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Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Shadow of the Fox
Shadow of the Fox
Fantasy
Harlequin Teen; Original edition (October 2, 2018)
October 2, 2018
Kindle, Hardback, Paperback, Audiobook
416
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.
Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.
Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.
There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.
With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.
An exotic adventure for all ages…
Shadow of the Fox is the first book in a new series by Julie Kagawa. 
Set in the land of Iwagoto, reminiscent of ancient medieval Japan, Julie builds a stunning world filled with exotic creatures, traditional attire, and long-held customs. The unlikely alliance of Kumeko, a half-human/half-Kitsune (magical fox), and Kage Tatsumi, an elite samurai of the Shadow Clan and wielder of the infamous demon slayer sword, sends them on a quest involving the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers; with one trying to protect it while the other is trying to find it. In the wrong hands the power of the scroll to summon the great Kami Dragon would be devastating. 
Numerous adventures along the way reveal the the magnitude of evil that is also trying to obtain the missing pieces of the scroll. Little do they realize that their own faults and weaknesses may be all that saves the scroll and protects them and the country.
Shadow of the Fox is an excellent teen book that adults will greatly enjoy. The plot and descriptions are fascinating with the violence being graphic enough without being gruesome. The historical details make the story extremely realistic and transport you to another time and another place. 
Julie has also created amazing characters, both Kumeko and Tatsumi, as well as a rich supporting cast. They are personable with wonderful quirks that bring humor and believability to the story. It is such an easy reading story in the sense that you are so quickly swept up into the action and adventure that you flow effortlessly from page to page. Of course, as with any good book in a new series, you are mildly frustrated when you are left hanging at the end. But, then again if you weren’t you wouldn’t be anxiously waiting for the next book!
Tanya’s love for books has been a lifelong passion that she likes sharing with others. Reading is also the thing that relaxes her after a day of juggling the many responsibilities that come with being being wife to an amazing man, mother to four great kids spread around the world, business manager, and farm hand on their place in southwest Missouri; home to Akaushi cattle and a menagerie of pygmy goats, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
