Book Review

Seven Deadly Shadows (Expected Publication Day: January 28th, 2020)

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.

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My Thoughts…

Engaging, exciting YA Fantasy with genuine cultural authenticity!

Hey there fellow Book Dragons!

I am so excited to share this review with all of you because it’s been a while since I’ve come across a book, I found to be this unique in such a very large market.

Imagine your favourite manga for me. Now, blend it with extremely well-written, well researched urban fantasy and beautiful Japanese traditions and mythology. Sounds like a lot right? I promise you, this book has it all and then some.

The pacing of Seven Deadly Shadows is a little slower than your average YA book, the build-up more purposeful, but I found it also to be more realistic in the sense that our heroine is not instantly brave, nor does she possess the skills to take down the bad guys right from the first confrontation. She learns and trains, which to me, made her journey from school girl to bad ass demon slayer, so much more authentic. Tricky for fantasy but it works very well.

The Japanese culture is already one that I find fascinating. From the country’s rich history and traditional values, to it’s mythological gods and modern sensibilities. Naturally, a book that seamlessly blends all of these things was a no-brainer for me, and I loved it!

The characters are colourful and entertaining and the plot is exciting! I honestly couldn’t put it down! Even though the the story is more of an epic journey than a race, the explosive ending is action-packed, bloody, and fun! I adored Kira, and Shiro is just adorable! He’s also pretty bad ass himself. Seriously, every character has something special to offer.

Seven Deadly Shadows is a riveting, one-of-a-kind story and I’m thrilled tomorrow is release day because I can’t wait for people to read this book so I can start blabbing about it without risk of spoilers!

Hurry up and get a copy already! You won’t regret it!

Rating… A+

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Big thanks to Harper Collins Canda for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Courtney Alameda

Valynne E. Maetani