Soul of the Sword picks up where Shadow of the Fox ends off, with the consequences of the final battle between the main characters and Hakaimono. This book follows the remaining characters' trek to the Steel Feather Temple, to retrieve the other piece of the scroll, and to save Tatsumi.

This book was a lot more action-packed than the last one, which had a lot of travelling interludes. I will say that Kagawa completely upped her scene-writing for fights, and I like that she didn't shy away from including the blood and gore from these fights. It's not horribly graphic, but makes a good difference in the atmosphere of the scene and novel as a whole. I really think she has talent in writing more horror-oriented stories, so I'm pleased to see that explored here.

The story had a few plot twists I hadn't expected - I was worried some storylines might go a generic, unoriginal route, but I will say I was overall happy with how the book progressed. The resolution of the Tatsumi/Hakaimono issue was especially good, and I'm looking forward to how it's further explored in the sequel! The villain who has been teased in the last two books is finally now an actual villain, and the stakes for the next book are even higher, so I am excited to see what happens next!

One minor issues I had was with Okame, who can't seem to go one sentence without reminding readers that he's a "dirty ronin dog." The self-deprecation gets tiresome after a while. I also didn't love a romance between two side characters. Though the story is told through limited first-person narration of several characters, these two particular characters don't get a POV. As such, "discovering" their romance through another character who literally stumbles upon it felt awkward. The characters themselves barely had any chemistry or interactions, which made their romance feel very forced.

Overall, I think this was a great sequel and I want the next book!

The story picks up pretty much right where the first book ended: The powerful demon Hakaimono has broken free of the cursed sword, Kamigoroshi, which held his soul for thousands of years, and possessed the demonslayer, Kage Tatsumi. With her protector and friend now gone, half-Kitsune Yumeko, must continue her quest of delivering part of the ancient Dragon Scroll to the elusive Steel Feather temple in order to stop the summoning of the great Kami Dragon who will grant the wish of whomever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers.

While Yumeko and her band of merry misfits--including a noble samurai, a ronin, and a shrine maiden-- rush to deliver the scroll to the temple, Hakaimono joins forces with the Master of Demons in order to break the curse on the sword and finally set him free for good. To do so, the pair must retrieve the Scroll first. As Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi paths continue to cross, Yumeko vows to save Tatsumi's soul and banish Hakaimono before their land is plunged into darkness forever.

I really enjoy this whole story. The characters mesh and work so well together. The relationship between the group is by far my favorite thing, especially Okame and Daisuke, their banter is everything. I also really liked how you got to see a little bit more of Tatsumi's background and upbringing in the Shadow Clan. You really understand how he became the person he is and the true weight of the burden he carries. All the Japanese folklore influence is again very interesting. My only issue with this one was the same as the first, the pacing just seemed a little off. It took a bit of time before it really hit its stride, but once it did, I was fully hooked into the story. I can't wait to continue the journey and see where else the story goes from here.

Soul of the Sword picks up right where Shadow of the Fox left off. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about book 2 as I didn't love book 1 but I was pleasantly surprised. I very much enjoyed how all of the different relationships played out in this book and I am looking forward to seeing out it all ends.

This was such an intense read! It was adventurous and exciting! I enjoyed it from the very first page.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Well, this book wasn’t easy on my heart or mind. Julie Kagawa delivered yet again with this perfect little gem. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming; it really made this an enjoyable read.

Yumeko grew before the reader’s very eyes into a confident young woman who is not afraid of her powers. Tatsumi also changed, although it is uncertain if it is for the better. There were definitely some strong vibes between the two of them, and it will be interesting if there are further developments to their relationship in the final book. There was a gay couple in this story, which was nice to see.

The book was lovely, even if I was disappointed in Yumeko’s action in the final scene. The decision she made was very unlike her. I understand it was necessary to make the story flow, but it went against everything she had done throughout the first and second book. Not to mention it made for one heck of a cliffhanger!

It will be nice to gain some closure for the way things turned out in the final book, which I will definitely be requesting when it is released a year or so from now. I loved the first book in this series so much that I bought a hard copy and will likely do the same for this one. I am confident that those who read it will not be disappointed.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Julie Kagawa returns to the Shadow of the Fox trilogy with Soul of the Sword as Yumeko’s journey to deliver the final piece of the Dragon’s Prayer to the temple where it can be kept safe from demons and other evil entities that are wanting to call forth the dragon for the wish. Except now Yumeko has a new mission, one that will take her slightly off course and that is to save Tatsumi from the demon that once possessed his sword, Hakaimono, who is now possessing him.

Wow. Firstly, it’s been a very long time since I read Shadow of the Fox and even with my notes, it was hard to really remember everything that happened. But the general gist of the story remained clear to me. I feel like what’s so challenging about this series are all the names and vocabulary. I am not familiar with Japanese culture so a lot of the names and the words that came after names confused me. Of course after I finished reading I discovered there was a glossary in the back, so note to self, next time read the real book instead of the ebook!

We do still get the multiple points of view in this one and what was really interesting was getting Hakaimono’s point of view since he’s technically our villain. We get glimpses of poor Tatsumi, but those chapters were fleeting.

There was still a decent amount of action in this book as the demons are all over the place and all are gunning to find the pieces of the prayer meant to call forth the Dragon. Time is of the essence since the time to recite the prayers is drawing closer and closer.

Again, I will admit, that despite adoring Julie’s books, this one was tough for me. A lot had to do with the vocabulary that was unfamiliar to me and not knowing there was a glossary in back—cursed be the ebook—I think if I had known it was there and how to easily access that with the kindle, I might have done a lot better in reading comprehension with this one. But alas, you live and learn…then get the real book! Lol.

I still enjoyed this one despite the struggles I had. I really enjoyed the characters. Julie is phenomenal when it comes to characters. I feel like there’s a little bit of Puck in Okame and maybe even a little bit of Ash in Tatsumi. That’s just my impression of course; it’s int eh little things that they do and their mannerisms. Okame is a riot! I love that dude! These characters continued to grow and develop along their journey and I was taken by surprise more than once with them. I’ll be eager to see what challenges they will face in the final stage of this series.

All in all, despite my own struggles with Soul of the Sword, it was still a pretty enjoyable one. I think next time I will be sure to wait for the final copy to come out so that way, I can easily refer to the glossary in back and ease the confusing parts that occasionally pop up. I am also eager to see what will happen after that earth-shattering conclusion! Let it be said that Julie knows how to delight and agonize her readers!


Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars


Soul of the Sword releases June 18, 2019

Shadow of The Fox wasn’t my favorite book I read this year, it was an overwhelming amount of world building and characters in such a short amount of time.

This however, is very different. I’m already aware of a lot of the secrets of this world, the places, the people, and I was able to immediately dive in and be hooked on the story.

We jump in immediately after Kage Tatsumi is trapped back into the sword and our group is deciding what to do next.

This time around we have POV chapters from Yumeko, Tatsumi, Suki, and Hakaimono.

I absolutely adore Yumeko and loved seeing how her Kitsune side is explored a lot more in this book now that she’s not hiding it quite as much. We get to see more illusions, dream traveling, and a few mischievous tricks that are all absolutely incredible. The fact that her magic isn’t appreciated in this world is truly a shame because it is truly a miraculous gift.
I also really loved seeing more of Yumeko’s complete obliviousness to most human interactions. Her confusion at metaphors, expressions, and human subtly are adorable and hilarious. There’s also quite a few instances of sexual innuendos and Yumeko just sits there wondering “why is everyone’s faces turning red” and it’s brilliant. I can’t imagine there were any moments like that in he childhood surrounded by monks…

Our hero’s journey continues as they travel to the home of the Shadow Clan and to the Steel Feather temple, and of course, encountering quite a few obstacles along the way.

On the other end, we have the adorable ghost Suki. I just really adore Suki, she’s so innocent and wonderful. She’s now traveling with a mysterious old man and a one eyed Oni boy who has visions. They’re very much interested in the trials of Yumeko and the gang as they themselves travel to a few new places. We slowly learn a bit more about these new companions of Suki’s but there are still SO MANY unanswered questions. Whoever that old man is, he has some seriously powerful and terrifying connections that will leave you thinking there’s worse things out there than Hakaimono…

There’s also a new villain, one that shakes up the story in ways that I never could have dreamed up, and an adorable precious romance. (I won’t go into further detail because I don’t want to give away spoilers, but both storylines are incredible)

This book was a lot more action packed than the first one, partially do to Yumeko awakening more of her power, and also because the villains are a little more tangible than they previously were. The last third of this book was pretty much non-stop action and doing, with a whole bunch of twists that I didn’t expect.
There was one part in particular where I got REALLY angry at the direction the book had turned, so much so that I put it down, only to discover later that everything I believed was wrong and another huge twist took the story in a completely different direction.

And of course, we’re once again left on a HUGE CLIFFHANGER, with the events unfolding into near impossible circumstances, and a big secret finally revealed (partially anyway).

This book was everything missing from Shadow of The Fox. It was a true but original hero’s quest, and I loved all the new villains, species, and moments.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love how this story incorporates many elements of Japenese folklore. It's a story about a Kitsune shapeshifter who has to take a powerful scroll to a temple in order to protect the summoning of the Harbinger of Change.

The characters are really well developed. There is internal conflict as well as external conflict. The writing does everything justice, the world building, characters, and conflicts were all well written.

There were so many elements incorporated into this and yet everything works together to create a wonderful fantasy world. There's action and adventure in this book as well as romance. There's sword fighting and magic. There's demons and monsters and of course, our heroic protagonist to defeat them. This book has everything a YA book should have. The characters were amazing and the world was too, featuring both fantasy and adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC.

This was another great installment of Kagawa magic. The development of characters is well woven into the world Empire of Iwagoto. Yumeko and her band of ill fated friends make this adventure so easy to fall into and cheer aloud. At first I thought that this book would suffer from “second book syndrome” and only be the bridge to a hopefully great ending. After a slow start to recollect all the players and get the action moving the story does not disappoint. I cannot wait for the next book.

#SouloftheSword
If you havent read Julie Kagawa by now, I truly don't know what' wrong with you. Her writing and imagery are excellent! The plots and characters are completely unforgettable. Shadow of the Fox series is an amazingly captivating mythology tale that takes you deep into the Japanese culture. This is the second book in a trilogy. Read the first one before reading this one.

Omg! I could not wait to get this new book by Julie Kawaga. I have been a fan since her Iron Fey series. I love this new story because of the Japanese myth/ folklore in it. I have always been a fan of retellings of myths, so a plus on this new series. I also could not believed that I like this sequel more than the first book, usually sequels leave me wanting more from them. In this book the heroine Yumeko begins her search for Hakaimono the sword demon who has possess Tatsumi. This is just the beginning of all the tribulations that our heroes must deal with throughout the story. I love that Yukemo strength grows so much throughout this book, without being limited by others beliefs. We also learned more about Tatsumi, which just made me love him more!

Soul of the Sword was everything I wanted it to be. When I come into a Harlequin Teen (now Inkyard Press) book, I am looking for romantic tension.

I love recommending their books to readers who like angsty, rife with tension, romance, whether it is the whole plot or a subplot. In typical fashion, they delivered.

This book picks up where the last one left off, Tatsumi has fallen to Hakaimono, the first Oni, the demon who had been trapped in the sword Kamigoroshi for hundred of years, and he is ready to experiment with his freedom.

Yumeko still has a piece of the dragon scroll and there are many forces out there who plan on retrieving them and asking the dragon for their wish to be granted. She is still denying her feelings for Tatsumi, but now she is struggling with guilt over the fact his last thoughts before falling were of her.

THIS IS THE EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MELODRAMA I ENJOY.

I found myself racing through the story. At times it can feel very commercial and cheesy. With dialogue and scene blocking that can feel right out of a soap opera, but I dont think it takes away from the charm. The tension still lands, the need to know what happens next never disappears.

The company travelling with Yumeko sort of fell to the wayside for me in this one, only a few had some plot of their own going down, and it didnt seem to have nearly the chemistry and tension of Yumeko/Tatsumi. Honestly, outside of those two I didnt find much interesting with her friends. I enjoyed seeing more of Hakaimono and his history of relationships with other characters. I like two bad guys fighting over who gets to be the most bad. It was appealing in the race to the end.

Ultimately I was very satisfied with the ending. I liked what ended up happening and it has made me very anxious for the next one. This is a great read for those who enjoy fantasy Asian dramas, those who like the dangerous vampire tension of will they wont they kill me, and anyone who enjoys some angsty romance.

I enjoyed this next installment—but didn’t love it the way I loved the first book. Let me elaborate: in between the amazing plot points were moments of slow pacing, lots of information shared (sometimes more than once! This happened when a character would recount learned info to another character who wasn’t present the first time the info was revealed). I confess that I sped read to get to the amazing parts, which truly made the book shine! I LOVE the romance between our main character and the brooding warrior, now possessed by a demon. I loved the found family trope in this story, and each character has so many rich details and they all have distinct voices.

I’ll very happily read the next installment because I’m desperate for more time with Okame, sassy ronin.

This was a toss us between a three and four star rating but it played into one of my biggest pet peeves which sealed its fate with a lesser rating.

“Soul of the Sword” finds our group dealing with the fallout of book 1 where the demon was released from the sword and possessing Tatsumi. Swearing to rescue him at whatever cost, Yumeko vows to follow Hakaimono to the ends of the Earth all the while learning to embrace her Kitsune magic in a showdown that promises to see more than a few of our heroes meet a tragic end.

I really love all of the Japanese folklore and mythology that were woven into this to create a story that has the push and pull between those fantasy elements magic and the power of faith and religion when it comes demon lore. It was also a lot of fun to see the world expand as the group traveled to save one of their own and the inner journey Yumeko took to truly discover what all she could accomplish without the limitations that were drilled into her during her time at the temple.

We also learn a lot more of what went into breaking and reshaping Tatsumi into someone who could wield the sword and how his bond with Yumeko affected that responsibility as the two try to find their way back to each other without suffering at the hand of a demon hellbent on reclaiming his own identity.

My biggest issue with this book belongs to the dialogue. Each character fits perfectly within the narrative except the thousand year old demon who talks like I do for a good portion of the book. It always takes me out of the story when a mythological character is described as being the oldest or the most terrifying and in this case both of these things and yet they talk like a regular person.

Overall this is a good read and it sets up an exciting dynamic and additional conflict for the final book in the series and it will be interesting to see how our favorites navigate these new challenges and if they were right in warning that no heroes get a happy ending.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I received a copy of Soul of the Sword from Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada) through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was superb. It has everything! Ghosts, demons, and forbidden romance.
I really enjoyed the mythology and the characters.
It's the second book in the series but I had no problem following what was going on.
I am Really looking forward to the third book!

I love this series so much and this book is no exception!!! I feel like I’m cast into a manga world with all the best elements. There’s not enough Japanese inspired books out there and this series does not disappoint.

I just love this fantasy story! Ever since I got a physical arc of this last year I have been addicted! Cannot wait for the next book :) 4.5*

Wow! I think I like this one even more than the first.

There were quite a few battle sequences that were very bloody. Especially the ones with the demon. It was really intense. I loved it.

I really like this world. It's interesting and fun to read about. The character building was pretty good as well! The story is well told and despite a bit of a slow start for me, the end was worth it.

However, Yumeko is supposed to be clever, and the book lets you know that quite a few times. To the point of where it could almost be a teeny bit annoying. But in the end, I still like her character. It did sometimes seems like things worked out very conveniently. These things did not detract too much from my overall enjoyment.

There are mysteries still left for us to pick up on. I have a lot of questions that are waiting to be answered!

I really love this series so i was so excited to be able to read the sequel early. This book did not disappoint and i would encourage everyone to read this series and other books by this author!

I love the poetic story telling, the world building, the characters, and was so pleased to receive an ARC to find out what Yumeko is up to next.