Review: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh (Book 1)
- Book Junk Hammy
- Sep 12, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 22, 2019
“Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unshakable as the mountain. And you can do anything...”
When it comes to stories that are set in Feudal Japan, without a doubt, I will pick it up because, well, I am a fan of Japanese culture and history, haha. Flame in the Mist is set in Feudal Japan and it’s loosely-based on Disney’s Mulan retelling. It follows Mariko as our protagonist who is betrothed to the emperor’s son, the crown prince, but on her way to the Imperial city, she and her convoy were ambushed by a group of ninjas known as the Black Clan. In order to get her revenge and to find out who was trying to kill her, she disguised as a boy to infiltrate the Black Clan’s territory, to gain their trust and strike when they least expect it. While I enjoy stories that are set in Feudal Japan, I can’t bring myself to finish this book…I was at 70% of the book and decided I can’t bring myself to go any further…Sorry ☹
Without further ado, here’s the synopsis of the story:
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.
The Characters:
Here comes my complains on why I did not finish the book. One of the biggest reasons I did not finish the book is I can’t stand the protagonist, Hattori Mariko. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to reading a book, is when the protagonist is a good-for-nothing throughout the book, extremely weak or a damsel in distress. In this case, Mariko is portrayed as strong, resourceful and intelligent, but honestly, I don’t see it portrayed in her actions. Throughout the 70% of the book is about her raging on her revenge towards the Black Clan and doing nothing much about it *eyerolls*. She felt more like a wallflower rather than the protagonist of the story.
Our hero, Okami a.k.a Asano Tsuneoki is slightly better than Mariko, at least. I have nothing much to say about him as his character felt stoic (not much development), but then again, I only read up to 70% of the book. What I couldn’t fathom was, the romance between Okami and Mariko. I couldn’t quite connect to their relationship and it feels weird, sometimes cringy even. that’s all I can say…*facepalm*
And we have Hattori Kenshin, Mariko’s brother. He is a skilled swordsman and his main focus in the story is to look for Mariko after she was ambushed. He did not believe that his sister had died, he refused to. The character development for Kenshin is not in-depth, but you can see it a little, as the story progresses (he is the only character whom I find, has a goal in the story).
The Plot:
My second complain of the book is the plot is extremely slow that it bores me. When I start yawning several times and my eyes begins to water (due to the yawn) as I read the book, that is a not a good sign. Sometimes, it felt like the plot is going nowhere throughout the 70% of the book. It’s all about Mariko raging on her revenge and ‘digging’ around the Black Clan’s territory, and a bit of Kenshin’s POV, trying to locate his sister, Mariko. There’s not much action or ‘meat’ to keep the plot going.
The Writing:
What can I say about the writing…sigh.
Don’t get me wrong, the author’s writing is beautiful and seamless, but maybe it doesn’t go well with me. Her writing style goes like this:
“Mariko glimpsed something on the ground. It glinted in the mud, the colour of burnt sugar. She stopped on her tracks and leaned down a little, then some more. Closer. She had to catch her breath; she picked the object up. So light. So soft. She had found- A leaf. I've found a leaf.”
Overall, it’s a decent book if only the main character, Hattori Mariko is not annoying, who pretty much does nothing in the story. The plot’s pacing was too slow for me and it bores me. Each time I continue where I had left off, I will inevitably start yawning away several times. I don’t think I will be picking up the second book…Probably some time in the future, I might.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Details of the book can be found on Goodreads:
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