Owl and the Japanese Circus

Owl and the Japanese Circus
Author: Kristi Charish
Genre: urban fantasy, action, adventure
Released: 2015
Series: The Adventures of Owl #1
Amazon: Kindle, Paperback

Owl’s First adventure

Japanese Circus Casino, the home of a very greedy dragon, also the cause of a headache for Owl. the story starts off with a quick action scene. She dodges her pursuer with little success, but it is hard to outsmart a dragon and its lackeys. Soon, Owl gets an offer that she cannot refuse: help the dragon find a 3000-year-old artifact, and it will make her arch nemesis go away.

It sounds very tempting, but she does not have a choice, in a lot of these supernatural theme stories, humans don’t have a choice. Think Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series.

Owl hates dealing with supernatural jobs, she avoids them after a run in with the vampires. It is no secret that they want her dead, that is her background story. When Mr. Kurosawa offers her a deal, she simply cannot refuse.

Characters in Japanese Circus

Owl is the main character, a loner and a very skillful thief. Snarky, secretive and borderline manic, she can be quite tedious to follow.

Nadya is her best friend, loosely termed. Nadya seems hell bent on helping the prickly Owl, and sometimes I do not know why she is so loyal, but I guess every hero needs a sidekick.

Rynn is a mercenary hired by Kurosawa, partly to keep her in line and partly to offer help.

Kurosawa’s minions are also a big part in the book. Lady Siyu is a naga, while Oricho is a spirit of a samurai who has indentured himself to the dragon.

Owl has a pet Egyptian Mau, a cat that is bred to hunt and kill vampires. Captain is a tremendous source of entertainment as it has quite a snarky personality like its owner.

Story

This is just your normal treasure hunting story, it comes with double crossing, vampires and a lot of trying not to die. While the story has a face pace, and Owl seems to never run out of enemies, it gets slightly tiresome. By the halfway point, I know why she hates vampire, by the end, I wish they would just kill her and put her out of her misery..

The ending is not as unpredictable, but it is good fun to see her wriggle out of it. Her strong survival instincts does not make her a genius, even though people always say not to judge a book by its cover. Also in this case, do not judge a coffin by its lid, I can’t resist.

Verdict

Not sure, yeah it is fun. I do like how the author incorporates Japanese culture well into the story. This book has vampires from France, dragon from Japan, and a blonde girl call Alix/ Owl. Her friend is Nadya who’s Russian, talk about modern times.

It is hard to weave in certain characteristics that is unique to each culture, so it is a good job. Story wise, it is nothing to shout about. There are many action books out there that does it better, but Owl has her own story to tell, and her own path to take. Maybe, if you like a snarky, repetitive girl who wants nothing more than to sleep well at night.