Flame in the Mist

The Flame in the Mist is a magically dark and intense story full of love, betrayal, and most of all---death. Many have compared this story to Disney's Mulan, which isn't technically true. The only comparison is that the protagonist Hattori Mariko pretends to be a boy for most of the book. It's also set in Feudal Japan and not China like in Mulan. I fell completely in love with the culture and atmosphere. This is the kind of YA book that blows me away with it's story telling to the point where writing a review for it is so hard. Words will never be enough to describe how awesome this book turned out to be. However it is my duty to do so, so let's get to it. What made the biggest impression to me was Hattori Mariko's voice. I love a good heroine that can hold her own in a tight situation. She also easily outshines any and all males in her world. Feudal Japan, much like the rest of the world, is dominated by patriarchy. The way Mariko navigates through her world and how she advocates for herself is so inspiring, and she's a great role-model for young women today. Mariko has an answer for everything. And I mean EVERYTHING! There is never an instance where she is shocked into silence. She's witty, wise, and loves to debate with the rest of the cast of characters. She's the kind of heroine that I look for in a book because she's more than just a pretty face. She actually has a brain and has no qualms in using it effectively. The story begins with the execution of a father as his young boy looks on, which sets the tone and reveals the kind of darkness that lives within the Emperor. Like I've said above, death plays a huge part in this story, and we see that there's civil unrest in Japan. People aren't happy with the Emperor, and the secret organization known as The Black Clan is the Emperor's most out-spoken enemies. For most of the book we see The Black Clan from the eyes of Hattori Mariko, who infiltrates them to find out why her caravan was attacked and her attendents murdered. She realizes the intended target was her, but she goes undercover to understand why. You begin to see who Mariko is as a character through the many circumstances she comes to face. Mariko at first glance isn't the kind of person who is necessarily brave. She's more of a strategist and tends to plan out her next steps, as opposed to running head first into something and being influenced by bravery without sound reasoning. Reneé Ahdieh masterfully switches POV's throughout the book, switching between the cunning Mariko, and her complex brother Kenshin. Kenshin holds the renowned title of The Dragon of Kai. His story line follows his footsteps into a journey motivated by revenge. Kenshin wants his sister back, and he will do everything in his power to punish The Black Clan and rescue his sister Mariko in the process. We get to see how strong Kenshin's love is for his sister, and he is ruled by the edicts of Bushido, which most warriors in Feudal Japan follow. He attempts to live by a code of honor, but along the way those lines of honor begin to blur as his resolve to find his sister begins to harden. We also start to see that Mariko's and Kenshin's relationship becomes more strenuous as their goals begin to conflict with eachother. "Follow orders. Engender trust. Strike when they least expect it." This is Mariko's goal. As she goes undercover as a boy, she meets Takeda who is the leader of The Black Clan and his most fiercest fighter, Okami. Mariko learns that The Black Clan isn't what she thought it was, as she sees them take from the rich and give to the poor. This new revelation is in direct conflict with her earlier deductions that The Black Clan was evil and was responsible for the assassination attempt on her life. The Black Clan also shows her evidence that Mariko's father treats his people poorly. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "True weakness is weakness of the spirit". It completely captures the old life Mariko was accustomed to and all the people who used to be important to her, like her father. Mariko makes great strides by growing into an amazing character. She has some of the biggest character growth in this book as she begins to see The Black Clan and the mysterious forest they inhabit as her home. She refuses to be property, something bartered or sold by the males who rule around her. Mariko learns that "the only power that any man has over you is the power you give him." Okami is The Black Clan's fiercest warrior and he is completely devoted to the clan leader, Takeda. However, his story is both dark and enigmatical. The plot twist involving his past was not as surprising as I'm sure it was meant to be. I suspected the turn of events, but it was still shocking to read that my assumptions did indeed come true. Okami teaches Mariko how to defend herself physically, but what I loved most was their warring of the minds. They had some of the best debates and dialogue that I've ever read. I found them to be a terrific balance to each other. As Okami reminds us, "She was not a half. She was wholly her own." Okami has a ton of depth to his character. He fights many inner battles within himself and he struggles with his identity and facing past decisions that he isn't proud of. Mariko seems to be the only individual that can bring out Okami's sensitive side. What I found most interesting was the dynamic between them before Okami finds out Mariko is in fact a girl, and not a boy who she's portraying. Okami doesn't understand why this person seems to rattle him. He isn't used to dealing with someone who seems to be an enigma to him. While Okami is very much a feminist, which is ground-breaking considering this is Feudal Japan, the chemistry between him and Mariko before her gender reveal is tantalizing. There were some homo-erotic undertones, and I found it refreshing that Okami was willing to accept his feelings if she had in fact turned out to be male. He doesn't say it, but if you read between the lines it seems like he would have accepted Mariko if she were a man. Again, not something you would necessarily associate positively in Feudal Japan. Reneé does a wonderful job with empowering women in this book through the lens of Mariko. Most YA authors who try to empower women in their books paint their heroines to be fierce without a man. And often times, many authors even say that statement outright. What they don't realize is that they are still defining a woman in relation to a man. Ahdieh doesn't wrestle with the idea of woman empowerment through the absence of a man. She allows Mariko as a woman to find her own strength within herself, set within her own parameters of what it means to be strong. One of the most revealing statements on what it means to be a woman, came from a geiko (which appears to be like a geisha) woman in a tea house, who Mariko comes across. Mariko asks the woman if she was ever angry at being born a woman. The geiko replies, "There have been times I've been angry at how the world treats us, but I see being a woman as a challenge I must fight. Like being born under a stormy sky. Some people are lucky enough to be born under clouds. No wind. No rain. Just a mountain of clouds we must climb each morning so that we may see the Sun." What a beautiful metaphor of what it means to be a woman, and the plight women face by engaging in a battle everyday so they can be viewed as equal. The Flame in the Mist interlaces Japanese mythology, political strife, civil unrest, and a young girl's journey to finding out what it means to be a woman in a world full of men, in order to bring together this magical story. Hattori Mariko has a voice of a fighter, a girl that refuses to allow anyone around her, least of all a man, to dictate who she is and who she's trying to become. It also reveals the true depth of sibling love. Ahdieh reticulates how family is what you make it, and that it's not necessarily tied by blood. Lastly, the passion behind the characters Ahdieh has created can be felt through the pages and it worms it's way into your heart. Mariko and Okami are unique in their love because they question and push each other to not only show their potential, but to embody that potential. This was a stunning debut for Reneé Ahdieh's new series, and I thought it was even better written than her Duology The Wrath and the Dawn. Readers, definitely check this book out! You won't regret it!

I received this ARC from the First to Read program in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. I was in way compensated for this review. I loved Renée Ahdieh's The Wrath and the Dawn duology! It was so beautifully written and told, so when I saw Flame in the Mist on the First to Read page, I knew I couldn't allow Fate to take control this time, so I cashed in on the points I had stacked up and got myself a guaranteed copy! Sadly, in my addled mind, I can't remember if I heard that this was a sort of Mulan retelling? Perhaps? Maybe. Really wish I could remember where I heard these things! LOL! Mariko is our heroine who is on her way to meet her soon-to-be husband, for we're in that time where fathers sell off their daughters to the highest bidders. Plus, being one of the sons of the emperor will put her family in his good graces and they'll be financially taken care of. But on her way, her convoy is attacked, everyone is killed and she's left for dead and assumed dead. But Mariko is a survivor and she manages to get herself out of the fire (quite literally) and her attackers are none the wiser. She believes she was attacked by the dreaded, Black Clan. They're the big bad in the area and they're know to raid towns and villages, stealing whatever they want, hurting whoever they want, and killing whoever they want. Mariko decides she's going to get her revenge on them and find out why they attacked her. Who hired them? In order to do so, she will have to hide her girlish figure, so like the Mulan we all know (and love), Mariko assumes the identity of a young man. Though her intention of joining the Black Clan goes a little haywire, she is nevertheless brought into the fold. I'm not sure if a lot of my struggles came from this being an ebook or something else. Leaning towards the former, because I wanted to love this one soooo bad! This is, yet again, a whole new culture for me! And I did learn that there is a glossary in this one, but since this was an eARC it was increasingly hard for me to access it back and forth and eventually I just gave up. Perhaps with the physical book I might have been able to get a better understanding of things, as it was, I was able to understand a fair amount of the information. Though another thing that wasn't too helpful were the multiple points of view. I know we had this last time in her previous series, but I couldn't help but feel like it didn't flow as nicely as before. Again, maybe this is because I was reading the eARC version, I feel like there are certain books I NEED to read in their physical format verses electronic. I know, it's weird, but since there is a glossary in the back I feel like it's not all that weird for me to say this! LOL! And as in Mulan, we have in her our Shang, except his name is Ōkami. He's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type either. He and Mariko don't exactly hit it off either. Mariko struggles to earn her place within the Black Clan and at the same time try to figure out why they would attack her convoy. The mystery leader, Ranmaru is just as closed off as Ōkami. It was at the point where we had two young men in the vicinity that I wondered which one would be the other half to our OTP. I was hoping there wouldn't be a love triangle scenario, and thankfully, >Renée avoids that scenario! And while I won't say who from these two young men is Mariko's soon to be true love, I will say that I was quite surprised! Plus his character is just as mysterious and secretive as Mariko! It will definitely make for interesting times in the next one! And it seems in true Renée fashion will continue to write very steamy kissing scenes! Oh my was I swooning with this one!! And even though there are kisses, it seems the romance will be far from easy for our characters! The ending was pretty astonishing as well! There were so many shocking twists and turns! Because as I said, there's more than one storyteller here, and while things kind of run as anticipated with Mariko's portion, there was a startling development in that last chapter that I totally didn't see coming! While not a perfect read, Flame in the Mist was still an enchanting sort of read! There's a lot I felt overwhelmed by and perhaps it was just the exposure to new territory that had me struggling at times. And again, blaming the ebook-ness and not being able to easier access that glossary, that made it harder for me to fully understand all the terms I was reading. I still enjoyed this one despite those struggles though and because I am the stubborn sort I will most definitely be reading the next one! Just perhaps waiting for the actual physical copy so I can better access the glossary! Flame in the Mist is a fantasy that is sure to delight and amaze you! It's a colorful story rich in culture and I cannot wait to see how it will end! Overall Rating 4/5 stars

It's my first time reading anything by Renée Ahdieh. And what a book! I must say that I do love retelings, but until I knew about this book I never had seen Mulan, so I went to see it and I loved, of course! This book delivered and I'm really excited to know what happens next. In the beginning it was kinda difficult to read the names of people and things, so I bought the audiobook and began to read and listen at the same time. Much better! (Eventually I dumped the book, because I was practicing brush lettering 😂). Anyway, I totally recommend this book. One of the best reads of this year! I'm on a good streak, thank God! 😃

Un livre qui se lit facilement, ce qui m'a permis de faire une pause très agréable après avoir lu la trilogie "The Magicians" de Lev Grossman. J'avais besoin d'une lecture plus légère après cette trilogie (très bonne série, au passage !), et ce livre a su relever le défi sans faillir ! Le rythme est bon, je ne me suis pas ennuyée une seconde malgré le découpage entre chapitres suivant Mariko, et chapitres suivant son frère. J'ai parfois deviné ce qui allait se passer avant que cela ne se produise, mais contrairement à d'autres livres cela ne m'a pas agacé. Les personnages sont attachants du début à la fin, et leurs décisions plausibles. Que du bonheur en somme ! J'attends la suite avec impatiente, et j'espère que le 2ème tome sera à la hauteur du premier livre.

This was a really fun read and well written.Outstanding characters and a really intricate plot that keeps you reading...thankyou!...loved this book.

I enjoyed this book. It had a bit of everything needed in a YA novel. It wasn't heavy on fantasy or romance, but had a mix of everything. The one thing that was mentioned over and over again was the way women were treated and how they were expected to conform to the norms set by the society. This did not just hold true for the Feudal Era setting of the book, but works for the current time period too. So everytime Mariko mentioned the way people expected her to behave because she was a girl, really made my blood boil because I've heard all of those things myself. So 5/5 for the plot since it's about a woman trying to break free of the mold that society expects her to fit into. Characters were good. I liked the main trio. The writing was good because I liked the way the author changed the POV whenever needed to show another part of the story to give us a bigger picture of all the scheming behind the plot. I especially enjoyed how much this book made me want to watch anime again because of the Japanese setting and the terms used throughout the story. But like, could it have ended on any more of a cliffhanger?!

Fantastic! I couldn't put it down. The best novel I've read in a long time.