Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist, #1)
Renée Ahdieh
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.
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I have a hard time keeping up with all the characters. I have no idea who the actual villain is. Am I supposed to know? Anyways, I loved the black clan. Mariko and Okami
0i've lowered my stars from 4 to 3, after a night's sleep and some thought.
the hype was real for me. mulan is my favorite disney movie, and my grandmother was named mariko (i do miss her). for all of these things to come together in a book? i immediately added this to my preorders without a second thought. i also have read the wrath and the dawn, and that was an excellent book - the writing, the setting, the characters.
after i finished this late last night, i was not as impressed as i should be.
-mariko wasn't that intelligent. unless she was. i never got the impression. i know she had lessons because she was of the nobility, but otherwise she made some stupid decisions.
-the names. i couldn't keep up sometimes. not until like page 300 did i have a total grasp of who everyone was. which is depressing to me.
-"showing, not telling" is like the #1 thing authors learn to better tell a story. WHY WAS THAT NOT IMPLEMENTED IN THIS BOOK
-WEIRD MAGIC? NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE MAGIC HERE
-i didn't expect in the last couple pages to be all messed up but i was... i wasn't annoyed about it but certainly i was mad at myself for not being able to make predictions
-the ending. no
-weird insta-love that was weird because at the time mariko was a boy, and so there were all these weird feelings being thrown around but it wasn't really feelings it was kind of just like... banter? BANTER BOYS
i will continue with the second because with books i try to give second chances. i'm just sad. this was supposed to make me feel better connected to myself and it didn't do much. of course that's my fault for assuming.
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