Blog Tour: Soul of the Sword

Soul of the Sword 

Rating: 5/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has one task: to take her piece of the ancient and powerful scroll to the Steel Feather temple in order to prevent the summoning of the Harbinger of Change, the great Kami Dragon who will grant one wish to whomever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. But she has a new enemy now. The demon Hakaimono, who for centuries was trapped in a cursed sword, has escaped and possessed the boy she thought would protect her, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

Hakaimono has done the unthinkable and joined forces with the Master of Demons in order to break the curse of the sword and set himself free. To overthrow the empire and cover the land in darkness, they need one thing: the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos. 

If you read my reviews I'm sure you guys are well aware that I completely and utterly loved Shadow of the Fox when it came out. I love Julie Kagawas' books anyway, but the storytelling was rich, the world building was thorough and I was living for all of the Japanese mythology and yokai. Of course it had a fantastic ending that left me wanting more and Soul of the Sword has been one of my most anticipated sequels, I can seriously say that it didn't disappoint me at all, although it did go off in a direction I wasn't entirely expecting! 

Soul of the Sword is not here to play around. We kick off with an intense reveal, and we're immediately tossed straight back in to the world thanks to the cinematic writing that effectively pulls you back in like you'd never been away. There's a delicious amount of background on the Kage aka the Shadow Clan, and the demon sword Kamigoroshi as well as the demon Hakaimono, adding some more threads to the mystery to intrigue you. 

Yumeko is determined to save Tatsumi because she blames herself but I feel like she continues to grow as a character at a nice pace. She's learning more about her feelings, and how she feels about Tatsumi. She's also learning more about her powers and what she can do and she really gets to let loose with them, showing a slightly differing side of herself. Okame is still as snarky and hilarious as ever but we get to see a slightly more vulnerable side to him...I just wish he didn't beat himself up so much about stuff. Daisuke is forever calm and collected and I love him and Reika is the grumpy badass. I just love them together, and the banter and interactions they have, and how loyal they are to Yumeko and determined to protect her and get her to the temple. 

POV wise we get to see Suki again, we obviously get Yumeko's and we get Hakaimono as well as Tatsumi although we don't get to see Tatsumi much this book, obviously. I wasn't really expecting to get Hakaimono's perspective but I kind of liked him? Like sure he's an evil demon, but his narrative was on point with the snark and sarcasm and general bad guy aura he exudes. He's kind of bloodthirsty but he's also badass, I don't know. I guess I just appreciate a good villainous narrative, especially when there's the opportunity for said villain to perhaps become one of the team. 

Like I said, Suki is still floating around as well and she gives us some insights in to the super mysterious Seigetsu and his little yokai pal Taka. I'm honestly not too sure what to make of him to be honest, I was hoping he wasn't shady but I was so untrusting of him. Shout out to him for all the ominous visions because of course I got attached to the character who's apparently going to die. Love that for me. 

While we didn't get to see Tatsumi as much this book we still got some of his past, and when he does make his return and get some interactions with Yumeko they of course pulled at my heart because I just want him to be happy okay. His background and his narrative just punch me in the heart every time. For those of you who love some romance, don't worry though, there's a side ship that pops up and I have to say...I ship it with my whole chest. I wasn't expecting it but I loved it, it added a nice dash of romance to proceedings along with a little bit of dread and angst considering the previously mentioned ominous visions. It's also nicely slotted in via the narratives we do have, with no additional narrative needed and I feel like it helps Yumeko with her own feelings and understanding of emotions. Either way....the new ship had me screeching and it's now my favourite! 

The rich storytelling and writing continues on from the first book, saturated with lush descriptions as well as legends and stories that pull you in and have you clearly envisioning the world and settings. It also gives you a thirst for more of the mythology! While Yumeko and co are held up by the Shadow Clan and there's some intrigue with the in-fighting amongst them, we have a more action and adventure vibe with Hakaimono and Suki. Of course everyone's narratives give us huge doses of mythology, yokai and Yurei nicely woven in and I'm just in love with the storytelling for this book! 

Although I will say, I feel like their talk of ballads and the whole 'anything less than the heroes giving their lives for honour, duty, sacrifice and the glory of the Empire' not being much of a story at all is a warning for how this series is going to end, it hit me with the biggest sense of foreboding. 

The plot once again builds up slowly with huge quest vibes, but these do mostly come from the other POVs than Yumeko for the most part, and Seigetsu provides magic and mystery to Hakaimono's blood and death. While the plot builds up more and more we've got banter, bonding and camaraderie along with imaginative, vivid and magical locations brought to life with the atmospheric and beautiful writing. The storytelling is fantastic, it sets a certain tone for the book and helps to draw you in, embellishing the world as it goes and then towards the end the pace builds up and we've got shock plot twists once again that leave you screaming for the next book! There's also been some very interesting developments for one character, a shadowy figure has been revealed and it all looks a little bit dire!