Review: Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

Title: Kinslayer
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Thomas Dunne
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Series: The Lotus War #2
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

A SHATTERED EMPIRE
The mad Shōgun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation’s broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion simultaneously – by endorsing a new Shōgun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.

A DARK LEGACY
Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father’s death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts is swelling beyond her power to control. Along with Buruu, Yukiko’s anchor is Kin, the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo’s clutches. But Kin has his own secrets, and is haunted by visions of a future he’d rather die than see realized.

A GATHERING STORM
Kagé assassins lurk within the Shōgun’s palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A waif from Kigen’s gutters begins a friendship that could undo the entire empire. A new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to survive. And across raging oceans, amongst islands of black glass, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat.

The ghosts of a blood-stained past.

What the fucking fuck.

I just can't even process some of this shit right now.

It's all crazy madness. Some of it is cool madness. And some of it is I-don't-know-how-to-take-this madness. There are surprises. Good ones. Bad ones. No punches held. The stuff that goes down in Kinslayer has me simultaneously needing the next book and wanting to take this whole year or whatever between books to try to figure out what the hell I think about the stuff I just read.

Some of these characters, man. Michi is beyond amazing and the culmination of her story arc in this installment is just so hardcore freaking badass that I don't know if I can handle it. We get a new character, Hana, who is just so likable and also with the surprises. All these little fuckers wanted to surprise me. KIN. His story had the most WTFery. I don't think the reader gets the whole story with him in this book. At least, we better not have. Because reasons. I am having the most difficulty processing his Stuff than anyone else's. Yukiko and Buruu are awesome but I don't know if I got enough Buruu snark in this one, since he and Yukiko share the spotlight with more of the other characters and Yukiko is having some issues with the Kenning. But Yukiko's situation in this probably rivals Kin's for making me concernicus. I admit to some tad irritation on my part by Yukiko's story in this one. It's due to a peeve of mine. It's a maybe weird peeve, so don't go getting all worried about it. It's not a vampire or a love triangle or a penchant for assholes who want to kill/eat her. I just can't talk about it specifically because spoilers. It's probably a good thing Michi and Hana are so WTF badass and Kin is so WTF (and maybe kinda a little bit badass?). But I'm hoping for things. Stuff. To be resolved in a way that makes me cheer for it even if it isn't necessarily happy. We do get some hints of Buruu past, though, and that is pretty awesome. Because Buruu.

But you may not want to read this if you don't want to read about people betraying the fuck out of people, or about bloody guts and burning guts and loose guts and more guts and lady balls and murder and betraying (yeah, more of it) and explosions and murder and attempted murder and blood and torture and black vomit and betrayal (YES, MORE OF IT). There are no cuddly bunnies. If there were, their intestines would probably be hanging out at some point. Proceed if you like gore, but be careful because one of these fuckers will probably betray you.

4 point fucking 5

I don't usually curse this much in my reviews, but shit.