I am a bit sad because the author obviously put in a lot of effort to get all the stuff right. Researching kanjis and their different meaning, trying to understand the natures of all these divine beings from an entirely different culture and getting their visual representation right. Researching the geography and the typical landscapes and even architecture of all these places. Delving in all these different facets of Japanese mythology around many of the minor yōkai.
This makes it all the more frustrating how little regard the story has for the reader's intelligence. I couldn't stop eye-rolling at this melodramatic shit. Honestly, I wish all these stupid gods in this story would just rot in Yomi and leave the human world alone.
And all this just when I found YA with an actually somewhat well-developed MC. Yea, there is angst. Of course, there is. That's how teenagers are. But it was believable. The MC could've used a bit more of the typical teenage vanity and self-righteousness tho. She sometimes felt way too mature for a teenager but I guess this is typical for YA too.

Sadly this story ultimately succumbs to a severe case of stupid gods among other things.
In some mythologies, this is something you can do because they are like that by their very nature but Japanese spiritual culture is not like that.
Wisdom and deliberation are key notions ascribed to the higher beings but the gods in this story are more like Greek gods and tstl honestly. It's a shame that they are functionally immortal. They all deserved to die a horrible death.
The divinities are a steep contrast to the MC who is mostly very believable in her actions and decisions.
The MC shows severe bipolar tendencies to boost the drama unnecessarily but general stupidity is not a trait she suffers. How is it that an 18-year-old girl shows more wisdom and maturity than millennia-old gods?
There are many bad traits I can accept in ancient beings like arrogance, disregard for life or apathy but naivety, gullibility and plain stupidity are not on the list.

The author isn't ashamed to employ many very cheap tricks repeatedly to force some completely unnecessary tension.
First, I am sick and tired of 10 minutes of communication without any substance but then in the last second before she "can't hold the connection any longer!!!!!!", she has to impart all this crucial information which inevitably gets distorted and chopped and only pieces make it across.
Not only is this very cheap but it's not the first time the author did that. It's not even the second time.

Continuing, we have the classical unnecessary misunderstandings because either no one is willing to listen to the other or they all talk past each other in this incredibly frustrating way, each making different assumptions. You know the farce. Yes, sometimes this can happen, but the overarching plot is entirely built on cheap shots like that.
I really don't get how the whole backstory surrounding all the divinities ended up so poorly. I can see that sometimes it can be hard to steer your characters to reach your pre-planned plot points and you have to help them along a bit but this backstory must have been at least somewhat pre-planned but despite that, it's just cheap and shallow.

Many of these complaints kind of apply to the first book as well but in that one, the sample size for many of the sins just wasn't big enough to be positive about them being just cheap clichées.
Well, now it's confirmed.

I've wasted enough time with this bs.

I'm sorry. I see the effort that went into it. But the time was poorly allocated. I could overlook cultural inaccuracies much more easily that a fundamentally flawed plot and incredibly stupid characters. ( )

Emi's been given a task by her goddess, Amaterasu - find the missing Kunitsukami before the solstice - and she refuses to fail her goddess.

Woaha. Emi transforms into a total badass in this. I loved it. She's come so far from the first book - the meek, duty bound girl trying so hard to be perfect because not being so lost her her friend. Which isn't to say she's shirking her duty now - because epically not. Her grief at potentially dying upon Amaterasu's ascension is heartbreaking but she rolls with the punches, committing herself to making the most of the time she has left. The toboggan scene was terrific. I loved the confidence she gains to enact her goddess' will. And I loved her powers and how she learns to fight back and to use her smarts to outwit her opponents when she can't beat them in strength alone.

As for the rest of the book it was action packed. There were fight scenes and magic and paranormal creatures and big reveals and it was fantastic. Except the giant man eating spiders. Ugh. Sheba (from Lord of the Rings) made me feel ill - this was so much worse. So many. Ugh. I didn't like them at all.

The romance between Emi and Shiro was completely swoonworthy. Their chemistry was off the charts and very sugary sweet. The reveal about Shiro's identity wasn't really that surprising but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I liked seeing more of Yumei who develops into something of an actual being with feelings. And I loved the introduction of Byakko - I hope we see more of him. Him and Emi's friendship was funny. I loved that they found common ground and developed an easy rapport - unlike the luck Emi's had with all the other yokai. I liked that Katsuo stuck by her even if I don't love his role in the love triangle - however small that part may be. The biggest surprise would have to be Nanako though - she really came through for Emi and it was nice to see.

Overall fantastic second installment to the series. 5 stars. ( )

Summary-A continuation of the last book Emi awakes in Yumei's home where Emi, Yumei, and Shiro discuss what their next course of action should be. Emi travels back to the shrine where they want her to stay there only for Shiro to come and get her, so she could help him recover the lost Earth Gods. Emi and Shiro also find out that Shiro is actually a god called Inari, who shows himself occasionally. They travel to a valley of spiders where Shiro gets badly injured. Emi finding one of the Earth gods and freeing her pleads for her help to save Shiro. The God complies and Shiro is healing. On their way to free another god, and making a quick pit stop at a yokai inn, the 3 arrive to free the god of all gods. Emi having to go in alone to rescue him. She does so and with the earth gods now freed they can go fight a greater evil. They do and successfully defeat it. The books ends on a confusing note for Emi who has to decide the next course of action.

Opinion-I really enjoyed this book! With epic fight scenes and a cute romance it kept me not knowing what may happen next. Though the book starts off slow it gradually gets faster paced and is very nice to read. The mythology in this book is amazing and the art the author includes is gorgeous! I definitely recommend! Just make sure to read the first book. All in all nice book with good story. Onto read the next book! ( )

This is the second volume in the Red Winter trilogy. The beginning of this book was, again, a bit slow but things really picked up towards the end of the story and I absolutely loved some of the reveals at the end.

In this book Emi’s main mission is to find and free the earth gods. Shiro is at her side, but even he can’t help with some of the trials that only a human can face.

The book starts out a bit slow with Emi returning to her home temple for help with her quest. But when she is sheltered and patronized and deemed untruthful, she quickly decides to takes things into her own hands. This happens about half way through the book and from that point on things really pick up.

I loved some of the monsters and gods we meet and really enjoyed the adventures Emi ends up on. I also loved all the new Gods we meet and learning about their powers. There is some romance between Emi and Shiro as well which was well done.

Overall this was an excellent continuation of the Red Winter trilogy. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but things really picked up mid book and I ended up really enjoying the story. I would recommend to YA fans who enjoy magic and an Asian influence in their fantasy. ( )