Flame In The Mist #1

Flame in the Mist

by Renee Ahdieh

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.

My Rating:-🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Okay people confession time I picked this book up solely because of the cover but can you blame me? It's so pretty! and fine you want to judge me with your little eyeballs judge me! Akansha picks up books because of cover what else is new.but truly speaking this book is fantabulous like it got me out of my ACOWAR book hangover!which I thought would go on for like forever but it didn't because of this beauty I'm sure that the rabbit next door is  pretty mad at this book because he's not going to get any treats anymore or maybe he does have a connection with writing god hmm should I kidnap him?

Anyhow enough of that rabbit but this book was truly amazing I mean it had assassins which is like my topmost career option so yeah as you can tell I read everything and anything about them secondly it had Japanese culture and truth be told all I know about japan is from Pokemon which is to say nothing except I know they wear kimono and eat Rice balls and drink green tea so,I got to know more about Japan so plus point for that in addition to all of this the assassins had superpowers and they had a horse that eats people so like basically you could throw people at the horse and he would eat them so yeah i want that horse except he shouldn't eat me because I'm destined for great things i mean i could eat 30 chocolates in a day what else do you need?

Apart from that the story was very gripping like it started off with a boy seeing his dad's beheading so naturally i was attracted to this book because Blood,violence=Akansha's interest. and then this whole carriage with Mariko's convoy is burnt up and it had asassins basically this book had me at assassins needless to say the plot was pretty great and I'm in for more because I;m not satisfied with that goddamn ending!

Now,coming to the characters which are like the best rice balls you could get(get it rice balls?japan?I'm going to shut up now)

1)Mariko:-So she is like our female badass character who is smart as hell and when she goes into this assassin camp she is put to work which she is not that good at but my point is she is very resourceful and her dad wanted to marry her to a jerk and i hate that era honestly where girls were considered a commodity to sell off to the highest bidder but Mariko is just such a fierce character and she s so capable and while being on run she sees the reality of her kingdom and she wants to help them and just I love her.

2)Okami:- so he is our main male character and he pretends to be bored but is very powerful and is like the best fighter of the camp also he has this superpower where he could run with super fast speed so basically he is my role model because first he is an assassin which is like my first career option and secondly he can run super fast which is like my second career option I mean can you imagine what i could do with that i could steal ice creams!

And Mariko and Okami are such a cute couple they are just so conflicted they don't want to be with each other and are real conflicted but feelings people and also my matchmaking skills are pretty good like the moment i saw these two together I was like Ship! and also Mariko throws lamp at okami which is like relationship goals.

3)Kenshin:-So he is like Mariko's twin brother and is the best tracker in the country that's what Mariko thinks atleast but I felt really conflicted upon his character i mean the way he treated comrades was crap but the way he was searching for Mariko that is relatable because when i was a kid i used to get lost a lot because poor brain=Lost Akansha and my brother had to find me atleast I don't get lost now i swear i don't.

But the thing is there is something much more going on with this book what with magic and all and honestly there magic confuses me to no point because some people have magic and some don't like i just don't get it 

So to sum it all up what i did like:-Assassins,violence ,blood ,magic/superpowers,betrayals,badass female characters,more blood ,more assassin's and horses who eat people.

All in All this was a great book highly recommend it all you people who are in a book hangover and now since I'm in a book hangover again I'm going to read wrath and the dawn just to see if Renee is a magical unicorn who writes book that get me out of my book hangovers.

P.S. If you are Japanese then please don't get mad at me I'm just an ignorant mundane,mortal,shadowhunter,demigod and other things.

BOOK QUOTES:-

“I’ve never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I’ve been angry at how the world treats us, but I see being a woman as a challenge I must fight. Like being born under a stormy sky. Some people are lucky enough to be born on a bright summer’s day. Maybe we were born under clouds. No wind. No rain. Just a mountain of clouds we must climb each morning so that we may see the sun.” 

“Sometimes we must fall forward to keep moving. Remain motionless—remain unyielding—and you are as good as dead.Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first.” 

“I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen.” 

“You are first and foremost a person. A reckless, foolish person, but a person nonetheless. If I ever say you are not permitted to do something, rest assured that the last reason I would ever say so would be because you are a girl.” 

“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...”  

Also i would be linking its pdf version as well as amazon link down below in the comments so make sure to check that out.if you like this then don't forget to hit that subscribe button.you can also follow me on social media links are in the sidebar.Also have you ever read a book with Japanese culture what do you think of it?let me know down below in comments!

As usual stay happy and keep reading.😃

Bye for now!😊