This was the worst book I have ever read in my entire life.
Guys, it is 12:07 am. I literally just finished reading/skimming this book and I just had to get this out.
I started this book with hope. I'd heard decent things about this author and I know some friends who thought that her books were decent. Decent. This book was much less than decent. In more ways than one. :)
As a short summary of how I felt about it, I disliked all of the characters, the romance was crappy, the writing was terrible, there was practically no plot, and the ending sucked.
And when we got to a totally unexpected, uncalled for... fun scene, I just skipped and skimmed the rest of the book.
All that being said, I really will try to write with grace but I will also write with honesty. So, here goes...
Number one-
The main character had no personality. Hatori Mariko just did not make sense. At first, she is, like, ok, I guess. She is just living life, dreading having to marry this prince guy that she had never even met, and she eats some leaf food or something- I don't know.
So, then, on her way to this Prince's place, her whole caravan is attacked and everyone dies. Or so the Black Clan, the people who attacked them, think. She slips away and is faced with the choice, "Do I go back home to my family?" or "Do I go try and find my way in the world alone?"
Welp, she chooses neither.
Mariko thinks that if she goes home, her dad will force her to marry the Prince Raiden anyways, and just send her back. So, obviously, not an option.
Then, she thinks, well, I have no chance of survival on my own but I also want to try and make something of myself... But I'll probably end up dying anyway.
So (here is the fun part), she decides, "Hey, I'll go track down the guys who tried to kill me, give them slow and painful deaths, then go back home having proved myself a respected woman and my dad won't force me to marry this guy. And not only that, I will pretend I am a man so that I can actually do things and so that they have a slimmer chance to discover that I am the target they thought was dead. Great plan."
Yeah, stupid mistake.
Oh, can we also mention, that this girl had next to no sorrow for her caravan- all the people that died in her place. Some may argue that she did; after all, she did think about her handmaiden Chiyo some and she did mull over how awful it was that all of her servants died, but, ultimately, she just doesn't seem to care about them. Which, is partially understandable, thinking of how she was raised. The primary problem I see her with her from a writer's standpoint (I always prefer to have kind, loving main characters but that's not always the case) is that her character does not make sense. Good or bad. For 80% of the book, she desires revenge on the Black Swan- literally for them to die slowly and painfully, and for the other 20%, she is like "oh, who could be so cruel as to let someone die in an agonizing way? (a reference to one of the chapters) or "oh, but one of the leaders of the clan has muscles, so let's make out and just pretend that your little group didn't kill, like, the one girl I was friends with and everyone else, and almost me."
You see- you see what I mean by this, my friends?
This leads me to my next point.
Number two-
The romance made no sense either.
*ship spoilers here- the reason I mark this as spoilers is that, unlike most romances, the "relationship" only unravels in the last 7 chapters or so of the book instead of being sort of clearly developed like a decent romance*
To put it plainly, Mariko sort of ends up with the top fighter in the Black Clan, ÅŒkami. Almost the whole book, ÅŒkami doesn't know that Mariko is a girl, she goes under the name Sanada Takeo until fun stuff happens. Get this: for a good portion of the book, she kinda hates everyone in the Black Clan but at random times she is like "I kind of feel for ÅŒkami" or "I want to kiss him." And you know what, I get that, sometimes weird thoughts like that pop unto our heads. We're all human, people. But the part that I really don't understand is that one day, she climbs atop this slimy cliff to get foxglove (a poisonous plant) so that she can possibly poison ÅŒkami and the others. She ends up falling off, her shirt accidentally tears open, he finds out she is a girl, and then... they make out. By the cliff.
As time goes on, they kiss a lot, have trouble with "oh, I like you but the others don't know you are a girl," and constantly threaten to kill each other (for real). Oh, and on top of all of that, he literally does not even know what her real name is.
And, from what I gather of what I skimmed, he ends up getting dragged off by her dad's soldiers and she literally says nothing. I don't even think she has any reaction.
*end spoilers*
It was just such a disappointing romance. There was no emotional connection, no character development, and no foundation.
Number 3-
The writing...
Now, this was what had me tempted to put the book down from close to the beginning.
Ahdieh's actual writing style is potentially very beautiful. She has a lot of descriptions and metaphors- it is good stuff. There is just way too much of it. Literally, when I started skimming the ends of the book, I read mostly dialogue only and I was able to get through the rest of the book in about 5-10 minutes.
Over description doesn't really bother me (for crying out loud, The Hobbit is one of my favorite books), but an over description of thoughts? Now that is a different story. Ahdieh spent about 80% of each chapter merely describing what characters were thinking or what Mariko figured the moral code of other characters were based off... I don't know, the ribbon in their hair or something. There was so much missed chance for strong dialogue and that wonderful push and pull of me taking what a character says and deducing their character, or them demonstrating their character through their actions.
Additionally, Ahdieh would tack on little sections to the ends of her chapters that were about 6 sentences long to add, I guess "mystery" to the end of her chapter?
It would like something like this:
"yadayadayadayda... scene is over- good ending. (But)
_____________________________
Kenshin rolled over in his sleep. In front of him, he saw a fox in the reeds. The fox stared at him until the mighty warrior felt like a little ant in a giant world of grasshoppers. "
Eventually, I learned to ignore it, but it still really bugs me. Anyways,
Number 4-
The plot/ending.
The plot was like a really bad Japenese Mulan retelling.
The differences are that Mariko assumed the position as a male fighter for selfish reasons, she doesn't get a really awesome guy, there are no funny side characters, Mariko kills/injures/threatens a lot of people for not so honorable reasons, and there is no music.
As far as the ending goes,
*spoilers*
I skimmed the majority of the ending, but from what I gather:
- ÅŒkami is imprisoned and I don't even think Mariko really cares
- The only two decent characters die (one of them from trying to save some servants from a burning building)
- Kenshin never saves Mariko
- Mariko just doesn't want to go back home and stays in Inako
- The last chapter is literally the Emperor from about 2 scenes dying on a deck
And there you have it...
*end spoilers*
______________________________________
Well, that's pretty much it. Now, I know that whole rant may have seemed a little harsh but I'll be honest, that is the truth, and top of that, seeing as it is now 1:13 am, it was really nice to get that out. XD
That is one of the cons of staying up late to read. There is no one to talk about it with. ;D
Thank you for reading that gigantisouras rant. You are a trooper for taking all that time.
I want to end the review saying this, though. The good things I got out of that were:
1. I learned some things about Japanese culture, especially about Samurais.
2. I gained some tips on how to be a better writer.
3. For that one scene, it was really nice to see a girl plunge into a fire to save people, even though her boyfriend told her not to. Sadly, she died, but she will be revered as one of the heroes that shan't be forgotten in my mind.
4. I read something I normally would not have picked up.
5. I read a book that I didn't like all the way through- something I haven't done in a while
6. I got to stay up late and finish the book (another thing I haven't done in a while)
and
7. I got some memorable laughs out of it, reading the similes in the writing to my family. ;)
And on top of all of that, they are some books that some people like and some that others don't, and that is okay.
Now, as it is 1:23 in the morning, I shall bid you all good night and wish you happy reading!
Your friend,
P. T. Lockwood