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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
It was a spontaneous pick for me — still wondering why FP was carrying it — but a very enjoyable read. It feels like being immersed in a really good historic k-drama with political strife, murders to solve, and relationships to navigate, but compressed to a book-sized story, with all the right bits kept in and all the side-plots stripped out. Joseon Korea is not an era I knew much about, but the book felt so immersive and so compulsively readable, plot tight and pacing not sagging. The cast was not too large, but the leads were very likable and their friendship & slowburn romance very nice, and I appreciated the nuance in the heroine’s relationship with her family as well.
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was really good. I like the balance of murder mystery & a little romance. I thought the author honored the source material really well, too. However, the writing style was too direct for my liking. I feel like the story needed more background/worldbuilding detail.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not usually one for thrillers or murder mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. Of course I wished for more between the main characters, but I also think it's nice that the plot was in the forefront for this book and appreciated that it didn't turn to A Romance at the first opportunity. 3.5 rounded up to 4 because I have to give a little extra to a book in a genre I don't usually go for surprising me.
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
This was *chef kiss*!! All the suspense and secrecy, I loved it. This was a bloody read, there was a lot of violence and it had me gasping when something unexpected happened. I enjoyed it a lot!! The romance though?? It wasn’t a main focus at all, but I just loved Hyeon and Eojin’s dynamic, eeee!! The ending was suspenseful and a great wrap up. 4.5 stars! ❤️