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klsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
OK, first off, the cover art is gorgeous.
I REALLY wanted to love this book. Loosely based on a Korean fairy tale, it follows Mina, a young girl who sacrifices herself to the increasingly violent Sea God to save her people. In a page right out of Spirited Away, she falls through the sea into the Spirit World and must find a way to break the Sea God's curse. There were quite a few lovely ideas in this novel, but they were underdeveloped, weaving circuitous plotholes that left me exasperated.
This book was confusing - sometimes barreling at break-neck speeds through assassination attempts and sometimes dragging through memories and myth. I wish the author had spent more time developing the characters and world. It was whimsical and sweet, but the pace moved so quickly that the world collapsed on itself. We barely had time to get to know anyone - most things were shown, not felt, and there was little time for lingering or angst. I wanted more lyrical, fairy-tale esque prose because of the format. Perhaps this would've worked better as a short story? There were lots of explanations and little trust in the reader, which makes me think it was written for a younger audience. That being said, I did like Mina, though she fit many of the "special, strong chosen one" tropes (which can be done well, tbf). Namgi might've been my favorite character (queer, found family, creature of myth? Sign me up).
It's possible I'm not the demographic audience, which is ok! I might not have a cultural understanding. At this moment, this book wasn't for me. I recommend it if you like Studio Ghibli, easy-read fairy tales, and Korean folklore.
(Am I a hater?? This is not the best review streak, lol).
I REALLY wanted to love this book. Loosely based on a Korean fairy tale, it follows Mina, a young girl who sacrifices herself to the increasingly violent Sea God to save her people. In a page right out of Spirited Away, she falls through the sea into the Spirit World and must find a way to break the Sea God's curse. There were quite a few lovely ideas in this novel, but they were underdeveloped, weaving circuitous plotholes that left me exasperated.
This book was confusing - sometimes barreling at break-neck speeds through assassination attempts and sometimes dragging through memories and myth. I wish the author had spent more time developing the characters and world. It was whimsical and sweet, but the pace moved so quickly that the world collapsed on itself. We barely had time to get to know anyone - most things were shown, not felt, and there was little time for lingering or angst. I wanted more lyrical, fairy-tale esque prose because of the format. Perhaps this would've worked better as a short story? There were lots of explanations and little trust in the reader, which makes me think it was written for a younger audience. That being said, I did like Mina, though she fit many of the "special, strong chosen one" tropes (which can be done well, tbf). Namgi might've been my favorite character (queer, found family, creature of myth? Sign me up).
It's possible I'm not the demographic audience, which is ok! I might not have a cultural understanding. At this moment, this book wasn't for me. I recommend it if you like Studio Ghibli, easy-read fairy tales, and Korean folklore.
(Am I a hater?? This is not the best review streak, lol).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, War, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
Minor: Bullying
bethsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This is a book I’ve had on my TBR for such a long time. Not only was the cover stunning but the story of an underwater fantasy world based on Korean folktales and the red string of fate? Absolutely yes. However, this one ended up as a disappointment for me. I think it was more of a let down because it had so much potential. There were so many incredible ideas to work with and nearly all of them fell flat or where completely under developed.
This book needed to be double the length so it actually had space to develop the world and the characters. The progression of the story is so jumpy; there is never any downtime, it just hops from plot point to plot point, and most of the time it is actually quite jarring. I wanted the story to stop and take moments to breathe and let the characters and world actually come to life — it needed the meaningful ‘filler’ moments that flesh out a story.
The world building was one of the most disappointing parts. At times you had gorgeous glimpses of a Spirited Away style, enchanting underwater spirit world, but those moments got swept away in unanswered questions about the workings of the world and many elements that really didn’t make sense at all.
My biggest issue has to be the characters. They are all so one-dimensional. The main character doesn’t feel like a real person, just a collection of tropes that are told to you, not even really shown or given proper backstory. And the side characters feel like they only exist to aid the main character and fill in plot points. A lot of the dialogue felt awkward or elicited eye rolls and the relationships between the characters and their feelings are not meaningfully developed but just told to you, so I really felt nothing for them at all.
I think I am slightly harsh on this one because it had so much potential. Some of the writing is really beautiful, the story is very compelling and unique, and the characters could have been very meaningful. But overall it ended up being underdeveloped, one dimensional, and a big disappointment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Child death, and Violence
sapphicfog's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Child death
Minor: Suicide attempt
astrid_islaglewis's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage
staceyinthesticks's review
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: War, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death
clariu25's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The beginning of the book was too slow for me, and parts of the plot were a bit too predictable. Nevertheles , I found it intriguing enough to continue reading.
I'm glad I did.
The story follows Mina, a girl who sacrifices herself to help her village. Then she founds that the Spirit Realm and the Sea God are quite different from what the legends say.
I found the story very cute. Mina is a bit stubborn but she learns quickly that people are there to help her, not control her. She is of course going through the grieve of loosing her family while adapting to a new and completely unknown place and trying to fulfill her mission. I liked her character a lot, brave but kind, not a superhero but not a damsel in distress. Her relationships with each of the characters are lovely, each one of them is different.
The book touches themes of faith, family, friendship, love, death... It's a cozy read that warms your heart.
I'm glad I did.
The story follows Mina, a girl who sacrifices herself to help her village. Then she founds that the Spirit Realm and the Sea God are quite different from what the legends say.
I found the story very cute. Mina is a bit stubborn but she learns quickly that people are there to help her, not control her. She is of course going through the grieve of loosing her family while adapting to a new and completely unknown place and trying to fulfill her mission. I liked her character a lot, brave but kind, not a superhero but not a damsel in distress. Her relationships with each of the characters are lovely, each one of them is different.
The book touches themes of faith, family, friendship, love, death... It's a cozy read that warms your heart.
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, War, Death, and Child death
puertojenny's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
emmieanna's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.5
I run a YA bookclub and this was a book that they chose almost unanimously to read next. What a beautifully written, folktale infused story with so much heart.
I have wanted to read this book for a long time and it has sat on my shelf for almost a year. The descriptions are so lyrical and vivid and Axie really made me believe in Mina’s story. The only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 stars is the fact I wish it were a duology. I want to know more about this world and Mina’s aspirations, as well as perhaps Shin’s POV and more internal struggle from both of the characters. A lot of the time they changed their minds rather quickly and the plot is so fast paced that we don’t have time to dwell on details.
Overall, I could not recommend this book enough. It is a gorgeous folklore fantasy that has strong Ghibli and fairytale threads.
I have wanted to read this book for a long time and it has sat on my shelf for almost a year. The descriptions are so lyrical and vivid and Axie really made me believe in Mina’s story. The only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 stars is the fact I wish it were a duology. I want to know more about this world and Mina’s aspirations, as well as perhaps Shin’s POV and more internal struggle from both of the characters. A lot of the time they changed their minds rather quickly and the plot is so fast paced that we don’t have time to dwell on details.
Overall, I could not recommend this book enough. It is a gorgeous folklore fantasy that has strong Ghibli and fairytale threads.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Kidnapping, Child death, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
lauraloveslemons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, War, Infertility, Slavery, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
mattyb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping