Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I first learnt about this book from the Cuddlebuggery Book Blog, and while it sounded really really interesting (seriously, read their review if you're not sure) I couldn't find it here in Japan. So when I got back to Singapore (and crammed about two library trips into three weeks), this was one of the books I made sure I borrowed.

Stormdancer is a Japan-inspired steampunk novel and it's excellent! It follows Yukiko, a girl from the Kitsune (fox) clan - her father has been tasked to find a griffin by the shogun. But she's the one that ended up bonding with Buuru (the griffin) and that starts her on a whole new task. Along the way, she meets a green-eyed samurai, a guildsman called Kin and a whole host of characters.

Yukiko was an awesome character! She's really brave and her growing bond with Buruu was so adorable to read. I love the great pair she and Buruu made, and as they relationship grew closer, their personalities become to show more.

And surprisingly, I actually picked a side when it came to the love triangle between Yukiko, the green-eyed samurai guy and Kin. I'm team Kin all the way! (Although that's because samurai boy is a really shallow character.)

The only annoying thing in this book is the repetition of some words. If you know Japanese, then the repetition of words written in romaji and then English a little annoying. But if you know absolutely no Japanese, you'll probably think of this as adding flavour. And anyway, to me, this book isn't based on Japan, just inspired by it, so I was more relaxed about how "authentic" or "accurate" it is (for example, it's as 'authentic' as Ink by Amanda Sun, but just less rage inducing because it's a fantasy world.)

But all in all, this is a really excellent book deserving of the hype it got! I can't wait for the next book in the series!