Daughter of the Swords (Fated Blades # 1) by Steve Bein.
If I actually pause and look over the past few books that I’ve been gung-ho about and have been devouring heartily, a common theme emerges: JAPAN . Yamada Monogatari was an indie piece based on Medieval Japan and Oni and rice-paper ghosts. Was more of a slow-burn – with a Japanese ronin Sherlock Holmes for a hero and the story being a kind of a delicious mystery drawing you in to a power struggle for the throne. And then I got started on this - Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein - A noteworthy debut that came in 2012 –And is such an exquisitely written urban fantasy overlaid with detailed Japanese history that it begs to be finished in one sitting. And currently am reading a steampunk fantasy heavily inspired by Japanese mythology – a story called Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff – the end parts of this trilogy ( EndSinger ) should be hitting the stores right around the corner. Exciting stuff. Mindblowing worldbuilding skills ever. So coming ...