Woven Song has a beautiful cover, an intriguing title, and a promising blurb. Unfortunately, I did not feel that this book lived up to any of these expectations.

Woven Song is the story of Yuki, a young woman who is freed from a four-year banishment to the north due to her alleged involvement in the disappearance of her childhood friend, Hina. She is invited back in order to foster and train a wayward teen in her family dojo, and along the way begins to uncover a vast web of secrets about her family, identity, and the kami.
The positives: There are some areas where the prose is interesting. The author uses many interesting metaphors and descriptors that I found added to the fantastical world of this book. Like I said above, the cover of this book is quite pretty. While I didn’t always feel that relationships between characters were built well, where the book is at the peak of its found family plots, I enjoyed the clear warmth and support between the characters nice to read above.
The negatives: Unfortunately, this section is going to be rather long compared to the positives.
- This book talks down to its readers: This book is YA, but in the worst way. I read plenty of books aimed at young adults, and most don’t feel that they need to stop and define words for the reader. Flashback is given by basically directly telling the reader, “and then Yuki had a flashback to a long-forgotten memory”. Characters often stop to explain their entire motivations to each other. Characters have incredible deep conversations about their feelings at the most random times just to lay out their backstories. It’s all told and never shown.
- All the plot happens off the page: This problem was multifaceted. The vast majority of the interesting actions scenes are off page—as in, we see a character about to face down some great and terrifying enemy, and in the next paragraph, the character has either won or lost the fight. In the rare cases where the action does happen on the page, huge important plot moments take maybe 1-2 kindle pages worth of book to resolve (and when I say resolve, I mean resolve, as in the action happens and the characters have reflected on what the action all meant and what to do next). The same goes for many of the interesting building of relationships: aside from some aspects of the friendship between Daisuke and Yuki, all the interesting interpersonal relationships are not really developed, just shown. Even Daisuke and Yuki get far less developed than I would like for the fact that they are a focal point of the story.
- The plot is choppy and confusing: So often, I had to stop and re-read the same passage a few times to figure out what was happening. Characters sometimes seem to warp locations, huge betrayal comes literally out of nowhere that it’s impossible to follow, and characters change their worldview in the blink of an eye. In so many conversations, Character A reveals some huge piece of information to another that could totally change Character B’s view of the world; for example, the true identity of a friend, or the very existence of magic in the world. I would have loved to see the interesting tension as Character B struggles to rationalize what they’ve learned, weigh the relationship with Character A, and decide how to process this new information. Nope, Character B always simply accepts this new mind-boggling information after 1-2 lines of dialogue about how they laugh at being told such a ridiculous thing.
- Representation: The representation of Japanese cultural elements has been called into question by other reviewers; and I strongly recommend interested readers seek out Japanese reviewers for deeper insights into how this book depicts these elements. I also found the representation of the two disabled characters lacking, as one’s disability seems to be entirely forgotten except for the scenes that she is being attacked by other children for being disabled, and the other’s disability is similarly forgotten except as justification to be abruptly cruel and spiteful. The latter character’s reasons for these emotions could have been interesting if explored in a much more nuanced book than this one. Instead, this character ended up being a disabled character who also used their disability to justify being a huge jerk.

Thank you to Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op, Netgalley and author Rachel Krotec for providing me an arc in exchange of an honest review!

I really the love the book cover. It's so pretty!!!
I love the Japanese mythology. I loved the characters. What really capture me is the plot. It was intriguing and unique. Definitely what kept me going as I progress through the book.

I liked reading this book overall. I think the writing style was enjoyable and the author did a really good job of describing things which helped me visualize everything very clearly. The overall plot was interesting and kept me wanting to read and know more. I also liked a lot of the characters, especially the boy she is tasked with training/taking care of. And the grandma was also really sweet. This book definitely hits the found family trope that I like a lot so if you like that as well, I would give it a shot. Overall I would give this a 3.5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rachael Krotec, and the publisher for access to this title in exchange for my honest opinions and review!

I was so intrigued by the premise of this story but it fell flat because of a lack of characterization and the strange way that the writing is more “telling” than “showing” and lacks style. It starts with what could have been 2 prologues about Yuki, first coming down to the Earth, then her being adopted a second time. The jump between these two scenes is jarring, we are not given the time that passes from the end of the first until the second, and the people that Yuki presumably formed a relationship with between the two scenes are barely presented to the reader and quickly forgotten. We are given no explanation as to how an orphan girl from the wild north is accepted as the the heir to a high ranking samurai and became the princess’s best friend but we have to accept that as a fact of the story in the first few chapters. I got 20% of the way through Woven Song before I DNFed it because the stilted, unnatural dialogue and slightly repetitive inner monologues made it hard to read. In the sections I read, Yuki’s secret identity as a moon goddess was not mentioned and didn’t affect the story at all which was disappointing.

I did not finish this book. Life got in the way as it unfortunately sometimes does, so take what I say with a grain of salt because of that.

- I feel like the author is trying too hard with the prose and it just feels boring and redundant to read, so I’m on page 20 and I already find myself skimming just because of all the unnecessarily long paragraphs detailing imagery and unimportant details
- Its not that i find the book itself boring (so far anyway), I’m actually already pretty invested in the main character & whats going on—the author is good at story structure and plotting, they just gotta not go so hard on the prose
- I would say the beginning os confusing but I skimmed like half of it so I dont blame the author for me being confused, just my impatience; Im just saying that that fact did impact how I took in the story from then-on, which was confuzled.
- There’s a lot of telling—not in the ‘show dont tell’ way, but in the ‘here’s this character’s backstory’ way, and its all thrown at you in a big chunk. It doesnt feel like the narrator is speaking to the audience, it feels more like the author is speaking to the page, and its unfortunately dull to read. Its being told not line outs or first time hearing it, but like

Like many others, I was super excited to read this based on the description of "based on Asian mythology" and the beautify cover, but that's where my excitement ended. The book starts with a note on Japanese honorifics and how the author researched them heavily and debated on whether to include them or not, so I expected a variety of honorifics (-san, -kun, -chan, -sama, etc.) and for them to be used correctly. However immediately we are introduced to "Mr. Usagi-san," which defeats the purpose of honorifics if "Mr." is included as well - it should be one or the other, not both. The rest of the book continues with these discrepancies, and the writing style lends it no favors. The story jumps around, lots of telling, not showing anything for the reader to be able to interpret themselves, which feels very jarring, and I found myself getting lost because there are moments where it feels as though a transition/explanation was cut out and not replaced, and I had no idea what was happening. I finished the book just to see if it improved, but was disappointed the whole way through, because the story idea had so much potential.

I really enjoyed this book! The story was very entertaining and well written. I would highly recommend reading this book!

I was not a fan. I felt the writing needed lots of work and there were many moments when details were left out or not explained well enough. I often found myself asking questions such as: how did they get here? Where are they? Who is that?
Was this already explained? Wait who's talking now? The story itself has potential to be great but it moved so quickly I felt like I started in the middle of the story; already missing relevant information.

I really enjoyed this fun fantasy book by Rachel! I thought the characters were super likable and the plot was intriguing, with many cultural references that allowed me to be truly immersed in this fantastic story!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Nib and Feather for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this books with high hopes of loving it, but I don't think it hit all the right marks.

Woven Song by Rachel Krotec is a YA fantasy novel with dragons and immortal being locked away in mortal bodies. Isolated on the moon and yearning for the warmth of connection, a young Kaguya-hime falls to the mortal realm. While unknowingly sealing away her divine identity, she begins living as the mortal Yuki. But the mortal realm isn’t as charming as it seems… Years later, after being banished from the imperial city of Gobe, Yuki returns on the emperor’s request with the hopes of restoring her family’s dojo. But when Yuki’s dreams are seemingly dashed after tragedy strikes, she is forced to face the unsettling truth behind her banishment. On the verge of death, Yuki’s life becomes intertwined with the dragon god, Ryu, and together they must fight to save the mortal realm from Izanami, the ruler of the land of the dead. Caught between living as a mortal or a goddess, Yuki must fight to write her own mythology before the gods do it for her.

I feel like half of this book's problem was that it was a really cool concept, but mildly disappointing execution. Mostly in that fact that the summary does nothing to really sell the book, given that the plot wanders around Alice in Wonderland. I couldn't stay focused, which lead to me ultimately not caring about the characters. Just a hard pass.

DNF at 29% but don’t let that deter you.

I have got to stop reading YA fantasy. It’s not even the age of the characters that’s difficult for me to connect with, but it’s the writing style that’s for that audience. The pacing is very weird for me I feel like things are happening so slow yet very fast. Which I think is attributed to events happening behind the scenes. Like all of a sudden it’s been three months relationships have changed growth has been made and the reader is being caught up to date.

The dialogue was also very emotional and juvenile that it took me out of the story cringing because it just didn’t seem believable.

But me, 12 years ago, would devour this and I know people in that demographic are also going to. The cover alone is stunning and is what grabbed my attention. There’s swords, found family, gods, Asian mythology, short chapters. I wish I could have trudged through and thank NetGalley so much for the chance to read this as always.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and the Author for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was an interesting and fun read, and I enjoyed it. It wasn't my favorite book due to the writing; I think it felt a bit like reading old young adult books that were more story focused and not character focused. It was hard to really feel what the characters were feeling or get much detail on their inner-workings. It seemed to lack the personal connection to the characters that I look for.

Besides that, the story was really good and I loved the idea of the characters and storyline.

Thank you for providing me with an ARC copy of this book. Really interesting concept and story. I liked the way that mythology was woven into fantasy and the accessibility of the book to a wide audience. I think this book is mainly for a YA audience but really enjoyable and interesting.

A wonderfully written story with excellent characters and a vibrant setting. The book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me feel. It is an overall joy from start to finish. Unfortunately, the book does suffer from some pacing issues and a couple of story tropes are used a few too many times. Otherwise, this book would be perfect. Nevertheless, it is well worth reading or rereading.

Woven Song by Rachael Krotec is a YA fantasy novel inspired by Japanese mythology. The story follows a loose retelling of Kaguya-hime and the Bamboo Cutter, featuring dragons, yokai, mononoke, and Shinto myths.

I appreciated how the author provided enough background for readers unfamiliar with these myths, making it accessible and sparking interest in learning more about Japan's rich mythology and Shinto religion. The characters are likable, and the focus on platonic relationships is a nice touch.

However, the story felt flat for me. The pacing was inconsistent, and character development seemed lacking, as the journey and struggles of the characters were often not fully illustrated. Despite these shortcomings, the book has a certain charm and can be a fun, easy read, especially for younger teens.

Unfortunately, I DNFd this book and the primary reason probably isn’t what you’d think. When I requested it as an ARC I didn’t realize there wouldn’t be a kindle option for it. I’m fairly confident I have ADHD and unless I’m reading on something other than my phone I constantly get distracted most of the time. That out of the way I’m not a big YA fan and this reads very YA…. The plot moves quickly with relatively interesting characters and the language is very easy to understand despite it being Asian inspired.

Unfortunately I dnf'd this book after 50 pages.

The writing really wasn't quite polished enough, the storyline itself wasn't working, and the characters lacked individuality, to hook me. It felt a lot like someone wanted to write a fanfic based on the one dubbed anime they'd seen and the only way they knew to make it Japanese was by adding in Japanese names, but there was no depth to their understanding of the culture or practices that would've taken place in that situation. Unfortunate, since the cover is gorgeous and the synopsis sounded interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of the book sounded interesting and the cover is gorgeous which is what prompted me to request this arc.

Let me preface this by saying I wasn’t able to finish the book before the archival date so I am only reviewing the beginning of the book. That being said, I thought the writing was good and had potential but the story telling wasn’t very engaging. It felt directionless and had too much filler much too soon.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

First off, thank you Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this. This has been one of my most anticipated reads. Like, you don't even understand, I'm on a roll reading books set in east Asia. I've devoured Strike The Zither in less than 3 days (I'm a slow reader) and currently waiting for my physical copy of Sound the Gong. I've started reading Xinxia and Wuxia light novels. I've binged watched Till The End Of The Moon ffs!

So I'm heartbroken that I didn't love this.

I loved the characters, they're so close to my heart. Kaguya/Yuki most especially, she's so easy relate to, especially her yearning for friends at the beginning, her sense of loyalty for her mortal family, and her indescribable love for the MMC (whom i won't spoil for those reading).

What I <b> didn't </b> love, however, was the first half of the book, which almost made me give up on it. Nothing picks up until estimated 60% of the book, and that's where the story becomes fast-paced you'd get whiplash. The first part was to build the "found family" trope which was nice, but it also felt like the characters were waiting for something to happen and it took so long for it to happen that it became boring.

Thus I feel the "important" parts were crammed into the last half, leaving a lot of beloved characters undeveloped, and sadly, the romance as well. If the author sprinkled some tension and romance before the 50% mark, it would have packed a punch when the last battle occurred and irrevocable decisions were made. It feels like when the characters were sad at the outcome, I felt detached and uncaring.

However, it wasn't a bad read. You can still enjoy this if you're looking to read east asian-focused fantasy for the first time.

Woven Song is a fun combination of chinese and japanese mythology, weaving a tale of secrets and protection.

yuki and daisuke were interesting characters who had some really sweet moments, and i liked the blend of mythology that was throughout the story, especially with ryu, who was the highlight of the story. the plot did meander a bit and was slow at times but i did enjoy the journey and seeing the characters interact.

the narrative itself has a slightly weird pacing, especially compared to the ending which is quite fast paced and hits you suddenly. i wasn’t a fan of the ending, whilst it makes sense yuki’s acceptance seemed out of place and it just felt really sudden - like you’re told who you actually are and you don’t have any questions at all?? i wish there had been more character development and growth, many characters weren’t given the time to become larger people and often fell flat at times, which is part of the reason i struggled a bit when reading this book. daisuke, ryu and masoto were all characters with so much potential that just wasn’t realised, they all had room for growth that wasn’t given, which meant i struggled to really appreciate them. i would have loved to see more of yuki and daisuke’s relationship, the growth we see with them is more passive whereas i think it would have been better if we saw them together more than we did