Let's save the day! | The Mortal Song

Sora is living her happy life with her family on Mt. Fuji and the only thing that would make her birthday even better is if her parents let her take on the sacred kami duties. But the day of her birthday her home is attacked by ghosts and with the help of Takeo, she runs away. And that’s when Sora’s live starts to take different direction. She finds out that her powers are just borrowed and that in reality she’s just a human. Oh and let’s not forget that Mt. Fuji has been taken over by the vicious ghosts and that it will influence the whole world. Who’s going to save the day? 

Let’s focus on Sora, for a while. She is young kami who finds out she’s not a kami but a human. Her whole life falls apart. She doesn’t believe it, obviously, I wouldn’t either but there’s a seed of doubt in her. Though when she finally admits to herself that yes, she’s a human, she doesn’t become weak. Kami are stronger than humans, they are less likely to be hurt than humans and Takeo keeps treating Sora this way. He tries to keep her safe and all, but he doesn’t realize that she can take care of herself. She knows how to handle a sword and in many cases, it was Sora who saved them. I think she was a real badass even though she was just a human. 

Another thing I loved was the setting. The story takes place in Japan which is amazing because I haven’t read a lot of YA fantasy novels based in Asia. If was quite refreshing to be in this part of world, to have these foreign names and elements of different culture and I just really liked it. On top of that, the author threw there a little bit of japan mythology because the main focus of the novel is on kami and again this was really cool because I learned something new. Definitely need more of that. 

"Maybe I wasn't kami, maybe I wasn't so strong after all, but I wasn't completely helpless. I could do what was right."

Ok, now let’s talk about the story. It was packed with action! I swear the characters were jumping from one fight to another and I quite liked it because it was a crazy ride but sometimes it was too much I think. Yes, the characters rested a little but near the end it seemed like they did nothing else then just fighting the ghosts and finding the treasures. And I know this is probably because it is a stand-alone book but thanks to this, I think I didn’t have a real time to connect with the characters and so everything they did was amazing but it didn’t affect me on an emotional level. 

Also, ghosts! There aren’t many ghosts in novels anymore and I missed them. I loved the ghost army and I loved the villain and his background, his motivation, his reasons for the things he did. It was all believable and I totally got him though it wasn’t nice. The only thing is, I would like to see him more and have him more present in the story. 

All in all, it was amazing story and I had fun. If you like ghosts, danger and lot of fights, go for it. Those of you who like different cultures in novels and mythology, I think you’ll like it too. I was surprised that it’s not a series but it was a good change from all those long series I’m constantly waiting for. This was quick and fun read.