Showing posts with label Amanda Sun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amanda Sun. Show all posts
{ARC Review} Rain by Amanda Sun
Labels:
3 Stars,
Amanda Sun,
ARC,
Book Review,
Fantasy,
Young Adult
·
Series: Paper Gods #2
Author: Amanda Sun
Published: 24th June 2014
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Source: eARC provided via Netgally for fair & honest review
Rating: 3.5/5
BLURB:
American Katie Green has decided to stay in Japan. She's started to build a life in the city of Shizuoka, and she can't imagine leaving behind her friends, her aunt and especially Tomohiro, the guy she's fallen in love with. But her return is not as simple as she thought. She's flunking out of Japanese school and committing cultural faux pas wherever she goes. Tomohiro is also struggling—as a Kami, his connection to the ancient gods of Japan and his power to bring drawings to life have begun to spiral out of control.
When Tomo decides to stop drawing, the ink finds other ways to seep into his life—blackouts, threatening messages and the appearance of unexplained sketches. Unsure how to help Tomo, Katie turns to an unexpected source for help—Jun, her former friend and a Kami with an agenda of his own. But is Jun really the ally he claims to be? In order to save themselves, Katie and Tomohiro must unravel the truth about Tomo's dark ancestry, as well as Katie's, and confront one of the darkest gods in Japanese legend.
A Culturally Rich Story, But I Was Hoping For More Action
REVIEW:
The story:
So after reading the first book I was torn, there were parts I liked & parts I didn't, and this book is much the same.
Katie has decided to stay in Japan and face the dangers of the ink with Tomo. After reuniting with each other, Tomo decides to stop drawing hoping it will protect them from the dangers of his drawings. But Tomo continues to loose his control over the ink, and the danger escalates. Katie turns to the only person she thinks might be able to help, Jun. But while looking for information to help Tomo, Katie makes some startling discoveries about her own past and her connection to the Kami Gods.
Meanwhile, Tomo & Katie's relationship is further put to the test, as Shiroi, Tomo's pregnant friend makes it clear she's after Tomo and threatens Katie to stay away. Katie's not only afraid of loosing Tomo to Shiroi, but she fears the ink will soon take over his mind completely. It's getting harder and harder to know who is on who's side, and who she can trust.
I feel like very little progress has been made since the end of Ink. A few revelations are made towards the end, but not much when you consider the length of the book. I'm hoping we get to see a bit more action in the next book.
The characters:
Katie hasn't really grown up much since the first book. She's still extremely naive and very impulsive, not really thinking things through properly. I was hoping to see some growth and see her become stronger - perhaps even discovering some inner Kami powers, but no - maybe in the next book?
Tomo is such a sweet and extremely forgiving character. No matter how many mistakes Katie makes, he forgives her. However he does get jealous when he hears Katie refer to Jun by his first name (in Japan using first names is something you do with someone your close with). I liked seeing him like this, showing some emotions, that he normally keeps so well hidden.
The romance:
The so called love triangle element didn't really work for me. It felt so forced and did nothing more than irritate me with Katie's "I love Tomo so much, we are soooo perfect together"..."but Jun is really gorgeous". I just didn't understand why she was suddenly suggesting she was attracted to Jun, when it was clear she was in love with Tomo. Her relationship with Tomo was much more believable and I would have preferred seeing more time spent on the cultural issues that they faced in their relationship - that part was actually really interesting.
The writing:
The pacing of this book is quite slow in the beginning, and it's not until the end that we get to see any real action or excitement. I still love Amanda's use of Japanese language throughout the story, which created an rich atmosphere, it felt like I was really in Japan.
The ink illustrations that I loved so much from the first book were used again, but I felt they could have been used a little more effectively, especially at the climax of the story. It seemed like there were less of them this time sadly.
FINAL WORD:
This was a decent sequel to the Paper Gods series, but I felt there could have been more. This could be one of those series that may have been better suited to a 2 book series rather than 3. However, it was still entertaining and I will be back for the 3rd book to see how things wrap up.
CONTENT:
Sexuality: mild / some kissing, minor mentions of sex, teen pregnancy (minor character)
Violence: mild / some fighting - not overly detailed
Language: medium / several f words
Drugs & alcohol: mild
Review: Ink by Amanda Sun
Labels:
Amanda Sun,
Book Review,
Fantasy,
Ink
·
Series: Paper Gods #1
Author: Amanda Sun
Published: June 25th 2013
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
Source: NetGalley eARC provided for honest review
BLURB:
I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.
Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.
A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.
And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.
On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.
Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.
Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.
***Mild Spoilers***
Oh my god. He's…he's a sketch."
THE GOOD:
The story:After Katie looses her mother she has to move to Japan to live with her Aunty. At first she feels lost and confused by the foreign language & cultural difference, but slowly as she learns the language and embraces the local food & customs she starts to make a new home for herself in Japan.
Tomorohiro was a little hard to like at first with his arrogant attitude and coldness towards Katie. However in the scenes with just the two of them we see the real Tomo, quieter and thoughtful. At times we get to see the young teenager that he his - he blushes when when Katie first calls him by his first name (using first names is considered very personal in Japan, where they usually address each other with last names.)
The romance is not the focal point of this story - it's more about the Kami & the ink, however they do develop feelings for each other and get closer throughout the story. Their interactions were actually very realistic for their age. They both get shy & embarrassed when alone, not sure how each other feel - it was actually quite cute! Little romantic interactions were effectively sprinkled throughout the story, so the main action was never interrupted.
Sun made very clever use of Japanese language throughout the story - it enhanced the Japanese atmosphere and I felt like I was really in Japan. While she does include a glossary at the back of the book for all the words she's used, I personally didn't find it necessary to look them up. In the context of what's being said it was usually clear what the meanings were:
"I'm not okay." I whispered.
Yes that's right, this book has some illustrations & they just enhanced the story all the more. Ink drawings that Tomohiro sketches are scattered throughout the book and I swear I saw some of them move…seriously…I thought I was going crazy :)
THE BAD:
There was one scene where Tomohiro does something quite horrible to Katie, and while at the time I was fully aware that he was doing it to push her away to ultimately protect her from his Kami powers, it still didn't sit well with me. I think there were perhaps other things, even nasty things he could have said or done to push her away - but this just seemed wrong. And it was interesting that the author wrote at the end of the book that this was a hard scene for her to write, because she knew it was out of character & very wrong of him to do. Yeah I know I'm being picky, sorry :)
FINAL WORD:
After studying Japanese for 5 years at school (although sadly I remember very little of it now), I've always had an interest in Japan & would desperately love to got there one day. This book brought me very close - I could see the Sakura (cherry blossoms), smell the curry and feel the power of the Kami & ink! This was a fun and very creative story that fans of fantasy romances are sure to love!
CONTENT:
Sexuality: mild-medium / some kissing, minor casual mentions of sex, ***spoiler***>>Tomohiro pressures Katie to sleep with him - an action intended to push Katie away to protect her***end spoiler***Violence: medium / Yakuza (violent Japanese gang) threaten violence, guns, kendo fighting
Language: medium / several f*ck and sh*t
Drugs & alcohol: none
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
