This was a buddy read with Poonam 
 Where do I begin!! I enjoyed this book so much. I definitely got a "Mulanesque" feeling in the beginning though that story is set in China. 
 First off I am a big sucker for anything steeped in Japanese culture. And this book did deliver on that. The author has created such an amazing atmosphere right from the opening scene where they show someone performing harakiri. 
 The story revolves around Mariko, a teenage girl who feels she has much more to offer to her family and the world than just being a wife to the Emperor's son (not the Crown prince mind you). (view spoiler)[ So rebellious is she that she looses her virginity to this random guy. (hide spoiler)] 
 From the blurb I expected Mariko to be this bad ass chick who is smart and and strong probably has some martial arts training. She is smart (view spoiler)[ she invents the shuriken after all (hide spoiler)] but has no martial arts training though she does believe in the Samurai code bushido. She does get a little annoying in some parts. The blurb made it sound like she was smarter and better than her brother Kenshin but honestly the author doesn't make this comparison in the book. 
 With parents who do not particularly care about her more than it is their duty, Mariko finds a home with the Black Clan which she infiltrates donning the disguise of a man/boy to find out why they attacked her. Her logic behind this was probably the weakest part off the story. Here much to her chagrin she finds her self falling for Okami, a person she intensely dislikes in the beginning (not that much of a surprise really). 
 Add to this the political intrigue and scheming at the Imperial palace along with a sprinkling of sorcery as well as some really good side characters that I hope they will explore in the second part of this series. The ending has set the stage for the next book.(view spoiler)[Okami is the son of Takeda Shingen (the last shogun of the empire who was betrayed by Ranmaru's father) and he surrenders himself so that the rest of the Black Clan members can go free. He is on his way to the Imperial Palace along with Mariko who claims that she was a captive and was trying to get free so that she can go with Okami (hide spoiler)] 
 Overall this was a 4.5 star for me. 
 P.S: I put off reading the last 15% for days cause I did not want the story to end. 
 P.P.S: I loved the mention of the Jubokko tree which I had seen in an episode of the T.V series "Grimm".