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The Legend of Akikumo

Dani Hoots (Goodreads Author)

3.02 · Rating details · 42 ratings · 30 reviews

Ketsueki would give anything to find out why her mentor Akikumo, the last wolf in Japan, abandoned her. He left her with other kitsune at the Inari Shrine, but she doesn’t fit in. And now the other kitsune are bullying her and saying Akikumo is dead.

After causing trouble for the hundredth time, the Inari, instead of punishing her, has given Ketsueki a task: she must find o ...more

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Published September 15th 2020 by FoxTales Press

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Japan-related YA Fiction

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Aug 11, 2020 Paddy Pikala rated it it was ok

It's a book that follows Ketsueki, a fox spirit, investigating the disappearance of her mentor.

I was skeptical at first. It seemed like a book by an American author a bit too fascinated by anime and manga.

The first thing that struck (and irritated) me was all the romaji dropping. Never have I ever seen a translator leaving words like "ara ma" or "baka" in the translated text, so I see no reason why anyone would put them in a book inspired by the Japanese culture. I understand the use of words l ...more

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Aug 08, 2020 CR rated it it was amazing

Let's talk about this cover!! OMG this cover is so gorgeous! The characters were amazing and the story was just beautiful. I hope to get more from this author in the future. I think lovers of fantasy will dive into this one and not let it go!! ...more

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Oct 17, 2020 Jessie Sedai of the Black Ajah🥀🐍 rated it did not like it

This was really difficult to get through.

It reads like a middle grade and has a ridiculous amount of Japanese terms with zero context. I felt like I was reading a testing exam rather than enjoying a book. The characters were flat and the narrative felt like it was plucked from a slow-paced, forgettable slice of life anime.

This one was unfortunately a miss for me.

Thank you to netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Aug 30, 2020 Natalie rated it did not like it

I love japanese-themed books and therefore had some hope for this one. It reminded me a lot of “Wicked Fox” by Kat Cho (even if that's a Korean-themed world) when I first read the synopsis. But where Wicked Fox does it right, The Legend of Akikumo does it all wrong.

The writing style is so bad. I hated every word I read and it was a torture to finish this book. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the attempt to force more and more random japanese words into every sentence made me cringe so hard. I ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Layla rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Japanese inspired story that had some good moments in it but sadly was just missing it's golden nugget of authenticity.

The author, like myself, is a huge fan of Japanese culture and their history, which shows within the story. But at times the writing style seemed a little sluggish.

I enjoyed the concept of the main character and her personality, she just needed to be a little more polished. I also enjoyed her interactions ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 Debjani Ghosh rated it really liked it

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The Legend of Akikumo opens with a flashback to a brutal incident in the past and instantly engaged my attention. It has dual timelines – one in the modern-day, and another journaling Ketsueki and Akikumo’s time with each other over a thousand years. The dual timelines were well executed.

I found the book easy to read. There is a smattering of Japanese words throughout the novel. However, after reading the glossary twice, I got the hang of the Japanese words and it was easy to foll ...more

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Sep 18, 2020 Rajiv rated it really liked it

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This was an interesting fantasy infused with Japanese culture, and I liked it!

The characters are interesting and I loved the concept of spirit animals. It was fun visualizing them in their spirit form and going on their adventures. Ketsueki is nice in the lead, and I enjoyed her scenes with Akikumo and Yamato.

Moreover, I love learning reading stories based off various cultures, and this book did a very nice job of incorporating v ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 michelle xie ✧ rated it did not like it

Shelves: 1-star, arc, read-in-2020, reviews

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, especially because I usually enjoy Japanese-inspired fantasy books. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't really get into this book. I enjoyed the first ~50 pages, I suppose, but then it couldn't grab my attention anymore. The writing felt immature and the dialogues felt stilted. The MC came off as really immature too and all the characters felt flat. I wasn' ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Phoebe rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book and found the mythology aspect to be very interesting. I also loved the use of Japanese terms as many of these lose meaning when translated into English. The flashbacks were really interesting and as a fan of Japanese history, I noted the important dates that were included. It was clear the author did a lot of research for this book and I am very impressed.

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Sep 15, 2020 April Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

*ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*
Video Review: https://youtu.be/hx2cOhi9_KE

I wanted to love this one so much. It has my aesthetic. It has my vibes. It has all the things that I really love. It just didn't quite get there.

This is the story of Ketsueki, who is one of the last kitsunes to be born in the last several hundred years. At this point, she's about 700 years old and she hasn't seen her best friend and mentor, Akikumo, for quite a long time. She's pretty confide *ARC received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*
Video Review: https://youtu.be/hx2cOhi9_KE

I wanted to love this one so much. It has my aesthetic. It has my vibes. It has all the things that I really love. It just didn't quite get there.

This is the story of Ketsueki, who is one of the last kitsunes to be born in the last several hundred years. At this point, she's about 700 years old and she hasn't seen her best friend and mentor, Akikumo, for quite a long time. She's pretty confident that he's still alive but everyone else is telling her that he's probably dead. She is sent out to go and find him and figure out what has happened. But she is not sent out alone, with the task she is accompanied by a human who has the ability to see yokai. It flips back and forth between the past when she first met Akikumo and the present where she is searching for him.

The premise of this book is fascinating. I love Japanese culture and this had a lot of that embedded in it. It was very helpful that at the beginning it had a section that explained all of the different terms and all of the different people. It was a little disconcerting at times having to flip back and forth trying to understand the terms if you don't have an understanding of Japanese culture.

The way it is written, it's marketed as YA, but it reads a bit more middle grade. The main character, while she is 700 years old, it is hard to imagine that she has those years of experience behind her. She acts very young which is why I started to get some of these middle-grade vibes. Especially with how she interacts with the human that she's a companion with and a lot of the authority figures. She's constantly demeaning humans and downgrading them into something that isn't worth it. It gets very repetitive in that mindset. It's constantly this human bashing. I sort of understand where she is coming from. She's got a lot of back history. But it's hard to get through this read when it is every other sentence or three times on one page and then three times on the next page. It gets a little grating.

A lot of characters didn't feel like they had any heart and soul. They felt very flat and they could have been switched out for anybody else. I don't think this was as developed as it could have been to really make this epic adventure in finding oneself or just giving it some kind of climactic experience. This book didn't really have that. You kind of go through and you're supposed to connect with Ketsueki and you just don't. It didn't have enough humanity in it to really build it up into a place where there was this development or there was that pull. This book was marketed as this grand adventure of figuring out what happened to her mentor, to her best friend, and it kind of got there but didn't. Yeah, there was some journey. Yeah, there was meeting some of these more monstrous yokai. But it didn't bring any passion to it and I think that's what was lacking for me in this story. I want to see more of that development. I want there to be this journey. I want to feel the journey. I just don't want to be given a bunch of words on a page that say:
- She started out here
- Some things happen
- You're supposed to feel some things because this is her backstory
- Humans are bad
- Here's the ending
That is what I feel like I got. I need to feel like I went on a journey and I can now sit down and relax. but it felt like I was driven around in a circle and dropped off on the wrong street.

There's so much going for it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and it does play with a lot of those anime and manga themes that I really like. But it felt like a slight ripoff of some of those story arcs. So would I recommend this read? Maybe not. I mean if you like reading in this genre, I mean, you might find some pieces you really truly enjoy in this read. ...more

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Sep 13, 2020 Kasey Connors-Beron rated it really liked it

I saw this cover and the summary and was hooked. I had my fingers crossed that I’d be approved for an ARC and I was! I looked at the reviews before reading (which I normally don’t do, but I’ve been burned a lot this month so far and I wanted appropriate expectations going on). The reviews were… bad. I still had hope but it was a bit tempered.

However!!! I felt like I was transported back to my anime-loving younger self! It gives me all the vibes of InuYasha, despite it being completely different ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Véronique Laplante Grenier rated it it was amazing

I have received an arc of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. What drawn me to the book first was that beautiful cover.

The legend of Akikumo is a Japanese fantasy. And I have really love this tale.

Ketsueki is a kitsune. When she was young, the village she was leaving in was attack and her parents killed. She was adopted by the last okami, a wolf, of all Japan. The story goes back and forth between past and present. As Akikumo and Ketsueki travels Japan and this one is trying to help her ...more

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Sep 25, 2020 Katrina Forest rated it really liked it

In reading Dani Hoots’ Legend of Akikumo, I was definitely reliving that feeling of settling down for a new anime series. The tone reminded me of Inuyasha meets Rurouni Kenshin–a story of a traveling outcast with a long-term goal, accented by various smaller struggles along the way.

Ketsueki is a feisty and sympathetic protagonist. Rejected by her fellow kitsune (wolf spirits), she sets off on a journey to find her long-lost mentor. While many believe him dead, she is sure he is alive, although d In reading Dani Hoots’ Legend of Akikumo, I was definitely reliving that feeling of settling down for a new anime series. The tone reminded me of Inuyasha meets Rurouni Kenshin–a story of a traveling outcast with a long-term goal, accented by various smaller struggles along the way.

Ketsueki is a feisty and sympathetic protagonist. Rejected by her fellow kitsune (wolf spirits), she sets off on a journey to find her long-lost mentor. While many believe him dead, she is sure he is alive, although doubt does threaten to drag her down from time to time. Accompanying Ketsueki is a strange human who can see yokai (spirits) like her. It’s the relationship of these two, mirrored by her past relationship with her mentor that really drives the story. Ketsueki constantly struggles to understand humans, and often makes rash judgments. In both her present and her past–the book gives roughly equal pages to both–her traveling companion helps bring out the best in her. The book doesn’t dump lengthy backstory but reveals just enough to be relevant and interesting. Finishing the novel left me with that same feeling I got when I’d completed the first arc of a long-but-promising series.

The book contains a glossary at the start, filled half with terms I was familiar with from studying Japanese and half with terms I had yet to learn. There’s a lot of debate around how many non-English words should be used when English isn’t the language the characters are presumably speaking. My philosophy is to assume the audience has no experience in the language and save the non-English words for those terms which truly have no English equivalent. For example, there’s no good substitute for terms like kimono, but words like baka (idiot) could be translated. I leave this not as a criticism but as an observation, since I know not everyone takes the same point of view. Many writers and readers feel non-English words should be used more liberally, and there’s certainly no right or wrong here.

Overall, Legend of Akikumo was a relaxing book with a strong set-up for future stories. ...more

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Sep 16, 2020 Kellen Green rated it really liked it

This story was incredible until it ended. A great adventure that mixed two time lines (contemporary Japan and several centuries of old Japan), added kami (Japanese spirits), a pinch of found families and a quest and you get the core of The Legend of Akikumo.

We start following a very mischievous fox spirit (kitsune) with a wrecked past that was left "safe" in a shrine by her mentor/savior, a lone wolf spirit (more of an ancient god servant), and after a fall out with some of the local kitsune is This story was incredible until it ended. A great adventure that mixed two time lines (contemporary Japan and several centuries of old Japan), added kami (Japanese spirits), a pinch of found families and a quest and you get the core of The Legend of Akikumo.

We start following a very mischievous fox spirit (kitsune) with a wrecked past that was left "safe" in a shrine by her mentor/savior, a lone wolf spirit (more of an ancient god servant), and after a fall out with some of the local kitsune is assigned a task: finding her lost mentor and making sense of may strange things happening around.

But alas, she can run a quest on her own and so she will find her path (literally, since she is incapable of moving around the human contemporary world being a 700+ year old kami) thanks to the son of the shrine's priest (human obviously) and would uncover a hard truth.

This contemporary adventure is accompany, chapter in, chapter out, by the background story that links Aki-chan and Kat-chan in this sweet fatherly like relation of two spirits roaming together old Japan or almost 400 years (yeah they get to see a lot happening!).

I was hooked up from the beginning, since the author's writing style is very cinematic and you feel like you are moving around with the characters, it actually reminded me a lot of anime like Inuyasha, in its duality of times, quest sense and Japanese culture.

An added bonus is the glossary included that would help those not so acquainted with the Japanese terminology, well spread throughout the book.

The only downfall for me would be the ending scene, where I found a lack of purpose towards the following challenges introduced. I would had also enjoy it more if it development a deeper relation between the main character and her human companion, since it felt like bits were missing or underdeveloped.

Still, is a very recommended read if you wish to have a great time traveling around, learning more about Japanese culture and history and at the end of the day, finding you place in the world.

An ARC of this book was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Sep 14, 2020 Jodie "Bookish" Cook rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Book Review
Title: The Legend of Akikumo
Author: Dani Hoots
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Folklore
Rating: ***
Review: I didn’t know much about The Legend of Akikumo when I signed up to the blog tour, but it is set in Japan which I am almost guaranteed to love. We are following a kitsune (Fox spirit) named Ketsueki, which reminded me of Wicked Fox by Kat Cho but I have read a few other novels set in Japan, the most recent being More Than Alive: Death of an Idol by Fernando A. Torres which I’d highly recommend f Book Review
Title: The Legend of Akikumo
Author: Dani Hoots
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Folklore
Rating: ***
Review: I didn’t know much about The Legend of Akikumo when I signed up to the blog tour, but it is set in Japan which I am almost guaranteed to love. We are following a kitsune (Fox spirit) named Ketsueki, which reminded me of Wicked Fox by Kat Cho but I have read a few other novels set in Japan, the most recent being More Than Alive: Death of an Idol by Fernando A. Torres which I’d highly recommend for VR/AR and fantasy fans. The opening chapter was interesting as we are introduced to Ketsueki, who was left at an Inari Shrine a century before by her mentor, Akikumo who disappeared after that. However, one thing I noted that the author got wrong straight away is the yokai who live in the shrine complain about Ketsueki not behaving when kitsunes by their very nature are mischievous and cause trouble for their own entertainment. In terms of the actual mythology, this is wrong but maybe for the character this behaviours is correct as the other yokai are shown as being quite peaceful. We then jump back to July 1336, which is in the Muromachi Period, where Ketsueki is recused by Akikumo, who is an okami or wolf yokai after her parents are killed in the battle. As she is only a small child, Ketsueki formerly called Aiko by her mother, breaks the magic hiding her kitsune form and is brutally attacked and hunted by the humans before being rescued which explains her current resentment towards humans. This flashback was actually a really great scene as it perfectly blends Japan’s quite bloody history with its fantastical folklore seamlessly.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we are back in the present where we learn that Ketsueki doesn’t get along well with the other kitsune at the shrine possibly because she has less tails than them but it is her that gets called upon by the Inari and they want her to run an errand even though she thought she was going to get kicked out of the shrine. We get another flashback here, where we see the relationship between Ketsueki and Akikumo develop into an almost father/daughter bond as she travels all over Japan with him, although Ketsueki refuses to give up on her hatred of humankind and doesn’t want to interact with them at all unless Akikumo bribes her with hard to find foods like mochi. Back in the present, Inari has given Ketsueki the task of finding out what has happened to Akikumo by using his last sighting to track him down but she has to take the human son of the Head Priest with her, which she isn’t happy about but she can’t deny Inari’s wishes. From the past sections we know that Akikumo seems a bit like a messenger of the Gods or Kami, which would explain why he travelled so much and was so cautious most of the time, but it doesn’t explain why he kept Ketsueki with him unless he thought she could help him in some way.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, I had a feeling this was going to be the point in the novel where things started to get interesting. Ketsueki doesn’t want to take Yamato with her but she has to because unlike most other humans, Yamato has the ability to see yokai like Ketsueki even if they are using magic to disguise themselves. Together they are going to travel into the mountains, but it means passing through some very populated parts of Japan which is hard for Ketsueki. Although it is very funny to see her reactions to things like trains, automatic doors, and modern restaurants since she has been alive for 700 years and barely interacted with humans and has had no contact with them for the past century. During the time they are travelling we do begin to see different types of yokai and learn more about Akikumo’s relationship with Ketsueki. However, the most interesting part is Ketsueki’s dynamic with Yamato as she doesn’t want to like him purely because she wants to go back to the life she and Akikumo had before even though that life would be impossible with the development and expansion of the world but she doesn’t find him strange and is curious to know more about him which I think will be very interesting to see develop later on in the novel.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, we continue to bounce between the past and present and it got a little distracting at times since the past sections don’t really offer much except relationship building between Akikumo and Ketsueki and they also show us how much Ketsueki has grown over the past few centuries but we can see that she still has a lot to learn and Yamato is helping her do that even if he doesn’t know it. By the time they reach the mountains and begin climbing in search of Akikumo’s home, they encounter one yokai which Ketsueki easily defeats. However, they soon come to a path and they are warned to take the longer one but decides on the shorter one because it saves time only to encounter a really powerful yokai that tries to attack Yamato. Ketsueki defends him but has to use her most powerful attack which she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to keep full control over, but she does. I did like seeing how Ketsueki doesn’t really hate humans, but she has been treated badly by them. The two examples we have are when her parents died, and she was attacked before being rescued by Akikumo. But the second is more interesting in my opinion as Akikumo takes her to help with a landslide and there is a trapped child, however, she can only get to the child if she transforms into her fox form which she does. The child is calm and relaxed as it knows she is trying to help but the child’s mother attacks her, frightening her to the point she flees and hides until Akikumo finds her. While I don’t think Yamato is going to completely change Ketsueki’s opinion on humans, I think she might be one of a few humans that she might tolerate for extended periods of time.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, the yokai they encountered on the mountain injured Yamato so he can’t walk and Ketsueki offers to carry him and for her that is a big deal. Their relationship develops further when Yamato says he will never hurt Ketsueki like other have in the past even though he doesn’t know specific deals I have a feeling that he sees more about Ketsueki’s past than even she believes. Together, they manage to reach the yokai onsen where some kappa who Akikumo helped in the past tell Ketsueki says they have seen him recently, although in yokai terms this could be a several decades or even centuries prior but at least they have a general heading on where they will find Akikumo. In the flashbacks time is passing as Ketsueki has developed her third tale and we seem to be moving towards the time when he left her at the shrine. Along the way they met Yamiyo, Akikumo’s younger brother, a samurai and for a time they all journey together but we know from Ketsueki’s reactions in the present that Yamiyo isn’t alive any longer as she clearly states they are only searching for one wolf, Akikumo. So far, the relationships and the different types of yokai are the highlight of the book as there hasn’t been much else going on.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the pace does begin to quicken as Yamato and Ketsueki head towards the home of Akikumo in the mountains and are attacked by several different kinds of yokai who believe he is dead which is why they are allowed to roam freely on the mountain. While Ketsueki tries to refute their statement, she was alone small when she was travelling with Akikumo and didn’t pay attention to much, but she does mourn the loss of the necklace he gave her as it was the only part of him, she had left. That is until Yamato finds the katana that Akikumo always had with him almost as if he was abandoning it on his way home but Ketsueki doesn’t understand why he would have left it when it was made of his and Yamiyo’s katanas fused together, two halves of the same whole much like the brothers themselves. Before we can learn more, the pair flee the yokai by heading into the river where something grabs hold of Ketsueki and begins dragging her down. In the flashbacks we can see that there is something Akikumo isn’t telling Ketsueki, something important but at that moment in time we understand that she would have been too young and too rash to be reasoned with if he had said anything that upset her.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Ketsueki manages to save Yamato from the river yokai but he almost dies in the process as she is beginning to realise how much he means to her. However, that night something leads her to Akikumo’s former home and from its state of disrepair Ketsueki knows that Akikumo has died and that just didn’t want to accept this. When Yamato eventually finds her, they are confronted by a raiju but using some strange power Ketsueki fights it off. With Akikumo gone, Ketsueki knows she doesn’t want to return to the shrine, but she doesn’t want to be alone either, so the pair decide to stay together and carry on Akikumo’s job of helping yokai in need. While the story was ok and the characters fairly well done, there wasn’t much of a plot besides finding Akikumo and there was barely any action to move the novel forward so the pace felt quite plodding at time. Overall, I would say The Legend of Akikumo is a decent book, but it definitely had the potential to be much better than what we got. ...more

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Sep 15, 2020 Zoe L. added it

So I was super excited for this book as soon as I saw the cover and noticed one of my favorite types of mythical, magical, fluffy creatures: kitsune! And that cover! Muah! Perfection! And if anyone knows me, they know I’m a sucker for a good cover. So two things for an instant win with me!

This book definitely reads like an anime, it’s quirky and wild and might not have that much story but is still highly enjoyable because of that. So if you love animes you’ll probably enjoy this book. But don’t ...more

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Sep 15, 2020 Cat | Bookocraze rated it really liked it

Shelves: rep-east-asian, mythology-japanese

Enter to win an amazing giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card, here!

The Legend of Akikumo is a heartwarming and adventurous story about the journey of a kitsune and a human towards discovering the truth and their true purpose.

Ketsueki, the kitsune that has lived for centuries, has been living in a shrine after her mentor and best friend, Akikumo, left her there a few centuries after their travels all across Japan began. Her parents were killed by humans and she has been left feeling angry towa ...more

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Aug 16, 2020 Fatirah Murtaza rated it it was ok

Honestly, it is my first time reading inspired-Japanese novels and unfortunately, The Legend of Akikumo is a disappointing read for me. It took me days to write a review about it since I wasn't heavily invested to see this story in a different light because no matter how much I tried, this book, indeed, didn't tug any strings of interest within me.

Synopsis

This story follows about a Kitsune (a fox spirit) named Ketsueki who would give anything to find out why her mentor, Akikumo, the last wolf i Honestly, it is my first time reading inspired-Japanese novels and unfortunately, The Legend of Akikumo is a disappointing read for me. It took me days to write a review about it since I wasn't heavily invested to see this story in a different light because no matter how much I tried, this book, indeed, didn't tug any strings of interest within me.

Synopsis

This story follows about a Kitsune (a fox spirit) named Ketsueki who would give anything to find out why her mentor, Akikumo, the last wolf in Japan, abandoned her. He left her with other kitsune at the Inari Shrine but she doesn't fit in the circle due to insufficient tails she has and how she looks like a mess. These predicaments have resorted to others to bully her, saying that she's a Yokai (demon) instead of a Kitsune and most of all, saying her beloved mentor, Akikumo is already dead. The last statement has really infuriated her, thus she's started showing her rebellious scheme by causing trouble around the shrine. For example, she will give jump scare to naughty teenagers who roam around the shrine at nights in her kitsune form.

That's just a mild and harmless jump scare, not a bloody murder, perhaps that's what Ketsueki thought of but the result of her actions has ingrained in the minds of people that the shrine is really haunted by the fox spirit, thus least visitors come praying at the shrine. Instead of punishing for her deeds, Inari, the head of the shrine, has finally assigned Ketsueki a task; she must find out what happened to Akikumo. She quickly agrees, not realizing the delinquent son of the shrine’s head priest must accompany her. Will Ketsueki be able to make peace with a human? Or will her years of resentment towards humans make this partnership impossible?

Review
First of all, I thought this book would have a series of groundbreaking scenes but there isn't so much into that department. Through her journey finding Akikumo, both Ketsueki and the delinquent son of the shrine, Yamato has encountered a lot of demons. But all of those fighting scenes are so monotone and predictable. The narration of these particular scenes is a very simple and straightforward kind of style. For readers who adore fully-maximized actions then this book doesn't appeal in you that aspect.

Second, there are so many info dumps which make the story is less focused on crafting its word-building. I've found myself keep turning back and forth between the pages and the terminology to find out the meaning of Japanese terms written in the form of romaji - which tired me out, drastically.

Third, the characters' developments are underdeveloped. Though I could see the relationship between a mentor and mentee in Akikumo and Ketsueki but sadly, I don't see how much interactions incurred between Yamato and Ketsueki. It's all kind of hasty developments, with each chapter goes back and forth to the past - Ketsueki and Akikumo's story and to the present - Ketsueki and Yamato's story.

Fourth, I'm not a fan of the writing style in this book. They sound immatured and some sentences do feel odd when I've read them. It isn't enjoyable to read but alas, I admitted that the idea of the storyline could be far more than amazing if the writing style is up to date.

In terms of plotwise, there were some plot holes that the author missed to explain explicitly especially at the part 'the cause that has taken Akikumo's life' and the unfinished resolution about the harbored hatred in Ketsueki towards the human. The way the story is ended just single-handledly leaving me dangling on a cliff wondering 'is that all?'

Lastly, I hope that the author tries to make the world-building of the story more intricately explained, detailed, and not just dumping the whole info in the preface. I think young teens out there would enjoy the simplicity in this story and treat it as a quick read. As for me, this story doesn't meet up my taste in young adult fiction.

Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Foxtale Press for providing me an e-arc of The Legend Of Akikumo in return for an honest review.

...more

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Aug 11, 2020 Megan rated it liked it

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, look how pretty the cover is! It's gorgeous! I was drawn to this book primarily by the cover, but I ultimately read it because I love Asian fantasy, especially ones that revolve around the culture of Japan. That being said, this book didn't quite live up to my expectations.
Ketsue-chan is a kitsune, a fox spirit, who spent many years traveling with Akikumo, an okami. Eventually he leaves her at the Inari shrine with o ...more

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Aug 12, 2020 Rowena Andrews rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, fantasy

I wanted to love this book. The cover is absolutely stunning, and the premise and the fact that it revolved around Kitsune and Yokai meant that I was immediately intrigued. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.

The main issue I had with it as the overuse of romanji in the text. It might have worked better if the words hadn't been italicized as well, because the change in font kept throwing me out of the text. However, it was also the inclusion of unnecessary words. I could understand using the ...more

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Aug 11, 2020 Yves Donlon rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020-reads

*I was given a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

I loved the concept of The Legend of Akikumo. A Japanese-inspired fantasy based around the legends of kitsune and okami seemed right up my alley. I’m a dedicated mythology fan and, although I don’t know much about Japanese legends, I knew enough to feel excited about this book.

Sadly it just wasn’t for me. I felt that there was a little too much Romanised Japanese used throughout, despite the helpful glossary at ...more

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Sep 07, 2020 Crystina rated it did not like it

Shelves: owned-arc

Okay, let’s start with the positives of this book: the cover is absolutely gorgeous. It was what brought me into this, at least the primary thing that did. The second was the concept, it’s an interesting concept, one I’d generally be interested in reading.

The only thing was… this book is bad. Like, really bad. It was almost a herculean task to get through this one. The writing was very inconsistent and the writing told much more than showed. The sentences were stifled by their poor grammar usag ...more

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Sep 30, 2020 Catherine Smith rated it liked it

I recieved an arc of this digitally and initially was intrigued by the premise. The story of a kitsune and human going on a journey to find a lost friend seemed like one that could be filled with mystery. The first thing to put me off was the lengthy guide at the beginning. It seemed over done and off putting. This also became somewhat condescending when all the words in the guide were in italics in the text. If this was actually for emphasis it fell short. The story was drawn out descriptions o ...more

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Oct 16, 2020 Pixie 🍜 rated it did not like it

Thank-you to netgalley and the publisher for an earc in exchange of an honest review.

I had to DNF this after 11%. I don’t like to do it but I knew very quickly that this wouldn’t hold my attention.
The writing is very stilted and more like a middle grade novel than a YA.

Further to that the random Japanese word drops was incredibly annoying. It’s totally fine to include another culture and the author obviously has an understanding of these things, but there are ways to include them in a novel w ...more

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Aug 14, 2020 Jessica Jones (Gould) rated it liked it

I was looking forward to this book but am disappointed. The plot could have been amazing, however the writing and characters dampen what could have been a really interesting Japanese inspired book. The writing felt immature and lots of the Japanese words such as "Baka" felt out of place, especially when used in the past. If you are like me and have a love and knowledge of Japanese culture, this book may be hard for you to read. I felt as if the author was expecting us to know nothing of the cult ...more

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Oct 19, 2020 Sari rated it it was ok

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy! Unfortunately, due to personal matters I could not finish this book before release.

This is one of those books that caught my eye because of the summary and promise, but it fell flat. It’s very descriptive in its events and leaves almost no space to get involved or immersed. And this is something I’ve found myself hating, especially in fantasies.

I also found that the writing isn’t my cup of tea and felt unedited and juvenile.

I think this book can use ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Blake H rated it liked it · review of another edition

Decent story mixed with Japanese lore.

It's an okay book and a quick read. It would be a nice introduction into Japanese lore but it doesn't go into to much detail on yokai. The ending needed a better conclusion. It was okay but I still want to know what path they were going to take at the end. Unclear. Characters are so so. I didn't feel to invested in them. Definitely a book for teens. ...more

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Aug 10, 2020 Joanna Bennett rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs-earcs, 2020-reads

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-copy to review. All opinions are my own.

When I saw the cover and blurb, I wanted to read it. I have read many books that involve some form of Japanese mythology, especially ones that include the kitsune. I figured why not give this one a try!

The thing is the characters just didn’t give me anything and the plot was lacking the action that I crave in stories like this.

Ketsueki’s development is just very meh. From the beginning she is picking on h ...more

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Sep 05, 2020 Eule Luftschloss rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, netgalley, mythology, historical-fiction, japan, trigger-warning, fantasy, arcs

trigger warning
(view spoiler)

As Ketsueki is tasked with finding out where her mentor vanished to, she doesn't mind the task as much as the company - a human who is able to see Yokai and might succeed his father, who is the shrine's priest, one day.

We have two timelines: The present with the mission, and the past. How Akikumo found Ketsueki and adopted her, how they traveled Japan and solved problems for Yokai.

Where do I even start? The characters a trigger warning
(view spoiler)

As Ketsueki is tasked with finding out where her mentor vanished to, she doesn't mind the task as much as the company - a human who is able to see Yokai and might succeed his father, who is the shrine's priest, one day.

We have two timelines: The present with the mission, and the past. How Akikumo found Ketsueki and adopted her, how they traveled Japan and solved problems for Yokai.

Where do I even start? The characters are typical manga stereotypes. We have the protagonist who is childish, annoying, but can always be persuaded to do something for yummy food. The mysterious bishi mentor who never reveals too much. The badboy who might hide a good heart. There is no more depth to them.

To show it's really set in Japan, there is a ton of Japanese words dropped throughout the novel. A katana is a special type of sword so it's reasonable to use the term. Using honorifics shows how the characters think about each other. But when the whole narrative is in English, where is the sense in using the word baka, or why does there have to be a huge glossary at the beginning so you know what obistring means in Japanese? Why not just say obistring so your audience will know what you're talking about?

My main problem is the bad writing. Prime example: As Ketsueki hears that a human will accompany her, she immedeatly plans to just do her thing and put him in a train home so she'll be rid of him once she found Akikumo.
Three pages later, she does not know what trains are and supposedly never heard about them before.

I can get behind the idea of an ivory tower. You live sheltered lifes, are not much in contact with humans. But she is told what a phone and a plane is, but never heard about a train which is much older? She has learned CPR but never spoke to a Yokai who recently travelled the human world? Or has problems by humans cutting down woods and shrinking the habitat?

There is a weird thing going on with the language used. Yes, apart from the constant dropping of Japanese terms. In one scene, they put a wolf's corpse on the back of a horse to transport him. The phrased used was "we situated him..." - sorry, what? Didn't you find something more stilted?

I am sorry. I wanted to like this. But it appears the best thing I could find is the beautiful cover.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy I recieved. ...more

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Sep 10, 2020 Nikki Sojkowski rated it it was ok

Shelves: ebook, read-in-2020, received-from-publisher, fantasy, reviewed, first-reads, advanced-reader-copy, netgalley, magic, i-own-a-copy

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a Teen and YA reviewer, and this was marketed to me as a Teen and YA book, but it is quite clearly an elementary or middle grade read. The actions and prose of the main character speak to a 4th or 5th grade reading level and while I'm sure people looking for that type of reading experience would greatly appreciate this book, I personally feel lied to about what I thought would be a Japanese Mythological Young Ad ...more

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About Dani Hoots

Dani Hoots

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Dani Hoots is a science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning, a Certificate in Novel Writing from Arizona State University, and a BS in Herbal Science from Bastyr University.

Currently she is working on a YA urban fantasy series called Daughter of Hades, a YA urban fantasy