Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

18 reviews

jartone93's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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jayisreading's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Admittedly, the main reason I decided to pick this novel up was because I was so drawn into the cover, which might be one of my favorites this year. However, the reason I really stuck around was because I appreciated that Hur gave attention to a rather dark period of Korean history that isn’t considered as often as, say, the twentieth century. Perhaps because it is a YA novel, Hur doesn’t get into the specific details of the atrocities committed by King Yeonsan, though she doesn’t shy away from frequently mentioning that they happened. It would be difficult not to mention them, considering that it’s his tyrannical reign that served as one of the reasons as to why the plot progressed the way it did—

Regarding plot, the novel was part-political intrigue, part-murder mystery, and part-romance. This is all to say that Hur had all the ingredients to craft the novel version of a historical K-drama, aha. Even some of the dialogue between characters read a bit too much like lines from a K-drama, but I still found myself engrossed. While I did feel that the mystery portion of the novel wasn’t the strongest, I think it synthesized well enough with everything else that it didn’t leave me frustrated. One other small critique I have is that I found the rapid development of the romance a bit unrealistic, but that’s also the cynic in me speaking. Who knows, maybe there are people who fall in love in a similar fashion as Iseul and Prince Daehyun. And, regarding characters, Iseul isn’t a particularly likable protagonist, especially at the start (in a way, she’s something of an anti-heroine), but I thought it worked well for the novel Hur wanted to craft. I could see how Iseul would drive some readers away though.

Overall, I thought the novel was a solid mix of being plot- and character-driven. Hur writes in an engaging way that will keep you reading, especially when the stakes are raised, and you see how the relationship between the two protagonists develop. I’ll have to check her other works out, especially knowing that she has written other works focusing on Korean history.

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lemonwrlds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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eatsleepreadcat's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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praxagorathesmophoria's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A story of love, both romantic and familial, against a dark and dangerous period in Korean history. The relationship between Iseul and her sister, Iseul and her friend Yul, Iseul and old retired investigator Wonsik, and the romantic relationship between Iseul and Daehyun, are all rich, vivid and create a beautiful story that asks in the face of Evil, what ate you willing to do for those you love.
As the author says, this reads like a period KDrama, and I would love to see it get adapted 1 day, but the visuals the writing created are perfect in themselves.  
Also highly recommended reading along to the author's curated mood playlist on Spotify. Creates the perfect reading environment. 

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tlsoe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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phua_jieying's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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poppy_warphan's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Review to come 

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