I wasn't expecting to love Risuko quite as much as I did. I knew it would be an enjoyable story when I read the description but I wasn't expecting to be gripped by the story of this little household of assassins and maidens, mysteries and secrets. In a way it's similar to Memoirs of Geisha, only for younger readers as it has similar themes of being sold, torn away from family and forced to live hundreds of miles away with people you've never met. 
 Risuko along with the other two new apprentices, Emi and Toumi, arrive at their new home at the bottom of the heap, the same way everyone else started. Dressed in the simple robes of the house they are told to work in the kitchen, preparing rice, vegetables and later animals for dinner for the rest of the house. 
 There are a lot of secrets in the house and when rooms start being searched in the middle of the night and items taken from the kitchen, Risuko has to defend herself against numerous accusations, when her ability to climb nearly anything starts looking very suspicious. 
 The story is labelled as Middle Grade, however unlike other readers I didn't get that vibe at all, I felt it was closer to Young Adult. There is bloody violence in this story, and the women go away to a building known as The Retreat during their 'moon time', which I think younger readers might not understand, particularly the tradition of women going away during their periods (for more stories on this, I recommend The Red Tent). 
 The only critism I had with this is that in the sequel, I would really, really like some romance. It was the only thing this story was lacking. I have absolutely no idea how Risuko is, however. She could be anywhere from 8 - 18, so she could be too young for that yet. I was so, so happy to see that there will be a sequel though! 
 Risuko is released on the 15th June 2015, I received a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.