I had no expectations going into this e-book checked out from my local public library. I didn’t know that it was originally published in England (with a slightly different title) and then republished in the US a year later. Though there are a lot of familiar elements in this YA urban fantasy, there are also some memorable twists, most involving Japanese mythology, that made this a fun read.
A day before her 16th birthday, Mio Yamata ventures into the attic to find an old family heirloom, a katana sword, to compliment the costume she is wearing to a Halloween party. The sword was given to her many years before by her beloved grandfather but then he died and the sword remained boxed away in the attic. Though her grandfather had warned her against handling the sword before she was sixteen, Mio figures a day or two can’t hurt and besides, her parents are out of town so no one will be the wiser. However, as Mio and her best friend, Jack, head to the party, Mio starts to see strange things in the shadows and at the party, things get even weirder.
Soon Mio realizes she has made a big mistake by bringing the sword out in public. An ancient cat god/monster, Nekomata, wants the sword back and threatens Mio’s friends to get it. I won’t get too specific on the plot from here because part of the fun is how this all unfolds and the reader, along with Mio, learns about the strange world existing side by side with London, populated by many supernatural beings, some helpful, some dangerous, and some both.
There’s a lot to like here. The use of Japanese myth works well and the friendship between Mio and Jack feels real. The fact that Jack is a girl who likes girls is just one thing about her as a character and no big deal and I appreciate that. I have mixed feelings about the romance between Mio and the mysterious, Shinobu. On the one hand, there’s good back story explaining their connection but on the other hand, it also feels a bit rushed and too twilighty for me. Still, I’m not the target audience for this book so it might not be a bad thing that I skimmed those “soul mate” moments. Finally, as is now a given, this book ends with a lot of balls in the air—a set up for book #2—and as annoying as I find this, I’m still “all in” to see what is in store for Mio next.
