I loved the synopsis for a Woven Song, as I am a sucker for a Japanese inspired story.

It starts off well with a god who is lonely and chooses to become mortal, then time skips to when she is nineteen and summoned from banishment by the emperor. The guards at the gate of the city had more to say about her banishment than the emperor did, who I assume issued her sentence in the first place? The whole scene lacked emotion, which I felt it dearly needed to build some tension. Should Yuki be told if Daisuke doesn’t do well there will be repercussions? Her return from banishment was lacklustre.

The plot meanders from there. Yuki helps her grandmother, struggles with Daisuke and overall there is no tension, no drive to read further. There is an encounter with an ex-friend, Masuto, who openly admits he blamed Yuki for a crime he knows she didn’t commit and while he is apparently integral to the end of her banishment she shouldn’t be grateful because he is the source of her problem.

Overall this was not the story for me. To me the stakes needed to be higher and the emotions greater. I DNFed this book at Chapter 10. Thank you for the opportunity.

This was such a fun read! I know little to none about Asian mythology but this book was an amazing introduction. From what I’ve gathered, Woven Song is a blend of Chinese and Japanese mythology.

Although I don’t have a lot of background knowledge in these mythologies, Rachael Krotec was able to build a world and story so detailed and vivid that I never once felt lost or confused. These characters are so lovable it truly made me invested in their story.

There are unexpected twists and turns that kept me captivated from beginning to end. I think this will be a popular YA read as there’s little spice making it appropriate for many ages.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Nib and Feather, LLC, and Rachel Krotec for providing me with this eARC.

Woven Song by Rachael Krotec
Rating: 4/5
Release Date: 7 June 2024

Stranded on the desolate expanse of the moon, Kaguya-hime yearns for the embrace of family and friends. In a fateful descent to the mortal realm, she unwittingly seals away her divine identity. Yet, the mortal world proves far from benign. Exiled from the imperial city of Gobe under the shadow of murder accusations, Yuki returns at the behest of the emperor, aspiring to restore her family's dojo.

However, faced with heartbreak and shattered dreams, Yuki confronts the grim reality behind her banishment.
Teetering on the brink of demise, her destiny intertwines with Ryu, the dragon god, thrusting Yuki into a battle to safeguard the mortal realm from Izanami, ruler of Yomi—the realm of the departed. Straddling the line between mortal existence and her concealed divine nature, Yuki must forge her own legend amidst the machinations of the gods.

"Woven Song" entwines Asian mythology into a sweeping narrative of love and sorrow, betrayal and fidelity—where treachery thrives on secrets, alliances blur into enmity, and love resonates like a haunting melody.

This story is divided into two distinct parts: the first, a beautifully descriptive and evocative narrative, and the second, a more action-packed and romantic segment as the barriers between worlds begin to thin.
It's a captivating tale of outsiders, forbidden love, found family, imperial intrigue, spirit possession, a touch of swordplay, and the struggle against others' expectations.

If you enjoy mythology and action, this book is a great choice.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Nib and Feather, LLC , and the author, Rachael Krotec , for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

DNF at Chapter 12, page 84

Seeing more and more Asian-inspired fantasy books being published has brought me, an Asian, utter delight as I absolutely love the genre and firmly believe that it deserves to be enjoyed by more people around the world. So, when I saw Woven Song and its stunner of a cover, I immediately requested for it and thanked my lucky stars that I got it.

Sadly, as much as I wanted to love this cosy fantasy, it was painfully not what I was looking for at all. While I could clearly see how much the author researched, everything just didn’t work.

First off, the liberties the author took with the Asian mythology and culture which inspired this book were something I couldn’t close an eye to and simply vibe with even though I had already expected them. The cultural discrepancies greatly disappointed me. For instance, “Mr. Usagi-san”. Before even the book starts, we’re already informed of the meanings behind the Japanese suffixes used, yet in the very first chapter, we have “Mr. Usagi-san”. This is this book’s version of ‘chai tea’.

Then, there’s the out-of-place lack of formalities between the characters. Truly, does no one find it odd that this girl and her grandma (matriarch of a clan or no) just waltz in and talk to the emperor like he’s some regular dude from the neighbourhood who just so happens to wear fancy clothes? Not even imperial princes or princesses can talk casually to their fathers like that! But, this isn’t the only issue I have with the characters. They’re also flat and characterised weirdly. Like, the protagonist is Yuki who was once a princess on the moon and spoke to rabbits, but she was surprised that yokai (Japanese for supernatural beings and mysterious phenomena) actually existed.

Other than that, the writing is another lacking aspect of this book. It’s all tell, tell, tell, which makes the story boring because it’s more factual than in-the-moment or alive. It also doesn’t help that the writing is choppy and juvenile, making a New Adult book read more like a young Young Adult Wattpad fic instead.

All in all, Woven Song leaves much to be desired. I think it’s fine for authors of any race to write about other cultures, but it should still be done well and with care.

Wrongly implicated in the disappearance of her best friend, Hina, Yuki has been exiled for four years. . Now, called home by the Emperor, Yuki is given the task of civilizing Daisuke, a young man who is unwanted and unwelcome in much of the Imperial City. This gives her a chance to reopen her father’s dojo, to make amends with the boy she loved, and find the truth about what happened to Hina.

I’m going to be honest and say that this book just wasn’t for me. Feeling very anime inspired with the descriptions and modern slang — like “why are you staring at me, you creep,”which seems to be Daisuke’s favorite phrase — to the casual way the Emperor treats Yuki to some the overly explained Japanese elements (how one sits, how kimonos are worn, various aspects of the mythology), it has a very easy and approachable writing style. However, the world building falls a little short as it didn’t feel either wholly Japanese nor enough of it’s own thing.

The characters are well balanced with the strong, plucky heroine, the good hearted delinquent, the cunning prince, the stalwart love interest, and manage to fulfill their roles without ever really moving beyond them. This book is, I think, aimed at a younger audience, which makes the simplistic plot beats and the lack of nuance more acceptable — even if, for me, it left me, personally, wanting more.

All in all, a pleasant story with good found family elements, messaging about standing up for yourself and others, and how important kindness, compassion and forgiveness can be. I think this will be a good read for fans of Asian fantasy (with are elements of Chinese as well as Japanese mythology), anime, and dragons. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy.

I wanted to love this one so bad because I love when Asian mythology is adapted well in a fantasy book but the pacing really threw me off. Unfortunately it was quite slow paced in my opinion and doesn’t fall into the category of high stake fantasy but I see why this book can be very awesome for people who aren’t looking for that.
While the story took on pace and action I liked it more but it didn’t take long until we were back to normal. The characters were great but I didn’t get behind every thought of them.

Thanks to NetGalley & Nib & Feather, LLC. for the e-ARC!

**2 stars** I love reading about Japanese mythology because it’s not often adapted into fantastical stories like this one. The author includes a note at the end explaining how she took some liberties with the lore and customs but it was hard for me to ignore especially because I grew up in Japan learning about them.

Princess Kaguya (Kaguya-Hime) falls into the mortal realm after being banished from the moon and begins living as a mortal as Yuki. After having been banished from the city of Gobe, she returns once the emperor sends word of restoring her family dojo. Word spreads of a cult revolving around Izanami, a goddess of both life and death (taken from the Shinto religion; Izanami and Izanagi) and Yuki works alongside a dragon god, Ryu to save the mortal realm from destruction.

If you love a cozy fantasy that is low-stake, you will enjoy this! I personally gravitate towards high-stakes fantasies only because I need something to fight for. I did find the pacing to be slow, especially in the first half of the book. Every time something did happen, the characters move on the following page. I appreciate the short chapters but it ends so abruptly. Which brings me to the next point–Rachael Krotec’s writing is fine but it did not suit this type of story. While this is set when samurais were still around, their dialogue was too modern. There were a few cultural discrepancies but I was able to overlook them.

I appreciate Krotec’s attempt into Japanese mythology. I haven’t read any that integrates the gods of Shinto. Though this book is marketed as NA, I did find that it read more YA. If I read this when I was in middle school, I might have perhaps enjoyed this more.

Woven Song is a story that will have you feeling nostalgia for animated favorites like Spirited Away and Fruits Basket. Readers interested in Japanese + Chinese culture and mythology will enjoy seeing Yuki’s story come to life as the author explores themes including grief, growth, found family, and self-determination.

With so much story packed into just 350 pages, I often found myself craving more world-building and character development. If this book had been longer, or even split into a duology, there would have been more space between events to explore the characters’ backstories, values and motivations, and actions post-climax.

Woven Song would be a great pick for teens looking for a creative way to learn about East Asian mythology/culture while joining a group of characters that are easy to relate to.

- Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! -

Five stars because self-publishing is hard. Kudos for getting it done and out there.

I personally found the prose itself over-written, over-narrated and a bit clunky. I stopped after chapter 2. It probably could have used another round of line edits. That said, some people really enjoy that style of writing. I hope this book finds its readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rachel Krotec for the opportunity to read the book.

Another book where the cover drew me to it instantly!

So glad I did as this turned into a really fun read, mixing various mythologies up into a magical adventure with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.

One thing that threw me to begin with was the in-sentence explanations/translations of Japanese words/terms threw the pace a bit and could have been covered in a little glossary at the front beside the explanation of the honorifics.

This was a story of two halves (well one and two thirds, the first part a very descriptive tale beautifully told, then the action and romance increased as the barriers between worlds thinned.

This is a great tale of outsiders mixed with forbidden loves, found family, Imperial intrigue, spirit possession, a little bit of sword play, and a lot about not living up to others expectations of you.

If you like a bit of mythology and action this is a good book for you though I’m still wondering what happened to the prisoner with the facial scar, it felt as though there was going to be more but sadly not.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Although I did end up DNF'ing this book, this largely just due to taste/what I was in the mood for reading at the time. I also have a lot of trouble with the "innocent but framed guilty" trope, though it's a common one in many a good mystery, and so that trigger ultimately is what pushed me off finishing. Woven Song is based off Japanese mythology and is your classic fantasy at its core - we start off with a little mythos, and then do a couple heavy world-building episodes, as we watch Yuki return to her home city and to the emperor who's summoned her after a mysterious banishment. She's clearly someone of renown/notoriety, and is looking to make her way through the world. Rachael Krotec has vivid writing, writing Yuki as this world-weary heroine, while at the same time, is not hesitant about fully immersing herself into the Japanese mythos and to my surface level knowledge, seems to have clearly done her research for this novel. Unfortunately, I feel as though I have to be in a specific time and place and mindset in order to read a fantasy that does heavy worldbuilding at the start, and that isn't where I am; Krotec has also written her book in that classic "fantasy" voice that is just more removed, and doesn't have the character's voice built in, but rather that of a narrator, despite being from Yuki's POV. If all those elements of a fantasy novel appeal to you, however, this would be the perfect novel for someone who is ready to sink into a completely different world with a badass heroine!

Absolutely loved the focus on Asian mythology. As someone that loves mythology in general I absolute devoured this book. Even though I’m not super familiar with Asian mythology I still think this book was a pretty easy read. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters aren’t cliche flawless one dimensional characters they all have some level of depth which makes them so much easier to like.

Woven Song by Rachael Krotec is a beautifully written story with a mashup of Chinese and Japanese mythology that will appeal to those who enjoy being emersed in the cultures. This book is well-paced and picks up in the last third of the story. Rachael did an amazing job with world-building, character development, and the plot of the story. From the first page to the last I was swept away to the world of Gobe and with every twist and turn that occurred I wanted to read more. Woven Song really played on my heart strings with themes such as found family, chronic illness and many more. If you enjoy mythology sprinkled with the right amount of romance this is the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley, Nib and Feather, LLC, and Rachael Krotec for providing the ARC ebook!

The overall story was interesting but I felt like there was a missing element in the overarching plot to tie it together. The characters were really good and I enjoyed seeing the dynamics shift as the story progressed. The characterisations and multiple povs helped maintain my interest throughout. I initially thought from the prologue that it would be similar to the Celestial Kingdom duology by Sue Lynn Tan but it fell short in a number of areas and the pacing was off in the last third of the book. I would have loved to have explored the different realms more and developed a deeper understanding of the mythology.

As a whole, it was an easy and enjoyable standalone read. I would recommend this for those wanting to start exploring the YA fantasy genre.

I loved how the author put so much thought into this book, especially with the honorifics, you can clearly tell how passionate Rachael was about this book, down to the last detail,
the characters were easily loveable and now that I've finished the book I really do miss them!

Asian mythology

The cover is absolutely beautiful. I could see this being a special edition with beautiful sprayed edges sitting on my shelf.

This book was such an interesting read. I watch a ton of anime and enjoy Japanese mythology so this book was easy for me to understand. The author does help paint a beautiful picture and describes everything so that even if you aren't familiar you'll still be able to appreciate the world.

I really enjoyed the story and read it all in one sitting xD

The characters are pretty likeable as well. They all have a hidden pain or something that kind of shapes their personality. Ryu was my favorite character, I'm sure for obvious reasons lol.

This isn't my typical read but I really enjoyed a change of pace that this book gave.

Publication date: June 7, 2024

Absolutely fantastic piece of fiction! An interesting an engaging take on the The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, filled with rich worldbuilding, excellent action, fun characters, and a lot of intrigue! Highly recommended to any lovers of fantasy! Thank you to NetGalley and Nib & Leather, LLC for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an interesting blend of Chinese and Japanese mythology.

Initially I was turned off by the writing style. It felt like the tone kept a barrier between me as the reader and the characters. Maybe that was the point, considering the main character is a god, but it took some getting used to.

I will say that I came to love the characters and was cheering for them the whole way. That was a definite positive.

The plot itself didn’t feel like it had a central purpose or conflict. Rather, it was a winding plot that seemed to lack in structure.

All that being said, the story itself was interesting, and the characters were compelling. I definitely recommend reading this if you want a little introduction to the gods it is based on, though there are some deviations from the mythology.

Beautifully written. I think this would be ideal for younger fantasy readers or anyone that's just getting into fantasy!

Sweeping fantasy, beautiful worlds and love the characters and how they make you care about them. Very expansive