For some reason, this book never fully captured my attention. I found the first half slow but the second half was fast-paced and full of action. I loved the world building and the Japanese mythology that was woven throughout the novel and I also like that Mio was a non Anglo-Saxon living in London. However, she didn't resonate with me. I thought, for everything she had to face, Mio felt much older than fifteen but then there were times I found her immature. Her instant attraction to Shinobu was annoying, although their romance was well-paced. However, the fact Mio was fifteen and Shinobu was older, didn't sit well with me.

Jack, Mio's best friend, was a fabulous character. She was sassy, reckless and full of life, and she was definitely my favourite character. I did appreciate how the two girls interacted together and supported each other.

"The Night Itself "is the first book in a trilogy but I doubt if I'll be reading the sequels. I wasn't emotionally invested enough to continue the series. ( )

This book started off a little meh to me, and there are some cringy moments. Also, I think I glossed over the part where Mio starts calling her sword he/him, which is fine because that humanizes it.

STORY:

"You will do what is necessary," said Shinobu, not a trace of doubt in his voice. "You will do what must be done. And you will do what is right. You will always do what is right, Mio" (pg 297).

In The Name of the Blade by Zoë Marriott (368 pages), Mio takes her deceased grandfather's katana (Japanese long sword; think samurai) to a costume party as a part of her Rukia cosplay. Guess what? It was not a good idea, as it births a bunch of evil and dreams.

Dreams play a big part in this story (I know the dreams trope is cliche but a little fantasy never hurt), and I like that because I generally enjoy stories where the character finds a connection between their dreams and the real world. Something that happened that was equally cliche and not really a spoiler was the arrival of the warrior, Shinobu. And yes, I enjoy the main character's inanimate object turns into a human and becomes their partner or potential love interest trope as well.

We were the night itself" (pg 346).
The Name of the Blade is an okay book. Nothing that's going to make you do cartwheels, but a good read for a lazy afternoon. If you are into Asian folklore, specifically Japanese, there are a lot yokai present like nine-tailed kitsunes (foxes) and Nekomata.

I am not super-inclined to read the sequels, but a small part of me wants to see if Mio and her dad's relationship will get better/worse and what happens with Shinobu afterward.
( )

When she was nine years old, Mio Yamato’s grandfather showed her an ancient katana hidden in the family attic and told her that it must remain hidden. Despite his warning, when she’s fifteen Mio decides that the sword will make the perfect accessory for a costume party. Now the reappearance of the sword has wakened a creature from Japanese legend, who’s stalking Mio through the modern day streets of London.

There wasn’t anything that was completely horrible about The Night Itself, but there wasn’t anything that went beyond mediocre either. Besides the use of Japanese mythology, the story feels essentially familiar. There’s nothing about it that feels new or interesting, not even the use of mythology which is it’s one distinguishing factor. The main character’s got a special birthright of which she’s unaware, there’s a special object she’s got to keep away from the evil villains, and there’s a hot sort of super natural guy who she falls into instalove with despite knowing him less than twenty four hours. Whatever. I’ve seen all of this before.

None of the characters felt developed. I never got much of a sense of their personalities, and now, a week later I’ve almost completely forgotten them. They all felt like generic YA stock tropes. I was interested in Jack, the lesbian best friend, initially, but my interest in her had flagged by the second half of the book. Basically the book introduced a supernatural guy with a crush on her who kisses her, and the book doesn’t discuss it. So annoying.

It’s really hard to find much to say about The Night Itself beyond “mediocre.” The writing wasn’t terrible. Even the instalove thing could have been more annoying than it turned out being. It did help me pass some hours when the wifi was out, so there’s that in it’s favor. But it’s not a book that I care about or would recommend.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )

[‎Thursday, ‎September ‎12, ‎2013] I just got about 6 books and this is one of them. I got to say: it looks promising. I like the concept.

British YA dark fantasy has a very distinct feel to it, and The Night Itself is a great example. Marriott blends Japanese mythology and urban fantasy into a very exciting read, with extremely well-written action scenes. ( )