Monday, November 13, 2017

Review: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Series: Flame in the Mist #1
Publication Date: May 16th 2016
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 
Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace.

The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

My Rating
4/5 stars

My Review
Flame in the Mist was an absolutely wonderful read. It has a strong heroine, lots of action, a great romance and fantastic world building.

Mariko was born a girl, and because of that the only thing she's good for is to be married off to make strong alliances for her parents. As Mariko is travelling to her betrothed's palace, her carriage is ambushed and all the men killed. Lucky enough to survive the brutal murder, Mariko is alone in the forest, and nothing can be worse than an unprotected girl, vulnerable to whomever finds her first, which is exactly why Mariko choses to cut her hair, steal clothes off a dead man, and set off on her own adventure to find out exactly who tried to kill her.

I absolutely love Mariko and her personality. She is definitely one of the best characters I've seen this year. She's a feminist in a wold where being a feminist is a bad thing, but she is one anyways. I love that she knows herself so well, she's not afraid to follow her heart and I truly admire her. 

I really liked most of the side characters. They were all very different and unique, each character brought something to the story that just made it so much better. I definitely had favourites over the others, but I don't want to spoil anything so I wont be saying who.

One of my favourite things about this book was that it never got boring, there was action from the very first few chapters and as the story went on there was just so much that made you want to keep reading. The world building was also amazing. We get to see a lot of different landscapes and every time, the descriptions are so clear that you can just picture the scene as if it was playing out for you. I loved it.

Overall, I can't tell you enough how amazing this book was. The mystery was great, the world building was fantastic as well, and the romance and character development was superb. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

2 comments:

  1. Great review. I really enjoyed Flame in the Mist. I can't wait for its sequel to be released. I loved Mariko and her personality too. She would not bow down to a society that only saw women as a trading coin for strong alliances.

    Happy readings! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes ! I loved that about her so much.
      It is so refreshing to see young feminists in such a time period.
      thanks for visiting :)

      Delete

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