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The Dark Divine (The Dark Divine, #1)
The Dark Divine (The Dark Divine, #1)
Bree Despain | 2009 | Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A couple weeks later and I still do not know how I feel about the book. I hated the writing, but it sucked me in. Nothing interesting happened for the first half of the novel, and yet I could not stop reading. There were so many cliches and cheesy parts, although it held so much potential.

I picked up this book for the beautiful cover. You think I would learn by now. Nothing of interests happens for about the first 150 pages. Most of it is filled with information Despain feels you should know about the world she has placed the story in and the characters who fill. It did not help that for some of the pages I felt like I was being preached at (literally). However, she keeps alluding to secrets, and non too subtly, that surround Daniel and something that happened years ago. After awhile, the not too subtle allusion becoming annoying because they are so glaringly obvious. I kept reading just because I was wanted to see how Daniel and Grace finally came together.

The fantasy and folklore that Despain portrays is interesting, but the way she went about it was kind of...well lame. All the secrets you were reading the novel to find out spill out in a matter pages at two separate times. You learn about the what Daniel really is in only a few paragraphs and what happened years ago in even less. It was so anti-climatic that I almost did not realize it had happened.

I cannot say I like the book, but it was a novel I could not stop reading. More than once I have put a young adult down after not even completing half of it because of how juvenile and ridiculous it is. While this was not a deep and thought provoking novel, I might rent the sequels to see how the rest of it plays out.
  
SO
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa brings Japanese mythology and folklore to life, taking readers on an exciting journey through feudal Japan, Kagawa weaves together three characters from different backgrounds all while introducing readers to a wide variety of demons the characters come across. The novel follows these characters as a new age approaches and the Kami Dragon is summoned, granting a wish to the one who holds the pieces of the Dragon Scroll.

Shadow of the Fox is primarily told in the two perspectives of Yumeko and Tatsumi, with the occasional addition of a third. Yumeko is a half-kitsune, half-human raised at the Silent Winds temple to hide her true kitsune nature, though she is forced to flee after everyone is slaughtered by a demon who wants to retrieve a part of the scroll. Readers interested in seeing kitsune magic coming to life on the page may find themselves disappointed as Yumeko shows little of her magic and hides her true nature from her companions.

One of those companions includes Tatsumi, a samurai from the Shadow Clan ordered to bring the Dragon Scroll regardless of the cost. Raised as a weapon, Tatsumi is taught from a young age to hide all of his emotions and thoughts from those around him as doing so would pose a danger. Not able to accomplish his mission right away, he finds himself in an unlikely alliance with Yumeko and begins to question his upbringing.

The first novel in a stunning new series, Shadow of the Fox is a magical adventure with an ominous feel throughout and will have readers wanting the sequel to the story.

<a href="https://60secondsmag.com/review-shadow-of-the-fox/">This review was originally posted on 60 Seconds Online Magazine</a>.
  
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DJ Muggs recommended Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin in Music (curated)

 
Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
1971 | Rock
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When I first heard Led Zeppelin, I was a kid in kindergarten but my uncle and my mum used to pump Led Zeppelin loudly. I grew up with those mad eight-tracks and all the imagery in their songs hit my imagination hard. It was so hard to pick one record of theirs – I obviously couldn't pick them all but this is the one that came to my mind first and the one I think I heard and played the most. I also loved the album cover for this; I used to look at this record cover for hours and I'd never get bored. I got deeper into this record I think because I was hearing stories that if you played the record backwards, it said something. There were so many folklore stories around this album when I was a kid growing up and it was ripe for the imagination. Next thing when you're listening you'd see the fucking hermit from the tarot cards and you'd hear these stories that Jimmy Page bought Aleister Crowley's house and then next they'd suddenly be going to India and working with all these different musicians. All these wild stories, all the mysticism behind the band is what really sucked me in with Led Zeppelin. When this record came out, there was no internet and you didn't know if the stories were all true or not so they had this great mystery to them. There were a couple of television shows but I'd never seen Led Zeppelin on TV; there were no music videos back then either. Even magazine articles about them were short. There was a great mystery to them and it just left it all open to your imagination to make up its own shit and my imagination is wild. Their stage shows were also ridiculous and they completely revolutionised touring today. So many things they did inspired me, inspired Cypress Hill."

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