My rating: 4 of 5 stars
received and arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Fear not Steel and Stone fans, fear not. If you're like me, you're always a little hesitant going into a new series of beloved author who had you by the belt in the last series. Will it be as good? Do the series connect? Will the main dude be as mouth watering? I get you, don't worry. And like I said, fear not.
Red Winter follows Emi Kimura who is a kamigakari, the precious vessel of her God, who has not inhabitated a human in centuries. Emi has always been dedicated to her strict duties as Kamigakari until one day she stumbles upon some dark information that has her questioning her whole identity. She soon falls in line and strikes a bargain with two yokai (demon type of figures): Shiro and inadvertently, Yumei. Her destiny starts to change as a more darker plot than she could have ever imagined plagues the Gods.
The set up for Red Winter was an information drop full of foreign words that any reader would have a hard time wrapping their mind around. You are quickly thrust into using Japanese terminology that definitely seemed forced at times. The word Kami in japanese literally translates to God, Kitsune, meaning fox, miko meaning priestess, and so forth. It was weird seeing it in an English context. The forced interspersed use of Japanese words was offputting.
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Emi is a character that is hard to identify with at first. She is strict and bland to the point of frustration, however that is how she was raised to be. The book starts getting really interesting when she meets Shiro and starts getting a bit of a rebellious streak. Realizing she has a life and she needs to live it.
We spend the first 40% of the book really setting Emi up to be the best version of her self, but once you hit that 50% mark, there is no way you are putting this book down.
I love how Annette Marie never makes her demons turn good after meeting the heroine. Shiro and Yumei both help Emi out, but it's clear it's for their own selfish purposes, and they never let her forget that once she serves her purpose, they would me more than happy to kill her. Will that change? I dont know, but the author has set the stage for some kick ass character building and plot twists.
Romance? The most important part, amiright? there is potential and I'm interested to see if and how that develops.
If you are a lover of shoujo manga, I think you won't be able to help but see some series similarities between this book and the manga A Thousand Years Nine Tails. reading that first made it so hard to remind myself I wasn't reading the book version of that manga.
the 10 spaced out illustrations are GORGEOUS. I just want to gush. As this is a japanese mythology, which is not as well known in the YA realm, the illustrations really helped give the story life and help create a picture of what the author wanted you to imagine.
Overal, a solid start. Doesn't end with a cliff hanger, thank the powers that are, but you will be dying to get your hands on the next book and learn more about these quickly beloved characters.
And no, Shiro is nothing like Ash so don't go in with that comparison.
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