Jake came to Japan because he had a feeling it was where he was supposed to be in life. But the daily routine lacked any real satisfaction. His only source of excitement was Salsa dancing. That was, until he met Kenneth. Kenneth, a pixie operating undercover to find magical humans, had more excitement than he wanted in life. His job kept him busy, and his only relaxation was when he went Salsa dancing. Meeting Jake made his already cramped schedule even busier.
Plot
This book had a fantastic premise. It combines a unique mix of elements: Japanese culture, salsa dancing, and urban fantasy. However, the book has a very quiet start. I would have expected a book of this genre to have a high tension moment early on to pull me into the story, but this book took a quieter route. While there are excellent merits in a slower-paced, less tension-filled story, I kept wanting to feel more engaged with the plot.
Characters
Much like the plot, I expected to really enjoy the characters based on what I read from the summary. And while the characters themselves weren’t unlikable, I struggled to connect with them. The author did a great job showing character growth and development, but I wasn’t emotionally invested enough in the characters to want appreciate that growth throughout the story.
Setting
This book has an excellent setting and magic system. While non-Western European novels are becoming more and more common in the Fantasy publishing world, it’s still rare to see Asia-based stories so I appreciated the change in pace as well as getting to learn about another culture. The secret magic society existing without our familiar world was also a fun aspect of the story that I enjoyed discovering more about while I read this book.
My Recommendation
Pixies in the Mist is the debut novel by Rasta Musick. I loved discovering the magic system in this book, specifically how this secret society of magic co-existed in our modern world. The book has an excellent plot premise and promising characters. However, either due to the writing style or the slow pacing of the story, I struggled to feel engaged and invested in the story or the growth of the main characters.
