
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.
FLAME IN THE MIST by Renee Ahdieh is her new fantasy series reminiscent of Mulan set in a fantasy feudal Japan. Mariko is not the type of girl to get married, but sadly that is her only purpose on this earth. Her parents need to solidify a political alliance with another prominent family. On her way to meet her new husband to be, her caravan gets ambushed and she is the only one to make it out alive. She knew she was the target. Now disguised as a boy she infiltrates the same assassins clan with sights set on revenge.
FLAME IN THE MIST was such a wonderful journey with a few snags on the way. First off Ahdieh’s writing style is another league of its own. She has a way of describing things that really make the visuals jump off the page. Especially when it comes to food descriptions. My god. I should have known after reading her first two books that I shouldn’t go into one of her books hungry. The way she describes food from the taste to the aesthetics and smells just makes your stomach grumble with desire.
Secondly, the setting. I love reading books set in feudal Japan. There is a series I’ve read in the past about a detective that is set in feudal Japan and this was very reminiscent to me. Some people are tiffed that it’s loosely based on Mulan, but set in Japan. Ahdieh took creative license to change things up a bit and I think she pulled it off magically. You can tell proper research was done when it came to the clothing, the architecture, and so on.
Lastly, the characters were a highlight for me. I loved the side characters way more than Mariko herself, but I will get to that in a moment. I loved Kenshin, her brother a lot. He was brave, smart, and his loyal to his sister. I know there is more to his character and I can’t wait to have him explored a bit more. Okami was also a highlight for me. He falls into one of my favorite tropes, the brooding bad boy. Enough said.
Now we get into the snags I mentioned earlier. One of them being Mariko, our MC. I had a few issues with her. It keeps getting mentioned how intelligent she is, but sadly it was too far between. If you’re going to mention a major quality of a character, A LOT, then I expect to see instances of that said quality. Finally, I found some issues with the magic system. I didn’t feel like there was much of an explanation for it. It was pretty random and not well thought out in my opinion. I hope it gets explored more in the sequel.
Jesse is a 20 something college student/server and dwells in Toronto, Canada. He enjoys reading about fantastical worlds, listening to KPOP, and being a couch potato.
What are your thoughts? Did you like reading this one? What’s one of your favorite fantasies this year? Let me know in the comments below!
Glad you enjoyed it! Honestly the book does not live up to my expectations, I expect it to be a Mulan retelling because it was marketed as such, so it’s more like marketing mistake because this is not a Mulan retelling. I also want to see proof of Mariko’s intellegence. I am intrigued with the magic and hope it will be explored, I hope it won’t turn out to be The Rose and The Dagger 2.0.
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I didn’t mind The Rose and the Dagger to be honest, but I can see how it wasn’t as great as The Wrath and the Dawn.
But seeing as how Flame in the Mist wasn’t the best, I hope the sequel can redeem it as a duology 🙂
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Great review! I’m really glad you liked it! I totally agree about the snags that it had. I don’t thing her “intelligence” really shines through. And the magic system was really al over the place. But overall it was a pretty good novel. I’m excited for the sequel!
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Same here. I hope the sequel does the series justice! 😀
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My best advice to someone who wants to read this book is forget the Disney movie! I think a lot of people forget that there are various stories about Mulan and the Disney version is just one. I know that was something I struggled with while reading at the start.
I agree with your snags. I liked Mariko enough as a heroine. She’s intelligent in an unconventional way but you’re right that it doesn’t really show here. I liked that she made mistakes and has the vulnerable aspect to her but I also was drawn to some of the other characters more.
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Exactly. I wish she shined more with her intelligence that was repeatedly said that she has. I’m hoping the sequel does her justice because I want to see her do great things!
Thanks for reading 🙂
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I honestly didn’t care that this didn’t turn out to be a Mulan retelling. I loved it anyway! I think one thing I really loved about this was Mariko’s learning more about her femininity and why it’s important to her. It’s such a great theme throughout the book. I can’t wait for the sequel! Great review 🙂
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Yeah thanks! I hope Mariko gets to shine more and use the skills she has to achieve her goals in the sequel! 😀
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Great review!
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