Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

14 Dec, 2025

(I am going to try a new format for my reading reflections. Hopefully, I'll like it and you will too.)

Hello!

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa was recommended to me by my wife. We play in a Pathfinder game together, where my most recent PC is a charming kitsune fighter. Thus, she thought I would like it. After 'Salem's Lot, I was fiending for some high fantasy. Click here to read my thoughts on that Salem's Lot.

Setting and Premise

Shadow of the Fox follows a half-kitsune girl with a penchant for trickery named Yumeko. She was raised by monks in the Silent Winds Temple where she was trained to always keep her kitsune nature secret. Things take a fateful turn when her family of monks is slain. She is tasked to flee with the ancient relic guarded by the temple - part of a scroll to summon the Kami Dragon, who will grant a wish to whoever unites it - to a place where it can be sheltered.

She is quickly joined by the young, brooding demon-hunting shinobi named Kage Tatsumi. Tatsumi is tasked with retrieving the scroll by his masters, the Kage Clan. Yumeko is forced to rely on Tatsumi for protection while being unable to share her true nature, or that she holds the very scroll he is looking for. All the while, they are hounded by the same demons and forces that destroyed her temple.

Thoughts (Spoiler Free)

Shadow of the Fox is what my friends and I would call a 'bubble gum story'. This shouldn't be taken to diminish the value of it, however. A bubble gum story is typically a faster-paced, almost jovial romp. There may be dark themes and violence, but the goal is to give an entertaining story. Does Shadow of the Fox give an entertaining story? It did for me. There are some pacing challenges and, while generally charming, a few parts did drag. I never felt myself becoming bored.

It definitely reads like a YA novel. If that's not your cup of tea, you may not enjoy it much. I found one of the major characters annoying, but not enough to seriously dissuade me from continuing to read. Overall, I had fun and I plan to revisit the series at some point.

Check out the content warnings on the Storygraph Page.

I have some more thoughts below the public domain image of a fox, but there will be spoilers.

Spoiler yokai ahead!

The Good

My favorite part of this book was our primary deuteragonist: the half-kitsune girl Yumeko. She is young and sheltered, but it makes sense given her upbringing. She is dedicated to her quest, kind to other travelers, and remains optimistic despite losing her family. She isn't a great fighter like the rest of the cast, relying heavily on trickery and illusions to survive. And she's charming. She was the main reason why I kept reading, and I almost instantly fell in love with her as a protagonist. While she is mischievous, I never found it annoying or forced, which is a common pitfall for trickster characters. Tatsumi is fine, but he's almost a plank of wood in comparison (though he does improve thanks to Yumeko's infectiousness).

The fight scenes are also excellent page-turners. Yumeko can't openly use her fox magic, so she must use it while avoiding the notice of her companions. The final fight, when Yumeko no longer has to be subtle with her illusion magic, is absolutely breathtaking.

The ending is also really strong. Hakimono has fully possessed Tatsumi, but the party has rescued the old shrine master and can now continue to the next part of their quest. Very bittersweet.

The Okay

The story often feels like a series of side quests en route to the big confrontation. This isn't necessarily bad, but it does lag in the second act considerably when the ronin Okame joins. There are still some very fun fights, but the actual context of them feels less connected to the plot than when it was just Tatsumi and Yumeko. Once the party reaches the capital, however, the pacing gets back on the rails and stays solid to the climax.

The last party members (the noble samurai Daisuke and the shrine maiden Reika) join Tatsumi and Yumeko considerably later than Okame does. As a result, you get to know them less. This is the first book in the series, so I assume this changes. The party coalesces for the next book (Yumeko, Reika, Daisuke, the old man, and Okame), but it feels mildly contrived. Daisuke and Okame handle Yumeko's reveal as a kitsune in stride, and opt to continue the quest with her. It's not bad, it just feels convenient.

The Bad

The only part of this story I didn't enjoy was the ronin Okame. He defects when the leader of the bandit group he is aligned with implies he wants to do worse than rob Yumeko. This starts Okame off strong, and I initially really liked him. However, he gets Yumeko drunk the first day after he formally joins them by giving her sake for the first time. Okame wouldn't have forced himself on her, but he did say she had a 'nice body', and was perving on her despite being a grown man and Yumeko being a teenage girl. I work with teenagers, so maybe I am more sensitive to this than others, but it definitely killed my affection for the character. This interaction actually goes a long way to show that Tatsumi, who decides to stay and stand vigil over Yumeko by the lecherous Okame, is a decent guy.

To be clear, I don't dislike the writing - it makes sense Okame would be crass. I dislike Okame as a character for it. He was also repetitive (calling himself a dog every time he opened his mouth), and his comic relief attempts fell flat quite often for me.

In conclusion, a fun little romp. Definitely worth the read.

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