Mari is yōkai with the ability to change into a monster. She is an animal wife. these are yōkai who will find a man to fall in love with her, marry him, and then she will steal all his posessions and leave him. Mari is not an ordinary animal wife though, according to her mother, the leader of the animal wives, she is not pretty enough and she has trained her to be an assassin, who will contend to become the empress.
Akira is half yōkai: his mother is a ghost and his father was human. He’s known as the Son of Nightmares, and he’s Mari’s friend. Half his face is disfigured by terrible scars and he lives in the shadows. He is in love with Mari.
Taro is the emperor’s son, he’s an inventor and has no desire to inherit his father’s throne.
Mari sets out to the Imperial City with a guard of two rōnin and saves the life of one of them. The other pledges that he will return the favour at some point and lets her know how to contact him. In the Imperial City, Mari wanders out to the emperor’s palace and meet a samurai in the garden. Unbeknownst to her, this samurai is the very prince she wants to marry.
Girls from all over the empire have gathered to compete to become the Empress of all Seasons by conquering the season rooms in the palace. Mari refuses to attack any of the other girls in the rooms – and the competition will have just one winner.
I really enjoyed this book with its Japanese mythological creatures like yōkai, oni, the kirin and kodama. Emiko Jean’s tale made them all come to life.
Read for the Read Between the Lines Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 32: A Weapon on the Cover (Gun, Crossbow, Knife, Sword)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
