Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I was interested in this book because it was about Japanese mythology. I hoped that by reading this I would learn Japanese mythology. However, I found it to be very slow moving, and I could not invest in the characters. Still, I recommend this for fans of Shadow of the Fox!

I was disappointed by this book unfortunately. I studied Japanese for several years, but I feel that unless you have that background you’re going to be very confused by a lot of the context in this book. Some of the words I just don’t understand why they’re left untranslated. It seems weird. I can understand a word that isn’t really used in the English language staying in Japanese, but leaving words like “stupid” in Japanese just doesn’t make sense. I found this book dragged on quite a bit and also had a hard time connecting with the characters.

Initial Thoughts
I found this book in the Read Now section on NetGalley and thought it sounded interesting. I really like Japanese mythology and thought maybe it would be similar to Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series.

Some Things I Liked
Dual time line. Kitsune are a species that lives for thousands of years so I liked the way we got to see a very large chunk of time in the main character’s life.
Lite romance. This book isn’t romantic but it hints at romance. It’s much more of a coming of age story and I think younger YA readers would enjoy that.

Some Things I Wasn’t Crazy About
Clunky use of language. The Japanese words were defined in a very long glossary in the beginning of the book but they weren’t used in an organic way. They felt tossed into dialogue and the writing for the sake of using them, not because they felt right. They also had very little context. Therefore, the reader would have to constantly reference back to the glossary.
Not much plot. Unfortunately, the plot here was rather lackluster. Our main character sets out on a journey to find her missing mentor after over a century without him. The whole set up felt forced and not believable.

Series Value
I think there could be more adventures set in this world but if the writing continues in the way of this book, it would be better pitched as an upper middle grade series.

Final Thoughts
This book was ok. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t Shadow of the Fox and it didn’t have romance. But, it did have some good elements that readers can appreciate.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

First the cover is fabulous it’s what drew me into the book. I do have to say the book itself was just alright. It was difficult and slow for me to get through. It has lots of Japanese terms with no context making it a bit hard to follow. I heard someone say it was like a forgettable anime and I would have to agree actually.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

The Legend of Akikumo follows a kitsune(fox spirit) Tsuki Ketsueki who searches for her mentor, Akikumo. I'm a huge fan of Japanese mythology and the cover is very pretty too. Wicked Fox by Kat Cho was the book which came to my mind when I came across this book. I was very excited to delve into this.

The premise of this book was exciting. I'll give it that. Unfortunately, the plot was non existent. It felt as if nothing happened even though I was almost halfway though the book. It wasn't attention grabbing for me and I kept waiting for something to happen but it just fell flat.

The narration was very simple and straight forward. It reads more like middle grade instead of YA. The dialogues sounded very immature and a few parts sounded weird after I finished reading them. The random Japanese words dropped from time to time was very annoying. I really didn't care for any of the characters in the book and they fell flat without any dynamics.

This book suffers a lot from more telling rather than showing. An exciting premise what could have blossomed into an interesting fantasy was bogged down by unedited writing and the non existence of a strong plot or unique characters.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story and I liked the Japanese background to the story
However, the story lacked a lot of world building which seemed limited to the glossary at the beginning. It was difficult to get into the story and engage with it.
An OK read.

I have to admit, I was skeptical about a non-ownvoices author writing about other cultures outside of their own. Especially with how much white authors botched Asian cultures in their books. But it seems that Dani Hoots did some research to capture aspects of Japanese culture within their book that also respects the culture for the most part. I cannot say if everything is accurate or respecting of Japanese culture and lore as I am not Japanese, so I'd definitely like to see what Japanese readers think of this title. One thing that the author/pub could do when writing about other cultures is to consult a beta reader of the same ethnicity as what they're writing about.

I have received an arc of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. What drawn me to the book first was that beautiful cover.

The legend of Akikumo is a Japanese fantasy. And I have really love this tale.

Ketsueki is a kitsune. When she was young, the village she was leaving in was attack and her parents killed. She was adopted by the last okami, a wolf, of all Japan. The story goes back and forth between past and present. As Akikumo and Ketsueki travels Japan and this one is trying to help her trust human again. One day they reach he Inari Shrine and Akikumo left Ketsueki without saying goodbye. Just a letter saying that it would be better for her to be with other kitsune. But she don't fit in since she wasn't born to the shrine and the other are bullying her and saying that her mentor won't return for her since his death. But she refuse to believe it.

One day, after again causing trouble, she tought she would be punished but instead Inari have a task for her, find out what happen to Akikumo. She will agree without hesitation but regret a bit when learning that a human will come with her. A strange boy, son of the shrine’s head priest. He can see yokai, wich is really common in preseng Japan. Can she learn to finally trust a human again...

I LOVE the cover and, for the most part, adored the friendships between the characters. They were all quite close! I also enjoyed the storyline, too! It kept me engaged enough to keep reading, which is all I really ask of a good book. My only complaint is....this isn't written the way most fantasy books are. That could be a good thing in most cases, but in this case, the writing did make it a little hard for me to immerse myself in the world and truly feel a part of it.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy! Unfortunately, due to personal matters I could not finish this book before release.

This is one of those books that caught my eye because of the summary and promise, but it fell flat. It’s very descriptive in its events and leaves almost no space to get involved or immersed. And this is something I’ve found myself hating, especially in fantasies.

I also found that the writing isn’t my cup of tea and felt unedited and juvenile.

I think this book can use more editing and a complete change of writing style. It seems to be more of a contemporary style, rather than fantasy. I also didn’t feel like the characters had any life or personality in them.

I enjoy Ms. Hoots work and this was a lot of fun to read. The characters were great and I really liked the storyline. I look forward to reading more from the author.

This was really difficult to get through.

It reads like a middle grade and has a ridiculous amount of Japanese terms with zero context. I felt like I was reading a testing exam rather than enjoying a book. The characters were flat and the narrative felt like it was plucked from a slow-paced, forgettable slice of life anime.

This one was unfortunately a miss for me.

Thank you to netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank-you to netgalley and the publisher for an earc in exchange of an honest review.

I had to DNF this after 11%. I don’t like to do it but I knew very quickly that this wouldn’t hold my attention.
The writing is very stilted and more like a middle grade novel than a YA.

Further to that the random Japanese word drops was incredibly annoying. It’s totally fine to include another culture and the author obviously has an understanding of these things, but there are ways to include them in a novel without italicising every foreign word.

I guess I’m also not a fan of first person narratives and this felt more like a self insert fan fiction than a polished novel. I definitely see that there is potential here, but I think it needs a lot more work to be engaging. Everything felt so rushed and the characters didn’t really feel real.

I would definitely read more of the authors work in the future, but I think it would need more beta readers and editing passes.

received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Japanese inspired story that had some good moments in it but sadly was just missing it's golden nugget of authenticity.

The author, like myself, is a huge fan of Japanese culture and their history, which shows within the story. But at times the writing style seemed a little sluggish.

I enjoyed the concept of the main character and her personality, she just needed to be a little more polished. I also enjoyed her interactions with others and there were some quite sad but also some quite lovely moments.

For anyone who doesn't enjoy stories that flick from past to present every other chapter then just be aware that this is what this story does.

I liked it but I wasn't in love with it sadly.

I recieved an arc of this digitally and initially was intrigued by the premise. The story of a kitsune and human going on a journey to find a lost friend seemed like one that could be filled with mystery. The first thing to put me off was the lengthy guide at the beginning. It seemed over done and off putting. This also became somewhat condescending when all the words in the guide were in italics in the text. If this was actually for emphasis it fell short. The story was drawn out descriptions of the world that were too lengthy at time’s and lead me to skim past to dialogue. The mc seem very immature for 700+ year old kitsune. Just as the story came to a more interesting point it was over, being a stand-alone seemed to leave tuis feeling very flat and drawn out for not a lot of plot progression. The ebook file was also badly displayed, the bird picture at the chapter start often obscuring the text. One chapter was repeated twice. This story did have potential but for me did not fulfill it.

This book was great but it was also really short. I can't wait to read more books from this author in the future. Great book.

In reading Dani Hoots’ Legend of Akikumo, I was definitely reliving that feeling of settling down for a new anime series. The tone reminded me of Inuyasha meets Rurouni Kenshin–a story of a traveling outcast with a long-term goal, accented by various smaller struggles along the way.

Ketsueki is a feisty and sympathetic protagonist. Rejected by her fellow kitsune (wolf spirits), she sets off on a journey to find her long-lost mentor. While many believe him dead, she is sure he is alive, although doubt does threaten to drag her down from time to time. Accompanying Ketsueki is a strange human who can see yokai (spirits) like her. It’s the relationship of these two, mirrored by her past relationship with her mentor that really drives the story. Ketsueki constantly struggles to understand humans, and often makes rash judgments. In both her present and her past–the book gives roughly equal pages to both–her traveling companion helps bring out the best in her. The book doesn’t dump lengthy backstory but reveals just enough to be relevant and interesting. Finishing the novel left me with that same feeling I got when I’d completed the first arc of a long-but-promising series.

The book contains a glossary at the start, filled half with terms I was familiar with from studying Japanese and half with terms I had yet to learn. There’s a lot of debate around how many non-English words should be used when English isn’t the language the characters are presumably speaking. My philosophy is to assume the audience has no experience in the language and save the non-English words for those terms which truly have no English equivalent. For example, there’s no good substitute for terms like kimono, but words like baka (idiot) could be translated. I leave this not as a criticism but as an observation, since I know not everyone takes the same point of view. Many writers and readers feel non-English words should be used more liberally, and there’s certainly no right or wrong here.

Overall, Legend of Akikumo was a relaxing book with a strong set-up for future stories.

I wanted to love The Legend of Akikumo . It sounded like a great match for me. Title, Cover, Premise were great but I cannot get into it. I don't have the motivation in going on reading it at the moment. It starts really slow and I tried it some time to go on but...I think this book don't work for me at this moment. I will go back to it in the future and try it again. I know the author is great and there a lot of people who like this book.

Thanks for the ARC again, I really appreciate it.
But this was let down for me.
The book read like it was trying to hard to show off Japan but not in the best way, the best way to explain is when Americans try too hard to show off that they know Japanese, inserting random words that some people would not have known unless they watched anime. For a book being centered in Japan I don't expect to see words like baka and stuff like that because why wouldn't the whole book be in Japanese too? It confused me and did not make sense to put those words in there.
All in all, in keeping with the anime aspect, almost the entire book was filler, constant back stories and then present time. It felt like whiplash.