“You do not know what it means to be happy. Happiness is not a thing to be found here in the imperial court. We take moments of pleasure. Collect them and keep them tight in our chests. And we hope they are enough to fill whatever holes our truths leave behind.”
Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh is the thrilling conclusion to the events set in motion in Flame in the Mist. Mariko is now at the imperial castle, found by Kenshin. She had joined the Black Clan hoping to exact revenge, but instead found a place for herself where she would not be judged by her sex, a group of misfits bound by ties of brotherhood and loyalty, and a love who saw her as an equal. Now, Okami is trapped in the palace dungeons, awaiting his death, and Mariko is set to be married off to the brother of the current king, a man who now sits on the throne as a result of his mother’s deception. Dark magic lurks in the corners of the palace, and Mariko quickly adapts to the different roles she must play: by day, she must be the dutiful bride-to-be, demure and simple, while silently taking note of the tensions and fracturing relationships of the people around her. By night, she endeavors to free Okami, plan for war, and seek the answers to the mysteries that surround the palace. Bloodshed is imminent, and Mariko is faced with an endless amount of decisions to make in order to save her friends, uphold the honour of her kingdom, and correct the consequences of the past to free the boy she loves.
“Real love was more than a moment. It was everything that happened after. Chaos in one instant, simplicity in the next. Everything and nothing in the space of a simple breath.”
In this beautiful finale, Ahdieh’s writing is absolutely amazing. The traditions and settings of feudal Japan are wonderfully described, providing lush visions of the stunning castle, the terrible dungeons below, and the forest just beyond the capital, filled with magic and dark enigmas. The characters first introduced in the previous book are further explored and built upon in this novel, showing you clearly how circumstance, power, and the strength within all play a part in shaping a person. Brothers are torn apart by greed, women are empowered by the choices they make, and lovers are brought together amid pain and grief. Mariko carefully decimates the societal expectations of how women should behave. In this story, the girl is not saved by the boy, nor is she hopelessly gone for him; Mariko knows her capabilities and refuses to be tied down. By never backing down and fighting for what’s right, she becomes a fierce heroine who saves herself, her lover, and the fate of the country she calls home.
“Fight not for greatness, but for goodness.”
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