- Pages: 432
- Age Suggestion: 14+
- Genre: Young Adult Fiction; Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
- Published 6-5-2018, by Penguin Young Readers Group
Synopsis
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 the very safety of the empire.
The highly anticipated sequel to New York Times bestselling Flame in the Mist--an addictive, sumptuous finale that will leave readers breathless from the bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn.
Review
Overall I really liked this book. And I'm very glad for that because the first one just didn't hit the mark. That being said this sequel is - so - much better than the first one. This was a very satisfying ending to The Flame in the Mist duology.
The difference in this book that I like so much better is the plot. In the first book, your main focus was on the main character Mariko not getting caught in her bold faced lie about being a girl and not a guy (sound familiar, ahem - Mulan). In this book she's still worried about being caught lying (hah), but in a different way. In this book everything gets more complicated and the stakes are raised. The lies are bigger, riskier, and more abundant than in the last book, which shapes the plot into a tricky, twisting road where everyone has to watch their backs.
Another difference that I like was that there was more magic and other supernatural powers incorporated into the story. It's about time.
Mariko is back and she's as strong and cunning as ever. She pulls multiple tricks from up her sleeve and I love it. As you know, if you read the synopsis, she is walking a very fine, very dangerous line between the imperial family and the black clan (oh, gosh, I literally just wrote "blackcoats" from Marie lu's Wildcard). As I said above she lies, a lot. In both of these books Mariko is trying to survive, but in this book it's more about the mind instead of hand-to-hand combat. Luckily, games of the mind are what Mariko excels at.
I got what I wished for. Adieh tells a lot more about all of the characters in this book. I liked that the intro of the book was with Yumi. And I liked that you got to see her opinion on things; the bitterness at her brother and her pain about her "perfumed prison". I also really like her friendship with Mariko, it was refreshing. You start to see more about Tsuneoki and his past and his unrequited love for Okami. I hate unrequited love, I really do, it just makes me sad and frustrated at all of the characters involved. You also get to see more about Okami and his past. And his reluctance to take his rightful role in the future. You get to see more about the two imperial brothers. Youngest is now the emperor, the oldest is betrothed to Mariko. The youngest's (Roku's) personality isn't very surprising (neither is Mariko's brother Kenshin's), Raiden's on the other hand is surprising. Luckily, he's a lot nicer than expected. There's some hope after all! A character that I thought was really intriguing was Raiden's mother Kanako. My feelings for this character is very conflicted. I kind of want to hate her, but I think she has the right idea, just executed it all wrong.
Also, I was kind of confused in the beginning about who was who with the Ranmaru, Tsuneoki thing. Just to make it clear for those who plan on reading this book, but doesn't want to read the previous one this is how it goes. So, Okami is actually Takeda Ranmaru, and Okami's best friend, who you thought was Ranmaru, is actually Asano Tsuneoki (and make the connection to switch who you think Yumi's brother is to the real Tsuneoki, that's where I got lost).That was really perplexing at first.
One good thing that is brought back from the first one is the beautiful writing. Adieh really knows how to paint a picture in her readers heads. In my opinion, one of Adieh's best aspects is to create a strong tone. In Smoke in the Sun she captures the sensuality, wisdom, and mystery that got reader's attentions in the first place.
The difference in this book that I like so much better is the plot. In the first book, your main focus was on the main character Mariko not getting caught in her bold faced lie about being a girl and not a guy (sound familiar, ahem - Mulan). In this book she's still worried about being caught lying (hah), but in a different way. In this book everything gets more complicated and the stakes are raised. The lies are bigger, riskier, and more abundant than in the last book, which shapes the plot into a tricky, twisting road where everyone has to watch their backs.
Another difference that I like was that there was more magic and other supernatural powers incorporated into the story. It's about time.
Mariko is back and she's as strong and cunning as ever. She pulls multiple tricks from up her sleeve and I love it. As you know, if you read the synopsis, she is walking a very fine, very dangerous line between the imperial family and the black clan (oh, gosh, I literally just wrote "blackcoats" from Marie lu's Wildcard). As I said above she lies, a lot. In both of these books Mariko is trying to survive, but in this book it's more about the mind instead of hand-to-hand combat. Luckily, games of the mind are what Mariko excels at.
I got what I wished for. Adieh tells a lot more about all of the characters in this book. I liked that the intro of the book was with Yumi. And I liked that you got to see her opinion on things; the bitterness at her brother and her pain about her "perfumed prison". I also really like her friendship with Mariko, it was refreshing. You start to see more about Tsuneoki and his past and his unrequited love for Okami. I hate unrequited love, I really do, it just makes me sad and frustrated at all of the characters involved. You also get to see more about Okami and his past. And his reluctance to take his rightful role in the future. You get to see more about the two imperial brothers. Youngest is now the emperor, the oldest is betrothed to Mariko. The youngest's (Roku's) personality isn't very surprising (neither is Mariko's brother Kenshin's), Raiden's on the other hand is surprising. Luckily, he's a lot nicer than expected. There's some hope after all! A character that I thought was really intriguing was Raiden's mother Kanako. My feelings for this character is very conflicted. I kind of want to hate her, but I think she has the right idea, just executed it all wrong.
Also, I was kind of confused in the beginning about who was who with the Ranmaru, Tsuneoki thing. Just to make it clear for those who plan on reading this book, but doesn't want to read the previous one this is how it goes. So, Okami is actually Takeda Ranmaru, and Okami's best friend, who you thought was Ranmaru, is actually Asano Tsuneoki (and make the connection to switch who you think Yumi's brother is to the real Tsuneoki, that's where I got lost).That was really perplexing at first.
One good thing that is brought back from the first one is the beautiful writing. Adieh really knows how to paint a picture in her readers heads. In my opinion, one of Adieh's best aspects is to create a strong tone. In Smoke in the Sun she captures the sensuality, wisdom, and mystery that got reader's attentions in the first place.
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