A review by karissa_
Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh
3.0
“There is such strength in being a woman. But it is a strength you must choose for yourself. No one can choose it for you. We can bend the wind to our ear if we would only try.”
3.5
With all the action going on in the beginning, I feel like it took me too long to get into this book. It just didn't capture my attention, like Renee Ahdieh has been known to do (hello, The Wrath and the Dawn). I often found myself re-reading constantly, skimming quite a bit, or just finding any means to not read. However, because I love Ahdieh, I kept pushing and now I'm pretty thankful I did. The ending has me anticipating the second book in the series - where I'm positive I will fall in love with this series.
“I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.”
As usual, Ahdieh is able to write a strong feminine character who has talents that lie in things other than her beauty, which I love. Mariko wasn't someone I ended up loving - but I do respect her and all her curiosity. That's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the cast, as well. They just didn't resonate or stand out in a way that made me connect with them or their story but I didn't hate them, either, so I guess I'm here for them?
However, if you're familiar with Renee Ahdieh's work, you know that she can capture a romance between twounlikely counterparts. And while we all know it is predictable, Renee just has this amazing way with words that makes this totally okay. She makes even the coldest of hearts (me lol) swoon, and I've found quite a few of my new favorite love quotes through her - something that I didn't realize was at all possible. I have a very slight feeling that there may be a love triangle approaching in the not so distant future, which I really hope I am wrong about because the set up at this point in time would make it seem forced, so I really hope this is avoided at all costs.
“You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.”
While this book wasn't The Wrath and the Dawn, in the sense that I loved it straight a way and don't ever question how much I adore this book, Flame in the Mist was a fairly good story with an interesting plot. Feudal Japan is one of the eras that I'm most drawn too and to find a story that featured it heavily and beautifully was great! It may be a bit hard to stay focused on but the set up for the next book seems to be totally worth the read!
3.5
With all the action going on in the beginning, I feel like it took me too long to get into this book. It just didn't capture my attention, like Renee Ahdieh has been known to do (hello, The Wrath and the Dawn). I often found myself re-reading constantly, skimming quite a bit, or just finding any means to not read. However, because I love Ahdieh, I kept pushing and now I'm pretty thankful I did. The ending has me anticipating the second book in the series - where I'm positive I will fall in love with this series.
“I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.”
As usual, Ahdieh is able to write a strong feminine character who has talents that lie in things other than her beauty, which I love. Mariko wasn't someone I ended up loving - but I do respect her and all her curiosity. That's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the cast, as well. They just didn't resonate or stand out in a way that made me connect with them or their story but I didn't hate them, either, so I guess I'm here for them?
However, if you're familiar with Renee Ahdieh's work, you know that she can capture a romance between two
“You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.”
While this book wasn't The Wrath and the Dawn, in the sense that I loved it straight a way and don't ever question how much I adore this book, Flame in the Mist was a fairly good story with an interesting plot. Feudal Japan is one of the eras that I'm most drawn too and to find a story that featured it heavily and beautifully was great! It may be a bit hard to stay focused on but the set up for the next book seems to be totally worth the read!