Review – Dark Tempest (Red Winter Trilogy, Book 2) by Annette Marie (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Release Date: January 6, 2017
ASIN: B01MDJX2FY
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Red Winter Trilogy
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Emi has dedicated her life to becoming the perfect vessel for the goddess Amaterasu, but the insidious betrayal of another deity has changed everything. Now Amaterasu has charged Emi with an urgent mission: to find and free the earthly gods before mankind is brought to its knees beneath divine tyranny.

At her side is Shiro, the mysterious fox spirit. When she first saved his life, she could never have imagined that behind his cunning and confidence, he was lost–his power bound by a devastating curse and his memories obscured. His veiled history is somehow tied to the missing gods, but he can’t remember how or why.

As their search leads them into the murky depths of the spirit realm, the shadows of Shiro’s past begin to emerge. With each brief awakening of his true self, she loses a little more of him. The fate of the heavens and earth rest in her mortal hands, and she must find the missing gods before time runs out for her world–and for Shiro.”

This is the second volume in the Red Winter trilogy. The beginning of this book was, again, a bit slow but things really picked up towards the end of the story and I absolutely loved some of the reveals at the end.

In this book Emi’s main mission is to find and free the earth gods. Shiro is at her side, but even he can’t help with some of the trials that only a human can face.

The book starts out a bit slow with Emi returning to her home temple for help with her quest. But when she is sheltered and patronized and deemed untruthful, she quickly decides to takes things into her own hands. This happens about half way through the book and from that point on things really pick up.

I loved some of the monsters and gods we meet and really enjoyed the adventures Emi ends up on. I also loved all the new Gods we meet and learning about their powers. There is some romance between Emi and Shiro as well which was well done.

Overall this was an excellent continuation of the Red Winter trilogy. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but things really picked up mid book and I ended up really enjoying the story. I would recommend to YA fans who enjoy magic and an Asian influence in their fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge