Thank You very much to the publisher – HarperCollins for the review copy.
ISBN13: 978-0358469988
Genre: Asian Myths & Legends for Young Adults (years 12-17)
Release date: 14 04 2022
Price*:Kindle £7.99(GBP)/Paperback £8.27(GBP)
Kindle $13.99 (USD)/ Paperback $15.05 (USD)
Pages: ~ 384
My rating: It was OK.
You can get this book here:
Amazon UK
Bookshop.org
What I learned from this book: I learned about North Asian sprits…
Description of the book: In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper's daughter.
But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again.
With her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she'll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her… and perhaps never did.
How this book made me feel: North Asian culture and myths is an absolute mystery to me. It is very traditional and spiritual and such books really baffle me, including this one.
The protagonist in this novel is Miuko and this book is told mostly from her perspective. Miuko is an ordinary girl until a spirit takes over her and she is being called a monster by her father. She decides to go on an adventure and to stop the curse that is taking over her body. If the curse takes over, she will become an evil monster. During her adventures, she meets a shapeshifter Magpie and Miuko is always followed by a demon who wants her to transform and rule the world together. I liked Miuko as a protagonist, she is sweet, caring and brave. But I did not find this book easy, it has a lot of North Asian Gods and demons in the book and it was hard to remember who was who.
The book's first half did not impress me; I found it slow, and filled with repetitive thoughts, and it took me a while to get into it. The book's second half was more entertaining, and I enjoyed the events more. The narrative was missing excitement, and suspense and the romance was pretty weak for a fantasy book. The topics discussed in this book were a sense of community, bravery, mythical creatures, friendship and family relationships, looking for yourself and more.
The setting of this book was very exotic for me, I liked the world that was created in this novel. The writing style of this book was very poetic and it is obvious that the author knows her way with words. The chapters have medium length but sometimes I was struggling because some of the chapters were quite empty and dull. I enjoyed the ending of the book, I think it rounded this novel very well.
So, to conclude, it was not an easy read for me. Even though it has a great writing style, the characters and the plot lacked intrigue, adventure and romance. Maybe it was just me because I do lack knowledge about North Asian Gods and Demons. I hope you will give this book a go and will enjoy it more than I did. 🙂
Thanks for your time! ❤
About the author: Traci Chee is the New York Times bestselling author of The Reader Trilogy; National Book Award finalist and Printz honoree, We Are Not Free; and the YA standalone fantasies Kindling and National Book Award longlist title, A Thousand Steps into Night. An all-around word geek, she loves book arts and art books, poetry and paper crafts, though she also dabbles at egg painting, gardening, and hosting game nights for family and friends. She lives in California with her fast dog.
Website: tracichee.com / Instagram: @tracicheeauthor / Facebook: @TraciCheeAuthor / Twitter (X): @tracichee
*-The price was taken from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on the current date. The price might change at the time of your purchase. The links used in this post for book purchases are affiliates.
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