Book Review: Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh

Title: Smoke in the Sun Series: Flame in the Mist #2 Written by: Renee Ahdieh Published: June 5, 2018 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin Group) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The highly anticipated sequel to Flame in the Mist—an addictive, sumptuous finale that will leave readers breathless from the bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn. After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice—to rescue him, she must return to Inako and face the dangers that have been waiting for her in the Heian Castle. She tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will, playing the part of the dutiful bride-to-be to infiltrate the emperor's ranks and uncover the truth behind the betrayal that almost left her dead.  With the wedding plans already underway, Mariko pretends to be consumed with her upcoming nuptials, all the while using her royal standing to peel back the layers of lies and deception surrounding the imperial court. But each secret she unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring Mariko and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

I loved Flame in the Mist. It was one of my favorite books of last year so I was really excited to read the conclusion of this series and find out what was going to happen next. And while I enjoyed checking back in with the characters and getting some resolution, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.

One of the things that I loved about this book was the world. Renee has created a really fantastic fantasy world inspired by Asian culture. It makes for a really lush and fascinating world that drew in the reader. I love that it pulls for Asian history and samurai culture. But it also has a great magical system. It's kind of a subtle magical system which is, what I am learning, may be a trademark of the author. She doesn't overwhelm the reader with a complex magical system, she just populates the world with magic that captures your interest and builds a basis for the plot and drama.

Unfortunately that plot wasn't as engaging as I was hoping. It wasn't a bad plot. There was a lot to it and it was interesting but it didn't feel as unique and fantastic as I had hoped. For one thing it reminded me a little bit too much of The Wrath and the Dawn. Our plucky heroine has to marry a terrible ruler and uses the opportunity to help the people her people. It's compelling, yes, but, it's also both stories. I know that Renee can do better. It just felt like a lot of this book wasn't really fully-formed. There were some really engaging parts of the book and just when I thought we were getting to a part where the plot would kick in, it would fade to black and move on to something else. I mean I liked the political intrigue and the plotting and scheming but even that felt fully fleshed out. I am a plot driven reader and I need a great plot for me to love a book and here it was just good, not great.

But my other criticism of the book is the pacing. I am used to Renee's style, it's overly flowery and lyrical and draws the reader in making you slow down and take in all the words. Which is all well and good but in order for that to not become taxing after awhile you need a book that is paced a little bit more steady. This book had a very slow pacing. It took me awhile to get into it and even when I was into it, I totally didn't mind putting it down for a book for a week to go to ALA and read a whole new book. I feel like that's not really a great thing in a book.

But for me, a lot of the book was redeemed by the characters. I really love these characters. Renee does a great job with developing characters who are dubious and walk the line between good and evil. The one character who is probably the most moral is the main character of Mariko who even manages to do a few pretty terrible things throughout the book. But I think the best characters here are the secondary ones. When get to spend a lot more time with Mariko's brother Kenshin in this book and he was really great. I liked being in his head and seeing his internal struggle. But the character with the best development was Raiden. I don't want to say too much but he's the kind of odious and grey character that I love.

On the whole, I think that Smoke in the Sun was a good read but it didn't blow me away like the first book in the series. It had a great world and amazing characters but the plot could have been less complicated and more creative.

I give Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you liked the first book in this series then I would say grab this one on your next library haul. It's good but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

Have you read Smoke in the Sun? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Title: Flame in the Mist Series: Flame in the Mist #1 Written by: Renee Ahdieh Published: May 16, 2017 by Putnam Books for Young Readers (Penguin) (Amazon / Goodreads) 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.

I really liked The Wrath and the Dawn duology so I was very excited to read Renee Adhieh's next series. Not to mention it seemed like an interesting YA fantasy with a unique world and complex characters. And that's exactly what it was.

For one thing, if you have read The Wrath and the Dawn you know what you are getting into when it comes to the writing of this book. Renee really knows how to draw you in with her writing. It's lush and descriptive with these beautify explanation of what you are seeing and what the world looks like. I could perfectly see the locations and couldn't help but immerse myself in this book.

But in general that was easy because this was a very cool world. I am always looking for unique fantasy worlds and I definitely found one here. For one thing this is a world that is based on Asian culture. It pulled a lot from samurai culture which was very cool and worked really well with this kind of book. It also had some subtle magic to it. I do wish there was a little bit more magic because I think it seemed a little out of place when it did come into the story. But I think there is more to learn in later books and I'm excited to learn about it. Because I think in general this book has an Avatar: The Last Airbender vibe and that is always something I enjoy.

The thing that surprised me most about this book and the world was how much political intrigue it had. You usually expect a little bit of that when it comes to fantasies, especially when you're talking about a girl who is betrothed to the son of the emperor, but I still think this had more than I thought. There was a lot of intrigue to this. And it's the kind of thing where you have to wait until the end for all of it to unfold. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that I want to see answers to.

That is however my main criticism of this book. There were a lot of unanswered questions and it kind of made for a confusing plot development. It also made for slow plot development. This is a book that had extremely slow pacing. Things happened, lots happened, but I wasn't sure why it was happening until the last fifty pages or so. And yes, it did have some great twists and lots of excitement it just took it's sweet time to get to the good stuff while being obtuse throughout most of the book. I'm such a plot driven reader that I have to say I was a little bored in parts. But in the end it did make up for it.

I also think one of the things that made the book a bit tough at times was the characters. Now I will say, u rally loved these characters. They are my favorite kinds of characters in that they are really complex and walk that fine line between good and bad. Much of the character development was the MC and the reader asking themselves who was right and who was wrong. And everyone was so dubious in that they were doing the wrong thing for the right reason or vice versa. But there are a lot of character perspectives here. Most of the book was from Mariko's perspective but we did get three or four other perspectives that kind of muddied the water and confused me a little bit. I did like the characters though so it wasn't too annoying.

In general, I think this is an amazing read. It is a fantastic YA fantasy wig gorgeous writing, a lust and unique world, an engaging plot, and complex characters. I really loved it and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I give Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you liked The Wrath and the Dawn you should definitely check out the author's new book. But even if you didn't read it you should definitely check this one out. It's a fantastic YA fantasy with such an unique world that I think fans of the genre will love it.

Have you read Flame in the Mist? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!