
Christmas: A Biography
Book
Christmas has been all things to all people: a religious festival, a family celebration, a time of...
religion

Beren and Luthien
Book
Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully...

Sonofdel (6291 KP) rated Harry H Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow in Books
Oct 31, 2019

Where the Wild Winds are: Walking Europe's Winds from the Pennines to Provence
Book
Nick Hunt sets off on an unlikely quest: to follow four of Europe's winds across the continent.His...

It's the Economy, Stupid: Economics for Voters
Vicky Pryce, Andy Ross and Peter Urwin
Book
Pollsters are constantly worrying about our perceptions of politicians. What do their other halves...

Eat Me: A Natural and Unnatural History of Cannibalism
Book
Cannibalism. It's the last, greatest taboo: the stuff of urban legends and ancient myths, airline...

Debbiereadsbook (1421 KP) rated Fox Tale (Sacred Emblems #0) in Books
Apr 27, 2024
Ava is in Japan, writing a travel article. Meeting Chase, with his wonderful tales of Japanese myths and legends, helps her write a different take. But she never expected to meet up with her ex, Rafe, who left her two years ago without a word. Both men are hiking things. Can Ava choose?
I don't read reviews before I read a book, not anymore, but I will read them AFTER I've read said book, but before I write my review for one reason only: did they feel the same about this book as I did.
In this case: nope. They all loved this book and I . . . didn't.
I'm not saying I didn't like this book, I just found it hard work.
It's almost all written from Ava's point of view, in the first person. Rafe gets two very small bits, not even a chapter, in the third. I needed more from Rafe, and Chase, to be fair, to offset Ava.
There is a huge amount of repeated wording. Mostly around how Ava feels and thinks about Chase. "Apart from his silver hair, he looks young" or words to that effect are the most common. It began to get a bit much. "Seven hundred and seventy *something*, next winter" is another. The same things about the fox stories from Japanese lore pop up time and again too.
Apart from that, I liked this book. I couldn't see where it was going, nor how it was getting there, so when it did all go down, I was surprised and I liked the way it all happened.
Although there is the repetition of the lore, I did enjoy reading about the Japanese traditions and myths and legends.
There are some difficult topics here: death of a spouse, suicide, mental health issues and readers do need to be aware. Things are not how they seem, however, but the warning still needs to be made.
This is the first I've read of this author, and I always ask myself, will I read more? Not at this time. I won't say no to reading something else at a later date though.
3 good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere

Instruments of Battle: The Fighting Drummers and Buglers of the British Army from the Late 17th Century to the Present Day
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Instruments of Battle examines in detail the development and role of the British Army's fighting...

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
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'Incarnations makes the mind fly across time, place and history. You may smile as, mentally, you...

Mina and the Undead (Mina and the Undead #1)
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'A dark and thrilling tale of the paranormal. With haunted houses, family secrets and murder galore,...