Hattori Mariko is a seventeen-year-old teenage girl about to be married to Minamoto Riaden, the Prince and son of the Emperor's favourite consort. She has no desire to do this and knows it will be a strain on her to take on this life but she also knows that she doesn't have the luxury of choice as the daughter of the family and she must honour her parent's wishes. As a young woman, she rarely sees life outside of her home but she's full of courage and bravery and unknown determination. She accepts her fate but on the way to meet her future husband, her convoy is attacked by the fearsome Black Clan and while many are killed she was their only target but also, the only survivor. 

Just days after Mariko escapes her plotted death she sits, drinking sáke and waiting for the Black Clan to show up so she can see their leader and find out why they want her dead. Then she sees a young man who looks so out of place but who she thinks must be the leader, Takeda Ranmaru. At first, she thinks he's just another honourless, dirty man that kills and steals for money but when she overhears the word rōnin and hears an old family name from the Emperor's circle she thinks Ranmaru must be a masterless samurai or at least the son of one fallen from grace. So she steps away from the path of marrying Riaden and fulfilling her family, at least until she discovers what they want from her, so she falls in with their clan and follows them into the deadly, fearsome forest to find out why they were after her and who they are. 

I saw this book around so often and while I really wanted to read it I was stopped constantly because I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it. That honestly would have been a little heartbreaking but after so many fantastic reviews I finally gave my heart over to it! I didn't know much at all about it other than publishers and reviewers were advertising it as a Mulan retelling BUT it's actually very different because it's a Japanese story (Mulan is a Chinese story/legend) with an emphasis on one girl's story and bravery, rōnin and samurai, geisha and geiko and many other beautifully traditional things. I think it could be inspired by Mulan because Mariko is thrown into a ruthless life where she chops off all her hair and dresses as a man to go undetected into the danger so obviously there are a few parallels there but it stops there and becomes it's own story entirely.

I love that this book had rōnin, geisha and daifuku because rōnin and geisha are both such fascinating titles of their time and I have an actual addiction to chocolate daifuku, I'm talking four boxes gone in a week when I'm pacing myself! Admitably, I don't know much about rōnin further than the stories and legend of the forty-seven rōnin but it made me ecstatically happy to see that first mention of them in the book because I've never read about them in a YA book or any book so it was such a thrill. I have actually had a huge interest in the beauty of geisha since I was younger so I've read a few books and biographies about the actual woman who were geisha and I appreciate that hard dedication they had to their skill and profession. I love that a female character in this book is a geiko and it's interesting to see the opinion Mariko had of her at first turn into appraisal as she can't deny her obvious beauty and skill in her work. 

Mariko starts her story as a young woman going into a very structured life she doesn't feel at home in and is then thrown into a world of total mystery and uncertainty that feels like the perfect place for her. It's so fantastic to watch as she goes from the runt of the clan and slowly starts to learn their ways and designs her own weapons, I really liked that part. This story was wonderfully written by the author of a popular YA series, The Wrath and The Dawn, and I didn't think an author could go from that sort of story to this one and write it so well but I was wrong, this book was incredible. I really enjoyed the writing style and even though she wrote from at least three main perspectives she still made each one interesting to read and defined on their own.

Also, if you're wondering about a love interest this book definitely has one but it doesn't come up until later in the story and it was so worth the wait. You just know she'll end up getting romantically involved with someone while you're reading this book but all I'll say is that I was so surprised at first but then it was so perfect and became one of my favourite parts of the book! I can't actually think of any fault in this book that sticks in my mind because it was such an enjoyable read for me. I can't wait to see the finished copy in stores so I can purchase it and I am so ready for the second book even though the first isn't even out yet. The wait will definitely be torture if I keep thinking about it!

Cover Art:
This cover is really pretty. I like how they incorporated the throwing stars in with the flowers around the peacock. I'm not sure what the peacock has to do with the actual story as I don't remember a peacock ever being mentioned. But it is still a gorgeous cover.

Writing: 
This book is written in third person POV, which I don't really enjoy that much. It's not horrible but I just feel like I can't connect with the characters as much as I can with first person POV. I enjoyed Renee Ahdieh's writing but I think this book would have been soo much better in first person POV. 

I kinda wish that I had known at the start that there was a glossary at the back of the book because there were a fair few terms mentioned that were in a different language and I had no idea what some of them meant. Like the odd one I could figure out what it meant, but most I had no idea and it was really frustrating. As I read the book in digital copy I didn't even know it was there until the last page and I swiped across and there it was! Would have been handier at the start.

Plot:
I enjoyed the aspects of this book that were similar to Mulan. I had never even heard of a Mulan retelling until this book, so I enjoyed that part of it. Obviously it didn't stick exactly to plot of Mulan but some of the main points were still present. In Mulan, Mulan volunteers to go to war in her father's place by dressing up as a man. Where as this story takes a different turn of events to lead to Mariko pretending to be a man, involve arranged marriages, a dark forest, unknown creatures and a plot to kill Mariko. This story is a little bit darker at times as well, but I have never read the original Mulan story, it could be even darker than this one, I've only seen the Disney movie and as it's a children's move its pretty tame most of the time. In this story Mariko's brother also plays a major role, which I enjoyed sometimes and then others not so much. He was kind of a confusing character, but I will talk about that more in the Characters section below. I don't believe Mulan had a brother in the Disney adaptation of the story, so this was an interesting addition. 

Also I don't understand the magic system in this book at all. There is one guy who has these magnificent powers, there is a woman who walks through a tree into some other place and that's about the extent of the magic and it just confused me. Also at one point it implied that the guy with magnificent powers paid or something to be given the powers which is even more confusing.

Also, I don't understand at all what the point was of showing Ranmaru's feelings for Yumi. There was no explanation at all as to why she was ignoring him. How Ranmaru came to have feelings for Yumi, outside of her physical appearance. It just didn't make sense that they put it in there for like one page and then said no more about it. 

Another odd bit was the part where Okami found out that Mariko was actually a female. So, I kinda understand why Mariko kissed Okami, but I don't get why he kissed her back. Only a few minutes ago he believed she was a male, I have nothing against 2 males having feelings for eachother, but it just didn't make sense. I don't know if the author was going for an insta love type deal when it comes to Okami's feelings for Mariko or what it was.

And the last thing that isn't specifically plot, it's more the characters, but I'm putting it here anyway... Why does no one in this damn book tell the truth.. It's kinda irritating. Mariko, Okami, Ranmaru, Mariko's father, The Empress and the royal consort (can't remember her name) are all lying and keeping secrets. It was getting a little monotonous.

Characters:
So I have already said that I couldn't really connect with or fully understand the characters because it was in third person POV. But I'll still talk about some of the main characters.

I  didn't mind Mariko, I like that most of the time she made calculated decisions and never gave up on what she was trying to do. Okami was that character that showed no emotions and then does for the right person, while I don't hate that type of character, they also aren't my favourite. Like we get it, you're tough.. You are allowed to show happiness atleast.. Ranmaru, I don't really know, he may have been the clan leader but he was still kinda background in the story itself most of the time. Yoshi, first off I'm surprised that spelling of this name isn't trademarked to Mario Bros or Nintendo or something. But anyway, I liked him, he was interesting and treated Mariko like a human being from the start even if sometimes she annoyed him. Kenshin, was just I don't know. He was confusing most of the time. Like I know that he was just trying to save his sister, but some rationally thinking sometimes wouldn't have hurt! And what has with killing that old guy and the two kids and waking up and not remembering doing it?! Sorry what and how?

Overall:
Well this book was okay, but it wasn't fabulous. There was a lot of confusing elements and seen as this is the first book in a duology, there is a lot of things that need to be explained in that second book. Is one book really going to be enough? I disliked the third person POV in this book. Third person POV can be done really well, for example, Harry Potter.. So it's not that I hate Third Person POV as Harry Potter is my favourite series ever. But this book there was just no connection to characters and a majority of the time I just didn't understand why they did anything.

To say I was blown away by Flame in the Mist would be an understatement. Loosely inspired by Mulan, Renee Ahdieh has effortlessly woven an intricate tale of deceit, politics, romance and magic. The fact that this novel is a hype book – which promised to be incredible – had me slightly worried, but thankfully, the fear wore off and I was truly able to appreciate the book.

I was highly impressed by Ahdieh’s characters in Flame in the Mist. In her previous work The Wrath & the Dawn, I couldn’t completely connect with the characters (even less so in The Rose & the Dagger) because I felt that the pacing was too fast and the romance developed far too quickly. That was not the case in Flame in the Mist.

What captured my attention was Mariko’s feminist dialogue and her anger at the way her society – based upon feudal Japan – treated women. Mariko, an aristocrat, had her entire future planned for her by her father – he simply informed her that he arranged her marriage to someone she never met before, rather than ask her of her opinion. She detested the expectations placed on women during this time, but she was also unable to escape or be treated with the same respect a man would garner. That is, until she was kidnapped and then disguised herself in order to prove her worth. There are some amazing feminist/empowering quotes in this novel and you can’t help but form an emotional connection with Mariko. Despite the fact that those of us in the Western World no longer live in feudal societies, women are still not treated as equally as men are. Mariko is an empathetic character; women of all cultures will be able to draw parallels between Mariko’s circumstances and their own.

I knew from the second he appeared on the page that my favourite character would be Ōkami, and I was right. Ōkami was the second-in-command of the Black Clan’s leaderm and a ruthless warrior who might have access to otherworldly powers. Ōkami’s interactions with Mariko were written to perfection: you could literally feel the tension between them. Ahdieh wonderfully developed the romance element in Flame in the Mist, as opposed to the forced romance in her The Wrath & the Dawn. I was also surprised by the direction Ahdieh took for the love interest. If you’ve read the blurb you might have, like me, thought that this book included a love-triangle, but rest assured, IT DOES NOT AND THANK YOU AHDIEH FOR THAT. By focusing on just one love interest, the romance was allowed to develop naturally and realistically; it kept me perched on the edge of my seat, waiting for the big reveal. The enemies to lovers romance was done quite beautifully.

While this was a great novel, there were a few factors that prevent me from giving it a full five star rating. (No spoilers):

1. The beginning was very slow. So slow, in fact, that I considered DNFing this book. Thankfully I didn’t, because I supremely enjoyed the rest of the book. I had decided I would give the book till about the 40% to entice me, and if it didn’t, I would DNF it. I started liking it at 30%.

2. Mariko’s logic makes zero sense. There were many occasions while reading where I had to put the book down and just shake my head because Mariko’s reasoning behind her actions was so incredibly flawed. I won’t give away my biggest annoyance (which comes towards the end of the novel), but the one I can say without spoiling anyone (because it’s in the blurb) comes through her decision to don a male disguise and hunt the Black Clan: she justifies being alone in the forest – which might lead some to question her “virtue” – and hunting these people, in order to spare her family the “embarrassment of having their daughter turned away … [and] spare them the risk of having their family name soiled under a cloud of suspicion”. Yes Mariko, the only way to stop rumours of your “soiled virtue” is to spend more time ALONE in a forest full of thieves, murderers and criminals. Solid thinking right there.

3. The writing was very touch and go. There were many occasions that I was impressed by the sophistication of Ahdieh’s prose, but just as many occasions where I rolled my eyes from how dramatic and over the top the writing was. It felt like Mariko had just discovered the meaning of life, when she was actually just describing something quite mundane. There was no in-between. While this didn’t completely disrupt my reading experience like it did in The Rose & the Dagger, it was still a little irritating.

4. The inclusion of magic. I said this in my review of The Rose & the Dagger and it is apparent here too: Ahdieh drops magical elements into the text with no warning. The world-building does not make this feel like a novel that would have magic in it. The magic is never explained or developed – it’s just there. An example from the novel: “From the moment he’d watched her conjure animals from the stuff of shadows, he’d found her to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever beheld.” You can’t just throw a sentence like that in a novel and not elaborate – and yet Ahdieh has done this consistently in all of her novels. Flame in the Mist feature bloodsucking trees, shapeshifters, and sorceresses – and yet all of the characters, including Mariko who didn’t know that things like these even exist – don’t react to them. Again, very irritating.

Aside from these few issues, Flame in the Mist was a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. I honestly did not expect to enjoy this book – and was considering giving up on Ahdieh’s future books too if I didn’t – but was pleasantly surprised when I suddenly loved it. Flame in the Mist is an intriguing, romantic, political adventure story. It was certainly a wild ride and I can’t wait for the next book in the duology.

FLAME IN THE MIST BY RENEE AHDIEH
3 and a half stars

Hello massive cliff hanger, dang it! Man, I know how to pick them. I haven’t ever read this author before, and I fell in love with the cover foremost and then the story. I always struggle with stories set in a world like this, it takes me a fair while to get into them. 

Flame in the mist, is a must read. I love that it has the elements of a Mulan retelling. 

I loved the way the story began, I was very captured and the start and then I doze of a little in the first 20% but honestly by the time I got to about 60% I needed to finish this one to see how it all ended. Well it ended alright, though just in a cliffy… that ending had me like OMG she didn’t!

Without giving the story away too much, I found the authors writing beautiful, she had a way with words that read like poetry. I loved all the characters, I especially liked Okami who is our love interest, there relationship was one to sit back and watch, I gobbled it up.

One thing I did struggle with were the character’s names, and special names I was a little of the time confused. But I found the story to be so captivating i put little things like that aside, but I did find myself re reading paragraphs and pages to make sure I understood who and what was happening.

If you enjoy slow burn stories this is for you book worms, I am going to defiantly pick up the next one to find out what will happen, because an ending like that… is not a HEA!

Review: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Expected publication:  May 16th, 2017

I would like to thank NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with an  eARC of this book. 

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh was absolutely incredible. Where do I even begin?

I adored The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger, so naturally I was excited to read this book! Basically this is a mash-up of Mulan and 47 Ronin set in feudal Japan. Renee Ahdieh's descriptions of the world in this book were incredible. From her descriptions of food, scenery and appearances, I felt as if I was living and experiencing this beautiful world myself.

I loved the main character, Mariko from the very beginning. I felt as if I went on this journey of self-discovery with her and it was beautiful to see her grow and reach her full potential. Just like Shazi in The Wrath and the Dawn, Mariko was strong, smart, brave and, quite frankly, badass.

The romance, WOW. Okami, the love interest, is just PERFECT. It's one of the best hate-to-love romances that i've read in a while! I loved their banter, the words of wisdom that they shared with one another and, most importantly, the fact that he didn't treat Mariko any differently when he found out the truth about her. Okami was such an interesting character and I loved reading about his past. I can't wait to read more about him in the next book!

The only advice I would give before diving into this book, is to read the Glossary at the back of the book first. A lot of the vocabulary used, for me at least, was sometimes hard to understand and pronounce. As I read this in ebook form, I could highlight a word and get the definition, but if you purchase a physical copy, I highly suggest familiarising yourself with the Glossary, even just briefly.

Overall, without giving away too much information on the plot and characters, I would highly recommend this book to everyone! It's got incredible characters, a swoon-worthy romance, a beautifully described world and an awesome plot filled with action and a touch of magic! This book is such a page-turner and it had me on the edge of my seat for every single chapter. I cannot WAIT for the sequel and to read about these characters again that i'm already missing.

Go pre-order your copy of Flame in the Mist ASAP!

-Abbie

Flame in the Mist is a loose retelling of Mulan set in feudal Japan with magical undertones. It deals with duty, honour and gender expectations, and what it means to be your own person. With a bit of romance thrown in, for good measure.

I was really apprehensive going in to reading Flame in the Mist. I really wanted to read it, but I was cautious about how I might connect with the material and how close a retelling it was to Mulan. The answer is: it’s a loose retelling. There are definitely elements that follow a similar storyline, but it is definitely it’s own tale, and Mariko is a kickass female character in her own right. And while it took me a little while to get into the story, by the time I hit 40% of the way through, I was hooked and I couldn’t put it down.

Mariko was a stand out character for me - a young woman about to married to one of the emperor’s sons who’s convoy is attacked by the Black Clan on the way. She’s let a life of privilege, as well as expectation, but has always been curious about things that a woman need not be, and thus been deemed an odd child. After her convoy is attacked, she disguises herself as a boy in order to infiltrate the Black Clan to exact her own style of retribution. What I really enjoyed about her character was how strategic she is - she’s a thinker, a planner. Being brave and fighting isn’t a natural thing for her and she makes mistakes. She’s stubborn, fierce, and determined to carve out her own path.

We also get the perspective of her twin brother, Kenshin, the Dragon of Kai, who is tasked with finding Mariko. he believes her to be alive when others believe her dead in the attack. I love the way Ahdieh wrote their relationship - there’s clearly a lot of love and respect shared between the two of them, even though we only see them together a few times in this first book.

Finally, we follow the intrigue surrounding the Black Clan, particularly Okami, a warrior with a mysterious ability and a serious chip on his shoulder. His relationship and banter with Mariko was fantastic and there were moments when they both pushed each other beyond their own preconceived notions and that was wonderful. While we didn’t get to know all of the smaller, side characters in the Black Clan, I’m hoping in subsequent books we might learn more about their back stories.

While there is a romantic hate-to-love relationship that develops in this book, I enjoyed the journey it took to get there and I don’t think it detracted from the overall story. If anything, it made it more intense. There were also some lovely statements about the strength of women as women without comparison to men. I highlighted quite a few passages towards the last quarter of the book, because they were just beautifully written.

Without knowing too much detail on the factual details of feudal Japan, or even the traditional Mulan story, I can’t vouch for its accuracy (or even it’s lack of accuracy). What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed this story and not only will I be purchasing the physical copy of the book when it’s released in May 2017, but I will be counting down the days until the second book is released. This is a book that left me wondering about the characters, wondering how the story will continue and how the story (as a whole) will eventually be resolved. It’s not perfect, but it’s an absolutely wonderful book that I’m so glad I read.

I gave Flame in the Mist 4.5 out of 5 stars.