"8: A Song for the Peach Tree In My Master's Garden" is a beautifully written and evocative tale that transports readers to a world of enchantment and introspection. The author's lyrical prose weaves a mesmerizing story that captivates from the very first page.

This book masterfully explores the complexities of human emotions and relationships, delving into themes of love, loss, and self-discovery. The characters are brought to life with such depth and authenticity that they feel like old friends by the end of the journey.

The author's skillful storytelling and ability to evoke vivid imagery make "8: A Song for the Peach Tree In My Master's Garden" a truly immersive reading experience. Each page is a delight to savor, and the delicate balance of poetic language and narrative drive keeps readers engaged until the very last word.

In summary, "8: A Song for the Peach Tree In My Master's Garden" is a hidden gem that deserves to be discovered and appreciated by a wider audience. With its lyrical prose, compelling characters, and profound themes, it leaves an indelible mark on the reader's heart and mind. This book is a must-read for those seeking a soul-stirring and unforgettable literary journey.

Hachi is a slave training to become a samurai. He sees taking up the sword as his only chance to better his life and social standing, and he envisions the freedom it could provide. The story is revealed through Hachi’s point of view.

In addition to his daily training activities, Hachi introduces us to two creatures of his imagination. He focuses considerable attention on a peach tree within his master’s estate. The reader goes along to a few encounters with the tree but uses the tree as a symbol of his ambition and goals. He also dwells on a chance encounter with his master’s daughter Umi whom he believes to be his one true but unattainable love.

Seeing the story through Hachi’s eyes has both its strengths and shortcomings. Being inside Hachi’s mind offers the reader into both Hachi’s experiences and his idealized views through images such as the titular peach tree and Umi. But such a view also limits the reader’s views and characterizations to Hachi’s often superficial evaluations. The reader gets an in-depth look into Hachi’s world as he sees it, but is only one side of the story.

Hachi’s viewpoint is claustrophobic at times because of all of the repetition. It makes sense that Hachi would dwell on certain thoughts and circumstances while banishing others that the reader may want to understand more. The lyrical prose draws the reader into the world, but excessive repetition can leave the reader stuck in less essential parts of the story.

I was drawn to this book as a fan of Asian historical fiction, such as Memoirs of a Geisha and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I would have preferred more plot but appreciated the poetic prose.

Thank you, NetGalley and BHC Press, for providing me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I had to come back to this review and add that THE AUTHOR IS ACTING LIKE A SPOILED BRAT, coming to people's reviews on Goodreads and telling them that they are a joke for writing the review and bullying people into liking (?) the book, changing the review (?). Whatever he is trying to do, it is out of the line!!! And this is definitely not a way for an adult to act! I'm so mad right now that I would give this book even less than 1 star if it was possible!

Well, I'm not even sure if I am supposed to review this book as I didn't finish it. But the fact that I couldn't master the strength to read it to the end is a review of some sort too, I guess.
And I decided not to feel bad for DNFing boring books as there are so many wonderful ones waiting to be read.

This was (or better said, the part that I have read was) so, soooooooooo slow and boring. It basically had no plot and it was just some boring rambling about who knows what. Morals? Training? I paid no attention, it just couldn't keep me focused.

I did make a few noted and highlighted some sentences, but this was so so bad, that I don't want to waste anymore time on it.

The cover, though, I LOVE it so much and I will never ever get over the fact that something this boring and this beautiful go hand in hand. How shallow of me...

Searching for Umi

Hachi a Samurai in training, while out walking comes across a peach tree and a girl under it. It is Um the daughter of his master. They vow to meet again under the peach tree but Umi never comes back.

The story is of a boy training to be a Samurai warrior. He wants to be the best so he will be worthy of seeing Umi again. He visits the peach tree and has an obsession with it and with Umi. The place brings him calm and tranquility.

Training is hard and the instructors are unrelenting and unforgiving. He serves under seven instructors and tries to do his best. When betrayal comes he has to stop and think about his life and the life of the Samurai.

It is a coming of age story of a young boy in Japan. The book is well written and the story is good. It had a bit of repetition as the whole story revolved around the peach tree and umi. I think if you are into this type of book you would like it. I read it because it sounded good and the book cover is beautiful. I felt like it was a bit more of a romance that never was. I read the book for a book challenge but it was not something I would reread.

Thanks to Christopher M. Struck, BHC Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review and advanced copy.

'𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙮. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙞, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙞.'


🤺Hachi, a trainee samurai in Yoshioka school meets Umi, daughter of his master beneath a Peach Tree. She asked him to meet her again but never showed up. Determined to meet her again Hachi put himself on a path of becoming the greatest samurai that has ever lived and trained under seven great samurais of that time, but a great betrayal in the battle of Sekigahara shook him from the core; driven by his own sense of justice and his search for peace and tranquility Hachi'll finally realize what it means to be a true samurai.

🤺The book is a standalone novel based on the life of Japan's famous Samurai Miyamoto Musashi (also known as Hachi) who used to lived during the end of the Sengoku period and the beginning of the Edo period and follows his journey from being a novice trainee swordman to becoming the world greatest samurai. But sadly the book didn't go well with my taste of reading.

🤺I think the main problem of this book is that it's narrated from the 1st person POV of Hachi which is his personal rambling about moral judgment and life lessons. The first half was completely unbearable and in the 2nd half another character Kiroi's POV is also added but it doesn't change anything. This makes the narrative boring, the pacing sluggish and the entire book feels like a journal.

🤺Now coming to the historicity of the story, there are several places where the author had taken liberty in molding the story as per his need and I'm not ok with that. But even if I ignore it for some time I can't ignore the fact that the book neither explored Japanese culture in detail nor does it explain that time period of Japan - Why battle of Sekigahara fought between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori and who are they are explained in 1-2 lines. This kills my interest since I love learning about different places, cultures, and their history through reading historical novels and this book fails to do that.

🤺The book is entirely focused on Hachi's character, but his background story is ignored - What was his life before school? his parents? how he ended up in school? Umi appears only in 2 scenes in the entire book, but Kiroi who is actually a very important character after Hachi didn't get a place in the blurb. Other characters, the seven samurai are barely touched; we only meet them from Hachi's recounting and that too for a very short time; so they don’t make any impression in the reader's mind.

🤺The only thing I liked in this book its cover, blurb, and beautiful prose and quotes, but they are barely enough to hook me. I think if the book had been written in 3rd person POVs, the historical setting is explained properly and instead of telling the author might have shown more focus on showing things then I might have liked the book.

Overall, 8: A Song for the Peach Tree In My Master's Garden was a completely disappointing read and I won't recommend it to anyone.

𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐(2/5)

This had an interesting premise, but wasn't executed as effectively as I'd hoped. It's uneven, and not very engaging in several sections. Some of the cultural aspects were interesting, as were some of the MC's experiences and reactions to those experiences.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

I didn't get along with the writing, it didn't appeal to me. I found the story interesting and the plot was good. I liked the atmosphere it pictured.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Seven Samurai Have Betrayed Him… One By One He Will Remind Them Of What They Taught" Being a samurai is accepting responsibility.

Well, some interesting parts. I felt the story dragged somewhat. Being samurai is a very serious life-long commitment.

2.25☆

— e-arc provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 30%

just could not get through this at all. the writing was awkward and lumpy. the characters and the world felt stagnant. some of the passages were actually okay and maybe even literary, but then one sentence later it turned to making me feel like this was written by a toddler who watched a really old anime for a couple of hours. further, this is supposed to be a historical fiction when it used words and phrases that are not very “historical.” this was just very, very badly written. first book i dnf and most negative review i’ve ever given.

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), a Japanese swordsman and philosopher among other accomplishments, is considered a Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan. Through his story, we get to experience a culture of swordsmanship and its devotion.

Umi and Hachi (nickname for Miyamoto Musashi) meet beneath a Peach Tree, both younger than ten. Umi is the daughter of Hachi’s master. Hachi is training to be a samurai. She asks him to meet her again. He sneaks out to the forbidden garden risking his life, but she never returns. His determination to see her again puts him on a path of becoming the greatest samurai that has ever lived.

Hiachi’s philosophical self-contemplations are beyond his age. He goes through “a journey within, toward the spirit of the warrior.” I enjoyed his thoughts and his appreciation for nature and what it can do for him. It clears his mind. It grants him “the solitude, the quiet, and the opportunity to reflect.”

His journey of becoming a samurai brings unflinching loyalty characterizing samurais. And it is an interesting journey filled with his observations. From a very young age, he is very ambitious, but his talent and eagerness also invite jealousy. Later, taking him on a path of revenge.

I appreciate a brief mention of the tensions between the West and the East, and its leaders and men loyal to them to give a better understanding of the place and time.

This origins tale of Miyamoto’s life is beautifully rendered with awe-striking talent for writing and originality. A reader gets to know well the character’s heart and soul, his personal journey and achievements.

This is one of those exceptional stories, noted for its originality in depiction and literary in language.

"...the Peach Tree grows in a mystical grotto carved by the tears of Aoyama [Blue Mountain] and sheltered by the taller pines that line the white water of the shallow river...A lone Peach Tree-the oldest living thing on the Toda estate hidden in the corner of the master's private garden". "The Peach Tree-a gift of solitude...It clears my mind of fear and uncertainty".

Miyamoto Musashi aka Hachi was a samurai-in-training. Samurai-in-training were "...unproven burdens on needed resources like rice and salt...My master does not care if I live or die. I am only his soldier. I am only his tool". "There is nothing more terrifying than the weight of responsibility. Being a samurai is accepting responsibility...Once you accept that responsibility over the certainty and fear of death, than you have but one goal: to die an honorable death...to die a death in battle means that your life was not wasted". "This is the story of a curse-and the curse of our choices. Ours and those made for us".

Hachi trained under the Seven Samurai of Blue Mountain. He experienced shame and defeat...but he had desire. "...defeat sharpened my spirit...the ability to face impossible odds and press harder, faster and further...Hachi was caught between two opposing forces. Peace. War...Just as we have a capacity to love, we have a capacity to kill". Opposing factions will go to war. Hachi will become a soldier as magistrate Toda Katsushige mobilizes his forces. "Betrayal is a given and should not be a surprise." A cold blooded betrayal...one man killed...thousands now doomed. The tables will be turned on Hachi's learned samurai teachers.

"8: A Song for the Peach Tree In My Master's Garden" by Christopher M. Struck is a beautifully descriptive work of historical fiction. Hachi strived to be the greatest samurai that ever lived but treasured the peace, tranquility and meditation achieved under the Peach Tree in the master's forbidden garden. "The sword...quick and precise, the only desire that drives the thoughts of the Peach Tree and the garden from [his] mind". Highly recommended.

Thank you BHC Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.