From New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, Traci Chee, comes a Japanese-influenced fantasy brimming with demons, adventure, and plans gone awry.

In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her… and perhaps never did.

Anything involving Asian culture, folklore or mythology piques my interest, so when I got the chance to pick up this book I jumped at the chance. This title definitely did not disappoint.

I can sometimes struggle with some fantasy because of the info dumping or too much worldbuilding at once, but with this book I felt like the storytelling pacing and worldbuilding was really well balanced. The characters were very well developed, especially the main character. She was very three dimensional and it was clear that her character was well thought out.

This book was really hard to put down and while truly a fantasy, it delved into some very important topics. The story moves well and keeps you reading until the very end.

Happy reading!