Shadow of the Fox #1 - Julie Kagawa

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

The main events happen  in the first few chapters and it is almost 300 pages before the book gets back to the main plot of finding the scroll. In between, the two characters travel to the temple, having what feel like various mini adventures along the way. It feels episodic, like anime episodes. The characters from Japanese mythology are  fascinating and my main reason for reading, but the story meanders, name-dropping creature after creature - such as oni or gaki - in order to prolong the weak plot.

Though the romance is pretty tame in this book, it was cliché. I feel like I've read versions of the two of them hundreds of times: aloof warrior dude and a beautiful naïve girl who requires protecting-- what could possibly happen? But to be honest I am not to mad, it was sweet and a fun trope.  

The ending does pick up and an explosion of action awaits (with some surprises added too), but I still felt like I read maybe 100 pages of plot progression and 300 pages of filler. 
 
The characters were what truly sold me though. I loved each of them. Tatsumi was my least favourite but I loved Yumeko and Okame. He is a brilliant comic relief character that had me snorting suddenly. 

Okay real talk, there are quite a few problems with this book. The characters are walking tropes, the ending is obviously there for a sequel, the plot is episodic, anime style glowing possessed swords and white hair, the romance is nothing new and the world building is a lot of telling rather than showing. The inclusion of Japanese words could also slip up people who are less familiar with the language. However, despite all that though I must admit I enjoyed it. It was a guilty pleasure that I will definitely read the sequel of. 

Age Rating 14+. Nothing untoward.