Shadow of the Fox

By: Julie Kagawa

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski, Brian Nishii, Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

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. 

New from the New York Times best-selling author of The Talon Saga and The Iron Fey. Fans of Sarah J. Maas, Julie C. Dao, Marie Lu, Cassandra Clare, and more best-selling YA fantasy will be captivated by book one of this enchanting new series.

“One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels! I'm in love with this book, its characters, its worldbuilding!” (Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy and Spirit Hunters series)

©2018 Julie Kagawa (P)2018 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited.

Love it!

Ok, first I would like to say that I have not seen any other books like this book. I love it for one it is mostly original. I see a lot of historical Japanese culture in it. If you don’t know Japanese history or customs it might be hard to understand but I think anything said is explain quiet well. People who don’t know any Japanese culture/customs could understand if they can connect thoughts and ideas from different parts of the book to create the big picture. I must admit that I did not expect the ending, but not to spoil anything let’s just say that there should be another book. I hope this helps anyone looking to get this audiobook.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Fun characters; mysterious foes; Japanese flavor

Shadow of the Fox was a real delight to listen to. The world built in the book is a lot of fun to imagine, and the main characters struck a great balance with one another. Yumeko is adorable to imagine, and Okame, who we meet later on, is a favorite as well. The greater quest is clear, but the parties who are interested in the actions of the main characters (some potentially friends, some potentially foes, some potentially both at once) are mysterious and add intrigue to the story.

While remaining partly mysterious, the plot is not super complicated, making this a really approachable listen. There is some violence, gore and demonic evilness, but nearly no foul language and no tasteless/awkward sexual themes. I'd probably let my children listen to it in high school.

Pros:
The setting and characters combine to make a really fun world. The tension and release cycle is well-managed; the protagonists face interesting challenges, including an overarching challenge that clearly drives the plot, but with many soft pleasant interactions in-between. The plot does not feel forced and within this fantasy world, I did not often feel that the characters acted unbelievably, even though I might have in a less colorful setting.

Cons:
The author does have a bit of exposition-dump dialog in there; not enough to reduce the story rating, and in this world where certain people talk with flowery language as a matter of habit and culture, I was actually able to imagine those conversations taking place even though people do not typically speak that way in the real world. Also, this is the first time I thought the narration was merely adequate. Normally, I do not mind when multiple narrators narrate a book; in this case, though, I felt the inconsistent voices were a little distracting.

Overall, I recommend this book to listeners who enjoy colorful fantasy worlds, swords and sorcery, and Japanese-themed characters, lore, and challenges. I am looking forward to the next book in this series, especially after the intriguing ending.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wow. Just wow.

Where's the sequel? I WANTS IT, PRECIOUS!
Sorry - had a moment there.
Great use of Japanese mythology and of fairy tale traditions. Intriguing characters and plot. And some cultural explanations worked in deftly enough to enrich the world building and plot without being distracting.
Pardon me while I go looking for a sequel, or other works by this author.
Oh! And the voice actors did an outstanding job of bringing their characters to life, too.
Loved it!

Check this one out.

I typically don't read/listen to books of this genre, but I decided to give it a shot after seeing advertisements for it on YouTube. I must say, I was thoroughly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how much I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Even if you're not the type to read/listen to Harlequin books, I recommend giving this book a shot. You just might like what you read/hear.

I Need Book 2 NOW

I loved this book SO FREAKIN MUCH!!! It was like Lord of the Rings X The Dragon Prince X Naruto X Samurai Champloo. The ending was a surprise. I was predicting it to go a different way, but the way it went was so much better. The author did a great job with misdirecting! The pacing and build up was great! The side characters were entertaining. I am so excited for book 2 in this series!
The readers all did a great job too! My favorite was Brian Nishii. He really captured his character!

Great start to new fantasy series

Julie Kagawa has done it again. This new series gives the reader a great story that you cannot put down and a look in Japanese mythology. The ending on edge waiting for the next book.
#ChosenOne #Suspenseful #Magical #HalfFox #JapaneseKingdom #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Is there anything that Julie Kagawa can't do?

Julie Kagawa has done faeries, vampires, dragons and now Japanese mythology and she did not disappointment to bring yet another amazing, exciting and fun story to her list. I love Japan and Kagawa has done her research that made this even more awesome. It felt like reading an anime. The setting, the characters, the story, everything. It was so amazing. I loved it. The narrators were great too. Love them.

I LOVED THIS BOOK

This book was SO GOOD!! I'D LOVE TO see it be a movie!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Lots of adventure

This was action packed and interesting, I have very basic knowledge of Japanese mythology so this was fun. I really appreciated the journey our main characters go through and the personal growth that comes from it even though, sometimes, Yumiko was too unbelievably gullible. I felt that the author did that with every character at points,presenting them like caricatures of themselves and their qualities.

I'm really annoyed at how terribly abrupt the cliffhanger was and I'm fairly uncertain about where the author thinks she's going to go (I have a few ideas, many of which I don't like). But I will read or listen to the next one, provided it doesn't take 2.5 years to come out.

One thing that did bother me was the editing surrounding the pronunciation of some Japanese terms- I think that these names and words were pre-recorded and inserted in spots- making for awkward transitions. I even questioned whether it was the narrator or another person they hired to pronounce all the words right- just weird

Not nearly as good as Julie Kagawa's other books

I absolutely love the Iron Fey & Talon series and was very excited when I saw she has started a new series. But, this book is anything but exciting. I'm 3hrs in and quit. the narrator is awful, the voice she uses for one of the characters is very grating and isn't much better with the other characters. The story is disappointing and makes no sense. In her other series Ms. Kagawa has incredible character development and you quickly become attached. Not in this book, so far all I know is 3 characters are on a journey and being faced by weird, supernatural opponents with names I couldnt dream id pronouncing (really glad I wasnt trying to read the book instead of listening, I wouldn't have made it as far as I did). Sorry Ms. Kagawa for a poor review, I really am a big fan of yours, but this book is just not on par with your others