The Dragon's Flower

Title: The Dragon's Flower

Series: None (published as part of the Golden Braids collection)

Year: 2019

Author: Wyn Estelle Owens

Summary: In the wilds of the mountainous country of Akiyama, there stands a pagoda. When Shichiro, an exiled, honorless samurai stumbles across it one rainy morning, he expects to find it empty and abandoned. He was not expecting to find a lonely princess with near-mythical blue eyes dwelling in the top floors. 

Hanako has dwelt alone for all her life, with only her two silent handmaidens and the countless dragon effigies on her walls to keep her company; her only knowledge of the outside world gained from the books and scrolls she reads. When the wandering ronin stumbles onto her haven, she gains her first friend, never knowing how deeply this chance meeting would affect her. 

The threads of fate have tied these two together, and all the while turmoil boils in the midst of the Seven Countries of Azuma-no-Kuni. Rumors of alliances and armies sprout up, and whispers of the long-lost Imperial Line returning at last. Old prophecies ripen at last, and old myths prepare to show themselves once again in the hour of need. Amongst it all stand two new allies—an isolated princess and a near-friendless ronin, as the wheels of fate and destiny circle them and draw ever closer. Will peace at last return to the fractured realms, or will remnants of the once great Empire splinter beyond all redemption?

Review: If you've ever wanted a full-fledged, packed-to-the-brim Rapunzel story that didn't leave anything of the original fairytale elements out, this is your story. Buckle in for a long and wild ride, and get ready to be swept away.

Hanako has lived all her life on top of a pagoda. She's sheltered and protected, but she can't help wondering about the outside world. And the outside world gets a whole lot closer and more real when a tired ronin appears at her door.

Shichiro has lost his name and his honor. By doing what he knew was right, he's now condemned to wander wherever he will and keep himself alive by the skill of his blade. Seeking refuge in a seemingly abandoned pagoda and getting attacked with a bowl of rice to the face.

There was just so much to love about this story. First, it's chock-full of everything Rapunzel you could ever want. It's been a while since I've seen a Rapunzel retelling so closely follow the original fairytale yet feel like a completely unique story. This one does exactly that. All the thumbs up.

If I were to be nitpicky, the *only* thing from the original fairytale that's left out is the long hair. It's touched on briefly and does have a hair-ladder at one point, but hair really isn't a big deal. But you almost don't miss it in the overwhelming Rapunzel-ness of the rest of the story.

It is purely Japanese/Asian culture. For me, since I'm not super familiar with the "-chan" and "-hime" and "-sama" name meanings, I got a little lost while reading. This story doesn't waste time explaining the nuances of the culture and backgrounds. It just plunges you straight into the stories, and you're so wrapped up in the the characters and what's going on before you even realize that it's not the twenty-first century in America anymore. I believe if you're familiar with that type of culture, you'll jump into the book without any difficulty, but for someone like me, it takes a bit to get used to the new culture. Not that it's bad; Wyn does an amazing job fitting the Rapunzel story into the culture and you couldn't tell where the seam was.

Hanako and Shichiro were also a super cute couple. I was a little worried that Shichiro, being a ronin, would turn out as a Flynn Rider knock-off, but he wasn't. Shichiro was so much his own person. I loved the banter he had with Hanako and his siblings! I'm especially always down for a good sibling relationship in a book. This one did not disappoint.

Hanako, too, was an amazing heroine. Her story worked so perfectly with the Rapunzel tale. One of the things that really impressed me was how she was both feminine and strong. She's still dependent on Shichiro for some things, but she's able to function and get things done while he's not there. Brave, beautiful, and all the things. However, I was a little confused when Hanako was described as a healer; she has some knowledge of the body and medicine to help people (which is great), but *highlight for spoiler* she was completely in the dark when it came to how her body worked in pregnancy. *end spoiler* I know she was sheltered, but as a healer, she should have some kind of knowledge in how that works.

Ichiro, I think, was just the best. His plot twist.... DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. Also, huge shout-out to Aika, Isao's wife. She was so sweet and perfect for Isao; she was so supportive and loving to him when he had tough decisions to make, and balanced him out so wonderfully.

The writing style was fun and fairly easy to read and get sucked into. As I said above, a lot of the book relies heavily on the Japanese culture, and several characters behave and speak as if they were from that specific medieval-esque time period. However, other characters were very modern in their speech and behavior, which kinda threw me out of the culture; some of the dialogue just seemed too twenty-first century America.

Additionally, the scenes jump POV a lot. I realize that the book is meant to be told as by an omniscient narrator, but it got a little confusing to be in one character's head and then suddenly another's. I noticed that happened a lot in scenes with just two characters.

The pace in the first half of the book was intriguing and really good. Once you got into it, the pages just kept turning. However, the second half of the book after the BIG MOMENT (sorry, no spoilers) read kinda slow. I felt as if everything were trying to build up to a war that ultimately never happened. There's months and months of negotiations and alliance-building, and the whole time, the enemy doesn't do anything. Given how clever the enemy was described to be, I thought that a bit odd. Maybe, though, that's just my personal preference. It would have been cool to see more action in the second half.

I know that was just a good amount of negative-sounding criticism, but overall, I was super impressed by this book. It's definitely something you want on your shelf if you're any kind of fairytale retelling enthusiast. I loved getting to see so much of the original tale unfold smoothly and seamlessly with the Japanese culture. All I can say is, "Wow."

Advisory: Some hints at intimacy between husbands and wives, but I thought it all pretty clean. Two characters in the story are pregnant and give birth, but nothing is graphic or over-described.

Some fantasy violence and fighting. Some characters are injured or killed and there are some descriptions of blood/injuries, but nothing is overly graphic.

There are celestial spirits/gods that watch over and interfere/help out from time to time. In the culture, they reminded me a lot of the family guardians from Disney's Mulan or the Greek gods. However, they work with fate to guard over the royal family and fight for a happy ending.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars