Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa (Review)

Title: Soul of the Sword
Authors: Julie Kagawa
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Inkyard Press (HarperCollins)
Date published: June 18, 2019

Note: This book is part of a series, so there may be spoilers for a previous book/books in the synopsis below.

One thousand years ago, a wish was made to the Harbinger of Change and a sword of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. It had one task: to seal away the powerful demon Hakaimono.

Now he has broken free.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has one task: to take her piece of the ancient and powerful scroll to the Steel Feather temple in order to prevent the summoning of the Harbinger of Change, the great Kami Dragon who will grant one wish to whomever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. But she has a new enemy now. The demon Hakaimono, who for centuries was trapped in a cursed sword, has escaped and possessed the boy she thought would protect her, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan.

Hakaimono has done the unthinkable and joined forces with the Master of Demons in order to break the curse of the sword and set himself free. To overthrow the empire and cover the land in darkness, they need one thing: the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

⤖ My Review ⬻

To those of you who read my raving review for Shadow of the Fox, the first book in this series, it should come as no surprise that I was super excited to read Soul of the Sword once it came out! I loved the first book, but since I’m aware of how I normally feel about sequels (i.e. I usually don’t enjoy them as much as the first and/or last book in the series), I wasn’t overly surprised that I didn’t love Soul of the Sword as much as Shadow of the Fox. I went into reading the sequel knowing this, but still excited to see what would happen next in the story.

This isn’t a spoiler because it’s mentioned in the synopsis (and if you haven’t read the first book, I wouldn’t recommend that you read my review anyway—unless you’re a fan of spoilers haha) but Kage got possessed by the demon in his sword at the end of Shadow of the Fox. Now, this was a good thing and a bad thing for me. The good was that I got more time with the demon, Hakaimono, who I’ve been quite fascinated with. And second, I got less of Kage, who I happen to love and would have preferred over Hokaimono. Can’t I just have both of them have prominent roles in the same book? Haha. I know I’m asking for too much!

Anyway, the plot developed nicely in Soul of the Sword, I got to learn more about all of the characters, and I’m very much looking forward to the third and final book in the series, Night of the Dragon, which is coming ou in just 3 days (March 31)!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Julie Kagawa (born October 12, 1982) is an American author, best known for publishing and writing The Iron Fey Series consisting of 15 books including: The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight. She was born in Sacramento, California, but moved to Hawaii with her family at the age of nine. Kagawa is of Japanese descent. She currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Kagawa has written novellas, along with novels … Kagawa has also opened her own Etsy shop where she sells her miniature clay figurines.She also draws illustrations that match her books.