Reviews

The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim

ee1000's review

adventurous funny mysterious 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

4.25

What a fun book! The God and the Gumiho is a fun Korean mythology and K-Drama inspired fantasy mystery packed with lots of fun characters, witty banter, and action. 

I really enjoyed this world. It took me a minute to get into things since there is a bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but the world building only lasts a couple chapters and then you get into the main story. There’s so much that could be done in this world due to the number of different character types that you’re introduced to. 

Our main characters are lovely, and without spoiling too much… I loved the twist on the Grumpy x Sunshine trope, because yes Hani is a ray of sunshine… but is she? I also loved that Seokga is actually grumpy. A lot of times this trope is done where the grumpy one is misunderstood. Not here! He’s actually a jerk! And I loved watching his heart melt over the course of the book. 

I gave this book 4.25 stars out of five because I loved this world, and these characters but I did guess some of the main plot points along the way! I love mysteries that catch you off guard but I knew where we were going to go in this book. 

Having said that, I did enjoy the story and had a lot of fun in this world. After that ending, I’m curious to know if we’re going to see our main couple again in a sequel… I’ll settle for a quick short story to finish round out the epilogue because dang Seokga needs a hug. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! 

bookedandboujee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

thereadernthebeast's review

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

moonlit_dewdrops's review against another edition

5.0

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an eARC for an honest review.

This book was an easy 5 star read for me. I really loved the murder mystery plot but I am a sucker for books with Asian mythology elements to it. It was definitely a page turner and it had me in a chokehold throughout most of my reading experience.

I don’t normally read forced proximity but it was done well in this book especially when paired with enemies to lovers.

The plot was enjoyable and easy to follow. I loved seeing the buildup between Hani and Seokga as they work together as a team to try and track down the culprit behind a series of murders. Their interactions are so amusing in the beginning as Hani goes out of her way to annoy him while he in turn, cannot stand her presence. However, throughout the book, there’s an undeniable tension between them that’s more than just their animosity for one another and soon it builds up to something more. I absolutely love how they grew softer toward one another with Hani basically being the sun to warm the ice around Seokga's heart. By the time the spicy scenes happened, I was giddy and kicking my feet. The promise between Seokga and his brother Hwanin also brought a more foreboding note to the overall plot and their relationship.

The ending got me shaking and crying. The way Hani sacrificed herself and had Seokga kill her so he could regain her power! The character development here is so good because she'd initially joined him in the investigation for her own selfish reasons in order to hide her identity as The Scarlet Fox. Meanwhile, the once arrogant and prideful Seokga humbled himself and begged his older brother to have Hani reincarnated!!

I’ll be pre-ordering this book and keeping an eye out on the sequel because it can’t just end like that!!

avishisingh's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

priesty23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

5 stars
😭❤️

A grumpy, fallen trickster god must team up with a shapeshifting notorious gumiho - who is in hiding - to work together to take down a demon of darkness. Sophie Kim's The God and the Gumiho has a contemporary setting in a creative modern world enthused with magic and mythical creatures, while being packed with Korean mythology.

While I felt the book started a little slow, once the main characters had to work together everything just fell into place and I loved reading every page of what followed. I particularly loved the grumpy/sunshine vibes and the funny banter and teasing between our main characters, I found myself being very emotionally attached. We have morally questionable characters, which is a plus for me, but they are just big softies deep down. I felt the pacing of their relationship was perfect, it wasn't rushed and felt very natural.

The storyline however was a little more on the rushed side of things; I think the story takes place over the space of 2 weeks or less, which didn't feel likely while reading and it felt like more time had/should have passed. Saying that, I did enjoy the twists involved and that the story was wrapped in the one book allowing this to be read as a standalone. I do look forward to seeing what the author does with this world in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

pawsomepages's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

supergirled's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

lila_still_reads's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Kim Hani is a gumiho working in a coffee shop frequented by the immortals and monster of New Sinsi in 1992, delighting in tormenting local heartthrob/dipshit and fallen trickster god, Seokga. She may also be the Scarlet Fox, an infamous gumiho who went on a killing spree in Victorian London- but that’s beside the point! She’s been too full to devour livers or souls in decades anyway. 

Seokga is tasked with tracking down the violent spirits he enlisted in his attempted heavenly coup, unable to return to his home or his powers until he’s killed 20,000- a number that, centuries later, still feels impossibly high. However, Seokga gets a chance to skip in line when his brother offers him a deal- Seokga can get his divinity back right now, all he has to do is kill the Scarlet Fox and the mysterious dark entity terrorizing New Sinsi. 

Hani can’t have that. She accepts a job as Seokga’s assistant, planning to help him catch one monster while putting him off the trail of the other. Seokga doesn’t want an assistant, especially not the barista who messes up his order with malicious consistency. Both plan to be rid of the other as quickly as possible, but as they work together, they realize that they may have found their match- these two scheming immortals might be perfect for each other, but even if they get past their pride and posturing, their story is destined to end in tragedy. 

I had so much fun with this one. I am so so sick of books where a twenty-something young woman falls for an immortal man (who is usually also somewhat controlling and a little bit skeevy). Both Hani and Seokga are immortal, chaotic, and not afraid to make morally wild choices. It was so much fun to watch them both try to out-play the other and become grudgingly impressed with the other’s antics. 

It is as advertised- relatively tropey and K-drama-esque in dramatic contrivances- but that’s part of why it’s so fun; the tone is well done and doesn’t take itself too seriously. My one complaint is that I wish Seokga and Hani had spent a little longer in the space in between “we hate each other” and “we love each other”. Some of the most fun in this book happened when they were balancing their continued annoyance with their growing attraction- I think there was more space for play there that would have been enjoyable and also made their romance feel a bit more organic. 

Sophie Kim did a great job with pacing as well- the twists weren’t the most surprising, but they were placed throughout the story in a way that kept me from being bored or frustrated with the characters for missing something obvious. The stakes were raised for the final confrontation and I’m locked in 100% for the sequel. I really enjoy a semi-standalone series starter like this- I’m excited for the sequel, but I could see this also being a satisfying standalone read because Kim crafts a full story within its pages. 

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an e ARC in exchange for an honest review- all opinions are my own. 

rachels_readingroom's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The God and the Gumiho

5 ⭐️ 

1 🌶️ 

Seogka, is a fallen trickers god, who is forced to a supernatural investigator on earth and sending nasty creatures back to the spiritual dimension they came from (after a failed coup to take over his brothers heavenly kingdom). The FMC Hani a Gumiho, is the legendary fox spirit called The Scarlett Fox, best known for a mass scale human slaughter 100 years ago (Gumiho loves human livers). 

Hani accidentally draws attention to herself following some murders, she infiltrates Seogka investigation to try and sabotage the efforts to find her. 

They had banter and were a very entertaining. They didn't like each other to begin with, and Seogka was very reluctant and rude towards Hani at first. I really enjoyed their personalities. The story and whole setting. 

 

The story progresses very well but I was a bit shocked that the majority of the events of the book all take place within around a week. 

Overall I loved the book, and can't wait for the next one after the ending!!

Thank you Netgallery & Hodder for the ARC