Flame in the Mist: The Epic New York Times Bestseller (Flame in the Mist, #1)

by Renée Ahdieh

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn, comes a sweeping, action-packed YA adventure set against the backdrop of Feudal Japan.

'This story . . . will undoubtedly enthrall readers.' - Kirkus

Mariko has always known that being a woman means she's not in control of her own fate. But Mariko is the daughter of a prominent samurai and a cunning alchemist in her own right, and she refuses to be ignored. When she is ambushed by a group of bandits known as the Black Clan enroute to a political marriage to Minamoto Raiden - the emperor's son - Mariko realises she has two choices: she can wait to be rescued... or she can take matters into her own hands, hunt down the clan and find the person who wants her dead.

Disguising herself as a peasant boy, Mariko infiltrates the Black Clan's hideout and befriends their leader, the rebel ronin Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, Okami. Ranmaru and Okami warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. But as Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets that will force her to question everything she's ever known.

• ISBN10: 1473657989
• ISBN13: 9781473657984
• Publish Date: 8 March 2018 (first published 16 May 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Imprint: Hodder Paperback
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

Flames in the Mist was a wonderful journey from the very first page to the very last. It was full of Japanese mythology and culture, samurai, secrets, intrigue, magic, a badass female heroine, and the perfect amount of romance. It’s set in feudal Japan, and the world is painted beautifully.

Mariko is at the center of the story, the daughter of a samurai who has been betrothed to the Emperor’s eldest, but illegitimate, son. But as she is journeying to the city to her betrothed, her caravan is attacked. She is the only survivor, although no one yet knows that. And she is determined to find out who and why she and her people were attacked.

There is so much to enjoy about this book. The mythology of it is beautiful and mysterious, with forest spirits and trees that live off the blood of those around them. And the characters… every single one of them is incredibly interesting. They all add something to the overall story in their own ways. Each character has their own story, their own secrets, their own motivations, making them all very complex and nuanced.

What I loved best is Mariko’s character and the emphasis put upon her intelligence rather than her looks or physical strength. Her ability to think critically, to solve problems… these were the things of importance. To see her succeed by using her brain was lovely.

And then the romance. It wasn’t the main thrust of the story, which I appreciated. But it was perfection, completely swoon-worthy, which is not something I usually feel. Two strong people who appreciated and supported each other without trying to change one another. Loved it!

This book, and its sequel Smoke in the Sun are often touted as a Mulan retelling. In truth, even if you ignore the fact that this book is set in feudal Japan rather than China, that’s probably a biit of a stretch. At no point does Mariko battle in the way the Mulan did. Her battles are much more subtle. For me, the stronger connection between the two is found in the fact that both girls masquerade for a time as boys.

This was a beautifully written book with a strong female protagonist. In other words, a WIN!

In the beginning of this book, the author throws as many Japanese words and concepts at you as she can, to make sure that you remember that this book is inspired by traditional Japan. After the first few chapters, this becomes less and you can start being inspired by the descriptions of beautiful tea houses without the reminder every few sentences (as it should be). I struggled through those first few chapters, which felt too forceful and unedited to me.

The rest of the book is enjoyable. Predictable as well, but not in a negative way necessarily. You shouldn’t expect a masterpiece, but this book can definitely be enjoyed for what it is.
The reason I gave it two stars, is because it didn’t do anything special nor was the world explained at all.

Note that there were some comments about it not reflecting correctly on how traditional Japan actually was.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars

buddy read with Darce-Chan

[nannah]

Well this book was just … something else. It’s not a particularly long book, but it took me a long time to read because it’s … a little bit painful. I came in with no expectations, so I wasn’t let down. But it may have been the most lackluster book I’ve read this year.

Book content warnings:
sexism
sexual harassment

It’s very hard to find an actual plot here, but let’s see. Mariko, daughter of a famous samurai, is off to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed of an arranged marriage. On the way, she’s attacked by hired outlaws called the Black Clan and ends up being the only survivor.

So … supposedly then she gets filled with some bloody revenge and plans on infiltrating the Black Clan to kill everyone there, even though she’s a royal woman with fighting training, and no idea how things outside her own sheltered bubble work except for what her twin brother, Kenshin, has told her. She counts on her amazing “wits” to get her through everything.

Unfortunately, as a reader, I saw very, Very, few evidence of such wits. Mariko kept telling me how smart she was at me without actually showing me any proof of it. The Black Clan was really just less intelligent than her (or the book simply overflowed with ridiculous coincidences).

When the Black Clan's cook gives her an egg to eat, Mariko's inner monologue goes something like this: “His kindness could be a tactic. A way to wear down her defenses. Extreme cruelty tempered by extreme consideration. Much like the egg. / It could be a trick. / But the egg--that simple egg--was so wonderful. So perfect. / How could anyone who would take such care to prepare a simple egg truly be bad?” And she’s supposed to be counting on her wits to survive here.

The book also REEKS of the “I’m not like other girls” trope which I detest and honestly thought we were done with in YA. Nope? Or I guess I WISH we were all done with. Trying to be better than other girls, fighting against other girls to be “special” (to what … to men? please.) … can this be one last blip and then we can move on to supporting other girls -- ESPECIALLY since this is YA?

Anyway, tangent.
I think you can gather I didn’t like this book. At all. I suffered through the entire thing, to be honest, and though I feel really bad writing this review, I’m going to do it. Though I love diverse books, and want more, more, MORE of them, I don’t want crappy books flooding the market because “diversity” is now the new “”trend”” in publishing (unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that’s how it’s considered by big-name publishers. I hate capitalism). Back to the book:

It basically drowned in epithets. Like (I’m SO sorry for saying this, I’m so sorry) the author learned some bad writing skills from fanfiction and didn’t unlearn them before diving into this book -- and the editor didn’t fix the writing. Just Use Character Names. “The boy”, “the man in dark clothing”, “the samurai” for like 5 pages gets old REALLY fast. It doesn’t create an effective mood, and it’s not great writing.

Speaking of characters, I think one of the worst flaws the book has is basically that all character personalities are straight-up told to me as a reader and not explored as the book goes on through the story and through character actions and dialogue.

The same goes with character motivations. We’re told what Mariko, for example, wants to do about a hundred times but never actually see her making strides to accomplish it. Simply being told over and over and over that "she needed to know why the Black Clan had taken her to their camp. Who they were exactly. But most of all, she needed to discover why they’d been sent to kill her. / And by whom.” ← Over, and over, and over, and over, I’m fed lines like this through Mariko’s inner monologue, without any actions to prove she’s actually doing anything about them. Later her goal list gets a little longer to include more things like “can’t trust [love interest] but he’s just so interesting…]” and “I need to take revenge on them all! But how??” But it’s the same thing. She--and the novel--does nothing about these goals. This basic need of a novel: what the protagonist wants/needs to accomplish. Having the plot conveniently solve things without anything done by the character isn’t good writing ...

Similarly, Renée Ahdieh forces the main characters together as a couple when there’s no evidence of chemistry or romance on-page. She simply tells us things are happening -- just as she did with character traits and wants. She also tried so hard to create some “forbidden romance”, but she has to force it, reminding me page after page that “I hate him, he’s part of the Black Clan, I hate him and everything he stands for” ALL the time. In every scene they’re in together these words are repeated in internal monologue. Again, going along with the fact that nothing is done or solved in-scene and everything is done internally. The writing is actually pretty beautiful in parts! It’s just that it’s also incredibly weak when it comes to being functional character and plot-wise.

But worst of all, and what I can’t ever forgive, is that The Flame and the Mist is a Mulan remake. I didn’t know that going in, but I probably wouldn’t have even started it had I known. A Mulan remake … set in Japan? With all the characters being Japanese people? I’m not East Asian so I can’t really say how insensitive this is, but I’ve heard from others how awful even face-claiming Japanese/other East Asian actors online to play Mulan roles, etc., so to rewrite the entire story (even in a separate universe) set in Japan instead of China seems … really wrong. But again, that’s for someone else to elaborate on.

Adding to that fact, too, is that the book seems to base all of its information on the Disney movie! Complete with taking some of the same iconic lines, switching them around with synonyms so Renée can’t be called out for plagiarizing. It’s … mind-boggling how bizarre this is:

“‘Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unshakable as the mountain.”’ [...]

In fact, they really do sing about women at one point as well, about what they like in women (hmm, sound familiar?), and it comes to Mariko’s turn, who doesn’t know what to say, and who thinks, “The most fascinating thing about any woman should be her mind, should it not?” And then, of course, right after this song … they come to a massacre.

All Mariko needed was a dragon companion and some (more) singing to top it off and we’d have a Disney book, right? Instead, we have some sexual harassment when she was “discovered” to be a girl. The love interest basically just put his hand on her chest and waited for her to make the next move. Soooo romantic, right?

I Know I’m being really harsh, but I did find it nearly unreadable.
There was also the case of the love interest having some kind of powers that sapped his energy--and which magic system that was never used again. At the very end there was a rather lousy explanation of his powers, but why have it in the first place? Because there needed to be that first catalyst for his introduction? Why have a magic system that’s never used and that has no rules?

So yeah, definitely the worst book I’ve read so far this year. I’m really disappointed, even though I had absolutely no expectations coming in. I had Renée Ahdieh’s other book on my to-read list, but I don’t think I’ll get to it. Not after this. It’s just a big mess of lousy writing and lousy world-building.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Generally speaking, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the writing... oh my goose y'all, the writing is just BEAUTIFUL. This is my first book by Renee Ahdieh and I'm sold. There's such a good balance of vivid descriptions and conversation. I really liked it.

Mariko is a driven character and I appreciated that so much about her. One of my pet peeves is that in a lot of YA fantasy, characters get tied up in their romantic subplots and a lot of the action gets put to the side. Flame in the Mist balances that SO WELL. Mariko always came back to her main goal, and when it was revealed that she was mistaken about some stuff, her reaction was totally appropriate. And she wasn't rash or ridiculous. I believed the outcomes, instead of rolling my eyes at them. It was great.

The one thing I could have used a little less of here was the repetition in the internal monologues. Like I said, I really enjoyed the vengeance storyline and the focus, but some details kept getting repeated and repeated until it felt like beating a dead horse. Sometimes, I felt like the revenge plots were stagnating because of it. It could have trimmed down a little of the fat in the novel, but otherwise, I really have no complaints.

Well, except the narrator? Wasn't a fan. Her tone felt like a slow, upkill climb to rising action and it just got exhausting. But that's an audiobook-only problem!

I will say that a lot of the people flailed over the ending? I actually thought the ending was PERFECT. It's dramatic and BIG and absolutely ideal for the story. Loved it.

[jeannamichel]

Superb writing from Ahdieh as usual. Review to come.

[emruth13]

So I delayed on reading this book for so long...and I have no idea why! This book was AMAZING!!! I loved every bit of it, even the twists towards the end. I'm so excited for the next one!

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Flame In the Mist immediately caught my attention with its gorgeous cover and promises of a Mulan retelling. I read The Wrath and the Dawn a little over a year ago and really enjoyed it (even though I still haven't read the sequel), so I knew I would have to pick this up when I got the chance! Unfortunately, it didn't end up wowing me like I'd hoped it would.

The story begins with Mariko being shipped off to an arranged marriage with the Emperor's son, a marriage that will help her family. On the way to meet her betrothed, however, her convoy is attacked by the Black Clan and no one but Mariko survives. With revenge in mind, Mariko decides to infiltrate their group, which sounds great, but everything really goes downhill from there. I have several feelings about Flame in the Mist, but I'll start with Mariko.

Over and over, even in the synopsis, the reader is told what a genius Mariko is. Throughout the book she invents things, but we're always told about the inventions and never shown. Mariko has an idea and *poof* a throwing star! Several characters comment on how intelligent and cunning Mariko is, but we never see it and I really wish we had been able to. I didn't dislike Mariko necessarily, I just didn't feel like she was anything special.

Okami is the other main character, the love interest. He was by far my favorite character in this book! In Okami's case we were actually able to see the qualities we're told about. I really enjoyed watching him prove Mariko's assumptions wrong. What I didn't like was how the romance came about.

Throughout the entire book, while Okami believes Mariko to be a boy, there are hints that he might feel something for her, but this is never explored. He is nicer to her, but he never acts on or even acknowledges any potential feelings. Then, suddenly, when he discovers that Mariko is indeed a she (because he accidentally touches her boob while saving her from drowning, by the way), they immediately make out. It's an extremely weird way to handle this romance and I feel like it could have been better if Okami's feelings had been explored even a little while Mariko was still in disguise.

Several secondary characters round out the cast and I really did enjoy most of them! The one I wish had gotten a bit more focus was Mariko's twin. There were a few hints at the relationship between them, but we never got to see any of it.

I thought that (most of) the world building was really well done, at least in my uneducated opinion. Of course, I don't know much about the history of Japan, but I certainly felt like I could picture the forest where the Black Clan hung out. I also really enjoyed the different settings visited, especially the tea house. But there was a major part of the world that was extremely lacking, and that was the magic. What even is it? Random magical things happen and they barely get any acknowledgment. Is magic something that's just accepted in this world? Who has it and who doesn't? Why is absolutely nothing about this magical system brought up in the entire book?

The story was also a bit underwhelming for me. I was expecting a Mulan retelling and this is not that at all. The only similarity between Flame in the Mist and Mulan is that Mariko and Mulan both dressed as men to hide amongst a group of men and kind of learn to fight (kind of). Mariko is not part of an army, there is no war, but I guess she can throw some stars? That being said, the actual story was decent. I feel like if this hadn't been marketed as a Mulan retelling I may have enjoyed it a little more.

Overall, I didn't hate Flame in the Mist, but I wanted a lot more from it. More answers and more fleshed out characters, mostly. I did really like Okami and I enjoyed the world. Unfortunately, there just weren't enough positives to make this a good read and I can't imagine I'll read the sequel, despite it ending on a cliffhanger. I think that if you were to go into this book without any expectations of a retelling and understanding that there will be many unanswered questions, you might have better luck!

[Bianca]

Words are foolish. Promises are useless. Anyone can say anything to get what it is they desire. Believe in actions and actions alone.

— Slow first half, strong and thrilling second half. I really loved the characterizations, the beautiful writing, and the touch of feminism.

[KitsuneBae]

Not as good as what I've expected but still...Love the folklore and the prose.