by Anna Banks
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: October 4th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Supernatural, Fiction
Synopsis:
The princess didn’t expect to fall in love–with her nemesis.
Princess Sepora of Serubel is the last Forger in all the five kingdoms. The spectorium she creates provides energy for all, but now her father has found a way to weaponize it, and his intentions to incite war force her to flee from his grasp. She escapes across enemy lines into the kingdom of Theoria, but her plans to hide are thwarted when she is captured and placed in the young king’s servitude.
Tarik has just taken over rulership of Theoria, and must now face a new plague sweeping through his kingdom and killing his citizens. The last thing he needs is a troublesome servant vying for his attention. But mistress Sepora will not be ignored. When the two finally meet face-to-face, they form an unlikely bond that complicates life in ways neither of them could have imagined.
Sepora’s gift could save Tarik’s kingdom from the Quiet Plague. But should she trust her growing feelings for her nemesis, or should she hide her gifts at all costs?
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I thought the cover of this book was really appealing. It really drew my attention and, along with the blurb, made me want to read this book. And despite the fact that it kept switching between first and third person, which meant I couldn’t easily get drawn into either character’s head, I did find this book an entertaining and fairly easy read.
I found both Sepora and Tarik interesting characters and it was good to see the problems both had to deal with… though I didn’t really think much of Tarik’s attitude during his original dealings with Sepora.
I liked being able to see something of the differences in the kingdoms… at least in the two main ones… but it was good to see how the characters viewed each other. I liked seeing something of the other characters in Tarik’s kingdom, but I would have liked to see some more of the secondary characters in Sepora’s history, rather than just her perceptions of them.
I thought that the idea of the Forgers was quite a unique one and it was good to see that Sepora still got herself in danger. I liked the fact that she was strong and spirited, but couldn’t just get away with doing what she wanted.
I would have liked a bit more time spent on the romance, as even by the end of the book, I didn’t find it all that believable. And although I found Sethos an intriguing character, I felt he didn’t really have a lot of depth outside of crushing on Sepora.
I liked Tarik’s ability to tell when someone was lying. I thought there were some really interesting weaknesses involved in that. I liked seeing his interactions with his adviser, but I would have liked to see some more details with the other people in his home. I was a bit disappointed that not much was done with the different girls in the harem.
I thought there were a lot of good elements of tension in this book and it was nice to see that the main characters had goals to work towards, along with strengths and weaknesses. While I did think it could have been improved upon… I would be interested in reading the next book/s in this series.
Pre-order Pre-orders will receive an exclusive Nemesis print and a Nemesis bath bomb
About The Author
NYT Bestselling YA author of The Syrena Legacy series: OF POSEIDON (2012), OF TRITON (2013), OF NEPTUNE (2014).
Repped by rockstar Lucy Carson of the Friedrich Agency.
I live with my husband and daughter in the Florida Panhandle. I have a southern accent compared to New Yorkers, and I enjoy food cooked with real fat. I can’t walk in high heels, but I’m very good at holding still in them. If you put chocolate in front of me, you must not have wanted it in the first place.
Favorite Books:
Shatter Me, Cinder, Linger, Shiver, Forever, Pushing the Limits, Unravel Me,Shadow and Bone, Enclave, Divergent, Candor, Graceling, Fire, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Host, Most of James Patterson, and Janet Evanovich makes me laugh through my nose in an unfeminine sort of way.
I have seen most of the BBC series of Sherlock, though not for a while. However, when I saw this on DVD, I was immediately interested in watching it.
I really liked the idea of having the characters from the modern day in the Victorian era. It was interesting to see the different attitudes they had that related to the time period, though I wasn’t especially keen on Watson’s character in the Victorian part.
I thought it was interesting to see how the case related to what had happened to the modern-day Sherlock, though I did feel this episode crossed into the fantastical at various points. There was a scene towards the end that I really couldn’t suspend my disbelief for.
I liked being able to see certain aspects of the events of history, such as the Suffragette movement, even though that did tie in with my suspension of disbelief. It was also strange to see some aspects of modern-day language being used… although that made sense with what was revealed later on.
I did like seeing the familiar characters in the Victorian setting, though I was somewhat confused by the whole thing with Mycroft. That also seemed a bit weird… though it was good to see his machinations and interactions with Mary.
Moriarty’s appearance was a bit confusing at times, though it was good to see how affected Sherlock was by him. At the same time, although it made sense later on, I did find it confusing how Moriarty seemed to take over the whole abominable bride case. I felt that fell by the wayside.
This was an interesting special, but I think there was a bit too much going on and not everything was followed through on. It was entertaining to watch the first time, but I don’t think I’d re-watch it any time soon.
I haven’t read the book this movie is based on, but I still found this movie easy to follow.
It was good to have the opportunity to see quite a bit of what Melanie’s world was like. While it was clear what the dangers were with Melanie and the other children, I couldn’t help but feel a lot of sympathy for her and the others. It was really sad to see how none of them knew any different.
While this movie was another take on the zombie genre, I did find it was a fairly unique one… though I was a bit confused by how exactly it worked. It wasn’t very clear how the fungus had first started, or how it spread so quickly, whereas a lot of zombie movies at least reference the beginning. While it was interesting to see something of the fungus’ life cycle, I wasn’t very clear on what happened to the bitten who were properly fed on.
I really did like Melanie, but I had a strong dislike for Doctor Caldwell and Parks… though the latter did grow on me a bit by the end, even though I still did really hate Caldwell for the whole movie.
It was interesting to see the kind of relationship Helen had with the children in general and Melanie in particular. It was also good to see some hints of their pasts before the infection… though I would have liked a bit more detail about their background, especially considering what Helen mentioned about not being a good person.
I felt there were a lot of tense moments in this movie and it was good to see how Melanie related to the other people. I really cared about what happened with her and I liked how resourceful she was.
I found this movie entertaining and intense to watch. It drew me in easily and although I had some problems with the ending, it’s a film I wouldn’t mind watching again in the future.
Stalking Jack the Ripper (Untitled Trilogy #1)
by Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Release Date: September 20th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Jack the Ripper has always been a horrible part of history, but I was intrigued by the blurb and I found Audrey to be a really intriguing character. It was interesting to see her as a progressive female character in a time when women were still considered unequal to men.
It was good to see the tensions between Audrey’s father and uncle and I liked being able to learn more about their history, though there were times I felt there were some contradictions… particularly in regards to her uncle’s behaviour. And I found it very hard to understand her father’s real motivations.
I thought the illustrations used in this book added a good aspect, but I did feel there were times they detracted from the story a bit.
It was good to see how there were some connections to Audrey’s household, though I felt there was a bit too much summarising of events. I would have liked to see this book expanded upon a bit more.
While I did find Thomas to be an interesting character, I thought that his deductions could have been shown a bit better, though, as none of those were things I could see as a reader.
It was good to see bits and pieces of the murders, but I did feel there was less shown than there really should have been. I did like seeing Audrey’s relationship with her cousin, but I would have liked to see those interactions a bit more, rather than them being glossed over. And I would have liked to see a bit more depth to her aunt’s character.
While a lot of the book did have the feel of the time period the book was set in… I was a bit disappointed to see there was quite a bit of modern day language used, that did detract from the story at times.
I did like seeing Audrey’s relationship with Nathaniel and it was good to get some ideas of the differences between the siblings. There was one thing in particular I did see coming, but only just before it became relevant.
Despite the issues mentioned earlier, I did find this book entertaining to read and I would be interested in reading more books by this author in the future, as well as the next book/s in this series.
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats. Stalking Jack the Ripper is her debut novel. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history, and is the first in a new series of gothic thrillers.
It will be available everywhere September 20, 2016.
Fear the Drowning Deep
by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: October 4th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
Witch’s apprentice Bridey Corkill has hated the ocean ever since she watched her granddad dive in and drown with a smile on his face. So when a dead girl rolls in with the tide in the summer of 1913, sixteen-year-old Bridey suspects that whatever compelled her granddad to leap into the sea has made its return to the Isle of Man.
Soon, villagers are vanishing in the night, but no one shares Bridey’s suspicions about the sea. No one but the island’s witch, who isn’t as frightening as she first appears, and the handsome dark-haired lad Bridey rescues from a grim and watery fate. The cause of the deep gashes in Fynn’s stomach and his lost memories are, like the recent disappearances, a mystery well-guarded by the sea. In exchange for saving his life, Fynn teaches Bridey to master her fear of the water — stealing her heart in the process.
Now, Bridey must work with the Isle’s eccentric witch and the boy she isn’t sure she can trust — because if she can’t uncover the truth about the ancient evil in the water, everyone she loves will walk into the sea, never to return.
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This was another book I was really interested in reading after seeing the blurb. I thought it was interesting to see the kind of setting Bridey lived in. It was nice to see her interacting with her family and her friends, Lugh and Cat. While I did think there was a little bit of information dumping in regards to the history between Bridey and her two friends, I did think both of them came across as well-rounded characters with a lot of depth to them.
I really liked seeing Bridey interacting with her family… but I had a lot of sympathy for her as a child, given everything I learned about her and her grandfather. It was good to see the elements of supernatural were a part of the story, but didn’t seem to take over completely.
I didn’t like a lot of the villagers by the end of the book, I have to say. I did feel like a lot of them were lumped together into the same kind of characters and there wasn’t a lot to differentiate between the stereotypical nosy women.
I thought Morag was an interesting character, although I was disappointed not to see much of her actually interacting with Bridey. While I could understand why, it seemed like she spent most of the book hiding away from everyone… including her apprentice.
I did like seeing Bridey’s sisters and how different they were. It was also good to see her relationship with her parents… and I liked that they had different nicknames for each of their daughters. It was interesting to see Bridey’s mother’s paintings and how they related to what was going on with the villagers disappearing.
I liked Fynn’s character, although I did think that his feelings for Bridey and hers for him moved a bit too quickly. I didn’t find much mystery surrounding his presence, as I figured things out fairly quickly. It was, however, interesting to see the different kinds of creatures from the ocean.
I found this book a really entertaining read and I would definitely be interested in reading a sequel to this.
Sarah Glenn Marsh writes young adult novels and children’s picture books. An avid fantasy reader from the day her dad handed her a copy of The Hobbit and promised it would change her life, she’s been making up words and worlds ever since.
When she’s not writing, Sarah enjoys watercolor painting, ghost hunting, and pursuits of the nerd variety, from video games to tabletop adventures. She’s never met an animal or a doughnut she didn’t like.
Sarah lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and their tiny zoo of four rescued greyhounds, a bird, and many fish. She is the author of Fear the Drowning Deep, the Reign of the Fallen duology, and several picture books.
Before buying this one, I read about three of the novellas of this series… and despite reading them very much out of order, I found myself drawn really easily into the world and the characters, so I was happy to be able to read the whole serial.
I really liked the opportunity to learn the pasts of the different characters with each short segment. By the end of the book, I had no real idea what to think of Proctor and I was left with a whole horde of questions, even though there were a couple of answers given.
I would have liked some more detail about what exactly Ryan remembered of his past with the other crew members of the Survivor, though I did really like seeing his interactions with them… especially with Jabo. I would have liked more detail on them, especially as I wasn’t really sold on Maria by the end of the book. While I had a lot of empathy for her as a child, I didn’t really like her as an adult by the end of the book.
I found Ai to be the most interesting character. I thought it was interesting to see the parts of the story from her POV and it was good to get some idea of the events that had shaped her as an adult. Plus, I felt one of her weaknesses gave her a lot more depth.
I thought it was interesting to see the different gifts and abilities the characters had and to learn about how each of them gained those abilities. It was also good to see them using their abilities after they reached the planet.
I did find it interesting to learn, along with the characters, where they’d landed. There was a lot of mystery and tension surrounding the place the characters found themselves in… but there wasn’t a lot of time to relax and really absorb what was going on, or to put together many of the clues provided.
The beginning of the book was tense enough to pull me in straight from the start. I would have liked this book to be longer, though, and to be able to learn more about the events leading up to the crew and why Ryan was the only one who retained any memory.
I would really like to read the second serial. Unfortunately, as it’s in German (and I don’t know any other languages), I’m currently being disappointed… as I would jump at the chance to see more of this world and the characters.
I thought this movie looked quite entertaining to watch… and right from the first scene, even though I had no idea of the characters involved or the events leading up to the first scene, it drew me in.
Out of the three who were stealing from people, I really only found Alex to be the most sympathetic. While I felt for Rocky and her situation, I couldn’t say I really liked her, even though her survival instinct was strong. And Money was a character with very little depth to him. I would have liked a little bit more background to the ‘friendship’ formed between the three of them.
There was a lot to this movie that wasn’t shown, such as the relationships between other characters. I actually felt there was quite a small cast… but despite not forming too much of an emotional connection to two of the three characters, I felt there was a lot of tension in this movie.
There was a lot of violence in this movie, but although there were a number of jump scares, I also thought it was good to see a lot of the suspense came from the atmosphere. There were some really good scenes of lighting in this… and I liked being able to see the man able to get around. For a lot of the movie, I was on his side… but that did start to change, especially when I began wanting Alex to survive.
There wasn’t a lot of background to this movie, but it was good to have things revealed as the movie went on. I felt that, with the exception of Money, all of the characters had moments of being sympathetic and really bad guys throughout the film.
I really liked the dog, though… and it was good to see some elements of foreshadowing. I wouldn’t watch this movie again, but I did find it entertaining to watch it the first time through.
A Mortal Song
by Megan Crewe
Publisher: Another World Press
Release Date: September 13th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Sora’s life was full of magic—until she discovered it was all a lie.
Heir to Mt. Fuji’s spirit kingdom, Sora yearns to finally take on the sacred kami duties. But just as she confronts her parents to make a plea, a ghostly army invades the mountain. Barely escaping with her life, Sora follows her mother’s last instructions to a heart-wrenching discovery: she is a human changeling, raised as a decoy while her parents’ true daughter remained safe but unaware in modern-day Tokyo. Her powers were only borrowed, never her own. Now, with the world’s natural cycles falling into chaos and the ghosts plotting an even more deadly assault, it falls on her to train the unprepared kami princess.
As Sora struggles with her emerging human weaknesses and the draw of an unanticipated ally with secrets of his own, she vows to keep fighting for her loved ones and the world they once protected. But for one mortal girl to make a difference in this desperate war between the spirits, she may have to give up the only home she’s ever known.
“Megan Crewe’s A Mortal Song is engrossing from the first chapter. The world of the kami is beautifully fantastic and delicately drawn, and the switched-at-birth scenario made me instantly feel for both of these resilient, brave girls. A Mortal Song has lots of magic, lots of heart, and lots to love.” -Kendare Blake, author of Three Dark Crowns.
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having been a long-time fan of manga and anime, I was particularly intrigued to see more about the Japanese paranormal culture when I was given the opportunity to read this book.
I really liked Sora’s character. She was easy to engage with and I found myself aching with her as she learned she wasn’t who she thought she was.
I was particularly interested in learning about the kami. I thought the different kinds of kami were good to see, although I would have liked a bit more detail of things like how they could have children and what kind of relationship they had with the world they took care of.
I especially liked being able to see how Sora related to the environment around her and her relationships with the other kami, especially Midora. I really didn’t like Ayame, though. I thought she was fickle and didn’t really care about Sora as a person… only about the position.
I really didn’t like the love triangle. Even though it didn’t irritate me quite as much as most love triangles do, it was one of the worst cliches I’ve seen in love triangles. If it wasn’t for that, I would have easily given this book five stars.
I did like both Keiji and Takeo, even though there were some problems involving both of them. However, I felt both of them had a lot of depth… although there were times I felt Takeo was a bit one-dimensional.
While I did feel there were times Chiyo crossed too far into the over-powered territory, it was good to see that she did have to have training and that she wasn’t perfectly good at using her power. I did also find her boyfriend to be a really interesting character. It was good to see the humans battling along with the kami to save the world… and it was also good to see that it wasn’t just one person who could do everything.
I felt this book was good at drawing me in and making me care about the world and the characters. I even thought it was good to see that the villain had a lot of depth and wasn’t just a one-dimensional character. I would definitely be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.
Like many authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and son (and does on occasion say “eh”), she tutors children and teens with special needs, and she’s spent the last six years studying kung fu, so you should probably be nice to her. She has been making up stories about magic and spirits and other what ifs since before she knew how to write words on paper. These days the stories are just a lot longer.
Megan’s first novel, GIVE UP THE GHOST, was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Her second, THE WAY WE FALL, was nominated for the White Pine Award and made the International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choices List. Her Fallen World trilogy (THE WAY WE FALL, THE LIVES WE LOST, THE WORLDS WE MAKE) is now complete and she has a new trilogy forthcoming in October 2014, beginning with EARTH & SKY. Her books have been published in translation in several countries around the world. She has also published short stories in magazines such as On Spec and Brutarian Quarterly.
On the afternoon of my seventeenth birthday, I came down the mountain to visit a dying man.
The affliction had revealed itself slowly. I’d first noticed the tremor of discord in Mr. Nagamoto’s ki—the life energy that glowed inside him—three months ago. Over the weeks, that tremor had swollen into a cloud, dimming the ki at the side of his abdomen. Today I arrived to find the cloud twisting and churning while he typed at his computer in the living room. It was draining his already inconceivably short human life away, but neither he nor his wife knew it was there.
They didn’t know I was there either. I kept myself invisible as I watched from beside the narrow sofa, as I always did when I visited the households in the town at Mt. Fuji’s foot. The people living in those homes looked much like myself and many of the other kami, but it was their differences that fascinated me. They shifted from one mood to another in patterns too complex to predict, and their bodies changed quickly too, for better or for ill. As I’d drifted through the beige walls of this house over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Nagamoto had grown plumper and their hair grayer. I’d joined their children’s games unseen and silently shared their laughter before the son and then the daughter had transformed into adults leaving for college. And now this sickness had come.
I stepped closer to Mr. Nagamoto. Seeing how his disease had spread made me feel sick myself, but that was why I’d come. My resolve solidified inside me, overshadowing the worries that had driven me from the palace. If I really wanted to consider myself a part of this family’s lives, I should help them—help him.
I’d have healed him if I could, but the cloud of decay was so large and fierce I doubted even the most practiced healers of my kind would have been able to defeat it. We kami had other skills, though. I knew a few in the palace whose focus was tending to the dying. When a worthy person or creature passed away, they let it hold on to life a little longer by transferring its spirit into something it had loved. I thought Mr. Nagamoto might like to linger in the cypress tree in the yard or one of the koi in the pond beneath it, where he could continue watching over his family.
Any kami was capable of doing that. Any kami but me. Mother and Father hadn’t let me learn the sacred practices yet.
I had so much more power than anyone in this town—more ki in my little toe than Mr. Nagamoto had in his whole fragile human body. It wasn’t right for me to stand by and let his life slip away unrecognized. My parents would just have to accept that it was time I started serving the purpose I was meant to.
I bowed my farewell to Mr. Nagamoto and slipped outside. The summer sun was dipping low in the stark blue sky. Midori, my dragonfly kami friend who always accompanied me on my ventures off the mountain, flitted around me with a mischievous tickle of ki that dared me to try to reach the palace faster than her.
I took off down the street. Midori darted past me, but in a moment I’d matched her pace, sending ki to my feet to speed them on. The houses streaked by, clay walls and red-and-gray tiled roofs standing behind low fences of concrete or metal. It was strange to think most of these people barely believed my kind existed, spoke and prayed to us only out of habit, with no more faith than they had in the characters they watched on their TVs. But as long as kami lived on Mt. Fuji and elsewhere, we’d continue to act as guardians of the natural world, doing all we could to keep the crops growing, to fend off the worst storms, and to calm the fire that lurked deep inside the mountain.
Or, at least, the others did, and I hoped soon I’d find my focus too.
Midori pulled a little ahead of me, and I pushed my feet faster. I was the only one to have been born in the palace in as long as my honorary auntie Ayame could remember. She loved sharing tales of my birth even more than she did those of heroes and sages. “It was a blessing for our chosen rulers,” she’d told me. “When your mother and father announced they were expecting, the celebrations lasted for weeks.” The parties commemorating my birthday weren’t anywhere near as extensive, but kami still traveled from far abroad to pay their respects. Surely while my parents were thinking of how much I meant to them, they’d recognize how much this request meant to me?
In a few minutes, Midori and I had left the town behind and started up the forested slope. An odd quiet filled the pine woods we dashed through. No animals stirred, except for a couple of squirrels that rushed this way and that as if in alarm before scurrying away. I slowed, forgetting the race as I peered amid the branches for the owl kami who normally maintained the harmony in this part of the forest. “Daichi?” I called. There was no sign of him.
He must have already headed up to join the party. I’d mention my observations when I saw him in the palace.
I directed a fresh rush of ki through my legs. As I ran on, my feet hardly touched the ground. Farther up the mountain, the rustling of moving bodies and the lilt of birdsong reached my ears. Nothing was terribly wrong, then.
“Sora!”
The voice brought me to a halt. Midori settled on my hair. A tall figure was striding toward us through the trees. My heart skipped a beat.
“Takeo,” I said, trying not to sound as breathless as I felt after that run.
Takeo stopped a few paces away and dipped into a low bow. He was wearing his fancier uniform with the silver embroidery along the jacket’s billowing sleeves. In contrast with the deep green of the fabric, his mahogany-brown eyes gleamed as brightly as if they were made of polished wood. With his shoulder-length hair pulled back in a formal knot, the lacquered sheath of his sword at his hip, and the arc of his bow at his shoulder, he looked every inch the palace guard. But he smiled at me, warm and open, as a friend.
If I’d had a camera like the ones the tourists carried, I’d have captured the look he was giving me for keeps. Although then I’d have to explain why I wanted to, and I hadn’t worked up enough courage to confess these new feelings yet. He might see me as a friend, but before that I was the daughter of his rulers, a child he’d been assigned to watch over and teach since I was seven years old, when he’d arrived at the mountain barely out of childhood himself, seeking to serve.
What if he couldn’t think of me as more? Just imagining him telling me as much, struggling to let me down gently, made my stomach tie itself into knots.
I pushed those thoughts aside. I had another goal tonight. Takeo was the only kami close to my age I knew, and he had been training in all the skills of the kami since he was much younger than me.
“I was a little worried when I couldn’t find you in the palace,” Takeo said. “But then I remembered your favorite place to visit. You were in town?”
“Yes,” I said. “Is something wrong?”
“Only that Ayame is looking for you. She’s fretting that she won’t have enough time to get you ready. You know how she is.”
With a wisp of amusement, Midori cast an image into my head of Ayame calling in her usual frantic voice, “Where is that girl?” I wasn’t late, but unlike humans, who might be panicking one moment and easygoing a few minutes later, kami were much more strict in their natures. It was Ayame’s nature to fret over absolutely everything.
“Hush,” I said to the dragonfly with a suppressed groan. She wasn’t the one Ayame would be fussing over when we got back. “I’m sorry,” I added to Takeo.
“It’s no problem at all,” he said, his smile widening. “I’m pleased to escort you home.“Is everything all right with you?” he asked as we continued up the mountain. “On your birthday, I’d have thought you’d be too busy to leave the palace.”
The question reminded me of the niggle of doubt that had drawn me to the Nagamotos’ house so I could steel myself to challenge Mother and Father’s judgment tonight. “I just needed to get away from the busy-ness for a bit,” I said, and bit my lip. “Takeo, do you think if I ask my parents to let me start learning the sacred practices, they’ll say yes?”
“Of course,” he said. “Why wouldn’t they?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “They’ve avoided giving me any responsibility—haven’t you noticed? Last year Kaito offered to teach me the way of the rain, and the year before that Manami suggested I accompany her to her shrine, and both times Mother and Father said that I shouldn’t have that sort of pressure on me before I’m fully of age. But I’ve been able to best you with ki since I was twelve—I nearly beat you with a sword last week. I know every inch of this mountain. Isn’t it time I learned our actual duties?”
“You should tell them that’s what you want,” Takeo said, ducking under a branch. “I’ve never known your parents to be anything less than understanding. They’ll find the right answer.”
The worries I’d squashed down in Mr. Nagamoto’s house surged back up. What if the answer was that they had good reason not to trust me with responsibility? Grandfather always said, “The one truth I know is, we can’t help but be the way we are.” Which meant if I were capable, it should be as clear as Ayame’s fretting, as Mother’s cool collectedness, as Father’s indomitable compassion.
So much of the time, nothing inside me felt clear at all. I could believe with every fiber of my being that I was ready, and a moment later be completely uncertain again. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe my parents had seen that strangeness in me and decided I was… inadequate. I’d never heard anyone else in the palace mention feeling so jumbled up, so I’d tried not to show it, but it had only gotten worse in the last few years.
I glanced sideways at Takeo. “Did you ever…” I said, and hesitated. “Have you ever felt you needed to do something, but at the same time you weren’t sure you could do it, and—”
My voice broke when he turned his head toward me. His handsome face was puzzled.
“If there’s something I can’t do, I leave it to those who can,” he said. “None of us can do everything.” His smile returned, softer this time. “But I think you’re strong enough to accomplish just about anything you decide to attempt, Sora.”
Even though he hadn’t understood what I’d been getting at, his smile steadied me. Was it really so unexpected that Mother and Father might want their only child to relish her youthful years before turning toward duty? “If you give enough to the Earth, it gives you joy in return,” Ayame liked to say. “You are the joy it gave your parents.” Every time my parents called me their “gift,” every time the other kami bowed to me, every time I stood on the mountainside with its power echoing through me, I remembered those words. The Earth itself had brought me into being to do its work. I was meant to be here, to fulfill that promise. I needed to keep my mind on that and not these ridiculous fears.
For a few dazzling seconds, I let the full force of my ki rush through me in a hum of light. The landscape blurred around me. Midori’s grip on my hair tightened as she sent me a glimmering thrill of exhilaration.
Then I reined myself back. At my fastest, I’d leave Takeo behind. I dodged the pale trunk of a birch—and nearly darted right through a ghost.
“Oh!” I said, jerking to a halt. “Excuse me, Miss Sakai. I didn’t see you.”
The filmy young woman bobbed her head to me. Wan and wide-eyed, Miss Sakai had been floating around this part of the mountain for several months. I’d gotten it out of a maple kami that her boyfriend had been walking with her along the paths and pushed her over one of the sharper inclines. She’d broken her neck. “I imagine she’s stuck around to give him a piece of her mind,” the maple had added, but Miss Sakai always seemed calm when I saw her.
Not today, though. I schooled my gaze away from the space partway down her legs where, as with all ghosts, her translucent body dissolved completely, leaving no knees, calves, or feet beneath her. Her ki was jittering. She stretched her mouth into an over-wide grin.
“I wasn’t watching either,” she said, too brightly. “So sorry.” Her eyes darted from me to Takeo and back. “I should be wishing you a happy birthday, shouldn’t I! The big party is about to start?”
“Thank you,” I said. “Yes.”
I wondered if I should invite her to join us, but she spun around before I could say anything else. “Have a wonderful time!” she said, and shot off down the slope. In a few seconds, she’d disappeared amid the trees.
“That was strange,” I said.
“It’s unusual for the spirits of the dead to cling to this world at all,” Takeo pointed out. “I suppose that can’t help but affect their minds.”
We crossed the spring that babbled just below the palace’s entrance and stepped through the grove of cherry trees to the shallow cave on the far side. Any human who happened upon this spot would see nothing more than a small hollow. But when we walked through the cool stone, which tingled over my skin as if I’d passed under a waterfall, we emerged into the main hall of the great palace that housed most of Mt. Fuji’s kami.
Inside, I released the energy that had held me invisible and settled back into my more comfortable corporeal form. At once, my surroundings felt more solid too: the wooden floor smooth beneath my feet, the muted sunlight that gleamed through the ceiling panels warming my long black hair. On either side of us, sliding doors painted with images of flowers and sweeping branches broke the dark wood of the walls. The thrum of the mountain’s ki washed over me in welcome.
Farther down the main hall, two palace attendants were leading a group of guests toward the large public rooms. The smell of the grand dinner being prepared filled the air—kami could take all our nourishment directly from the Earth when we needed to, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying good food. Frolicking music filtered through the walls. My mouth watered and my feet itched to dance, but as Midori flitted over to join the early merrymaking, I turned in the other direction, where the private apartments lay.
I’d only taken one step around the corner toward my parents’ chambers when a high, nasal voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Sora!” Ayame cried, tearing across the hall with her spindly arms waving and her hair billowing around her petite frame. “Look at you, child. Bare-faced, dirt on your clothes… Augh, I can’t have you seen like this, not on your birthday.”
“I need to speak to Mother and Father first,” I said as she tugged me toward my rooms.
“You can go when you’re properly prepared.”
Well, it might be wise to look my best when I made my appeal. I relented.When we reached my inner rooms, Takeo hung back. “Wait for me?” I said. Takeo’s protection was merely a formality at my age, but I’d feel more confident approaching my parents with his steady presence at my side.
“Of course,” he said.
Ayame shoved the sliding door shut between us. Her assistants—one human-shaped like Ayame and me and the other three kami in the forms of a robin, a crane, and a monkey—were waiting in the bathing room. I was scrubbed and rinsed with water scented with cherry blossoms, then powdered and combed and lotioned and powdered again. Finally I was allowed to get dressed, in a silky robe more flowing than any humans ever wore. The pale blue fabric danced with golden butterflies.
“Ah!” Ayame said, clapping her hands together. “Magnificent.”
“Am I done, then?” I asked as the monkey tied the sash around my waist.
Ayame made a dismissive sound and launched into a tirade about my hair. I stared longingly at the door. If I didn’t distract myself, I was going to burst.
As the robin started coiling my hair and Ayame brought out her make-up palette, I exhaled, sending out a stream of ki shaped into a kite. At my mental nudge, it drifted through the door. Takeo and I had played this game since I was first learning how to use the energy inside me, but these days I offered it as a challenge.
The kite was caught by an impression that was purely Takeo, gallant as one of the mountain’s young pines. I drew it back. His ki resisted, dragging the kite toward him, and the corners of my mouth twitched upward.
“Hold still!” Ayame said.
Quieting my expression, I reeled the kite in against Takeo’s pull. At the last instant, Takeo whipped it away. It took all my self control not to lunge after it physically. I clung on with sharpened focus and yanked. The kite shot straight to me, Takeo’s connection snapping. In the room outside, he laughed at his defeat. Ayame shook her head.
“So strong, my Sora,” she murmured. “All right, you’ll do. Walk carefully—and keep your hands away from your face!”
I hurried with Takeo down the narrow hall that separated my rooms from my parents’. The lamps along the wall were starting to flare on with the fading of the sun. Around us, an anxious tremor rippled through the mountain’s ki. I glanced at Takeo, startled, but he showed no sign of concern. That must have been my anxiety, trembling out of me.
My pulse beat faster as we came to a stop at the door to my parents’ private chambers. Takeo tapped on the frame and announced our presence, and Mother’s voice answered.
“Come in.”
She and Father were sitting on crimson cushions by their low ebony table. A light sandalwood scent wafted from the incense burner set in an alcove. Takeo eased the door shut, staying on the other side. I padded across the finely woven rush of the tatami mats to the other side of the table.
Because kami age so slowly once they reach adulthood, Mother and Father both looked as young as humans of about twenty, but otherwise they were each other’s opposites. Mother was thin and lithe with ivory skin, while Father was broad and bulky and ruddy complexioned. The way they smiled at me matched their temperaments perfectly: Mother soft and bright, Father wide and warm.
“We were about to send for you,” Mother said. “You look beautiful, Sora.”
I blushed, lowering my eyes. Strong, I reminded myself. Strong and capable.
“I can’t believe you’re already seventeen,” Father said in his rumbling voice. “Three more years and you’ll be all grown up.” He sounded strangely sad.
“It isn’t so short a time,” Mother said gently, as if I might someday leave for college or other far away places like the Nagamotos’ children.
A distant shout reached my ears. Mother frowned, glancing toward the hall. Kami usually got along, but occasionally there were disputes between the guests.
The faint silhouette of Takeo’s form moved away from the door’s translucent panel. He must have gone to see what was the matter. I drew my mind back to my goal.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to prepare,” I said.
“Let’s not worry about that,” Mother said before I could go on. “Tonight is one of the few occasions we can think of celebration instead of duty. Your father and I wanted to give you your birthday present.”
She nodded to Father, who lifted a long rectangular object from the floor behind him and set it on the table. It was a lacquered case with a leather strap and a gold clasp. “Open it,” he said, grinning.
I leaned forward and pushed up the clasp. As I raised the lid, my breath caught. “Thank you!” I said, staring at the instrument inside. “It’s wonderful.”
It was a flute made of polished bamboo, so carefully crafted I could feel how pure its sounds would be just by running my fingertips over the wood. I picked it up and brought it to my lips. The scale hummed through me as if I were as much an instrument as the flute. Each note expanded into the quiet like a flower bud unfurling. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard—and it was mine.
I set the flute back in its case, closed the lid, and hugged it to me. “Thank you,” I said again. “I’ll play it tonight.” I’d meant to use my old flute, the one they’d given me when I’d started lessons years ago. But this was a true musician’s instrument. One for a woman, not a girl. Maybe they knew I was ready to finally find my place among the kami.
I slid the case’s strap over my shoulder. As I opened my mouth, another shout carried through the wall, followed by a heavy crash that shocked the words from my throat. Footsteps thumped down the hall outside. Takeo pulled open the door, and one of his fellow guards stumbled to a halt on the threshold, his breath rasping.
“Your Highnesses,” he said, “forgive my intrusion. We’re under attack.”
Although there were some parts of this movie that had potential, I didn’t really feel it lived up to the first movie.
I didn’t get as confused with the characters as I did with the first film, which gave the impression that this movie was more scripted, rather than the improvisation that seemed to exist in the first movie.
I felt that this movie severely lacked in subtlety. It didn’t generate the same feelings of fear of the unseen as the previous movie did… and it lost quite a bit of the fear it generated when it showed the violence, rather than leaving it to the viewers’ imagination.
I felt that the camera was a bit disjointed, especially seeing as it seemed to randomly switch between the different cameras used by different characters.
I thought there was a lot in this movie that didn’t seem to really go anywhere, like the time disorientation. And one of the violent things that happened was really quite stupid and didn’t really seem to be used for anything other than a jump scare.
There were a few link-ins to the original movie that were good to see, but I was disappointed in this movie. The atmosphere didn’t really seem to make a lot of sense and although it was good to see James was a paramedic, I had no idea what the other characters did… or how the four of them could just randomly camp in the woods. There were references made to the history, but not a whole lot explored.
I didn’t find most of this movie particularly scary and I felt there were too many characters and not enough detail about them and how they related to each other. I wasn’t all that concerned with what was happening to them… and for most of the film, I felt they were making appallingly bad choices.
Having watched and been entertained by the first season of this, I was quite eager to watch the second, even if it did take me a little while to get to it.
My favourite character in this series was probably Audrey. I felt she had a lot of depth to her and I enjoyed seeing her relationships and interactions with the others in the Lakewood Six. I also particularly liked Brooke and Noah. Brooke was a much nicer character than her popularity really indicated… and I especially liked being able to see her relationship with her father, as well as her feelings for Jake.
The first episode did a really good job of drawing me back into the series. There was a lot of tension and a lot that was disturbing about this series. It was particularly good to see the kind of games the killer was playing with the victims.
Although it had been a while since I watched season one, I didn’t find it difficult to be engaged with the plot and the characters again. I did, however, find Emma a bit of an irritating character in this series. While it was understandable she was affected by what had happened before, I did feel she made a lot of really bad choices.
It was interesting to have the opportunity to find out more about Piper’s history and the history of the town with Brandon James. I liked being able to see the conflicts with Maggie and the other adults in town, particularly in regards to the new Sheriff. I did like seeing his relationship with his son, though.
I was a bit disappointed in regards to Zoe. I noticed a lack of ethnic diversity in the town and the character in the previous season who was of a different ethnicity ended up dead.
I liked Noah and seeing the way he and the others were coping with the massacres. This series was much more violent in terms of the death than the first… but the games the killer was playing put me on edge; and there were other conflicts, in particular between Kieran and Eli, that did a good job of that.
There were a lot of red herrings in this series, but I felt there were a few too many of those. I did find the series entertaining, though, and there were still some answers I wanted… even though it was good to see some of the conflicts resolved and the strength demonstrated in many of the characters.