The Beast Player - Nahoko Uehashi

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is an epic YA fantasy by a Japanese author, which I was very excited about because it's rare to find fantasy in translation, especially YA. Other than it being inspired by Japanese culture and history instead of being Euro-centric, it didn't really feel "foreign" to me at all, which was a surprise.

The main character is Elin, who is like 10 at the beginning. Her mother is a beast doctor, but she gets executed for failing to protect the ruler's beasts, and Elin has to run away. She eventually pursues becoming a beast doctor as well and forms a special bond with one of the royal beasts, which gets her involved in political plots and such. The book spans about ten years and is pretty long, but it kept my interest the whole time. It gets a little exposition-y a times and the ending was kind of abrupt, but I found it really enjoyable.

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