Flame In The Mist by Renée Ahdieh

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I recently read Flame in the Mist as a Buddy Read with Amanda.

Before I had agreed to Buddy Read it- I'd mostly just heard a lot about it. A lot of my friends were excited for it, or wanting to read it, or just straight up buying it to read it.
A ton of hype for this book- which if you know me, means that I didn't really want to read it because of the hype. (Weird, I know. But I just don't like to read things that have a lot of hype.)

However, I was once again proven wrong about really hyped books- Flame in the Mist was truly amazing.






Synopsis:  The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace.

The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.





In my opinion, this book was like another version of Robin Hood and Maid Marian- but with samurai. Everything held my attention, and I loved it- including the ending!

For those book lovers who hate the cliche of Instant Love- this is perfect for you. I have no doubt you'll probably burst out laughig in some parts. Though towards the end there is a case of Instant Love (which was surprising), I personally overlooked it because I was in love with everything else. So that didn't bother me as much.

There were multiple povs- which I usually find off-putting in a book but did not this time, it actually made the story more suspenseful and made me enjoy it more.

There were many surprises and twists that I actually could not predict, but it was very good. I had to go back and reread some parts- the story and characters were so good!

 This book is most definitely now on my list of books to buy, and I am eagerly waiting for book 2 (which is released this year).
In the meantime, I'll just read everything else the author has written. Hopefully I'll find more of her books that I love. <3





My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟



Have any of you read this yet? Did you enjoy? What did you think of the ending? Have you read any of the author's other books?



Thanks for reading!!
~Books with Noel


P. S. You can see my Book Talk here on my YouTube channel.