Journey Through Fire

Sisters of the Sword #3

by Maya Snow

Sometimes a samurai's most dangerous opponent is herself.

Ever since their father's murder, Kimi and Hana have honed their fighting skills and prepared for vengeance against their vicious uncle Hidehira. They have become true warriors with the hearts of samurai.

Now their fight has become more than just a personal vendetta. As Hidehira's quest for power continues, he is destroying the province and is poised to invade the rest of the kingdom. After both girls are nearly killed in a fire while fighting their uncle's soldiers, their mother insists on attempting to enlist the support of the Shogun.

But at the Shogun's court, the sisters are torn apart by their differences, especially when they rediscover an old friend with a shrouded past. Danger lurks in the most elegant circumstances--behind the smiling face of an aristocrat as well as behind the mask of a ninja--and true peril awaits the sisters where they least expect it. . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Japan, Historical, Fantasy, Young Adult, Childrens

288 pages, ebook

First published June 3, 2009

About the author

Maya Snow once had an aikido teacher who told her that the best place for a tree to hide is in the forest. Maya decided that the best place for a writer to hide is among her own words. Maya Snow is the pseudonym of author, Helen Hart.

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 tomes et toujours aussi palpitant !

[Arman · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are just so good, you just flip pages through them, I don't know what happened to the book series after two books, but it's quite different in 3rd but equally good, but there is some rudeness from characters, it's more like emotions are overpowering every character after what they have gone through. If someone gets a hand on 4th book, please tell me how they got it.

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars if last in the trilogy. 3.5 stars on its own merit. I thought this was the last book in a trilogy, but if it is, then I will have to drop the star rating, because the story is once again left in a cliffhanger. Quaint story about a Japanese family whose honorable father was killed by his scheming brother, Hidehira.

Likes:
* Kimi and Hana are reunited with their wise mother and young lord brother, Moriyasu
* Ending fight and twists were good, but the series just wasn't as good as the first book
* Cultural tidbits

* Invited to the Shogun's court for a wedding, they await an audience with the Shogun to plead their case and ask for his support against their evil uncle
* Girls learning to overcome their burns and care for the poor and starving
* Enemies are not always who they appear to be
* One can gain influence and further your cause without aggression
* Diplomacy is more productive than fighting


Dislikes:
* Cliffhanger ending without a conclusion to the story - this would be an unsatisfying end to the series! Since 4 books would be bad luck, I think the story should have 2 more books.
* Lots of sadness, frustration, inaction and treachery
* Not enough action

* Cruelty and rudeness of Tatsuya
* Sweet Hana blaming Kimi
* Kimi being so impulsive and uncouth
* Mother being too preoccupied to guide the girls


Culture:
shogun, tea ceremony (ochanoyu), a little court etiquette, Go game, warrior monks, ninjas, flower arranging (ikebana), poetry reading, calligraphy, kimono dressing, styled wigs, traditional sleeping rooms and decorations

Outstanding Questions: **** spoilers ****

* Who hired the ninjas to assassinate the Shogun?
* What will happen to Tatsuya? Will he help to stop his father?
* What will Akane do, since she escaped, but was revealed as a ninja?
* What has their uncle and cousin been up to?
* Will anything happen with Kimi and her friendship with the warrior monk?
* Will Hana and Tatsuya get together?
* Will their brother be restored as Jito?
* What will become of the children since their mother was killed?
* Can Hana win allies at court while Kimi fights on the battle field?

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

How frustrating to have just finished the third book in this series and to be left hanging. I seriously need to find out what happens to the sisters of the sword. I hope the author gets busy and gives us more!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it was definitely a better one.

Kimi has to deal with her anger and quest for vengeance, which is making her hot headed and risking the goals of her family.

[Sean Jost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sisters of the Sword 3:

All in all, I find this book incredible. The amount of detail, the knowledge of the history of Japanese powers and tradition is truly remarkable.
Also, I find the emotions portrayed in Kimi and her surrounding friends touching. It feels as if I’m being taught how to control my motions, not Kimi, since the author writes the book in a way that I can grow extremely close to Kimi.
While the ending of this book was sad, I feel like the author needed to put that in order to promote growth of Kimi’s strength and emotions.
I recommend nearly everyone to read this book, it is inspiring and moving.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again with the cliches. 😕

But I really liked Daisuke. (He's going to die, isn't he?)

Kimi was more interesting than ever in this book. Her two conflicts are conflicting and that was interesting to read about. Not that it got much resolution.

I was unsurprised to see Tatsuya or learn he's a ninja. Like I said, cliche. But, the way he acted was so wrong that he seemed like a totally different character. Frankly hr was more a villan than Akane.

Hana always seemed like the prim and proper sister, but this book made her seem...rigid and uninteresting compared Kimi.

I really liked Moriyasu though.

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This part of the story was even more disheartening than the last, and still quite graphic and violent. An exciting and intriguing story, but the main character is bent on revenge and there are some disturbing betrayals.

I can't find a copy anywhere of the fourth book in the series, and suspect it never actually got published. Too bad; I did want to get to the end of the saga and find out if the tyrant uncle finally gets dethroned, if the rightful Jito is able to reclaim his land, and if peace settles over the empire once again.

[rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is sad Kimi and Hona are very brave to fight their uncle like that. They nearly got killed in a fire while fighting their uncle's soldiers, their mother insists on attempting to enlist the support of the Shogun.the sisters are torn apart by their differences. This book is interesting as well as sad and heart touching. This book is incredible.

[Terry Marine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Maya Snow is not shy when creating a super-heroine. If you've read the series this far, you probably agree.

[Annalisa Ely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly enjoyable story and characters, writing quality is relatively good, except for the fight scenes, which are a rather important aspect of the story, and are very poorly written and researched.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would've enjoyed this more if I'd read the first two books in the series. As it is, the characters are very vibrant and well-written.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

Twin sisters Hana and Kimi had their whole world shaken by the death of their father at the hands of their uncle in a bid to replace him as samurai lord. The only other members of their family to survive Uncle Hidehira's brutal massacre were their mother and youngest brother, with whom Hana and Kimi were finally reunited in CHASING THE SECRET, only to be separated from their friend, Tatsuya, one of the few people who knew that they had disguised themselves as boys and learned how to fight in order to protect themselves from Hidehira.

This third book in the SISTERS OF THE SWORD series picks up right where the previous book left off, with Hana and Kimi struggling to protect their mother and younger brother while mourning their separation from Tatsuya. Wearied by continually having to run away from their uncle's men, and with some of them bearing severe battle wounds, the family finds sanctuary in a monastery run by warrior monks, who support them in returning to good health and continue Hana and Kimi's training as fighters.

But when a letter arrives from the palace of the Shogun, ruler of imperial Japan, the sisters are forced to put aside their swords for dresses and appear in court as proper ladies, alongside their mother and brother, in order to convince the Shogun of their uncle's cruelty and win his support in the fight against Hidehira.

Like the two books before it, JOURNEY THROUGH FIRE presents an admirable mix of action sequences and moments in which readers observe the personal growth of Hana and Kimi, whose characters continue to provide inspiration for any strong girls facing the challenges of growing up. The introduction of a potentially new threat from a contingent of ninja creates an additional air of suspense and mystery as the girls try to discover who is after them - and why - before it is too late.

While I personally preferred the previous books in the series, the open-ended conclusion to this book has still left me eagerly waiting for the next one.

[Ceejay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third, and apparently final book in this series.It really isn't the end of the story, but no more books were written. It's a shame, but at least this final book doesn't leave the reader completely in the dark. These three books offer a great insight to Feudal Japan.There is a fantastic development of character offered.There are so many plot twists and unexpected turns that you just won't want to put the book down. Thanks to my public library, I just breezed through all three stories. I liked the fact that not only were the main characters interesting, but so were all the cast of characters. As I said in my thoughts of Volume One, this isn't about vampires, werewolves, angels, or ghosts, but it is about a family surviving after the muder of their Father. It's about how people living in Feudal Japan got by, and hopefully arranged for the revenge of their Father. This is a YA series that deserves to be revived and continued!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, I think this one was a little bit better. Kimi is a little bit too wild in this one, though. I get that she's changed on the run and everything, but she's a little too con-rules this time. Hana was a little too patient for the fantastic swords woman she supposedly is. I'd of liked to see her "chomping at the bit" a little like Kimi was doing. However, the very very last part was fantastic! Not the part about the ninja--guessed that the end of the last book--but the other ninja and the last scene. So, I'll definitely read the next one, but I'll hope it's a little trickier to figure out. I did like Kimi's new "friend", the monk. He was pretty cool. It's not that this book wasn't good, but no where near as good as the first. Not at the edge of my seat anymore.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit predictable, but still good. This book could really use an afterword for those who aren't completely familiar with Japanese culture for the time period. (ie: explanation of who the shogun is, what his relationship is to the Administrator, more about the Zen monks, even some descriptions of Japanese food words.) Without explanations, something is missing. Otherwise, though, it was a very enjoyable adventure.

[Liaken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked how it dealt with the need to address feelings of revenge, but the book felt rushed and crammed and thrown together all at the same time. One thing that I appreciate about this series is that it shows how hard it can be to right wrongs. I felt worn out after this book, though. Not sure if I want to keep going. I assume the author will write another book since the story is far from finished, but right now, this is what there is.

[Megha R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually the first book that I read in this series and I could not put this book down. The details were persistant, the characters were interesting, and the storyline was amazingly creative.You would get to a stopping point read the next sentence and not be able to stop. I wish I had read they other books first because I bet they would be just as amazing!

[Dayna Nas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final book is called "The Sword Against The Sky", its written by Maya but under a different surname. Guys, the final book is BS, the ending was really, really terrible. Believe me, Kimi didn't get her happy ending like Hana and Tatsuya, even Daisuki had a bad ending. Its a brilliant book but believe you me I can't tell you how much I cried.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great book in the Sisters of the Sword series, and I found myself on the edge of my seat wanting to read and find out what would happen next! I still believe the first book is the best book, but this one truly surprised me at the end. Of all the Sisters of the Sword books, however, this one, to me, had the saddest ending.

[Jade Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful yet simple, slightly predictable without giving too much away. For an early teen/young adult book, it is very well written, and I especially like how this book takes us back to the nobility and shows the true colors of courtly manipulation and disguise that is so prevalent throughout history.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg!!!!! IM PISSED!!!!!! THERES GONNA B ANOTHER BOOK!!!!!! ya theres a little spoiler right there that the whole story doesnt end with this book but really its a heads up. now i need to find out when the next book comes out!!!!! ugh god it leaves u hanging BIG TIME!!!

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book in a series for later juvenile readers or early teens. Evokes the time and warrior code of the samurai, and features some violence as might be expected. Strong female protagonist faces challenges both external and internal.

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was unbelievably amazing. As soon as it started reading it, I had to force myself to leave it when I had to go eat dinner. When I got back, with reading a few words I was sucked back in it because it was so good and written so good.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the first two in the series, a quick and entertaining read - but is it just me or are pretty much all the characters except the narrator rapidly becoming quite unlikable? Either way, I'm looking forward to the conclusion.

[Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really good

[Happypenguinfriend]

Very good very good very intense

[Mery · Rating 4 out of 5]

my translation*

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action slows in this book and I was left wondering at the end if this was the end of the sequels. Some points could have been given greater closure.

[Sarah Spence · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending to this book was like a cliffhanger that never got fixed. Otherwise, pretty good.