Dark Tempest

Written by Annette Marie

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Emi has dedicated her life to becoming the perfect vessel for the goddess Amaterasu, but the insidious betrayal of another deity has changed everything. Now Amaterasu has charged Emi with an urgent mission: to find and free the earthly gods before mankind is brought to its knees beneath divine tyranny.

At her side is Shiro, the mysterious fox spirit. When she first saved his life, she could never have imagined that behind his cunning and confidence, he was lost-his power bound by a devastating curse and his memories obscured. His veiled history is somehow tied to the missing gods, but he can't remember how or why.

As their search leads them into the murky depths of the spirit realm, the shadows of Shiro's past begin to emerge. With each brief awakening of his true self, she loses a little more of him. The fate of the heavens and earth rest in her mortal hands, and she must find the missing gods before time runs out for her world-and for Shiro.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Feb 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781515986409

Reviews for Dark Tempest

[Regina Roberts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

love all of Annette Marie books, and this series is no exception

[funstm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Emi's been given a task by her goddess, Amaterasu - find the missing Kunitsukami before the solstice - and she refuses to fail her goddess. Woaha. Emi transforms into a total badass in this. I loved it. She's come so far from the first book - the meek, duty bound girl trying so hard to be perfect because not being so lost her her friend. Which isn't to say she's shirking her duty now - because epically not. Her grief at potentially dying upon Amaterasu's ascension is heartbreaking but she rolls with the punches, committing herself to making the most of the time she has left. The toboggan scene was terrific. I loved the confidence she gains to enact her goddess' will. And I loved her powers and how she learns to fight back and to use her smarts to outwit her opponents when she can't beat them in strength alone. As for the rest of the book it was action packed. There were fight scenes and magic and paranormal creatures and big reveals and it was fantastic. Except the giant man eating spiders. Ugh. Sheba (from Lord of the Rings) made me feel ill - this was so much worse. So many. Ugh. I didn't like them at all. The romance between Emi and Shiro was completely swoonworthy. Their chemistry was off the charts and very sugary sweet. The reveal about Shiro's identity wasn't really that surprising but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I liked seeing more of Yumei who develops into something of an actual being with feelings. And I loved the introduction of Byakko - I hope we see more of him. Him and Emi's friendship was funny. I loved that they found common ground and developed an easy rapport - unlike the luck Emi's had with all the other yokai. I liked that Katsuo stuck by her even if I don't love his role in the love triangle - however small that part may be. The biggest surprise would have to be Nanako though - she really came through for Emi and it was nice to see.Overall fantastic second installment to the series. 5 stars.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second volume in the Red Winter trilogy. The beginning of this book was, again, a bit slow but things really picked up towards the end of the story and I absolutely loved some of the reveals at the end.In this book Emi’s main mission is to find and free the earth gods. Shiro is at her side, but even he can’t help with some of the trials that only a human can face. The book starts out a bit slow with Emi returning to her home temple for help with her quest. But when she is sheltered and patronized and deemed untruthful, she quickly decides to takes things into her own hands. This happens about half way through the book and from that point on things really pick up.I loved some of the monsters and gods we meet and really enjoyed the adventures Emi ends up on. I also loved all the new Gods we meet and learning about their powers. There is some romance between Emi and Shiro as well which was well done.Overall this was an excellent continuation of the Red Winter trilogy. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but things really picked up mid book and I ended up really enjoying the story. I would recommend to YA fans who enjoy magic and an Asian influence in their fantasy.