Reviews - The Red Palace | The StoryGraph

2.19k reviews for:

The Red Palace

June Hur

4.11 AVERAGE

rerefye's review

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

"Some dreams, I'd learned, were meant to fade away. And to let go of them didn't mean to let go of myself, but to release the life I'd imagined I wanted."

What started as something Baek Hyeon wanted to do to help her teacher clear her name turned into something more sinister, bloodier, and more tragedies unfolding. As she helped the new inspector uncover the mysteries behind the murders of several women, Baek Hyeon had to also face her own problems.

The first book from this author that I read. The blurb intrigued me, so I picked it up. The characters, especially Baek Hyeon, are truly fascinating. I had suspicion at the beginning that the book is somehow related to the infamous Prince Sado, and the author's words confirmed it.

I enjoyed the book. However, sometimes I feel frustrated with Baek Hyeon over her internal conflicts: between her eagerness to earn her father's approval and her wish to prove her mentor's innocence. Yet these flaws the characters displayed are what interest me.

Plot is intriguing. A murderous spree that targeted women working in the palace. Yet it's something many people would also do to if they have to face what the murderer dealt with: losing their loved ones in tragedy.

nezfr's review against another edition

3.75

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

tifffwu's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional mysterious

afrugalfather's review

3.0

Fun read

marufahoque's review

5.0

I rarely (mostly never) read outside my favorite genres (SFF), but this one was hard to pass up when I learned it was set in 18th-century Korea (palaces! hanboks! police investigators! Dong Yi vibes!). I initially didn't want to read it because of the cover-I thought it was Adult contemporary mystery, but I'm glad I did more research and decided to read it!

I rarely give 5 stars, but this book had me hooked (I'm guilty of reading past 3 am!). The mystery, the suspense, all of it was awesome! And I loved how the slow-burn romance was done so well (which is rare for YA books in general).

Definitely recommend this book to fans of Asian-inspired fantasy (it doesn't hurt to read a little outside of your comfort zone!) and those who love historical k-dramas (especially those with murder mysteries)!

katrindavidson's review

4.0

This was honestly perfect! Like a historical kdrama murder mystery with a dash of romance but the epilogue felt rushed and unfinished that genuily I'm marking this down as it could have been perfect. I will read more by her and tbh I might buy for a friend who loved kdramas too but warn about the rushed ending!