Emi has dedicated her life to becoming the perfect vessel for the goddess Amaterasu, but the insidious betrayal of another deity has changed everything. Now Amaterasu has charged Emi with an urgent mission: to find and free the earthly gods before mankind is brought to its knees beneath divine tyranny.At her side is Shiro, the mysterious fox spirit. When she first saved his life, she could never … could never have imagined that behind his cunning and confidence, he was lost–his power bound by a devastating curse and his memories obscured. His veiled history is somehow tied to the missing gods, but he can’t remember how or why.
As their search leads them into the murky depths of the spirit realm, the shadows of Shiro’s past begin to emerge. With each brief awakening of his true self, she loses a little more of him. The fate of the heavens and earth rest in her mortal hands, and she must find the missing gods before time runs out for her world–and for Shiro.
DARK TEMPEST includes 10 full-page illustrations by award-winning artist Brittany Jackson.
Praise for Red Winter:
“Red Winter was full of magic, action, romance, a whole lot of intrigue and an amazing set of characters … honestly one of the books that I will read again and again until the second one comes out.” – Chaotic Reader
“While our heroine may not wield a sword (ahem, she has people for that), her self determination in the face of a seemingly impossible fate is a message that will speak to the hearts and minds of readers … a feast for the imagination.” – WTF Are You Reading
“This was my first book by this author and she grabbed me with this mesmerizing story. I don’t think she’ll be letting me go anytime soon.” – With Love for Books
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Heart destroying romance – also a quest to safe the world
With his eyes still fixed on the sohei, he leaned in and nuzzled her cheek like a predator about to taste his prey. Tingles rushed down the back of her neck.
“Try to look scared, little miko,” he breathed in her ear.
“Why didn’t you say you were cold?” he demanded.
“I …” She stared at her hands enveloped by his. “I just …”
“Just wanted to turn into a block of ice while I wasn’t paying attention?”
When Uzume had said he was quiet, she had assumed he was even-tempered. Clearly, that was not the case.
“I just—you haven’t been—” She managed a wobbly smile. “I just missed you teasing me.”
He scowled. “You’re not supposed to like it. The idea is to annoy you.”
“What are you looking at us like that for?” Shiro rolled his eyes. “I told you before that we yokai are a casual bunch.”
She stared at him, unable to find her voice to express her utter disbelief. Didn’t they think there were more important things to do than play drinking games?
Shiro turned to the others. “Do you see that look? She’s judging us.”
One of the things I’ve come to like most about Annette Marie is her action scenes. They are so easy to follow and paint a vivid picture for your mind’s eye. More than that, she always leaves me on the edge of my seat. The second book in this series really ratchets up the tension between characters as well as the overall plot. In addition to the tension, there is a real dive into the layers of the characters as they discover more about themselves. This dimension of the book tugs at your heartstrings—hard. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps 🙂
Annette Marie is the proverbial pot of gold: an author who consistently delivers high quality well written, well edited, grammatically correct, original, entertaining stories. She invites you into her worlds and you never want to leave.
Every time I finish one of her books, my first thought is to read it again, to savor the characters, their development, and their relationships. The relationships developed in her books, both friendships and romantic, develop gradually, revealing layers and connections that strengthen over time. She creates people, not tropes.
Her plots are strong, complex, and keep you riveted. The worlds she creates are internally consistent and vividly imagined.
I realize this is a generic sort of review, but I plan to leave it for all her books. From the Red Winter series (mythic Japan); to the Steel & Stones series, including Piper and Ash, and the Lyre and Clio books; and the Guild Codex series, now including the Robin Piper demon-training: I have yet to find anything less than pure enjoyment, and great respect for her talent.
I love this second instalment, it just draws you deeper into the story and I love experiencing Emi and Shiro’s relationship more.
This book was such an adventure! This is definitely a must-read series! Annette Marie has been on my insta-read list since I read her Stone & Steel series. (Which is phenomenal, btw.) Annette Marie is an independent author, but you really wouldn’t know it. Her novels are so polished that you would swear up and down that you are reading something from a major publisher. That’s one of the things that I love about Annette Marie’s books. Her attention to details. Her passion is all over her books.
Okay, so the adventure. There is a lot of it! I love how active and fast paced the book is. If there is something that Annette Marie can do exceptionally well, it is fight scenes. For real. They get me so pumped up and excited. They are so descriptive and concise. In some fight scenes it is easy to get lost along the way, but Annette Marie has got it down to a science. The plot is really imaginative and it has so many evolving elements. There were a lot of surprises in the story that I didn’t see coming. I loved the mythology and the Japanese culture. I just plain loved this story.
The romance in the book is pretty perfect. It is slow moving, but in a good way. It’s just the right amount of romance. It isn’t too much too soon, but it’s also not lacking. And the other relationships in the book are so well written. I love the friendship between Emi and Yumei. It has come so far from her first meeting with him.
The characters are so well written. There is so much growth, especially for Emi and Shiro. I love seeing how much Emi’s character has transformed since the first book. She was just a kamigakari in the first book, following orders and doing what was expected of her. She didn’t really have an identity of her own. It’s awesome to see her gaining some self existence.
This book also included some illustrations throughout the book that were a delight! They were so gorgeous and really brought so much to the story. I loved the visuals so much.
I cannot recommend this book and this series enough! It is such a wild ride, with incredibly complex characters and a wholly original fantasy world. Annette Marie is definitely one of my favorite authors, and if you read any of her books you will say the same. If you are a fan of fantasy, you need Annette Marie books in your life!