Book Review: The Night Itself by Zoë Marriott

I received copies of The Night Itself and Darkness Hidden (see above) by Zoë Marriott from Walker Books and was so excited because she is one of my all-time favorite authors.

When Mio steals the family's katana – a priceless ancestral sword – from her parents’ attic, she just wants to spice up a fancy-dress costume. But the katana is much more than some dusty antique and her actions unleash a terrible, ancient evil onto the streets of unsuspecting London. Soon Shinobu, a fearless warrior boy, appears to protect Mio – and threatens to steal her heart. With the gods and monsters of Japanese myth stalking her and her friends, Mio realizes that if she cannot keep the sword safe, and learn to control its legendary powers, she will lose not only her own life... but the love of a lifetime.

I just loved all the characters in this book! They were a great mix of hilarious, adorable, and completely kick-ass. Mio has a really strong voice as the main character that grabbed me from page one, and Marriott gave every character such depth, complexity and realness that I felt personally connected each and every one. I particularly enjoyed chapters where Marriott would move away from Mio’s plight and tell the stories of other people (the sections of the book in a different font from the main story).

I enjoyed reading about Mio’s relationship with her best friend Jack, Jack’s sister Rachel and even how Mio dealt with her overbearing Father. Although I feel that Mio’s Grandfather really was her driving force, even though the reader only got snippets of information about him from the past as he had sadly passed away before the start of the book, I felt that he shaped Mio into the great person she was.

The Night Itself was a great blend of old and new. I loved the idea that ancient mythology was tangled up in reality. The Kitsune (characters from Japanese folklore) and monsters such as the evil Nekomata really gave this urban-fantasy a streak of individuality.

While I usually hate love at first sight romances, this one worked. It was a powerful literacy device that really worked and even though the whole book took place over a short twenty four hour period, Mio and Shinobu really had known each other a lifetime thanks to their connection via the katana.

Overall I give The Night Itself, four out of five stars and I can’t wait to start reading Darkness Hidden (good thing its right next to me, hehe). Marriott’s writing style is beautiful and her storylines, dangerous, touching and original she truly is ‘A rising star of fantasy fiction’.