The Fox's Mask by Anna Frost

By: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Title:  The Fox's Mask

Author:  Anna Frost

Series:  The Kitsune Trillogy #1

Published:  October 19th 2012 by Musa Publishing
Page Count:  238

Genre:  Gay & Lesbian Fantasy, Young Adult
Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Demon hunter Akakiba keeps many secrets from his human companion. The fact he's a werefox isn't the worst one.

In feudal Japan, magic is dying. As a demon hunter, Akakiba finds this problematic. The evil he's been trained to destroy is disappearing and, along with it, the shape-shifting abilities of the clan he left behind. With his only companion, a determined young human named Yuki, Akakiba traverses the country slaying demons and performing odd jobs.

But when an army of demon possessed humans masses to exterminate his clan, Akakiba must put aside old feuds and protect his family–all while hiding an important secret from Yuki. Will they find a way to defeat the demon possessed before it's too late? With magic dwindling, will it matter either way?


My Review:

 This novel was extremely well written, but I found that I had a difficult time getting engaged in the story. Once I finally got into it, it turned out to be a very intriguing story. Part of the issue that I found was that the crux of the story occurs in the last half. The first half of the story is a large amount of background information.

Frost has an amazingly well developed cast of characters. Each one is ideally suited to their purpose in life. That said, not one single character is the “perfect” person. Each one is a real individual, with real strengths and real flaws. They all find themselves in social situations that you could run into in a normal day at home, school, or the office. These situations are heightened by the supernatural backdrop of the story, but they are still realistic interactions. The familial relationships within the story had me giggling. The main characters treat each other like a real pair of siblings would, and interact with their parents like a real family.

I was also completely enthralled by the complex mythology of the kitsune that is the backdrop for this story. It is based in a fairly traditional Japanese setting. The characters also have traditional Japanese names. This all helps round out the story.

Finally, this story was complete in and of itself. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely the potential for more to come after this story and I can’t wait for the sequel, but I loved the fact that this story had an ending. It did not end like so many other books in a series, where the characters are basically being held suspended until the sequel is published. 

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