Sora’s life was full of magic—until she discovered it was all a lie.Heir to Mt. Fuji’s spirit kingdom, Sora yearns to finally take on the sacred kami duties. But just as she confronts her parents to make a plea, a ghostly army invades the mountain. Barely escaping with her life, Sora follows her mother’s last instructions to a heart-wrenching discovery: she is a human changeling, raised as a … changeling, raised as a decoy while her parents’ true daughter remained safe but unaware in modern-day Tokyo. Her powers were only borrowed, never her own. Now, with the world’s natural cycles falling into chaos and the ghosts plotting an even more deadly assault, it falls on her to train the unprepared kami princess.
As Sora struggles with her emerging human weaknesses and the draw of an unanticipated ally with secrets of his own, she vows to keep fighting for her loved ones and the world they once protected. But for one mortal girl to make a difference in this desperate war between the spirits, she may have to give up the only home she’s ever known.
With its breathtaking action, heart-wrenching conflict, and unexpected romance, this vivid standalone contemporary fantasy will delight fans of Julie Kagawa and Laini Taylor.
Dive into the captivating world of the kami today!
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3.5/5 Stars
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
A Mortal Song is a fast-paced stand alone novel. This book surprised me in so many ways!
I really loved the main character, Sora. As the main character, she was developed the most. I really felt connected to her, and felt as she did through the story. The rest of the characters were not overly developed to the point of memorization, but enough to enjoy reading about them. All except for Chiyo. Her character didn’t really speak to me at all, which is understandable as the story is about Sora and her struggles.
I loved the fact that this story doesn’t have a traditional heroine as most stories in young adult literature do. I was thrilled to kick the “chosen one” trope to the back burner for a change. Sora’s power at the beginning of the story was never truly her own. She faces all of the obstacles, trials, and hardships in the story as a mortal with nothing “special” to aide her along the way. She survives and trudges on by her will and desire to help those that she cares about alone. It is quite inspiring.
The premise for this story is truly one of a kind, and it is what initially drew me in. I loved the plot and it played out beautifully.
I am a huge fan of diversity, and this book is full of it! I loved the Japanese culture bound in these pages. The Japanese mythology within the plot is explored beautifully. I love Crewe’s take on it!
The action in the story is truly fantastic and quite exhilarating! I loved all of the action scenes. They were spaced out enough to allow for other facets of the book to be explored, such as romance and story building.
The romance was sweet and not overpowering. It had its fair share of trials, but progressed nicely. It may have been a little mild for my tastes, but it was not unpleasant to read at all.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of then ending, but if I am honest with myself I am unsure how I would want it to end. There are so many endings that could work perfectly for this book, and perhaps that is why I am not settled on the one that came to be. I wasn’t so much disappointed with it, I just thought that some of the details could have been played out differently. It just didn’t wow me in the end. The boss fight at the end of the book lulled when I was expecting a bang.
Overall, this was a nice, breezy read with a great story. There was enough detail to make you feel for the characters, but not so many that the reader was engulfed. If you are a fan of original stories with strong female leads, I absolutely recommend reading this! If you are tired of the “chosen one” trope and want to read about a heroine that deserves the title, pick this up now!
I enjoyed this book with its refreshing reversal of the fantasy trope where the main character finds out she/he has special powers. Great premise and cultural worldbuilding—lots of detail and variety in a Japanese-flavored setting with kami, ghosts, demons, and other spirit creatures. It has quite a bit of magical fighting, but there were a few plot twists that were nicely surprising.
Actual rating: 3.85
A Mortal Song is a refreshing change in the YA I’ve been picking up. I liked that it had a feel like The Imposter Queen and that’s what originally piqued my interest in this book. Not to mention I loved the Japanese history and lore incorporated into this book. I always love to learn about different cultures this way. I think Megan Crewe did a excellent job with that.
Sora was a great character that I loved and cheered for throughout this whole book. I felt bad for her predicament and understood her hesitations and insecurities. I think her growth throughout this book in figuring out who she was and where she belonged was done to perfection. I felt her inner struggles, but she was warrior both physically and mentally. She never gave up and that’s what made her a great heroine. I also loved Takeo, he was loyal to Sora even when it was no longer his duty and was a great companion to her throughout her whole ordeal. Keiji was hard not to love as well. He wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t let the fact that he was just a human stop him from helping and being effective. I liked that relationship that he and Sora built, because it seemed he understood her situation the most and sympathized with her. Chiyo was also great even though I didn’t love her(too preppy for me), but she was incredibly strong and took her earth shattering news in stride and didn’t let anything faze her. She was great.
Other than the amazing setting and culture in this book, the magic was also my favorite part of this book. The use of Ki by kami’s was super awesome. I liked that it was something natural that they were able to do and it had multiple uses that just added to the story. I also thought Megan Crewe did a great job putting a twists on the ghosts. The way they were enhanced and well written was easy to picture in my head. This was also a huge plus for me.
There wasn’t much I can complain about with this book. I did feel things slowed down in the middle a bit. The beginning started off so strong and got me hooked. I felt the story dragged a little, but this is not to say there weren’t very interesting things happening because there were. I would have liked for a little more at the ending. Although, I’m not going to complain about how it went about because I believe that all characters can come back from evil. I expecting it to end with a bang.
I do recommend picking this book up, especially if your looking for something different. This is not a typical YA book. The hero isn’t destined for greatness and isn’t all powerful. I think readers will enjoy this book.
I recently visited Mt Fuji so that may have influenced my liking of this book but I also thought the characters were realistic and brought the Japanese culture to life. It has elements of other fantasy books I’ve read but is very original as well.
A very exciting story about Kami, ghost and demons and the Japanese mythology. And Sora’s journey to save Mount Fuji from the threat of the dark world with the help of some important friends but also Sora’s journey to figure it out who she really is and what is she able to do as a human being. An adventure full of action , friendship, love and sacrifices. I received an ARC copy of this book and I voluntarily reviewed it.