Review: Rain by Amanda Sun

Rain (Paper Gods #2)
by Amanda Sun

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: June 24th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 304 pages
Source: Own
Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

American Katie Green has decided to stay in Japan. She's started to build a life in the city of Shizuoka, and she can't imagine leaving behind her friends, her aunt and especially Tomohiro, the guy she's fallen in love with. But her return is not as simple as she thought. She's flunking out of Japanese school and committing cultural faux pas wherever she goes. Tomohiro is also struggling—as a Kami, his connection to the ancient gods of Japan and his power to bring drawings to life have begun to spiral out of control.

When Tomo decides to stop drawing, the ink finds other ways to seep into his life—blackouts, threatening messages and the appearance of unexplained sketches. Unsure how to help Tomo, Katie turns to an unexpected source for help—Jun, her former friend and a Kami with an agenda of his own. But is Jun really the ally he claims to be? In order to save themselves, Katie and Tomohiro must unravel the truth about Tomo's dark ancestry, as well as Katie's, and confront one of the darkest gods in Japanese legend.

I love, love, love the cover! It's beautiful! 

Rain is the second book from Paper Gods series. I love the first book, Ink. It was a fun read featuring Japanese culture and mythology. I love the relationship between Katie and Tomo, which sounded a bit like the romance in shoujo manga. 

I think Rain was a bit different than Ink, but it was still as interesting. I love how Katie and Tomo’s relationship grew in Ink. But learning about more mythology, the gods and the power in Rain interest me more. Amanda Sun made the Ink world sound fascinating, yet, very dangerous. I enjoyed watching how Tomo learned to control the ink and how Katie finally discovered her connection with the ink.

What I like about the book was the balance between the Ink world, the romance and Katie’s life in Japan. I love that the writer wrote how Katie struggled to keep up with her study, and learning kanji. At least I know that Katie wasn’t miraculously smart in school. The supporting characters in the book made the book more interesting. I love Katie’s aunt, and Katie’s friend, Yuki and Tanaka. I wish there were more of them.

I just cannot wait to see what will happen to Katie and Tomo on the next book. If you enjoyed Japanese culture and mythology, you will love this book.

Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink (Paper Gods #1)
by Amanda Sun

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: June 25th 2013 by Harlequin Teen
Format: ebooks
Source: NetGalley
Author:  Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

INK IS IN THEIR BLOOD.

On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn't know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can't seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school's kendo team, she is intrigued by him...and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they're near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life.

Somehow Tomo is connected to the Kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan-and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.

When Katie lost her mother, she had no choice but to move in with her aunt, Diane in Japan as her grandfather was battling cancer and had no way to look after her.  It all started when Katie accidentally eavesdropped to an argument between Tomohiro and Myu. Katie saw a drawing from Tomohiro’s sketchbook, and was surprised when the drawing moved! Katie was intrigued by him and she wanted to know the truth—how was it possible that the drawing can move? But strange things began to happen when she gets closer to Tomohiro. And as she began to learn the truth about Tomohiro and Kami (gods), Katie learnt that her life was now in danger. 

When I read the synopsis of Ink by Amanda Sun, I knew that I have to read it. I am a fan of Japanese culture and I was lucky to be received the arc through NetGalley. Of course, I didn’t expect to like the book so much. Katie sounded like the typical heroine who had to deal with a new environment when she moved from America to Japan and what with her romance interest who had a dangerous secret. But what makes me love this book despite some cliché is that the author had done a great job with mixing the story with Japanese culture. I love how the characters sounded Japanese instead of some Japanese wannabe.

I love the story with the drawing comes to life as I’ve never come across stories like this before. The plot building and suspense were really good. Ink was a mixture of thriller, fantasy, romance and a little bit of humor. I love both Katie and Tomohiro. I love their connection.  Their relationship sounded like something I would usually read out of a shoujo manga. Their relationship was sweet and adorable, although most of the times they teased each other a lot. I found myself giggling and kyaaa-ing (or what you call a fangirling moment) a lot, after watching how their relationship developed.

Ink is definitely one of the best Young Adult I’ve read. I love it so much that I am planing to purchase myself a physical book so that I can adore the beautiful cover for as long as I wanted to and enjoy the smell of the papers while I re-read the story all over again. And after that ending, I just can’t wait for the next book!