The Den – S.H. Steele

This new series has such an interesting concept. I was entranced with the story by the first chapter, totally hooked. 

Plot

Mai – a kitsune – wanted nothing more than to escape her mothers life in the small tea shop, but when she finally gets her degree in the human world, she’s stuck without employment and realizes that the best path is to go back home. She asks her mother to apprentice her to become a witch. 

We follow Mai on her first task to prove to her mother that she can be a witch and is worth the apprenticeship. 

Characters

Mai was the perfect character for this story. I loved following her as she made her way back into the tea shop that she used to hate as a kid. Her feelings towards her mother and the store and everything that she does were pretty harsh but I could understand her feeling of being trapped and needing to find a place to fit in. 

I think she was such an interesting character and I loved following her, especially as she explains what it is to be a kitsune. 

Max was also such an exciting character. I feel like he’s so mysterious and I really want to know more about him, and I can already see him and Mai developing a strong relationship. He seems like such a genuinely nice guy so I’m excited to see where that goes. 

Mai’s mother was also an interesting character but I’m not convinced yet. She fits her character well and I can understand why Mai left home, however, I feel like we haven’t scratched the surface with her yet. There seems to be so much more that we’re missing from her character so I’m excited to see where that goes and where exactly her relationship with Mai goes. 

Setting

I’m not actually sure where this book takes place. It might have mentioned somewhere but I seem to remember Japan being mentioned quite a few times? Either way, the tea shop was mysterious and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it yet.

Writing

Steele’s writing captured me from the first line. I was hooked and didn’t put the book down until I’d finished. I could relate to the characters and parts of their stories, and I could understand everything going on perfectly. 

In Conclusion… 

This was such a fun introduction to a really interesting and mysterious series. I’m so excited to see where the story goes as it continues and how Mai fares as an apprentice. 

Rating: 4/5⭐