Peasreads: The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro

 

The Rainshadow Orphans
The Rainshadow Series, Book One
by Naomi Ishiguro

This book is everything the description below promises. From dragons to bubble tea. The world Naomi Ishiguro has created is indeed magical and Studio Ghibli like. The characters are well written. The story is good. It flows well. For all of those elements, I would give this book a solid 5 stars. The thing is, it took me a long time to read this book because it was almost too wordy. The book could have been shorter and still a wonderful read. I don't know how to explain it. All in all I enjoyed the book. I want to know what happens next. I just hope it isn't a trilogy that could have been a duology. 

Description

Featuring stenciled edges and original art for the front and back endpapers.

The first novel in a dazzling fantasy trilogy inspired by Japanese folklore and Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away, set within a mythical archipelago brimming with dragons and Sun Spirits, high-tech hackers and bubble tea.

Life is hard for the inhabitants of Rainshadow City, a place where poverty and corruption are rife and where they are terrorized by an underground criminal organization known as the Lucky Crows.

Toshiko, Jun and Mei Kawakami are a family, bonded through loyalty if not blood, who live outside the increasingly corrupt law and who are seeking revenge for the murder of their beloved “aunt” Reiko by the Lucky Crows. Haru is the son of the Emperor, destined to one day rule over the Archipelago and uphold his mother’s ignoble legacy, but he is more interested in making friends with the magical Sun Spirits it seems only he can see. Theo, forced to leave his homeland, is a reluctant foot-soldier for the Lucky Crows. He doesn’t want to be a gangster, but as an illegal immigrant to the city, his choices are severely limited.

When Toshiko steals a dragon pearl from the leader of the Crows, it sets them all on a thrilling path which will determine the future of Rainshadow City. Tightly set across two days and peopled with unforgettable characters, The Rainshadow Orphans blends the anime fantasy of works like Pokémon and Studio Ghibli and the anime science fiction of revolutionary cyberpunk like Akira to explore what it means to stand up to corruption and take charge of destiny.

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Goodreads reviews.

Thank you, NetGalley and Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press, for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Ajitsuke Tamago Ramen Eggs

 Ajitsuke Tamago Ramen Eggs.  We like these with Ramen bowls, on chilled noodle salads, with sticky rice, as a snack. They are very easy to make. I like the eggs soft boiled, my middle child likes the eggs medium set.  So, cook the eggs to your liking.

Play with the spices you add to the marinade as well. Try five spice, make them spicy, leave out all the spices. Also adjust the water to your liking. Less water, the eggs will be more salty. Time spent in the marinade will also determine how salty the eggs are.

It is not necessary to move the eggs around in the marinade as long as they are covered.  If you don't mind white spots on the eggs from where they are touching the sides of your container and each other just put them in the marinade and put them in the fridge. If the white spots will bother you, move the eggs around so they are evenly colored.

I make the eggs in the Instant Pot because it gives me consistent results. It doesn't matter how you cook your eggs, as long as they are cooled and peeled.

Chirashi Bowl

Nothing fancy here as far as ingredients. But it was a yummy Whole30 compliant lunch. Down to the 100% natural wasabi and Coconut amnios instead of soy sauce. Which I will say neither are as good as what I'm used to, which is bright green not real wasabi and soy sauce. 

Chirashi Bowl

Chirashi bowl with salmon, daikon, avocado, cucumber, longan, dragon fruit, and rambutan.

Isn't that a lovely Chirashi Bowl? I'm quite please with how it turned out. I know it's "just food" and it doesn't have to look pretty so everyone. But I really like it when you can "eat with your eyes" first. I don't really style my pictures when I take them. As in food styling. I don't blanch vegetables, then arrange them in a bowl of stir fry. I don't cool my food, or photograph it cold, if there's steam, there's steam. Spritz with water? Nope. I am just not that talented. I simply photograph a plate or bowl that I'm feeding to someone around here. Then pass it on to them to eat. But I still like to arrange everyone's food so it's appealing. I can see how some people thing it's silly, but I love doing it. It's fun for me. I love seeing the kids light up when something looks pretty or fun. It's the beginning of our meal together, I enjoy it, so why not?

Sushiko Resturant

Sushiko Restaurant

THE. BEST. MISO. SOUP. EVER. Seriously, Diva and I both said it. SO good, so flavorful and JUST good. Not that powder or paste instant stuff. SOOO GOOD. Piglet doesn't like Miso soup but Pixie girl loves it and had a whole bowl with rice. That's what she likes- miso soup with rice and big beautiful Salmon roe that she picks up with her cute little fingers off of mamas plate.

Sashimi Dinner

NOM NOM. I love salmon sashimi, it's Piglet's favorite also. The tuna is for my dad.
SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI yummmm
We need to see more of it here on Give Peas A Chance.

Excuse the presentation I am not chef, and I don't have a Daikon radish shredder so I had to do it by hand.

 Like so.

Matuba (Bethesda, MD)

That's Kevin. He rocks. This is my second trip to Matuba, I have been wanting to take my girls for a LOOONG time. So SIL is visiting and we had a girls day out. Pixie stayed at home with DH. Here is my last "review" I use that term so very loosely. But it's worth the read I think, so I cut and pasted it below. Anyway. The service was a bit off today, but still good. I think the waitress was just swamped. I don't care, I'm sitting right next to Kevin, right where he puts each little dish of goodness onto the conveyor belt. Again- Strategy People (read the other post.) So I don't care, I'll help myself. Piglet (3), kept saying I LOVE SAMMY. (Salmon) And again the fish was fresh, the salmon buttery, soft and just so good. We had a great time.

Matuba- Washington DC/Maryland

Now THIS I wish I had a picture of for you (Pictures here). Matuba in Bethesda. I mean sushi on a conveyor belt. I am a sushi fan. OK correction I am a Sashimi fan. But still, I had to check this place out. DH took me on a date, after I told him there was also other items offered on the belt. So we went early at my insistence, you know, to get a good seat so we could hoard, err sample the items as they were put on the belt instead of waiting at the end hoping others wouldn't grab that salmon before it got to you. Strategy people.

When we were finally let in (we were standing at the door like hungry wolves waiting for the kill, ok one of us was), the hostess took payment from the people who were also waiting at the doors before they opened, so we weren't the only party- there was one more :-). I felt like a stalker, but in the name of sushi- who cares. When you walk in it's a little confusing if you haven't been there before (us). The sushi bar is on the left and dining room on the right. No sign of what I am sure will be in heaven at the wedding feast- the conveyor belt. We quickly learned that the belt was located in the back, and you pay before you sit down. I didn't leave a tip up front. There is a jar in the back for that. As we walked up the stairs to the back I got a little giddy and did a happy food dance. I did notice that the place was clean, plenty of seating (so far) and the decor was nice. In the back there are tables on one side of the conveyor belt, for parties of I think 3 or more. In the end we were asked to sit in a certain place and not able to pick. Doesn't matter it's not a HUGE belt and we were still up close to the chef. The waitresses got our drink orders and the chef in the middle was ready to start. He was fast too because the place got packed quick with people standing in line at the stairs waiting for your seat.

The food-

Misoshiru/Miso Soup

Let me first start off by saying I am not Japanese. If you have a Japanese Grandma, it's best to get a recipe from her for misoshiru (Miso soup). Another thing I want to say is - I don't have a recipe. I have a method. I know I keep saying that, it's just a fancy way I say "I have no recipe", but it's no biggie because the way I make Miso soup is pretty simple.

Ramune Lychee Soda

We don't drink soda around here. DH and I don't prefer it so we never buy it. I do get a hankering when MIL is around though. I was at Cost Plus World Market on Good Friday with the girls and I saw these Lychee Soda's and I thought, why not?
Well the problem is, I loved it! Maybe it was the marble. Such a fun drink! Though I will say that giving my girls a glass bottle with a marble rolling around inside it was a bit nerve wracking but they are pretty good with drinks and being careful. That, and it's not cheap. Almost 2 bucks a bottle. Worth it for a treat every once in a while though.

Yummy goodness...








To open the bottle you remove the plunger from the top.







Place the plunger on top of the glass marble and push it into the bottle.





Ta-da!