Review: Night of the Dragon - Julie Kagawa

Evil and hope clash and burn in the epic and shocking conclusion to the Shadow of the Fox trilogy.

All is lost.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.

But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of Evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realised existed...until now.

Shadow of the Fox series:
Shadow of the Fox
Soul of the Sword
Night of the Dragon

Visit Julie Kagawa's website for more information.

Review:
I've been a fan of Julie Kagawa's writing for years but I honestly think that the Shadow of the Fox series is her best one yet. I've been caught up in this world from the beginning and I'm really sad that it's now time to say goodbye.

It's so hard to review the final book in a trilogy because I want to encourage everyone who hasn't started this series yet to dive straight in but I don't want to go into too much detail because I don't want to give away spoilers. What I've loved most about these books has been the fantastic Japanese mythology and all of the wonderful yokai & kami creatures that Julie Kagawa has introduced us to along the way. Our band of characters has been through so much since the first book but it all comes to a head in Night of the Dragon and they're facing more danger than ever before.

I'm not going to lie and tell you this is an easy end to their journey, this book prefers to grab you by the throat while it slowly rips your heart out, but what I will say is that I loved every minute of it. There are definitely heartbreaking moments in this book but there are also really sweet and heartwarming ones to balance that out and it was definitely a fitting end to a much loved series.

Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle

Review: Soul of the Sword - Julie Kagawa

THE TIME OF THE WISH APPROACHES…

Yumeko the shapeshifter had one task: take her piece of the ancient and powerful scroll to the Steel Feather temple and prevent the summoning of the great Kami Dragon. But she has a new enemy now. The demon Hakaimono, has escaped and possessed the samurai she thought would protect her, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

Hakaimono has done the unthinkable and joined forces with Genno, the Master of Demons, to break his curse and set himself free. But Genno wishes to overthrow the empire and cover the land in darkness. To do that he needs only one thing, the scroll Yumeko is hiding. As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross again the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

AND CHAOS WILL DARKEN AN EMPIRE.

Return to Julie Kagawa’s beautiful and perilous land of shapeshifters, samurai and demons as Japanese mythology and magic swirl together in the New York Times bestselling author’s brand new adventure.

Shadow of the Fox series:
Shadow of the Fox
Soul of the Sword
Night of the Dragon

Visit Julie Kagawa's website for more information.

Review:
Soul of the Sword is the second book in the Shadow of the Fox series and picks up Yumeko's story almost immediately where the previous book left off. Tatsumi has been possessed by the demon Hakaimono and no longer has control of his own body, instead he is trapped deep inside his own mind and forced to watch as the demon uses his body to do unspeakable things. Yumeko knows she has to protect the remaining piece of the Dragon Scroll at all costs but at the same time she is determined to rescue Tatsumi even if that means putting her own life in danger.

I'm going to be honest and say I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as Shadow of the Fox, I missed Tatsumi's character and I felt there were times when the story lagged a bit, but it's still a strong instalment to the series and it definitely left me eager to get my hands on a copy of the final book asap.

Julie Kagawa really excels with her world building here, I love her use of Japanese mythology and all the different types of creatures she has introduced us to in this series. The different yokai & kami, the sword fights and the magic all combine into a fairly action packed story that kept me turning the pages. While I missed Tatsumi and the relationship he has with Yumeko I did find it interesting to see some of Hakaimono's point of view and I love Okame, Daisuke and the others who add a little light hearted fun to the story. Don't let the fooling around lull you into a false sense of security though, there is danger all around and the ending was a shocker!

Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle

Review: Shadow of the Fox - Julie Kagawa

A single wish will spark a new dawn. 

Every millennium, the missing pieces of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers are hunted, for they hold the power to call the great Kami Dragon and ask for any one wish.

As a temple burns to the ground Yumeko escapes with its greatest treasure - the first piece of the scroll. And when fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, she knows he seeks what she has.

Kage is under orders to kill those who stand in his way but will he be able to complete his mission? Will this be the dawn that sees the dragon wake?

Enter a beautiful and perilous land of shapeshifters and samurai, kami and legends, humans and demons... A world in which Japanese mythology and imagination blend together.

Shadow of the Fox series:
Shadow of the Fox
Soul of the Sword
Night of the Dragon

Visit Julie Kagawa's website for more information.

Review:
Once in every millennium the person who holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers has the power to call upon the great Kami Dragon and make one wish. For the safety of the world the Scroll has been torn into pieces and each section is held by a different group of protectors. Yumeko is a young, half-kitsune, girl who has been raised by monks in the Silent Winds temple who secretly guard one of the pieces. When the temple comes under attack by demons she is tasked with the important job of taking the scroll piece to safety.

Tatsumi trained from birth as a samurai learning to control a powerful cursed sword so he could become the Kage Demonslayer. He has been tasked with tracking down the pieces of the scroll and told he must to whatever it takes to bring them home to the head of his family. When Tatsumi and Yumeko meet she tricks him into believing she can lead him to the first part of the scroll but what will happen if he realises that she has been carrying the piece with her all along?

I really enjoyed Shadow of the Fox, its the first instalment in Julie Kagawa's new series and I love how different each of the worlds she creates are. This is a magical world based on Japanese mythology full of all kinds of yokai & kami supernatural creatures, some I recognised and others that were completely new to me. Yumeko and Tatsumi are hunted by demons and monsters at every turn as they travel in search of the hidden temple and you never know quite what will be thrown at the reluctant allies next.

Yumeko has had a very sheltered upbringing so she is quite naive and sweet and often far more trusting than she should be but she also has an incredibly mischievous streak and some fun illusion abilities that are going to make her a force to be reckoned with as she grows into her powers. Tatsumi on the other hand is much harder, he's been raised to be a warrior and taught not to trust anyone or let anyone get too close so he's much more aloof and wary than Yumeko. He wields a cursed sword that is possessed by the demon Hakaimono and it takes a lot of willpower to use the sword without letting the demon get inside his own head. As they fight alongside each other during the search for the hidden temple they have to learn to trust each other and what I really enjoyed was that it wasn't always Tatsumi who saved the day, there were times when Yumeko's skills were just as important in keeping them both alive.

This is a slow build story with absolutely fantastic world building that takes readers on a journey across a beautifully described fantasy land. I was captivated with this book from the beginning and didn't want to put it down for a minute. I loved both Yumeko and Tatsumi but we also meet some fantastic side characters and I really enjoyed the occasional chapters we got from Sumi's point of view. I have a feeling this series is going to become a firm favourite so I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Soul of the Sword next year!

Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle

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