Picking up exactly where Episode 1 left off, Episode 2 finds Takeo and Kaede en route to a marriage at Lord Iida's stronghold. Takeo is still bent on revenge and Kaede is just trying to survive this brutal world of men.

There's still a lot of potential in this series, it's just not getting places very fast. I must be losing my patience for series books as I get older!

Kaede is growing fast and I wish more of the story was told from her point of view. Takeo has stalled out a little. I do think he's going to get better throughout the series though. I like Kaede's heart.

I was very disappointed in the direction that Shigeru and Lady Maruyama's story went. I guess the Lady's actions make sense within the context of her culture, but I expected more from her.

And I think that's really all I have to say. Readers who like books set in Japan will probably be pretty happy with it. I don't have a huge need to continue with the series, but you never know. ( )