Dragon Sword and Wind Child (Tales of the Magatama #1)

Summary:

In the land of Toyoashihara, the forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged war for generations. But for 15-year old Saya, the war is far away and unimportant--until the day she discovers she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she is tumbled into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. Both the army of the Light and Dark seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to end the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed like all the Water Maidens who have come before her?  (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

This is a book that I really enjoyed the writing, the description and even aspects of the story, but I just could not get into the overall drama of the story.  There were moments of excitement and then the rest was just…there for me.  It’s an odd dichotomy for me because I found some things quite interesting, but when I put the book down the book for the day or two I dreaded going back to it. 

Ultimately, this was a “Did not finish” after about 200 pages.  I just didn’t feel invested enough in the story to spend the time to find out what happened in the end.  I’m sure this book would be utterly mesmerizing for some folks, but just didn’t work for me.

Warning: Contains violence.

Rating: 3 stars!

Who should read it? Fans of Japanese culture and who would like to read an interesting story set in that setting.

Want to read the whole series?

• Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince (Tales of the Magatama #2)

• To be Translated (Tales of the Magatama #3)