I wound up with two review copies of this one. I first put in a Netgalley request which I figured was a long shot, and when I didn’t hear anything back in months, I used some of my Penguin First to Read points to secure a copy when it popped up on their read to review site. And then when I’m half way through the book my Netgalley request was approved. Oh well.

I don’t really know what to make of the novel in the end. I gave it a generous 3 stars, but it’s more like two and a half. While I can appreciate the journey of inner strength from the main character, Mariko, I didn’t actually like her all that much. I found the first 100 pages or so incredibly boring.

The novel is beautifully written, the scenery is fantastic and the descriptions are vivid and lyrical. The fantasy setting in a Japanese world is fascinating. All marks of a fantasy I should love. But personally, I just could not get into the plot. I found Mariko almost aloof, I didn’t get much of a sense of personality from her at all. I couldn’t connect with her character in a way that would make me as a reader care about what happened to her.

That being said, as the novel progressed, the plot did get better and Mariko did show some pretty impressive growth and strength. She’s definitely intelligent and determined, you have to give her that. On the way to her politically arranged marriage her carriage party is attacked by a notorious mercenary group the Black Clan. Mariko survives the attack and doesn’t cower in fear. She’s furious and decides she wants to know the reasons behind. Disguising herself as a boy, she follows the Black Clan and worms her way in.

Back in her home province, Mariko’s twin brother Kenshin, is convinced she survived the assassination attempt. Other plots include devious goings on between the Emperor and his Mistress who seems to have some hint at dark dangerous magic and her own political agenda. The Empress who seems quite passive but there’s more to her than meets the eye. The Emperor’s legitimate son (Mariko’s intended) and the illegitimate son with their own squabbles. And while all this is going on Mariko in the guise of a boy is uncovering the inner secrets of the Black Clan.

Of course there are lots of plot twists and everyone has secrets of their own. Mariko uncovers some shocking truths about the lands she came from and how her lord father runs them, and must decide where her true loyalties lie. There’s a romance agenda as well for Mariko when the truth about her identity is revealed. There are secrets within the Black Clan itself.

The plot did improve as the novel goes on and starts getting more into the twisty secrets, there’s a barest hint of some sort of magic involved, but very little of it is explained. Though it’s enough to make the reader want to know more (or it certainly worked that way for me). While Mariko was a difficult character to warm to, her journey throughout the novel is impressive, even with a kind of predictable romance, I want to know what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for approving my request to view the title.

Thank you to Penguin First to Read.

a good enjoyable read, Very easy to get into just like her other series

The story: Mariko is on her way to be married to a member of the royal family when her carriage is attacked and her companions murdered. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find and infiltrate the notorious Black Clan, defend her family’s honour and discover who wants her dead and why. At the same time, her twin brother will stop at nothing to find her again, while others are scheming away in the background to manipulate events to suit their own agendas.

My thoughts: Mariko is a strong main character, and over the course of the novel she undergoes a real transformation. Disguised in a male dominated environment, the characteristics she was always taught to value above all others are useless and she has to learn from scratch the practical skills that others take for granted. As the novel progresses, she also has to come to terms with various home truths about herself and the world she was brought up in, casting off her privileges to become her own person for the first time in her life.

As a female in feudal Japan, she feels that her life has been mapped out for her based on duty and honour. She feels that her gender has her boxed into a corner with no other options available. However, her experiences and the characters that she meets help her to redefine herself, her relationships with the people around her and her place in the world.

I also really enjoyed reading about all of the different members of the Black Clan, their backgrounds and how they functioned as a group – and I found the history of the Samurai and it’s honour code fascinating.

The story itself is action packed and well paced, and I really enjoyed reading about the Japanese culture – although it took a while before I was fully immersed in it. I found a glossary of Japanese terms at the end of the ebook, which would have been helpful to know about while I was reading.

There were a couple of things that I didn’t enjoy. While Mariko is generally likeable, some of the decisions she makes are ridiculous. There a number of occasions where it felt like her actions were written in simply to force the plot along. I still don’t understand how spending more time in the forest alone with a gang of rogues and thieves would in any way help to restore her lost honour, which threw the whole premise of the novel onto shaky ground for me. There’s also a decision she makes closer to the end of the novel which defies all common sense and seems contrived just to bring some of the central characters into conflict.

I also wasn’t sure about the use of the supernatural in this book. It wasn’t really explained and I didn’t feel like it was properly built into the world the author had constructed – so much so that whenever it was mentioned it felt jarring and unnatural.

All in all though, this was an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely be looking out for the next in the series.

As a fan Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori, I was really excited to discover that there was a new series coming out influenced by Japan. In addition to this the plot is loosely based on Mulan and that is something that I can never say no to! However, for all of its promise (and I really hate to admit it) I felt that Flame in the Mist fell short in a number of areas.

I have not read any of Renee Ahdieh’s other books, and in all honesty I found it took me a while to get into her style of writing. It wasn’t until I was about halfway through that I managed to settle into the story and really feel involved.

Although the majority of the book is well written, there were moments where I had to stop and re-read passages, either because they were too convoluted or because I just didn’t get it. I also felt that there was a lot of telling us information, rather than showing it. For example, Mariko is described as being intelligent and always outsmarting other people, yet we are told this more than it is demonstrated by things Mariko does which made me question whether or not to believe it.

In general, I disliked Mariko as a central character. I didn’t feel like she was particularly developed, and the problem of being told what Mariko was like, rather than seeing it for myself the character development feel a little lazy. For a book that was meant to be loosely based on Mulan, I was expecting a kick-ass female heroine, and I found Mariko to be lacking in that respect.

I would have loved more from the secondary characters. I would have loved to see interaction between Mariko and her brother, Kenshin. I understand how this wasn’t really possible with the way that the plot played out, but it would definitely be something I would like to see. I also would have loved to have explored the backstory to Okami, Ranmaru and the Black Clan. I feel that they were more engaging characters who I wanted to have more page time and could have been really developed into fully rounded characters.

I wasn’t convinced by a lot of the relationships in this book, I feel that they could have been more developed and the interaction between some characters evolved very quickly and I found it hard to believe it. My main example of this would be the relationship between Mariko and Okami. Their interactions were so up and down that I couldn’t believe either that they liked each other, or that they hated each other, which left me in a weird middle ground where I just was confused and didn’t know how to feel about their interactions at all.

The one thing that I enjoyed without question was the world. I was already completely prepared to love the Japanese feel of it and was not disappointed by the way Renee created her world. I felt like I had been transported into a world of samurais and ronins, and I LOVED the fact that there was a glossary at the back of the book so I could do my nerdy thing and sit looking at all of the different meanings for words used.

So after setting out with such high hopes for this book, I feel my high expectations where what brought this book down for me. I really liked the concept and a lot of research had clearly gone into the Japanese influences, which really showed, but just felt that the execution missed the mark a bit when it came to characterisation.

I was lucky enough to be sent an arc of this book from the publishers, and then I ended up winning an arc in a Goodreads giveaway! It was amazing to be able to hold this highly anticipated book in my hand; the cover was even more gorgeous in person and the arc was floppy! It was a floppy paperback, which is one of my favourite types!

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she's ever known.

It is not very often that the young adult genre gets Mulan re-tellings, and I am so glad that Renée Ahdieh took it upon herself to create this beautiful story. But even then, this book doesn't even feel like a re-telling. For one, it is a beautiful novel set in feudal Japan - not China, so the culture is different and our female protagonist does not have to go to war - she infiltrates a 'gang and doesn't want them to learn about her identity. However, after finishing the book and looking back, I don't think that this is a re-telling at all. This is its own original story in its own right. Not once whilst I was reading it did I think 'ooooh this sounds like that bit in Mulan where...'

The novel is set in a feudal Japan and follows the story of Mariko who is hell-bent on infiltrating the Black Clan to find out whether they set out to kill her or not. What is so good about this story is that all of the characters have these amazing character arcs that just continue to impress me. Mariko is shown not to shy away from trouble; she confronts it, she puts her mind to hard work and doesn't stop until she accomplishes the task in front of her. She is quick-witted, sarcastic and knowledgeable and these characteristics shine through whenever she is talking.





""Are you every angry you were born a woman?" Yumi sat back on her heels and studied Mariko for a spell.

"I've never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I've been angry at how the world treats us, but I see being a woman as a challenge I must fight. Like being born under a stormy sky. Some people are lucky enough to be born on a bright summer's day. Maybe we're born under clouds. No wind. No rain. Just a mountain of clouds we must climb each morning so that we may see the sun.""

- Renée Ahdieh, Flame in the Mist





In true Ahdieh style, she explores feminism through her characters and in Flame in the Mist, we see out protagonist constantly questioning why things are different for her because she's a woman. We see her breaking down those invisible social barriers and proving to herself and to those around her that being a woman does not make her weak. There is also very little romance in this book until the ending, but even then, there is just the right amount of it. Sometimes, it felt a little bit 'too-in-your-face' but I really didn't care because it was perfect and I just wanted to cry.

All of the characters were beautifully written and the just seemed so real. They were all flawed in their own way; no one was perfect. Mariko's brother, Kenshin was this deeply affectionate man who cared for his sister and wanted nothing more than to bring her home safe and care for her, but then there were sides to him that were far from perfect. This went for the guys in the Black Clan as well. They were deemed this scary, violent group of guys who would murder anything or anyone that would get in their way. This is true in some aspect, but then we are shown how they can be caring, accepting, and forgiving. As I mentioned earlier, all of the characters have amazing character development that I just couldn't get enough of!

If this review doesn't make you want to go and buy the book when it comes out, then I should just probably quit reviewing books right now. The hype surrounding this book is real, this book actually has hype for a reason: because it's so darn brilliant. Well done to Ahdieh for creating another beautiful world that I devoured, and for giving me another female protagonist that I can look up to.



Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 18th May

I absolutely loved this book. I think that the storyline and the setting of this book are so interesting. It was very different to many other YA fantasies I have read and kept me guessing at every turn. I enjoyed every aspect of the book and Renee doesn't give everything away at once meaning the story keeps on giving you something new which keeps you on your toes

Spoiler free!

A badass story with an awesome main character named Mariko defying the hell out of gender stereotypes! They don't apply to this lady! Women who defy norms always make my heart happy. We are unstoppable.

This book is basically Mulan in Japan! In the best way possible! (I mean how can anything based off Mulan be bad?). Mariko is so clever and awesome and I just adored her endlessly. She is a pleasure to read, and so great (I'm sorry I use the word 'great' so much in all my reviews).

This book is about Mariko, who gets sold by her father into a marriage with the emperor of Japan's second son. However, on her way to the palace, her journey gets intercepted by an attempt on her life. Mariko is faced with the decision of what to do to save herself and attempt to uncover who tried to kill her and why. Throughout her journey, we see more and more of Mariko's clever tongue and wit, as she discovers who she is and who she wants to be.

The action in this book was perfect. It was descriptive so I understood everything, but at the same time not too fleshed out or fast that I got confused or bored. You get tired about hearing the same people fighting after a while. Not this book, though!

The romance was on point! Don't even get me started! ON POINT. I was freaking out from the goodness! I can't wait for it to come out so I can talk about it with people who know what I mean! Badass woman + badass love interest = match made in heaven. The encounters between the two were enchanting.

But is Mariko better than Shazi from The Wrath and the Dawn? I have to sadly say no! I loved Mariko, but she didn't reach Shazi-level. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Shazi because of the Arabic words in The Wrath and the Dawn. It makes me feel somewhat closer to her. Regardless, this is a fantastic read, and Renée Ahdieh is definitely an auto-buy for me now!

Love,
Yomna

Hattori Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, one of the emperor’s sons, as a political marriage. On the way to the palace, Mariko’s convoy is attacked and her entourage killed by the notorious Black Clan. Mariko was never meant to reach the imperial city as someone had ordered her to be killed. Determined to find out who and why, she disguises herself as a boy and infiltrates the Black Clan. There Mariko is forced to face many truths, lies and her own conflicting feelings.

Flame In The Mist is definitely a top priority 2017 read of mine. Not to sound dramatic but I was on it like a fly when it popped up on NetGalley. Being a huge fan of Renée Ahdieh’s other books, there really was no question whether I’d read this or not. I started this book fully expecting to adore it. That’s why it’s so hard to say that it didn’t really meet my expectations.

There are a few aspects to this books I really enjoyed. The writing, for starters, is definitely one of them. Ahdieh’s melodic writing may not suit everyone’s fancy, but it suits mine. I still love the descriptiveness – it’s so serene and enticing. The other aspect that I enjoyed is the setting. While I found some of world-building a bit lacking, the atmosphere is beautiful in its complexity. There’s no doubt that Ahdieh has a way with words.

One of the things I disliked was how flat the characters fell for me. I had a hard time remembering some of them and struggled to keep up with who is who for a while. In my opinion, they weren’t given enough time to fully develop. It’s a bit of a show-and-tell where you read about their characteristics, but don’t actually see them. Moreover, the relationships between the characters felt stiff and, again, flat. They, too, didn’t have enough time to develop so they softly float around on the surface.

(I did, however, enjoy Mariko’s internal struggles with loyalty and her strong resolve to prove herself in a world where women are considered less than men. Considering the circumstances, she makes the best of her situation and tries to do right both by her heart and her familial duties.)

Overall, Flame In The Mist did not manage to meet my high expectations, but it didn’t fail me completely either. It’s not a bad book by any means and I’m sure many people will enjoy it. Despite the issues I have with it, Flame In The Mist is a worth-while read, even if only for the setting and Ahdieh’s beautiful writing.

I am going to say immediately that this did not work for me. I loved the concept and was immediately interested in reading it when I found out it's set in feudal Japan. It had a lot of potential that, in my opinion, wasn't used. Mainly I wanted more of the world - I think the world has so much potential but unfortunately it was a bit lacking. The characters, while relatively interesting, were also pretty cliched and predictable. They are also quite frustrating alot of the time. Mariko had a lot of potential but I found her to be annoying and I question most of her decisions. The plot was entirely predictable and the romance was so cringe-worthy, as well as being predictable. The romance was definitely the main weakness, in my opinion. The writing is OK, although I did find it overly dramatic at times. Overall this had potential, but it did not work for me.

I should have loved this book. By my reckoning this should have been one of those books that I devour in a day and then read again the next. I'm not suggesting that this book wasn't enjoyable. It was a really good YA novel with a really cool main character just for some reason I didn't connect with it in the same way as I have done other fantasy novels.

I wonder if, when the series continues, I'll grow to love it more, in fact the more I write the more I realise how daft I'm being. Of course I liked the book! I think the problem for me was that I heard quite a few people talking about how this was in some way like Mulan. Now I in no way mind that it was not. Because other than the part where she dresses as a boy/man...the story is almost entirely different. You could just as easily have said it was similar to Twelfth Night (or a lot of other Shakespeare) because the story of 'Woman dresses as man for own safety' is not actually unique to Mulan. So are we just comparing the two because they are both set in Asia despite the fact that Mulan is a character from Chinese history and Flame in the Mist is set in Japan? I can understand why it makes sense to compare the two...but I think my enjoyment of the book was a little bit spoiled by the fact that I kept trying to see more Mulan connections than there actually were.

*rant about marketing over*

Mariko (our main character) was actually really cool. I know some people have made comments on how sometimes her actions seem a little illogical but I kind of identified with that, I tend to act a bit irrationally at times too. She seemed like a cool person whose story I got pretty invested in and I think I'll continue to like her as the series continues.

The romance was actually pretty darn tolerable, which I wasn't expecting. Even for a teenager obsessing over the tall dark handsome etc. Mariko didn't make me cross or wanting to punch anyone/thing at any point. I won't delve to far at the risk of spoilers but trust that the romance is ok.

What was interesting to me is that the fantasy elements of the book were sort of underplayed. I thought there was going to be a whole lot more fantasy in this book and for the most part (other than the fact that it isn't a real story-duh) this was pretty realistic. If I could make one request for the sequel Renee Ahdieh, could we get even more magical? It would bring me joy.

All in all, as I say, I wasn't as obsessed with this book as I thought I was going to be, but I think that was a product of me going in with my expectations set way too high rather than a fault of the book itself.

My Rating : 4.5/5 stars (only because I wanted more fantasy)

By the way: I received a digital advanced review copy of Flame in the Mist from the publisher (Hodder & Stoughton) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own and I wouldn’t recommend this if I didn’t think it was worth reading.

I really enjoyed this book, it is definitely a 5 star read. It's been sold as a Mulan re-telling but really other than the girl disguising herself as a boy that's as close as it gets. The Japanese setting is amazing and I adored the descriptions. Mariko, our heroine, is a smart girl who feels constrained by being a woman. It was really good to see her come to find her own strength and realise that she could be strong and a woman and others would simply have to accept it. The romance was sweet and subtle and I adored the back and forth between the two characters. The book does end on a cliffhanger so be warned, I am now desperate to read the next one!

Advanced copy received via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

The reason I haven’t rated this higher than a 4 stars despite not being able to put it down for the second half was because I didn’t really get along with either of the two main characters. I really didn’t like how they relished being accomplished liars and I thought some of their actions were not consistent with the characteristics they were supposed to have. I was also confused at certain points too. There were multiple pov/settings within some of the same chapters and so it wasn’t always immediately clear who we were following from one paragraph to the next.

However on the whole I really enjoyed it, it was fast paced and intriguing from the start. The writing was beautiful, the world building was vivid and the plot had a focus other than romance which was great. Of course there was some romance but it certainly wasn’t overly done. But that said I also wasn’t very convinced by the love story either, but I guess you might get that if the characters aren’t honest with each other or themselves. For half the book I wondered who actually would be the love interest so it would have been nice to see some pov from certain characters to clarify this maybe.

I think if you loved Renee’s The Wrath and the Dawn then you will love this one too. Definitely worth a read.

“Never forget, Sanada Takeo: in this forest, there is no place to hide.”


*shivers*

This book was just pure enjoyment from start to finish. Japanese mythology, samurai, crossdressing female warriors, secrets, lies AND just the right amount of sexiness. Sure, it's not a perfect book, but somewhere along the way I forgot to care.

Flame in the Mist is set in feudal Japan. I keep seeing "Mulan retelling" floating around, but even if you ignore the fact that this is set in Japan, not China, it's a bit of a stretch. Mariko doesn't go to war, for herself or for anyone else. She is travelling to the imperial city of Inako when her litter is attacked by a gang known as "The Black Clan".

Mariko survives the attack and devises a plan to infiltrate The Black Clan, disguised as a boy. However, things don't turn out exactly how she hoped they would, and Mariko finds herself a prisoner-turned-reluctant-ally. Meanwhile, Mariko's brother and badass samurai soldier, Kenshin, is determined to prove his sister is still alive, and find the criminals responsible for the attack.

There's some bloodsucking Jubokko trees and forest spirits, plenty of action and bloodshed, even more secrets and betrayals. The more I read, the more I started to feel like no one is as they first seem, and everyone - from the emperor's royal consort to The Black Clan's leader Takeda Ranmaru - is hiding something.

For the most part, this book is far less romantic than Ahdieh's The Wrath & the Dawn. Which was fine by me. And the romance that did surface was... perfection. I won't spoil anything but I'll just say it's one of those rare occasions where I almost felt myself swooning. Look, there's just something sexy about the whole wolf thing, 'kay? Yes, I know, I have problems.

"A word of warning..." He bent closer. The scent of warm stone and wood smoke emanated form his skin.
Mariko blinked.
"Don't bare your neck to a wolf."


See what I mean? Problems.

All of the characters were interesting to me. All of them. Even side characters like Yumi, Ren and Yoshi added something important to the story. I especially loved the complexity of Kenshin's character - he is resourceful and cares deeply for his sister and Amaya, but is also a cruel warrior. I like multifaceted characters; it keeps things interesting. And I appreciated the author's decision to put the emphasis on Mariko's smarts over her strength. I like it when female heroines have skills that real world girls can relate to, and realistically aspire to.

Another general positive-- The use of setting was fantastic. Ahdieh captured the setting well in her previous novels, and she does it again here. I personally think many authors underestimate the atmospheric power of place. Things like this:

Inako.
A city of a hundred arched bridges and a thousand cherry trees. A city of mud and sweat and sewage. A city of golden cranes and amber sunsets.
A city of secrets.


I did say this wasn't a perfect book, so I'll talk about the few negatives. Mariko makes some decisions throughout that were - to put it nicely - stupid. I didn't always understand why she did things. (view spoiler) And would you really bring a potentially powerful weapon to a fight when you’d “never had an opportunity to test it”? For at least the first half of the book, I felt like Mariko's intelligence was all tell, no show. Though, admittedly, she did seem to show some ingenuity later on.

But, you know, whatever. I enjoyed this book so much. I’ve come to the conclusion that Ahdieh just has that special something that draws me in, that special storytelling charisma that you can’t get from a writing class. You can learn sentence structure; you can learn metaphor; but I don't think you can learn charm. And this author just charms my pants off.




I mean, not literally.





Well, maybe literally. She does look quite attractive in her photo.





I'll shut up now.

Book review
Title: Flame in the Mist
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Genre: Retelling/Fantasy/Romance
Rating: *****
Review: After reading The wrath & the dawn and The rose & the dagger I was extremely excited to see what Renee Ahdieh had in store for us next with this retelling of The Ballad of Mulan. The opening of Flame in the Mist was amazing, we see a traditional ritual called seppuku which is meant to provide an honourable death for disgraced samurai where a young boy watches his father's death and is intrigued by a young girl passing. Then we suddenly jump to ten years later where we meet Mariko who is travelling to meet the second son of the Emperor; her future husband. One thing that is key in this novel is a decent understanding of Eastern culture and traditions at the time this novel is supposed to be set. On her way to meet the Emperor she is attacked and left for dead but rather than go home she transforms herself in order to find out who ordered the attack and keep her family's honour safe.
As we approach the 1/4 mark in the novel, we see Kenshin, Marikos brother learn of her survival from the attack and we get a small insight in the life of the Emperor and what challenges the Black Clans attack will present. I also liked the varied perspectives in this novel as we can see a event from many different angles and get a full sense of what everything means. It is in her search for the Black Clan she meets Takeda Ranmaru: the leader whom she remembers from her childhood. She learns that Ranmaru is a Ronin: a mercenary of samurai lineage, now the opening scene tires in with the rest of the story. As we cross the 1/4 mark in the novel we see Mariko taken to the Black Clans encampment with Kenshin following her trail especially after he realizes she is hiding under the guise of a man. Mariko is also learning how men think and act, she also has to curb he curious nature and tendencies in order to remain undiscovered until she can escape their clutches.
As we approach the half way mark in the novel Mariko begins to learn more about the Black Clan; their members and their mysterious ways and though she sympathizes with them she refuses to allow this to disrupt her plans. She eventually find purpose within the group with her intelligence on forging new weapons. Ranmaru also knows "he" is from a sheltered life where he has never had to fend for himself but remain intrigued by the possibilities he presents. Both brother and sister seek to unravel the mystery surrounding the attack on Mariko, we also begin see Marikos and Kenshins storylines converge. As we cross into the second half of the novel, I was very surprised to see Mariko and Okami becoming closer, close enough for Mariko to develop an emotional attachment to him. We also see Kenshin and the imperial princes getting closer, tracking Mariko down, she does narrowly escape from them but she may not be so lucky next time.
As we approach the 3/4 mark of the novel, Okami discovers Marikos secret although he doesn't know who she is but agrees to keep her secrets for now. We also see a massive web of lies and deceit being spun from inside the imperial palace itself and I believe that Mariko is the key to unraveling it. We also see Mariko's and Okami's relationship become deeper and therefore more dangerous. As we cross into the final section of the novel, the truth about Mariko's family is revealed to her as are the Black Clans plan now all that is left is for Mariko to decide whether she will side with her family or the Clan. When Mariko's choice is made she now stands by it free of fear as a proud woman surrounded by her brothers.
The final pages of this novel, we heart breaking and wonderfully beautiful all at once especially when we see where Mariko's true loyalties lie and the ending was sublime and leaves a perfect opening for a sequel. Overall, I absolutely loved this novel and Renee Ahdieh's writing style and story telling. I highly recommend this novel to all.

5 stars

So, ‘Flame in the Mist’ had been one of my most anticipated reads of this year ever since it was announced. That’s a lot to live up to and I was both excited and nervous when I received an ARC copy, wondering whether it could live up to my expectations.

Thankfully, I adored this book…

Characters

Mariko, our protagonist is more interested in inventing things, whether they be objects that explode or those more practical, than being a Daimyō‘s daughter. The funny thing is that she’s actually kind of useless at first in the society of the Black Clan. She can’t cook, can’t cut fire wood, has pretty terrible upper body strength, and manages to make an enemy of pretty much everyone she meets. Maybe sometimes overestimating her own cunning and making chaos of situations, she’s a nightmare and I loved her.

Her twin brother, Kenshin, also known as the Dragon of Kai, is already a greatly revered Samurai warrior. He is equally as fierce as his sister and deeply protective of her, sometimes struggling with tenents of Bushidō relating to self control. One thing I couldn’t work out during the book is whether Kenshin actually has some magic of his own, mages are rare in the book but destruction seems to come to him far too easily. Fear for his sister, the complex political wranglings of the Imperial Court and having to lead a band of Samurai almost twice his age seem to push Kenshin to the brink and I’m pretty curious and worried to see how the next book works out for him.

Okami is, unsurprisingly, one of my favourite characters. Seemingly a little lazy and unkempt, the actually rather dangerous and dark-magic-wielding second in command of the Black Clan has some of the best lines in the book:

‘My life has been filled with death and lies and loose women…I regret everything else.’

Like, what am I supposed to do with that? Witty and a dashing facial scar? He almost comes with a sticker on his head saying ‘this one is going to be your favourite character‘. I also enjoyed just how infuriating he found Mariko in her guise as a young man, seeing her as little more than a burden and a risk to the Black Clan.

Ah, hate to love, isn’t it glorious?

Story

Often touted as a combination of the Chinese story of Mulan and the Japanese tales of the 47 Rōnin, I will say that, plotwise, it takes a lot more from the latter. It is a Mulan retelling to the extent that Mariko disguises herself as a man and in some aspects of the romance, but the actual story is much closer to the Japanese stories of the rōnin, leaderless samurai, seeking revenge for the death of their daimyō.

It’s a slow story, but I’m glad that was the case. Ahdieh’s descriptions and character building take time and space, she has a wonderful way with words that often made me want to read the story aloud. Likewise, she takes time to allow character relationships to blossom, often leaving the exact feelings of characters towards one another as confused or amorphous, which, let’s be honest, is often exactly how close bonds form.

One thing I have, unfortunately, found over my years of reading is that it’s really difficult to find fantasy set in a Feudal Japanese setting that doesn’t make my eyes roll out of my head. Between painful tropes, fetishization and a basic misunderstanding of Japanese cultural identity, finding good books has really been luck of the draw. This book was a breath of fresh air in that respect.

‘Flame in the Mist‘ is a sensitive portrayal of a fantasy feudal Japan. The story could not be told without its setting, it’s much more than scenic window-dressing, with Ahdieh addressing the political and cultural implications of Bushidō, ‘the way of the warrior’, as one of the central pillarstones of the story. It explores the duality of a fantasy Edo period and shogunate culture, where warriors such as the Samurai lived by the laws of Bushidō, including benevolence, integrity, loyalty and honour, but the structure of society enforced strict hierarchies with little or no social mobility. Ahdieh does a good job of explaining some more unfamiliar concepts in text, especially the omnipresent Bushidō code and the political importance of Geiko and the tea ceremonies.

It’s a story about revolution and social change, which, let’s be honest, is incredibly relevant right now. It asks questions about the status quo, about why it should be allowed to persist, whether it is even ethical for it continue in the way it is. Okami, for example, is vocally critical of the way of the Samurai and what he sees as unquestioning loyalty to an underserving upper echelon of society. I’m really excited to see how Ahdieh tackles some of those issues in the next book!

Note

I have seen one or two people comment that the use of Japanese in text is confusing or distracting for them. I would say that a) there’s a glossary at the back, b) the words are pretty easy to understand from context and cultural osmosis, and c) you’d probably just accept it if it was a fantasy novel. If you come from a martial arts background like me (Kendo), then you will probably have no problem with the words at all.

Conclusion

It was amazing, I read it too fast and now I’m going to have to wait painfully for book two. If you’re looking for a YA fantasy set in feudal Japan then this is the book for you; it’s beautifully written, sensitive to culture, has a perfect romance and is just, genuinely, everything that I wanted it to be.

Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for a copy in return for an honest review.

First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this book had truly infuriating amounts of unfulfilled potential. From the summary alone, it seemed like practically the perfect book for me, but the execution felt clumsy in almost every possible way.

Firstly, the characters: there wasn't a single one who felt like more than the sketch of a character. Every now and again, there was a passage that flirted with the idea of giving one character or another the semblance of a real personality, but it never really got beyond that. The relationships between the characters suffered from the same problem, in no small part because the author has a real issue with telling instead of showing - there are constant descriptions of the characters' personality traits, and how the protagonist feels about the other characters, but the characters' actions never quite gel with those descriptions. Their motivations also tend to either be shrouded in truly unnecessary levels of mystery, or fall somewhere on the scale between mildly convoluted and downright incomprehensible.

In fact, the writing style grated on me quite a bit in general. The prose was very over-stylised, with sentences that tended to be very short, but dripping with forced lyricism that felt totally out of sync with the book's fast pace. The entire book seemed to be written in a style more suited to a single quiet, emotionally charged scene - not a bad style in and of itself, but totally jarring in the context of a whole novel.

Lastly, the plot itself was a bit disjointed, bordering on incoherent towards the end, when several new plot threads appeared at once and promptly tied themselves into knots. Also, the magic system is touched on very briefly, multiple times, but never explained whatsoever??? I was hoping for a bit more of an explanation towards the end, but no dice.

But I'm giving it two stars, instead of one, because even though I did think that the writing was mediocre for most of the book and downright bad towards the end, I did love the general premise... and, let's face it, because of the one-legged cook and a line towards the end that reminded me too much of a particular Cervantes quote to be coincidence.

Flame in the Mist is a fantasy YA novel set in historic Japan. The heroine, Mariko, is the daughter of a feudal lord, betrothed to the son of the Emporer. Her story is partly based on that of Mulan. She tries to be a dutiful daughter, and accepting her arranged marriage is part of that duty, but when she is attacked, and her entire entourage, Mariko disguises herself as a boy and seeks to uncover the identity of the person that wanted her dead. She infiltrates the group of outlaws known as the Black Clan, who she believes responsible for the attempt on her life in order to find out more, but as she adapts to life with the Black Clan, she finds her own inner strength, and comes to question her previously held beliefs.

Flame in the Mist is a novel packed with adventure, excitement, intrigue, and a really cute romance between Mariko and one of the other Clan members. I found that I read through this book really quickly after starting it, as it was so fast-paced and enjoyable. I really look forward to reading future books in this series.

Since childhood, Hattori Mariko has always been regarded as a bit odd: too curious, too inventive for a girl of her high station. But even oddness can’t protect her from fate. As she travels by litter from her parents’ home towards the imperial city of Inako, she feels no different from any other well-born young woman, being forced into a marriage not of her choosing. Far away in Inako, in the enchanted precincts of Heian Castle, her betrothed waits: Minamoto Raiden, son of the emperor himself. But between the Hattori lands and Inako lies Jukai Forest, the haunt of ghosts, spirits and desperate men. And Mariko’s entourage, having entered the Forest, will never emerge.


A band of ruthless bandits attack the convoy, killing everyone and torching the litter. The only survivor is Mariko, left for dead, who manages to pull herself to safety. She’s certain that she knows who the culprits are: the Black Clan, a band of lawless ronin. But it’s clear that this wasn’t a random attack. These weren’t opportunistic thieves, but assassins. So why would the Black Clan come after a young woman? Who could possibly want Mariko dead? She has two options. She can run home, to be comforted by her parents and sent off again, in another litter, to the same fate. Or she can take charge of her own future, adapt to her new freedom, and find out the answers for herself. Disguising herself as a boy, Mariko sets off on a mission to infiltrate the Black Clan and discover the truth.

Yet the Clan are not what Mariko expects. They are, after all, ronin rather than common murderers: masterless samurai, bound together by loyalty and honour. At their head is Takeda Ranmaru, the son of the last shogun, dispossessed of his birthright after his father’s forced suicide ten years before, and simmering with the desire for revenge. And at his side is his closest friend, the enigmatic Ōkami, called the Wolf, whose fighting skills verge on the miraculous. Mariko is determined to hate these men but, the more she learns, the more she begins to become dangerously fascinated by them. Can they really be responsible for the attack on her convoy? What do they really want? And how can she protect them from her brother, Hattori Kenshin, the Dragon of Kai – fearsome warrior, fierce samurai and best tracker in the land – who will already be out searching for her?

I came to this book absolutely blind, knowing nothing about it or the author, and found it very enjoyable, if a touch too adolescent in places. There are lots of moments where Character A dwells on the feelings she’d have for Character B if she didn’t absolutely hate him, of course, and Character B comes across as less like a lawless brigand and more like a brooding high-school student. But that seems to be common in most of the romance novels I’ve read, where supposedly sensible characters are (to paraphrase Shakespeare’s Benedick) transformed into oysters. Mariko is an appealing, capable heroine, although aspects of her successful masquerade as a boy did stretch credulity (I’m amazed at how many disguised women manage to avoid having their periods). What I liked about this book was the setting: feudal Japan, with its code of bushidō, its courtly politics and its geiko houses. There are touches of the supernatural – not spells or wizards, but Asian-style magic, such as shadow-warriors, spirits or ninja powers. And Adhieh writes well, with plenty of dramatic tension and mystery to keep us engaged until the finale.

This wears its credentials as a young adult novel on its sleeve, but it’s perfectly diverting even for fully-grown readers who fancy a spritz of romance tinged with the fantastical. It’s clearly only the first part of a longer story and I’d certainly like to see how it ends.

For the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/04/08/flame-in-the-mist-renee-ahdieh/