Series: Shadow of the Fox #3
Release Date: March 31st 2020
Publisher: HQ Young Adult
Pages: 384
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review.
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Master storyteller Julie Kagawa concludes the enthralling journey into the heart of the fantastical Empire of Iwagoto in the third book of the Shadow of the Fox trilogy. As darkness rises and chaos reigns, a fierce kitsune and her shadowy protector will face down the greatest evil of all. A captivating fantasy for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Sarah J. Maas and Marie Lu.

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.

Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko and their companions to stop a madman and separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that had trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.

But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.

Review

Night of the Dragon is the third and final instalment in Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series. This fast-paced fantasy tale follows a young shapeshifter named Yumeko as she and her ragtag group of friends attempt to save the world from being destroyed by use of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. This epic tale is full to the brim with magic, action and friendship and book three is no exception – if you’ve read and loved the first two in the series, you are not going to be disappointed.

I won’t say too much about the plot as I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone – it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible. The whole series has an anime feel to it, there’s ton of action to keep you gripped and a brilliant cast of characters to root for. After following Yumeko and her gang from the beginning you become very attached and each character is well written and I must be honest I felt quite sad to see the characters go. The conclusion to the story is executed really well, but I would have loved to see more of this wonderful cast of characters.

The series started out incredibly strong and with each book the stakes have become higher and the cliffhangers even bigger. Julie Kagawa writes a compelling and addictive tale and I found myself turning pages faster and faster, desperate to know how it was all going to end. The world building in this series is also competely superb, steeped in Japanese mythology, I honestly couldn’t get enough.

If you’ve read the first two books in this series, prepare to be completely sucked into Night of the Dragon. If you haven’t yet had the chance to try the series out, now is the perfect time to get binging – I definitely recommend picking up all these because you’re going to want to dive back into this world immediately – I know I did!