Waiting on Wednesday: Seven Deadly Shadows

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Seven Deadly Shadows

Written by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani

? pages

Published by Harper Collins

Publication date: 28th January 2020

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.

 

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Why I can’t wait to read this:

• Anything based on Japanese folklore, religion or mythology is sure to be a hit with me, especially if it is to do with Shintoism and / or Inari shrines. I studied it intensively when in Japan and after coming back to the U.K. so am looking forward to see it being used as the backdrop for a fictional story.
• Ditto to the inclusion of kitsune and youkai – I love all the stories of various supernatural creatures so I’m excited to see which ones will make an appearance here. The kitsune (mischievous fox spirits) are an especial favourite!
• The inclusion of the shinigami (death gods) has me intrigued, particularly as I can’t really anticipate yet how their actions and motivations will feed into the story.
• I want to know more about Kira, especially as she sounds like someone who may struggle in normal social situations, but who has found her place training to be a shrine maiden.
• I’m not a huge fan of the cover (sorry!), despite loving the imagery of the torii gates, but I did see the author post a picture of the interior map on Twitter and it looked amazing.
• More books inspired by diverse cultures is great – the more the better I think!

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What do you think?

Does this sound like the kind of book you would enjoy?

Will you be reading this or do you have any other anticipated releases you would recommend to me?

Let me know in the comments!

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See some other Waiting on Wednesday posts here:  When the Mountains Roared, The Exact Opposite of Okay, To Kill a Kingdom, Starfish, The Gloaming, The Smoke Thieves, The Way You Make Me Feel, The Queens of Innis Lear, Legendary, Nyxia Unleashed, Bright Ruin, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, Empress of All Seasons, Tempests and Slaughter, Grim Lovelies, The Glass of Lead and Gold, Storm Witch, The Way Past Winter, The Gilded Wolves,Fierce Fairytales, Descendant of the Crane. Dragon Pearl,Last of Her Name. The Familars. A Pinch of Magic, A Witch Come True, The Winter of the Witch. Once Upon a River, A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Shadowscent, Romanov. Echo North, The Wicked King, The Priory of the Orange Tree, Spin the Dawn, Master of Sorrows, Asha and the Spirit Bird, A Treason of Thorns, We Rule The Night, Perfectly Preventable Deaths, Collision, Rumblestar, The Last Spell Breather, The Starless Sea, The Lost Tide Warriors, The Princess Who Flew With Dragons, Containment. House of Salt and Sorrows, Sanctuary, Stronger than a Bronze Dragon, Gumiho/Wicked Fox, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Kingdom, The Taste of Rain, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Chinglish, Winterwood, Harley in the Sky, Into the Crooked Place, Butterfly Yellow.

While you’re here, why not check out my reviews of The Hazel Wood, Tangleweed and Brine, Summer Bird Blue, The Pretender or The Gilded King?

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Thanks for reading!