Soul of the Sword

Book Title: Soul of the Sword

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Shadow of the Fox #2

Date Started: April 15th 2020

Date Completed: April 17th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Historical

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

Despite my complaints about the first book in the Shadow of the Fox series, I clearly didn't hate it because I was craving more literally the next day. Considering I'm stuck inside and out of work, why not? Ultimately, it comes down to this: they're not the best written, but hell if these books aren't entertaining and exciting - like actually exciting. And that's commendable.

I have the same pet peeves with the writing style as the first book (too direct, flippant, messy), but the characters were way better this time round. Things felt more weighty as a result, and I could take it all a bit more seriously. Maybe their motivations are clearer, maybe they've been given more layers, but whatever the reason, I didn't want to hit them every time they said something in their head because it was so stupid.

Soul of the Sword is a less explorative of Japanese mythology than its predecessor; it uses a more common YA situation and plot. A lot less happens. Well, not much happens at all, in fact. I wouldn't say it's fallen victim to filler book syndrome, but perhaps there were two things that Kagawa needed to happen in the middle of the series and she built up what she could around that. That's totally fine if you're marathoning the series like me, but I could see myself getting frustrated with it if I was reading at a normal pace.

If you read my previous review, you'll maybe remember me saying that I would rather not have the love angst. Yeah, I didn't get my wish - and you can just tell that isn't going to change in the last book. Brooding male love interests are just boring at this point - if they were ever interesting. I also notice that YA seems very quick to defend men being assholes by revealing a long tragic past, and then letting them be not very nice with is... something to note. In all fairness, Tatsumi is certainly a mild instance of this, but if Yumeko doesn't have words with him in Night of the Dragon, I'll have something to say about all this.

Look, I blazed through Soul of the Sword, and I think I'll just go straight to the last one (since that was actually the book I was given for free to review). My expectations are a little mixed, but I'm sure it'll be entertaining for a few hours and that's all I'm asking for.