Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
5 out of 5 stars.

“The spider does not spin its web in a heartbeat, nor does the albatross fly across oceans with a few flaps of its wings. Many would consider what they do impossible, and yet, they still complete their tasks without fail, because they simply…start. One step at a time.”

Goodreads Description: One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn. Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart. With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.

I received Shadow of the Fox from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Release date October 2, 2018. 

Words….what are words? I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to writing about what I thought of Shadow of the Fox. My thoughts and my love for this book are everywhere right now. I was pretty hooked right from the start and by page 88 I was already feeling all the feels and even shed some tears. I knew from that point on this book was going to mean the world to me.

The world building was spot on and so detailed. I loved all the Japanese legends and culture so much. I was instantly filled with so much excitement while reading Shadow of the Fox. I thought it had a fairly fast pace and so much was going on. The cast of characters was amazing and I loved every single one of them. They all had their own little quirks and reasons why I loved them. I won’t go into too much detail about who they are, because they play parts in the bigger story and I don’t want to risk spoilers.

Yumeko is a Kitsune shapeshifter (half human, half fox) which is totally awesome! One of my favorite things about her is that she never left her temple before, so she knew nothing about the outside world, so she was curious about everything. She asked so many questions and it was funny at times, especially when she would fall for everyone’s sarcasm because she truly didn’t understand or know. Tatsumi and Yumeko are on this journey together and they meet some interesting people along the way (one of them becoming my favorite character) and run into so many crazy things and obstacles.

Overall, I loved everything about Shadow of the Fox. There’s lots of trickery, magic, secrets, and a few twists. There’s demons, witches, ghosts, spirits, samurai, and so many more things in this book. It’s quite the adventure and I had so much fun reading it. It had everything I need and love in a fantasy novel. Beautifully written and well executed to the end. The wait for the sequel is going to be so hard. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for everyone. There’s a couple characters that I feel are going to play an even bigger role in the coming books and I am curious to see if I’m right. I highly recommend reading!

“It is very hard to be human, little fox. Even the humans themselves don’t do a great job of it.”

In case you missed it;
Thoughts|| Not Even Bones.
Travel || Road Trip to Illinois.

I hope you have a great day!