Blog Tour + Giveaway: Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

Reading Level: Ages 14 and up
Paperback: 432 Pages
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Narration: Third Person: Everyone
Genre: Japanese Mythology
Challenge: Mythology
Source: Publisher

The Lotus War Series:
Book One: Stormdancer
Book Two: Kinslayer
Book Three: Untitled (2014)

Order On Amazon: Hardcover
                              Kindle
Order On Barnes and Noble:
Hardcover and Nook

Goodreads Synopsis:

A SHATTERED EMPIRE

The mad Shōgun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation’s broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion simultaneously – by endorsing a new Shōgun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.

A DARK LEGACY

Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father’s death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts is swelling beyond her power to control. Along with Buruu, Yukiko’s anchor is Kin, the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo’s clutches. But Kin has his own secrets, and is haunted by visions of a future he’d rather die than see realized.

A GATHERING STORM

Kagé assassins lurk within the Shōgun’s palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A waif from Kigen’s gutters begins a friendship that could undo the entire empire. A new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to survive. And across raging oceans, amongst islands of black glass, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat.

The ghosts of a blood-stained past.

My Review:

The second I flipped to the first page, I instinctively knew that Kinslayer would be the novel to bring me out of my month long reading depression. That mourning period of time after you read a really really good novel and feel as if you'll never be able to face another with the same enthusiasm. If you're an old time subscriber, you'd already know that I've been away on vacation in China for the past month, which sadly means that I only had the books that I brought along with me annnnd that I had no way to access my poor, neglected blog. Sucks, I know. But that just made the surprise all the sweeter when I came home to not one....but two ARC copies of Kinslayer...which means that they'll be a giveaway coming up very soon, so stay tuned. :D

One of the awesomely unique aspects of this novel is the character directory in the beginning. Something I desperately needed since I forgot most of the minor characters' names. Along with the names came a brief, but helpful, description of the character and the location they were last seen in at the end of Stormdancer. Another thing that I admired about Jay's novel was that he recapped, in a subtle fashion, the major events that occurred in Stormdancer in a way that jogged your memory but didn't leave you bored to tears or irritatingly patronized by rehearing things that you already knew.

All of the characters in Kinslayer played strong roles leading up to the overall outcome of the novel. And since Jay decided to stick to the third person writing style he used in Stormdancer, we saw from all of their perspectives and how the rebellion affected each and every single one of their lives. This tactic.....was both good and bad in my eyes, because yes, I definitely enjoyed knowing what was happening to each character.....but at the same time I was itching to skim pages because my mind was more set on hearing Yukiko's story then that of the other peoples.

I fell in love with most of the characters because they were such capable, independent people, people that you'd aspire to be one day, minus all the killing of course. Even though they were bad a, they were still vulnerable in their own ways, even Michi, who scared the shit out of me sometimes with her ruthlessness. However, the things she did only made me respect her character all the more. After everything that's happened in her past, she's not willing to take chances on anyone any longer. She does whatever is needed for the sake of survival, manipulating the people around her into thinking she's just a helpless young girl seeking some semblance of direction in her life when there's a lethal, cold-blooded killer hiding just below the surface instead. And Yukiko? There were so many times that I found myself being crushed by all the feels when I saw Yukiko losing herself piece by piece to the fury within her after all that happened with her father. Even though life kept throwing seemingly unconquerable obstacles in her way, tripping her over and over again, she still got up and kept fighting, even when most of the world would have just given up.

Jay's unique writing style was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he always spoke in a melodious, poetic, and elegant way, even when spouting off a joke. Therefore, making the story flow from page to page in a seamless way. There weren't any awkward pauses or stilted sentences whatsoever which I was grateful for. However, it was also a curse, because with so many descriptive details, so much world-building, it made the plot drag a little bit. Nowhere near the way it dragged in the first novel, but still enough to be noticed from time to time.

Overall, Kinslayer was a great read that I thoroughly enjoyed, perhaps even more then its predecessor. The twists, turns, and jaw-dropping betrayals had me sobbing hysterically and punching walls. It's truly a rare thing to take me completely by surprise without at least a vague notion of what's going to happen next, but Jay succeeded in doing it anyways. The comedy was absolutely hilarious, best I've seen in a long time. Jay has his very own special type of humor that I just couldn't get enough of. Adding to that, this novel also had a badass, katana wielding heroine and revolved around an amazing Japanese culture centered theme. Love. Love. LOVE. Will be eagerly awaiting to discover where Yukiko and Burruu's adventures will lead me next.

Heroine- 5/5

Action- 4.5/5

Romance- N/A

There is romance....

but it's a little hard to explain.

Comedy- 6/5

Couldn't get enough of it.

Theme- 6/5 Super unique.

Overall- 4.5/5

About The Author:

Jay Kristoff is a Perth-born, Melbourne-based author. His first trilogy, THE LOTUS WAR, was purchased in the three-way auction by US publishing houses in 2011. He is as surprised about it as you are. The first installment, STORMDANCER, is set to be published in September 2012 in the US, UK and Australia.

Jay is 6’7, has approximately 13870 days to live and does not believe in happy endings.

Find The Author:

Goodreads  Website  Twitter  Facebook

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Hardcover: 336 Pages
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Genre: Steampunk

Book One: Stormdancer
Book Two: Untitled

Order On Amazon: Amazon
                                Kindle
Order On Barnes and Noble:
Hardcover and Nook

Author's
( Goodreads ! Website ! Twitter ! Facebook )

Amazon Summary:

The first in an epic new fantasy series, introducing an unforgettable new heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan.

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A HIDDEN GIFT
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

My Review:

What first caught  my attention when I was looking for books to buy, was the cover for Stormdancer! It was so pretty and unique! I literally spent two minutes just oohing and ahhing over it! The name Stormdancer, caught my attention as well. It didn't really make sense to me in the beginning because I had no idea what a Stormdancer was, maybe someone who dances in storms? but after reading the novel, It finally clicked! There aren't nearly enough YA Asian mythology/culture novels out there! I've probably read about two dozen Greek Mythology books, but Stormdancer is only the third Asian related book I've read so far! The other two I've read are Eon and Eona which is more based off of Chinese Mythology, rather than Stormdancer's Japanese Mythology.

The main character, Yukiko, was a sixteen year old girl with a deadly secret. Out of all the reviews I've read, every single one of them gushed about a strong female protagonist, and I mean come on, who wouldn't want to read about that? Yukiko didn't just stand by idly and pretend that everything in her world was fine, when the rain was black, the land was contaminated, and the people were dying off from pollution faster than they were born. When no one else would speak up against the Guild members and Royalty, she did. She stood up for what she believed in, even when it might have costed her her life. Yukiko was also very intelligent and cunning. She didn't let pride stand in her way, in fact she would push it down and play the act of a subservient woman, even when she was raging inside. She did whatever it took to accomplish her goals, and never wavered from it.

The Arashitora (Stormtiger), Buruu, was my favorite character out of the whole book. When he was first caught by Yukiko's father, he was angry, terrified, and in disbelief that something as great as he could be caught. One thing I loved about Buruu, was that his actions were realistic, and that he didn't build some instant bond with Yukiko that other YA novels what have put in just to move the novel along quicker. Instead, they built a slow and steady bond, that sprang from disdain and distrust, to affection for each other's company, and finally to a unbreakable bond that was held together by a love for each other. Another thing I loved was that Buruu grew as a character throughout the book. As their friendship flourished, Buruu started adopting Yukiko's tone of voice and turned from an impulsive creature, into a intelligent and perceptive soul with a human mind.

The action in this novel, was at times a little slow paced and tedious. Jay tends to be a little extensive and overzealous with his descriptions. I had trouble getting into the novel at first, because all of the Japanese sayings, terms, and similar names were a bit confusing to me. I kept picking up the book, setting it back down, then picking it up again because I was hoping it would get better. I was so happy that I did! There was one certain scene that the author created, that had tears dripping from my eyes and emotion clawing up my throat. When Buruu and Yukiko trusted each other with their lives and fought as one being, one entity. It was so beautiful, inspiring, and heart wrenching!

The worldbuilding was amazing as well! I saw that Stormdancer was described as a Steampunk novel many times. Although I have heard of the term before, I have never knew what it actually meant. I kind of guessed that it had something to do with machinery, because steam comes from machines. Finally, I just googled it online. Turns out I was right, to an extent. The official definition of Steampunk from Wikepedia is a genre that incorporates science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror, and speculative fiction. Sounds interesting right? I still had no idea what that meant so I just decided to see for my self! After reading Stormdancer, it kind of became obvious to me. Basically it's just Japanese culture and mythology mixed in with machinery like cars and trains and stuff. This kind of left me with a funny mental picture throughout the novel. People wearing kimonos and airplane goggles. Weird....but unique. xD

Overall, if you enjoy reading about Japanese Mythology, machinery, kick ass and cunning protagonists, cool animal sidekicks, betrayal, defiance, or all of the above, you'll love what Stormdancer has to offer!

Heroine- 4.5/5
Romance- 1/5
Action- 4/5
First 70 to 80 pages of Stormdancer was a little too slow paced for my taste.
Comedy- 4.5/5
Overall- 3.5/5

Click to Watch Book Trailer