I will admit, I found this one a bit slower than the first. I don't know if that's just me or not. The last quarter of the book is what had me bump up my star rating. I still really enjoyed the book, and am in enjoying the series immensely. I'm excited to finish it off with the third book! I liked Yumeko's journey on learning more about what she's capable of with her kitsune powers. I wasn't expecting Okame and Daisuke's relationship to progress the way it did, but I was so here for it! I'm really interested in finding out the state of Tatsumi in the next book after what he went through in this one. Overall, I did really like this one, just preferred Shadow of the Fox a bit more. I've already started Night of the Dragon because I need to know what happens to all these amazing characters!

I loved reading this book. I just love Julie Kagawa's writing, her worlds, her characters, they're always interesting and I always want more! I loved reading about Yumeko and her friends again, to delve deeper into this world! It was another amazing book!

The main focus of this book is Tatsumi and Hakaimono, after all, this is called Soul of the Sword. And we immediately get the history, of how Hakaimono was in the sword in the first place and how, and how that connects to what's currently going on!

Of course, there's still all the Scroll plot going on, and I felt so badly for Yumeko because she does have to get the scroll to the Steel Feather temple. But she also wants to get to Tatsumi, to try and get him back in control of his body, to save his soul. At least she had her gang with her, they were really helpful, and I loved reading about all of them again!

That ending though! It wasn't what I expected, I mean, we were in Hakaimono's head, and saw all the awful things he was doing, but he wasn't all, all bad. So I really enjoyed how that ending come together, and it's set perfectly for the final book, and I'm so pumped!

This was a fantastic read, and I'm so excited to read the 3rd and final book!

I felt like the fist book of this serie was action packed, but I flet like it was predictable. I like this second installment, I like knowing what happened to the characters.. It was a good second book. i have to say thought that it was a book that it was easy for me to put down

“In the best stories, the heroes always give their lives, for honor, duty, sacrifice and the glory of the empire. Anything less and it is not much of a story at all.”

Picking up where the last book left off, ‘Soul of the Sword’ continues the adventure of our odd little group: Yumeko, a half kitsune; Tatsumi, a ninja elite and demon slayer; Okame, a ronin, Daisuke, a lord; and a couple more added to the mix.

What I have loved, loved! So far is the diversity and backgrounds of the characters. We are introduced to this strange band in the first book, and in this book you can start to see how their adventure and the people they are with are changing them, little by little.

Yumeko is learning more about the world outside of the monastery she grew up in. Tatsumi, who was trained to be an emotionless warrior, is starting to see more in the kitsune he’s been following around and starts to question himself. A ronin ‘dog’ and a lord even start seeing each other in a new light. It is so satisfying watching how these characters are developing around each other.

In this book we see less action than the first book, but there’s still plenty of it; the plot mostly focusing on character backstories and the journey. Really, we still have Kage assassins and a very angry demon in a sword, not to mention an army of youkai forming and blood mages. It’s more than enough to keep me sitting on the edge till the last page.

Overall, Soul of the Sword is a yes. Just, YES. The Japanese lore, anime/manga style story, and all the lovable characters are a big YES.

The plot moves along nicely and you see continued character development as the story continues. This series is worth the reading time.

An excellent sequel to the first installment! The witty banter is contagious and character development was wonderful. Can't wait to read the third.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4 Stars

This was SUCH an anticipated read of mine! While Shadow of the Fox was a bit slow for my taste, the world Kagawa created was rich, inviting and certainly intriguing. I hoped that the first book was a great set up for the second book, and I was right!

Soul of the Sword picks up right where the first book left off and the knot in the pit of my gut never really disappeared. This book was stressful! It was also incredibly well done. While I missed a lot of Yumeko and Tatsumi time, the overall group dynamic that developed became one of my favorite things about the series overall. Fortunately, there is also a new romance introduced. While it seemed a bit out of nowhere for me at first, the couple grew on me over time. Honestly, it has gotten to the point where I am so attached to all of the characters that I don’t know how I’ll react if anything happens to them in the end.

The plot, while still a bit slow, was much faster paced than Shadow of the Fox and this was a much quicker read for me overall. Things are well set up for the next and final book and I can’t wait to see what happens! If you’re looking for an Asian inspired fantasy with relatable characters, a unique plot, and beautiful world building, this is absolutely one to pick up!

His throat is raw from screaming prayers into the storm. It's pitch black outside . He's clasping a scroll. He's injured from demons. Kate has called upon the dragon for help.

An AMAZING sequel.
If you loved the first, then you will love this one just as much!
The diverse cast of characters each had their own distinctive personality and set of character traits and I loved every single one of them. The magical world building had me drawn in right from the beginning. And the twisty plot had me guessing the whole way through. Loved my time with this story and can't believe it took me so long to pick it up. (Silver lining: I *am* glad that I can immediately pick up Night of the Dragon though)!!

Will update this review with a link to my Instagram post once it's live.

There's something I still can't place about the sequel that just didn't catch me. I picked this up about three times and it was a push to keep reading because I never really felt hooked? Despite the first one hooking me so much more? The sequel also takes place right after the first one, so I was even more confused. I felt like the second POV was a bit more confusing and while I wanted to care much more, I found myself kind of zoning out? There were stakes, but they lack that captivating need-to-read right now feel to them? All in all, I think this suffered from a lot of second book syndrome and it was hard for me to keep pushing through.

This book is the perfectly fantastical and magical sequel follow up to Shadow of the Fox.
The best and worst part of this book series for me is the detail in the story. I'm gonna have to make some notes so I don't forget before the third book. This series is consistently imaginative and compelling.

All of the characters are diverse, and they all work as a team together to bring the story to life. Kagawa's world-building is immaculate. The story's inclusion of Japanese mythology and folklore is at the heart of this story, but it feels new and modern in a lot of ways.

Shadow of the Fox was easily one of my favourite books, and I had such high expectations for Soul of the Sword. Sadly, this book just didn't live up to any of them. Not sure if I will read the final book.

I recieved this as a free arc to review from netgalley.

You have a shape shifter named Yumeka.

This was a fast and nice paced read.

Absolutely love this author!! I have to say I personally own ever book she has written! You can never go wrong with her

This book left on another cliffhanger. It was nice to see some new perspectives and the LGBTQ representation.

The story ended up withi another cliffhanger and I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends.

I have had this book in my possession for far too long to wait until now to read it. I read Shadow of the Fox in 2019 and it was my favorite read of the whole year. I feel like I read a lot of really great books, but the only thing that really came super close was Nevernight. I can't really speak to the plot of this one as much because it's the sequel, but I highly recommend this trilogy. I haven't even read the third book (but I do have a hardcover of it) and I have complete faith in Kagawa to wrap it up perfectly. Usually second books in trilogies are awful, but this one was BRILLIANT. It had all the humor and adventure and drama and heartfelt moments that the first one did. Twists and turns galore.

Unfortunately, I did not get. the chance to read this ARC prior to its release--I'm hoping to work through my backlist now that we're home for the coming weeks!--but we did end up buying this book for the library collection.

After rereading the first book in this series, I dove right into this sequel. I’d heard a few things about how this installment was still really great, but not quite equal to its predecessor. And, by a very, very minute difference in my feelings for both, I agree with that assessment. This sequel does feel very much like the second book in a series, which isn’t a bad thing, but also isn’t my favorite sort of reading experience on the whole. But, this the good, solid kind of second book syndrome though as this novel certainly does a commendable job when it comes to broadening the story - in terms of the world (as readers get the opportunity to be in more places), the lore (as more cultural details, especially with regards to the mythical and fantastical, are incorporated), the plot (because truly, a LOT happens in this part) and the characters (because there is a solid amount of development, on the individual level and in terms of relationships with other characters). I really, really enjoyed diving deeper into Yumeko’s story, and watching the series of events unfold. (And it still very much reminded me of some of my favorite anime series!) It was very entertaining to see how the story continued, and the way things wrapped here left me very much anticipating the finale.

I love this story. I’m not sure what about this one that I didn’t enjoy as much as the first book but I just wasn’t as hooked as I was in shadow of the fox. I still enjoyed myself and can not wait to read the conclusion.

Oh man.

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I adore Julie Kagawa. Her writing, her characters, her worlds have all been elements that I connect with. First, I can't believe it took me this long to read this story, but second books scare me. Especially when you enjoyed the first book so much.

Okay, on with the review.

Yumeko seems different in this book. But not in a negative way. The attention and focus has shifted with Soul of the Sword, so naturally, a story tends to bring different details and elements to the forefront.

But wow, the quest for this book? Whew. Literally slaying a doozy of a boss. Without saying too many spoilers, the amount of bravado that these characters each had to display were heart-wrenching. But they all banded together the only way they knew how. And I loved that. Sure, there is a standout hero, but I love all of the sidekicks and smaller characters.

Especially a certain two.

I can't wait to read the next book!