Neven spends time with those he reaps and tells them stories and listens to their stories in turn. Neven is belittled as too soft to be a Reaper, and Ren is equally short-tempered with his kindness. Neven has a feeling something is off with Hiro and is incredibly suspicious, but Ren overrules him and Neven gives in to her wishes because he loves her.
The action stops-and-starts through the main portion of the book. At no point was I ever really concerned about if they would succeed, nor was I worried about what their plan would be. Ren's overpowered, so there was no point investing emotional energy into it. The romance with Hiro is forced at best, and his unwavering dedication to Ren is a disturbing red flag, and I feel she pivots too quickly to his side, forsaking her brother (and his dedication to her) entirely without a second thought. I genuinely read that part anticipating her having some secret, master plan to get away from Hiro and get back to Neven, having seen what Hiro has become and how she herself has warped, but no. It was probably the part of the actual story I was most disappointed in.
I feel like the story would have been far more interesting if it was told from Neven's point of view. Neven, too, is an outcast from the other Reapers. He's labelled as too kind and is generally seen as a disgrace to what the ideal Reaper is or should be. A story about the soft-hearted Reaper, who brings death with gentle hands and comforts you as you go, and his unreciprocated dedication to his sister as she struggles to find a place for herself
Spoiler
and fails, casting him aside and using him only as a step up to further her own greed,asiandaria's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a fun read for me. I loved Kylie’s descriptions of the world. This book is full of terrifying women and I loved that.
I’m a half Japanese woman born in the US and I too struggle with not feeling Japanese enough, but also not quite feeling like I fit in here, so I did relate to Ren’s struggle and desire to feel like she belonged somewhere. Overall just a fantastic and fun read.
I’m a half Japanese woman born in the US and I too struggle with not feeling Japanese enough, but also not quite feeling like I fit in here, so I did relate to Ren’s struggle and desire to feel like she belonged somewhere. Overall just a fantastic and fun read.
jaite0990's review against another edition
5.0
Whoa!!! This book necessitates a sequel. There is one. I have it. The exploration of finding your place, being misunderstood, and misunderstanding others is an important part of this book. ♥️
Will she ever find her brother?
Will she ever find her brother?
andreamariee4's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.25
beckys_books's review against another edition
4.0
Ren is a girl of two worlds. Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami she lives in London never quite fitting in constantly aware that she will never become a full Reaper, with only her half brother for company. But then something happens, Ren looses control and shows powers that, as a Reaper, she should not have access to. Forced to run she heads to the one place she feels might just accept her. Only when she gets to Japan, she is still treated as a foreigner. Determined to prove her worth and right as a Shinigami, Ren accepts a task from the Goddess of Death to kill three Yokai Demons. Along with her brother and guide Hiro, Ren will need to decide exactly how far she will go to earn the acceptance she craves, and who she is willing to hurt to achieve it.
Ren wants so desperately to fit in, but that need causes her to make some dubious decisions. At the start of the book I really felt for her, a girl from two worlds who somehow never fits into either, but as the book went on she became almost entitled, determined to become a Shinigami, and with that determination came blinders to the seriously dodgy situation she was in. She is incredibly strong and resilient, something she has had to learn due to her treatment from the other Reapers, but once that turned to entitlement I found myself loosing my connection with her, and just got angry at the silly decisions she was making.
The two main characters that follow Ren on her journey are her half brother Neven, and Hiro the boy that first helps her when she enters Yomi, the land of the dead. Neven was loyal to Ren to a fault, the only person who stuck with her in London, even if it made him somewhat of a pariah. He’s too soft to be a Reaper, and escapes with Ren hoping for something better in life, but the more time she spends in Japan, and with Hiro, the more he can see her actions becoming more erratic. Hiro rescued Ren when she first entered Yomi and takes it upon himself to become her guide in this country that is so foreign to her. But he has motives of his own, ones that Ren thinks she knows, and she finds herself trusting him without knowing who he really is.
If you enjoy stories steeped in Japanese mythology then look no further. Baker really focuses on the darker side of the mythology, with the tales of dangerous Yokai (demons) and she uses these to create a brilliantly rendered world. As well as following Ren on her journey to become a Shinigami, we get little tales throw in about the different Yokai she meets along the way/ is sent to murder, each slightly gorier and dark than the last. The stories are definitely not for those faint of heart, but it all adds to the atmosphere of the story making it dark and creepy in equal measure.
The story starts off fairly slowly with Ren’s time in London, but once she leaves the life of a Reaper and journey’s to Japan the pace seriously picks up. I did find some events towards the end of the book a little ‘too’ quick, and felt that more time could have been spent on them for us to better understand the chain of events, and Ren’s reasoning behind her actions. There are plenty of plot twists thrown in, but for me they were either predictable or just completely out of the blue, and went against the ideals of the characters themselves. The book certainly ends on a cliff-hanger, one that I definitely did not see happening, but has ensured that I want to pick up the final book in the duology.
Keeper of the Night is perfect for fans of unapologetically morally grey characters, epic journeys and battles, and stories steeped in dark mythology. Though there were some parts that let this story down for me, the almost insta-love relationship and Ren’s bizarre decision making towards the end, I definitely enjoyed it as a whole and can’t wait to see what the author has in store for the final instalment.
Ren wants so desperately to fit in, but that need causes her to make some dubious decisions. At the start of the book I really felt for her, a girl from two worlds who somehow never fits into either, but as the book went on she became almost entitled, determined to become a Shinigami, and with that determination came blinders to the seriously dodgy situation she was in. She is incredibly strong and resilient, something she has had to learn due to her treatment from the other Reapers, but once that turned to entitlement I found myself loosing my connection with her, and just got angry at the silly decisions she was making.
The two main characters that follow Ren on her journey are her half brother Neven, and Hiro the boy that first helps her when she enters Yomi, the land of the dead. Neven was loyal to Ren to a fault, the only person who stuck with her in London, even if it made him somewhat of a pariah. He’s too soft to be a Reaper, and escapes with Ren hoping for something better in life, but the more time she spends in Japan, and with Hiro, the more he can see her actions becoming more erratic. Hiro rescued Ren when she first entered Yomi and takes it upon himself to become her guide in this country that is so foreign to her. But he has motives of his own, ones that Ren thinks she knows, and she finds herself trusting him without knowing who he really is.
If you enjoy stories steeped in Japanese mythology then look no further. Baker really focuses on the darker side of the mythology, with the tales of dangerous Yokai (demons) and she uses these to create a brilliantly rendered world. As well as following Ren on her journey to become a Shinigami, we get little tales throw in about the different Yokai she meets along the way/ is sent to murder, each slightly gorier and dark than the last. The stories are definitely not for those faint of heart, but it all adds to the atmosphere of the story making it dark and creepy in equal measure.
The story starts off fairly slowly with Ren’s time in London, but once she leaves the life of a Reaper and journey’s to Japan the pace seriously picks up. I did find some events towards the end of the book a little ‘too’ quick, and felt that more time could have been spent on them for us to better understand the chain of events, and Ren’s reasoning behind her actions. There are plenty of plot twists thrown in, but for me they were either predictable or just completely out of the blue, and went against the ideals of the characters themselves. The book certainly ends on a cliff-hanger, one that I definitely did not see happening, but has ensured that I want to pick up the final book in the duology.
Keeper of the Night is perfect for fans of unapologetically morally grey characters, epic journeys and battles, and stories steeped in dark mythology. Though there were some parts that let this story down for me, the almost insta-love relationship and Ren’s bizarre decision making towards the end, I definitely enjoyed it as a whole and can’t wait to see what the author has in store for the final instalment.
readwithhugo's review against another edition
5.0
reading this book is like casually dipping your toe in the water and then being grabbed by the ankle and completely pulled under before you even know what’s going on. the writing is beautiful and descriptive and is able to paint such a vivid picture of the dark folklore that inspired this tale.
i received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
i received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
valiantlyelegantwizard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0