Review: Oni the Lonely by C. Chancy

East meets west as the crow flies….

Kyosai Momiji came to Rivertown, USA, to get away from a break-up that wasn’t and to avoid his overbearing parents. The life of an oni is hard enough when you need to dodge court intrigue; add in family drama, and he just wants to get away. Preferably to a place where he can paint what he wants, not what his parents would prefer he painted.

Rain McKee, Rivertown’s resident cove doctor, is grieving her deceased grandparents while fending off greedy relatives. Far too many people want her to get up and move on in one way or another, and this social pressure is stressing her out further. She needs a break but with her uncle breathing down her neck, that’s not going to happen.

Meanwhile, above Rivertown, the crows settle in to watch and lick their beaks. Oh, such tasty anguish – if only they didn’t have to wait for the promised feast….

Published July 11, 2022

The Story

Rivertown is near enough to the city of Irongate that Kyosai can get to and from the Makai (the Japanese equivalent of Faerie) rather easily. It also means that acquaintances and family can get to him without trouble, so it is unsurprising when his younger sister arrives. Miya Momiji, a dramatic young oni who is more capable in the theater than her older brother, has dropped in for a visit. A visit she hopes will get her brother on her side against their parents, since Miya has met a boy whom she likes.

Cue Kyosai’s horrified reaction to finding out his sister is trying to involve him in a love drama, as she wishes to marry this prospective beau. But to have the younger sister married before her older brother? Impossible! Their parents would never stand for that! Furthermore, Kyosai is not going back to the Makai and Japan to “reason” them into letting his sister marry ahead of him, particularly since he hasn’t met the boy in question either.

That still leaves them with the problem of Miya not wanting to go back home if she can’t have her way. So the two siblings settle on a compromise: Miya will move in with Kyosai, and she will get a job in Rivertown to help support herself. Luckily the bakery is open, so if they hurry, they can find a job for her there before a college student is given the only remaining position.

Enter Rain McKee, who has come to the bakery to grab some cherry turnovers and a cup of coffee. Rain is her town’s “cove doctor”: It is a position that makes her like an Estcarpian Witch out of Andre Norton’s universe. One who knows enough conventional wisdom and magic to keep Nasty People Eaters away from local residents but who lacks the training to go up against big bad guys regularly. Right now, she is supporting herself by making soap with just enough magic in it to help those who purchase it.

Rain says hello to the two Japanese standing at the counter while she gets her food and coffee, then offhandedly tells the bakery owner to give them all the good spooky stories on the “cursed McKees.” Yes, her family has a reputation – they all die horrible deaths. It is why Rain was raised by her grandparents and not her mother and father: They died, leaving her grandfather and grandmother to bring her up. And now that her grandparents are dead, Rain is the next cove doctor for Rivertown, despite her uncle’s desire to take her place.

Outside, the crows caw. The time draws nigh when the curse will finally end. And oh, what a succulent meal that will be –

Provided those interloping, lightning-wielding foreigners stay out of what isn’t their business.

The Characters

Kyosai Momiji is a perfectly “adorkable” male lead. Competent and sure, he nevertheless has zero experience with women. Despite this lack of understanding Kyosai is never anything other than a genuine Nice Guy who knows what he is doing even as he tears old monsters apart. Painting, managing a business, and fighting he can do, but send a woman – especially a pretty one – to hold a normal conversation with him, and he is at a loss in seconds because what is the female sex’s idea of “normal”?

Rain McKee’s snark is a good defense mechanism against a town that expects her to do this, that, and the other thing when all she really wants is to curl up and cry over the fact that the only family members who really loved her are dead. Like Kyosai, she really is a Nice Girl who just so happens to have the power to tell old, old Fae to go to hell. All she needs is some training and the impetus to use it, preferably without getting herself killed in the process.

Miya Momiji is fun without wearing out her welcome. Far from the annoying little sister model, while she can and does annoy her brother or Rain, for the most part she’s an honestly sweet girl who wants to help where and how she can. She just needs to learn when no help is better, and when a prank ought to be left to the imagination, not actually put into motion!

The World

The world is the Appalachia of the southeastern United States, specifically a college town. Familiar for its modern conveniences, such as malls and cars, it is nonetheless still alien for how very old the hills themselves are. More things between heaven and earth appear here for that reason, necessitating a cove doctor’s presence to help keep them back, else the locals will find themselves on the menu. In this milieu folklore and fairytales, ancient rituals and old stories all come into play in the day-to-day lives of residents. And when that old – so old – setting has some new players from the Orient thrown into the mix, then the ripples travel further afield yet again.

Politics

None. Take a microscope to this story, and it will show that there is nothing even vaguely political in it.

Content Warning

While there is mention of one Fae becoming lunch, the death is not graphically described or dwelt on. The most language one gets is a “go to hell” from the heroine and one or two innuendos which innocent readers will miss. Overall, this is a nice, clean book any mature teen would devour in an instant.

Who is it for?

Anime fans will love Oni the Lonely, as one of the two POV characters is an oni, a Japanese demon. The cross-cultural pollination, culture clash, and cultural tidbits will taste sweet as candy and be far more filling. Fans of Andre Norton’s Witch World series will love the references to not only Appalachia folklore but to Old World folk wisdom as well. The Grande Dame of Science Fiction has reason to smile and nod in approval of this book; it feels like one of her stories, but set in the modern world and given Japanese flair. Romance readers who prefer “sweet romances” and “slow burn” romances will find this book appealing, too, as will artists. Both the protagonists’ mindsets swing toward their specific arts when they are trying to calm down, so this book will be markedly enjoyable for that reason.

Why buy it?

Oni the Lonely is a GOOD BOOK. It is fun, lighthearted, and has enough action that the breathing space in between feels earned. So why wait? Go pick up the book and start enjoying it today!