Even better than the first installment of this trilogy, this book continues the quest to protect the portions of the scrolls and return the Kage Demon Slayer. Many pieces of the puzzle fall into place and new questions arise, making this sequel a fast-moving and action-packed nail-biter. I loved the relationships that begin forming in this book and the more complex character development. The end was unexpected and an interesting twist.

I know I say this a lot, but Kagawa's book is a competent work of fantasy. My reading experience ended up being colored by my inexperience; I had thought this was a standalone or the start to a series, and was surprised to discover after about half of the first chapter that it was neither. I went ahead and finished this book, but ... I messed up, and that's on me, not Kagawa. Her prose is clean and the plot moves along apace, and she has inflected her universe with some historical notes that will be familiar to many lovers of anime and manga. I am not well-positioned to comment on her usage of these, although I found myself happy to see a lovely queer relationship develop over the course of the novel, and this makes me hopeful that Kagawa is working on solid representation on other fronts I'm less familiar with. I think there's a lot still left to do in this series, both in respect to developing that LGBT relationship into something more nuanced and well-rounded as well as regards the book's overall plot. I'll need to go back and read the first book before I continue on, however ... I would not recommend starting as I did with this one.

Julie Kagawa took my poorly shredded heart in Shadow of the Fox and shredded it some more because that Ending was God Awful™ and I needed more (because I need answers!) but I had to wait for Soul of the Sword.

It was a sad day for this bookwyrm. But then we got our claws on book two! 💃💃💃

Yumeko and her friends continue their journey…
With a few more pressures, no big deal. In the first book, Yumeko is tasked to bring a piece of the dragon scroll to the Steel Feather Temple and she acquires a few companions who later become her friends. They continue with the journey, but in addition to delivering the scroll safely, they’re now tracking down Hakaimono, who has possessed Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

But Soul of the Sword was a struggle.
I don’t know if I’m disappointed in the sequel because I was excited to dive into Soul of the Sword. My body was ready for whatever Kagawa threw at me as Yumeko and her friends continue on their journey. This part of the journey is a lot darker and bloodier; Hakaimono joins forces with the Master of Demons to break free from his curse, leaving bloody paths behind him.

But I struggled a lot with the second book to Shadow of the Fox, and I don’t think my on and off reading slump helped matters. (Conveniently right when I start the book, too. Who asked you to stick your head in, slump?) Neither did my high expectations set after the first book, which kind of got shot a little into the deep end. 😔

While the first book is exciting and full of nonstop, page-turning adventure, Soul of the Sword is a far cry from that. But not exactly in a bad way, because I still enjoyed the story overall, and personally, I feel that matters more.

More focus on backstory and characters.
As much as I love an exciting book, I appreciate a book that focuses a lot on the characters. In Soul of the Sword, Kagawa focuses a lot of time on the history and the development of the characters. Most of the key characters – Yumeko, Tatsumi, Reika, Okame, Daisuke – who will be playing an important role in the final book are fleshed out throughout the sequel with a deeper story and background.

This gives us the chance to know their emotions, motives, and past experiences that will no doubt play a huge part in whatever Kagawa throws at us. While I struggled reading through this, I think it’s well worth the suffer to prepare myself for Night of the Dragon.

Soul of the Sword isn’t as exciting as Shadow of the Fox, but I’m planning on reading the third book for closure and knowing full well from Kagawa’s previous works that I will be put through agony.

Soul of the Sword began where Shadow and the Fox left off. Tatsumi has been taken over by the demon in his sword and Yumeko + crew are in search of the Steel Feather temple so that they can protect the scroll.

I said in my review of Shadow of the Fox that the characters felt more like caricatures, or character archetypes, than actual people. While that improved in this novel I still had trouble caring about this cast. Aside from Yumeko and Tatsumi I could take or leave all the others. Sometimes I could also leave Tatsumi...

I can't pinpoint what in this series isn't working for me. It's action-packed, reminds me of a YA novel version of an anime, I like the main character despite her flaws, and I saw growth in this novel which is usually my biggest complaint for second-in-a-series books.

I think what was missing was more internal dialogue and decision making. I never really knew what a character was going to do until a choice was already made. I wanted to see each of their struggles on the page but it just wasn't there. It was a lot of we're going to do this, and then do this, because we need to! Rather than guiding the reader through why a particular decision was crucial. I just wasn't invested. Although I knew the overall stakes for the story each little thing that happened didn't feel important. Even when a character died I didn't feel anything. It just happened and I kept on reading.

Overall, I'll likely finish this series just to see what happens since I've made it this far. But this was just a so-so read.

**For more bookish stuff visit me at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

I had a really long winded, in my totally biased opinion, wonderful and insightful review written and I was about to post it when my computer crashed and it was lost forever and I don't have the will to attempt to write it again. So instead, you get the the abbreviated to the point review.

Soul of the Sword picks up immediately after book 1 Shadow of the Fox (you can read my review of that HERE ) ends, this is in no way a standalone novel but must be read in order for the story to make sense.
The powerful demon Hakaimono has escaped his thousand year imprisonment of the sword and has now taken over the body of demon slayer Kage Tatsumi. Yumeko will do anything she can to help reclaim Tatsumi's soul, even when the odds are not in her favor. With her ragtag group of friends Yumeko will brave the unknown to try and take on the the ultimate demon and hopefully try and save the world in the process.

You all know my love of everything Julie Kagawa and this was no exception. She had set the bar very high with Shadow of the Fox, it was everything I did not know I was missing in my life- including some fantastic kitsune action, which has now moved up to being one of my most favorite supernatural creatures. Well, I was a little concerned that Soul of the Sword would not be as good as what I was hoping it would, but I was so wrong. It was even better, full of action and danger, some super cool new worlds and paranormal encounters, as well as some great relationship dynamics to investigate, some I rooted for and others that surprised me in the best way. There were so many feels in this book including some hardcore angst, as well as character growth for Yumeko that I enjoyed. There was something for everyone in this nonstop adventure.

There will be more more book in the series and I just can't wait for it! The ending to this book was such a huge mess and the status of the world is uncertain, leaving me worried and on the edge of my seat. As a side note, the cover for the third book, Night of the Dragon, is just as beautiful as the first two and it is one of my most anticipated reads for 2020!

Soul of the Sword is the highly anticipated second book in the Shadow of the Fox series by Julie Kagawa, and was high on my list of anticipated reads for 2019! I am huge fan of Julie’s books, and I am always excited to read something new by her. I was completely engrossed by Shadow of the Fox when I read it last year, and I was very much looking forward to seeing where this sequel would take me. I am thrilled to tell you that this sequel was everything that I hoped it would be, and MORE!

It had been a while since I read a book by Julie Kagawa when I picked up Shadow of the Fox last year, but I devoured that book faster than expected, and after the ending in that book, it left me wanting more. So to fill the time until Soul of the Sword was released, I decided to read Julie’s Talon series, which was also great, and which revived my love for Julie’s writing. By the time Soul of the Sword was set to release, I was extremely hyped for the book, and I couldn’t wait to devour it as well.

Soul of the Sword picks up right where Shadow of the Fox left off, and I had no idea what to expect next in the story. Without giving away any spoilers, this book was a wild ride, full of twists and surprises, and I was absolutely hooked as I turned the pages. The world-building for this series is excellent, and I love that Julie describes things in a way to where I can picture it all perfectly in my mind.

Also, all of the characters that we met and loved in the first book are back again in this sequel, along with a few interesting new characters as well, and I very much enjoyed them all! I do have to say that I missed the Tatsumi that we knew from the first book, and I hope that we get to see the real him again soon. Otherwise, the characters are all great, and I love Yumeko and her crew so much.

Overall; Soul of the Sword was an excellent sequel to Shadow of the Fox, and I now can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, Night of the Dragon, which is currently set to release in April 2020. I am super curious to see where this story will go next. Fans of Julie Kagawa, or fans of fantasy stories in general, do add this awesome series to your TBR!

Okay, so this is Julie Kagawa's second book to the Shadow Fox series and OMG did I love it! Now I did go back and re-read the first book and re-read took me a lot longer than I thought it would...oops.

This book picks up shortly after the end of the first book. The goal hasn't changed, get the scroll fragment to the Steel Feather Temple and prevent the summoning of the Harbinger of Change, a powerful kami dragon who will grant a single wish to the mortal person who holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. Yumeko, a kitsune, was tasked to this journey by the monks of her temple before their downfall in the last book.

Yumeko's protector in the first book, Kage Tatsumi is the boy who was hand selected to carry the cursed sword with the soul of the great demon Hakaimono trapped inside it. He was unfortunately been overtaken by the demon at the end of the last book. Hakaimono now possesses Tatsumi's body and joins the Master of Demons, Genno who wants the Scroll for himself. Tatsumi is trapped in his own body, able to see and hear everything that is happening around him, but unable to stop Hakaimono.

This book really picks up the pace from the last book. Yumeko and her remaining companions are in a race to get to the Steel Feather Temple, before Hakaimono does, so they can make sure the scroll piece is safe. The problem is, the Shadow Clan seems intent on getting in their way...and helping them. Nothing like seeing the factions of a clan split between people who want Tatsumi saved (for their own gain, not his benefit) and those who want him killed for being possessed (again, for their own gain and not to save his soul).

Yumeko is the force behind the plot of this book. She's the one who gets them all out of various situations. She's the one who took her vow to free Tatsumi at any cost to heart. But she's also the one who realizes that she has to keep her other promises too. Clever Yumeko makes it happen, mostly...

Soul of the Sword is an excellent read, with a quick pace, multiple points of view, a few unexpected twists, and a gripping plot-line. I will be recommending this series to any person willing to listen.

Wow! I seriously can’t wait for book three. That ending has me waiting for both my birthday and a chance to have the book in my hands already. I really hope the ending is really worth the wait like the first two books.
All the magic is present in Book 2 just like in the first book.
Thank you netgalley for giving me a chance to read it and review

I can't believe it took me so long to read this book.

I absolutely loved it. Now I can't wait for the next book to release in 2020. Hopefully I can manage to snag it early through NetGalley.

Without giving too much away, my favorite character in this book changed. I now am totally enamored with Daisuke-san and Okame-san. Their banter over the course of this book made for great comic relief in what is otherwise a very dark part of the story.

As always, Julie Kagawa's writing is superb. Her characterization and world building are top notch. If you enjoyed Shadow of the Fox, then don't hesitate to pick this one up. You're only punishing yourself by waiting.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No idea how many times I've started and put down Soul of the Sword but it was a lot. Not because it was boring or I was bored.. but because of work. Not putting all the blame on that but I really had zero time to fully commit to this within one sitting. Just kind of had to stick this one out to see how it was going to end. Boy, I wasn't disappointed one bit.

This book and my ship gave me life! I can't tell you how much I geeked out over a certain scene but I was so in love with everything. Even if it took me 84 years to complete this thing. The only thing I would change if I re-read this (which I totally will) is to reread book 1 then this.. and whenever book 3 comes out. So basically a binge sesh is needed next time around. Hopefully not in September.

Other than that, without spoiling anything, I love Yumeko and her freaking fox magic. I want more - lots and lots more. Or I will be disappointed for sure. Bring it on!

I was so excited to read this book. I am a complete fan of both this author and Shadow of the Fox. Both the first and second book included all the elements I look for in a story. The imagery was wonderful and the writing just has a way of drawing you in. I really enjoyed this story but I do think that the story got a bit slow at points. I love Tatsumi and Yumeko and can’t wait to see more of them in the third book but I do wish there were more adventures. That’s what I loved so much about the first book.
The Japanese mythology in this story is very interesting and nice to read about. The writing is very smooth and easily visualized. I started this series because I love Japanese mythology and was over joyed to see a book with Kitsunes, a little bit of romance, and action. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to seeing what’s next


I was able to read this because of Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada) - Inkyard Press.

This is a wonderful continuation of the Shadow of the Fox series. This is a trilogy so this is the second book. Please read the first before continuing on. We follow Yumeko, our fearless half kitsune main character, as she continues her travels to escort the scroll of the hidden village. Once again, this is a very mythical japan story and shows off a lot of the old myths found in Japanese culture. I definitely recommend this book for any nerd or anime lover, this would fit right up your alley.

I received an ARC of this title and hadn’t read the original so I had to go back to find out what I was getting into and BOY was I mad I never picked up this book before.

It did not take long to get suckered into the second book not long after I put the first one down—I COULD NOT STOP READING!

Kagawa has an ability to make her worlds into a reality. The characters breathe their lives into you and make you want to immerse yourself even more into the world of souls. I flipped the pages (I really didn’t, it was on kindle) so fast that I felt the fire under my fingertips as I went. I couldn’t stop reading and delving more into the history of each character that flowed along with Kagawa’s words. I felt the danger and the darkness—along with the magic as I went through the story and didn’t want to come out of it when I was called.

I used to be more into and in love with Japanese culture but as time went on, I lost a lot of time to be able to understand/love what I once did. However, upon reading these novels I once again fell head over heels for Japanese culture, mythology, and folklore. It was like I never left my love behind and was within my passion. The journey through learning more about the cultures and magic within this book was exquisite and can make anyone a believer/a lover of this history. It is something that I would suggest to any student of mine who wants something challenging and different then the atypical books they pull from my shelves.

I certainly enjoyed being thrown for a little bit of a twist with the romance that flowed from the supporting characters and was more then welcome with the dark twists and turns coming from the plot. It was refreshing to see something so simple yet so evoking within such a book that often makes you wonder where it was the whole time you’ve been reading.

** I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and it did not influence my review in any way**

“ Soul of the Sword” is the highly anticipated, second installment in the Shadow of the Fox series. I am not even going to get into what occurs in this book. I don’t want to spoil anything! What I will say is that Julie Kagawa has such a way with worldbuilding as well as words. I was transported right into the pages of this book. The characters were in-depth. It was slow in certain parts and It is darker than part one. Overall, I really liked it and can’t wait for part three.

Actual rating: 4.5 Stars

* I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I absolutely loved this book! Just about as much as I loved the first one. I was a big fan of anime/mangna when I was younger, and I had a fun time imagining all of the scenes written by Julie. On a side note, Julie Kagawa has yet to write something I haven't adored. This was no exception. I loved the characters, the story, the setting, the ENDINGGGG!! I am obsessed and can't recommend this series enough.

Thank you NetGalley for this copy in response for an honest review!

This is a worthy second installment in this series full of action and beautiful imagery. It didn't suffer at all from the second book slump and set up for a great conclusion. That cliff hanger though!

This was so good! The premise and plot are unique, and the writing style is amazing! Highly recommend.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I read the first book for this series and posted a review for this last year. This continued my love for the books. I am ready for the third book in the trilogy. That does not come out until March of next year. It kind of had me wondering about spirits or beings being trapped in objects in this case it is a sword. I have all kind of feeling about this book and I love the Japanese Mythology that is in this series. I love flowing the journey of the characters.

Idk what I was expecting but it wasn't that and it was GREAT. So unexpected in so many ways and I'm thrilled. Really fantastic follow up and also I want this turned into an Anime ASAP.

The sequel to Shadow of the Fox, Soul of the Sword follows our heroine Yumeko, a half-kitsune girl, as she tries to save her friends, save the world, and, well, not die. And I really like it.

Starting directly at the end of book one, Yumeko and her questing party (a monk, a priestess, a noble, and a dishonored samurai) are off to both protect a sacred and dangerous artifact and try to save their previous party member, the demonslayer, who has been taken over by the demon inside his sword. You know, as you do. It sounds ridiculous, but the ramp up from book one just keeps moving straight into book two, and I am beside myself that I need to wait for months before I can get to the finale.

Yumeko is a great character - a fun combination of naive and educated, trickster and absolute sweetheart. I love her. And while we get a couple chapters from other's points of view, Yumeko is undoubtedly the center.

If you are a fan of Japanese mythology, you should definitely pick this series up. Just maybe wait until book three is out so you don't go absolutely insane waiting...