Stormdancer (The Lotus Wars #1) by Jay Kristoff

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌓 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Arashitoras are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shõgun, they fear that their lives are over – everyone knows what happens to those who fail the Lord of the Shima Isles. But the mission proves less impossible and more deadly than anyone expects. Soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled arashitora for company. Although she can hear his thoughts, and saved his life, all she knows for certain is he'd rather see her dead than help her. Yet trapped together in the forest, Yukiko and the beast soon discover a bond that neither of them expected.

Meanwhile, the country around them verges on collapse. A toxic fuel is choking the land, the machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they deem Impure, and the Shõgun cares for nothing but his own dominion. Authority has always made Yukiko, but her world changes when she meets Kin, a young man with secrets, and the rebel Kagé cabal. She learns the horrifying extent of the Shõgun's crimes, both against her country and her family.

Returning to the city, Yukiko is determined to make the Shõgun pay – but what can one girl and a flightless arashitora do against the might of an empire?

It took me the first 100 pages to get into this book. The world is incredibly detailed and I got buried under the immense amount of detail at first. Once I became acclimated to the world and all of the terms for everything, the book was much better. I've never read a steampunk type of book before so I wasn't used to everything that comes with that. I did think that it was very interesting but with it being combined with fantasy elements like creatures and myths...it was just a lot for me to take in. 

Yukiko has got to be one of my favorite heroines that I have read lately. She has a strong moral compass and doesn't really have a filter when it comes to believing that someone or something isn't right in the world that she lives in. She didn't always see things clearly within the story but was humble enough to see what she was missing when she made errors that others pointed out.

I loved the edition of the Arashitora and other creatures to the story. It added a fantastical element as well depth to the story. It displayed a different side of the war that Yukiko was not aware of. I loved the relationship between them. They had such a deep and meaningful connection between them that I think that they both needed in their lives. 

I will definitely be reading the next book in the series because I loved this one and Jay Kristoff hasn't let me down with his books yet!