Summary (Goodreads)- Griffins are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shogun, they fear that their lives are over. Everyone knows what happens to those who fail him, no matter how hopeless the task.
But the mission proves far less impossible, and far more deadly, than anyone expects – and soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled griffin for company. But trapped together in the forest, Yukiko and Buruu soon discover a friendship that neither of them expected.
Meanwhile, the country around them verges on the brink of collapse. A toxic fuel is slowly choking the land; the omnipotent, machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they deem Impure; and the Shogun cares about nothing but his own dominion. Yukiko has always been uneasy in the shadow of power, when she learns the awful truth of what the Shogun has done, both to her country and to her own family she's determined to do something about it.
Returning to the city, Yukiko and Buruu plan to make the Shogun pay for his crimes – but what can one girl and a flightless griffin do against the might of an empire?
First of all, I just love the idea of a japanese steampunk novel. This is the first novel I've read of this genre and it didn't disappoint. I loved the overall plot of it with youkai such as storm tigers (griffin) being weaved into the story. There were also a lot of Japanese culture that was put into this book such as their religious beliefs. I also liked the setting of feudal Japan. It made it realistic and possible to add things such as samurai and emperors, that wouldn't be realistic for a modern setting. Therefore, it also made the story more interesting.
I also liked the main characters Yukiko and the storm tiger Buruu. Yukiko is only 16 years old like me, and yet she's involved in such astounding and dangerous adventure. It's just...today girls of her age would be at school, worrrying about grades and boys, not hunting a mystical creature for a horrible ruler. I liked Yukiko because she's also one of those characters who are not perfect. I've said this many times, that I find characters who are perfect and invincible boring. Let's face it, no one is perfect. I like characters who has a strong personality and yet still has flaws. Yukiko is not physically strong, however she doesn't hide behind Buruu but instead tries to help him to the best of her ability. I didn't mind that she wasn't strong, she was still brave and isn't afraid to risk her own life. She also was not fearless. She agreed to do what seems like impossible things such as killing Yoritomo, but she still showed how she's afraid to do it. It doesn't make her a weak person, but instead a much more admirable character. Becaue I believe a person is not strong because they have no fears, but because they are able to overcome their fears.
I also liked Buruu. He was also an interesting character, especially because being a storm tiger means that he doesn't understand the humans' actions. It makes him able to point out things that Yukiko never actually noticed before such as how the humans are poisoning their environment. It also made him very funny at times. For example when Yukiko was thinking about Hiro. Buruu mocks her, telling her she doesn't understand why humans fusses so much with their "coupling". He obviously doesn't understand the idea of romance, and his comment horrified Yukiko with the term "coupling". Haha I could just imagine how flustered she must've been when Buruu told her that. I suppose that means Buruu doesn't understand romance huh? XD
One character that surprised me greatly was Hiro. I had thought that he was just a guy who had been raised a certain way his whole life. I thought that he sincerely loved Yukiko, but he's just very loyal to Yoritomo. I really thought that he was a kind person, and that he would have a relationship with Yukiko. So imagine my surprise when he betrayed her! It's like his whole personality changed then and he became a character that I disliked. I just couldn't believe that he actually thought of Yukiko as "trash" and that I'm assuming, he actually didn't love her. I'm sure there's more into his personality, reasons to his actions, but I guess we'll never know huh?
I didn't give this book 5/5 because of two things- the use of Japanese and the very detailed descriptions. Sometimes things such as towns are described to a very great detail. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but I often found myself lost in the words. I would forget what I had just read, and I had to read it slowly. The second is the use of Japanese terms, especially 'sama' and 'hai'.
In Japanese, 'sama' is a suffix that is used with a person's name (e.g Yukiko-sama) to show respect for someone of a higher status. However, it was often used by itself in this book, which felt weird for me since I've studied Japanese for a few years. 'hai' is also used in Japanese as an agreement or a response to a question (it means yes). However, it cannot be used as a question, as it sometimes appeared in this book. These things didn't bother me too much though, and they still get the point across anyway. Regardless, I still enjoyed this book very much.
So, if you're a fan of anything related to Japan, or is looking for an exciting steampunk novel, you should check out this book. It has interesting magical creatures, an adventure, and a strong but not perfect female protagonist~
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