Book Review: “Shadow of The Fox” (Shadow of the Fox #1) by Julie Kagawa

“Shadow of The Fox” by Julie Kagawa (2018)

Genre: YA, Fiction, Fantasy

Page Length: 409 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself. 

Review:

Set in ancient Japan Shadow of the Fox follows main character, Yumeko (half-fox/half-human) sen on a quest to retrieve an ancient scroll after her temple home is burned to the ground. Right from the beginning, I was hooked by the setting of a feudal era Japan.It  gave me some definite Inuyasha and Samurai Champloo vibes (solid anime shows that you should definitely watch). I love adventure fantasy stories and this one is intriguing from the lush settings of the mountains, to demons lurking out at every corner, and two leads that are hiding secrets from each other.

What drew me to this novel is the folklore aspect. I enjoy reading tales of faraway lands and magic. This story has so many good fantasy aspects: a cursed sword, demon slayers, monsters, mystic shrines, and more. I was never bored and the story is constantly shifting. There were some plot twists that caught me off guard while reading!

Though Yumeko is naive at the beginning of the novel readers start to see her grow in knowledge of the world and feel more confident in her skills. She sees the world is cruel and harsh, but tries to find the positive in everything despite the obstacles the group faces. She ultimately acts a motivator to keep the groups spirits up. On the other hand, Tatsumi learns to trust others despite his upbringings in the shadow clan. Yumeko proves to a good influence on him and helps him realize that he is more than the tool he was designed to be in his clan .Slight beginnings of romance starts to develop between the two out of friendship, but the story is not too heavy on the romance.

Kagawa’s descriptive writing throws the reader into the story and readers will feel as if the are experiencing the character’s journey as their own. I enjoyed the rag-tag adventure aspect of the novel and how the quests pull people from all different walks of life. I liked each of character for different reasons and together they make a good traveling group. It’s a more intense adventure book, but it also has some light humor in between action-packed fights.

I’m hooked by the first book and the open ending has me excited for the next chapter of the story. I can’t wait for book two!

Final Verdict: