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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
This was good. Not quite as good as «The God and the Gumiho», but still good. When I finished that first book in this (presumably) duology, I was bawling. I was also really looking forward to the sequel, while also dreading it somewhat. Mainly because I loved the dynamic between Seokga and Hani in the first book and was not all that confident that Sophie Kim would be able to recapture as incredible a dynamic between Seokga and whoever Hani’s soul reincarnated into. And my doubts were kinda right. The dynamic between Seokga and Kisa is very different from his dynamic with Hani, but it still works. Just not quite as perfectly as before. Ultimately, Seokga and Kisa are still really sweet and loveable together, and I’m jealous that they get to live in a cozy cottage in a magical library.
Oh and the plot was good too I guess. I mean the plot was once again centred around a case Seokga (and Kisa) had to investigate, just like in the first book. This time I guessed who the killer was pretty much immediately, which was not the case in the first book, but that didn't detract from the reading experience for me. I don't really have much else to say about this, since the detective case is very much just a background story, with the main story being the relationship between Kisa and Seokga. I think I slightly preferred the case in the first book, but not by much.
Lastly, I think it would've really helped to have a pronunciation guide somewhere in the book. These often annoy me in Fantasy books because ultimately it doesn't really matter if some made-up fantasy name is mispronounced, and also the 'phonetic' spellings used are quite confusing for a non-native English speaker (especially the vowels). However, since the 'fantasy words' in this are actual real names of entities in Korean mythology/folklore, I would've loved a pronunciation guide. I read the first book as an audiobook, so I knew that the <s> in 'eoduksini' and 'gwisin' is pronounced more like an English <sh> than an English <s>, but loads of other words I'd never heard before.
Oh and the plot was good too I guess. I mean the plot was once again centred around a case Seokga (and Kisa) had to investigate, just like in the first book. This time I guessed who the killer was pretty much immediately, which was not the case in the first book, but that didn't detract from the reading experience for me. I don't really have much else to say about this, since the detective case is very much just a background story, with the main story being the relationship between Kisa and Seokga. I think I slightly preferred the case in the first book, but not by much.
Lastly, I think it would've really helped to have a pronunciation guide somewhere in the book. These often annoy me in Fantasy books because ultimately it doesn't really matter if some made-up fantasy name is mispronounced, and also the 'phonetic' spellings used are quite confusing for a non-native English speaker (especially the vowels). However, since the 'fantasy words' in this are actual real names of entities in Korean mythology/folklore, I would've loved a pronunciation guide. I read the first book as an audiobook, so I knew that the <s> in 'eoduksini' and 'gwisin' is pronounced more like an English <sh> than an English <s>, but loads of other words I'd never heard before.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I had a lot of fun with The God and the Gumiho when I read it last year, so I was excited for what was to come with The God and the Gwisin. I immediately loved how it put a fresh spin on the story and characters, not only with a bit of a time jump, but with otherworldly shenanigans involving reincarnation, as well as the continued use of the soulmate connection through the Red Thread of Fate.
I loved the dynamics between Seokga and Kisa (formerly Hani) this time around. He’s his delightfully mischievous self, but he’s also spent a long time searching for Hani after their being parted, and now reincarnated as Kisa (who has also since died and become a gwisin), she has no memory of her former life, or him. I loved exploring her complex feelings of being confronted with this past life she can’t remember initially, especially with Kisa having led such a different life. I did love seeing the two lives begin to converge, and navigating that dichotomy of Kisa having her own personhood while having elements of Hani too. And as for her romance with Seokga, it was quite sweet.
Atmospherically and plot wise, the story also has a bit of a different tone and external plot/goal. I loved that Kids and Seokga found each other on this creepy cruise to the underworld, and the narrative involves solving his brother’s murder. While the book suffered some of similar pacing issues to the prior one, the setting and external plot drivers kept the story moving more consistently, while the internal arcs were simultaneously developing. And while the ending of the last book was a gut-punch (remedied by the trajectory of this one), I love the choice to end this one with some pure Seokga humor, in the form of the godly equivalent of mass media.
This was an absolute delight, I’d recommend the duology to readers who want an urban fantasy inspired by Korean mythology and the vibes of K-Dramas!
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
Thank you to Sophie Kim, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of The God and the Gwisin in exchange for my honest review.
The God and the Gwisin is the second book in the Fate's Thread Duology. This book takes place approximately 33 years after the end of The God and The Gumiho. Seokga is no longer a fallen god but he is still struggling after the loss of Hani. When a red thread of fate leads him to a cruise down the river of the dead, the last person he expects to find is Kisa, who is Hani reincarnated, and is dead. Except Kisa has no memories of her past life, and she has no interest in Seokga. Oh, and she is dead. When Seokga's brother is killed (who is the Emperor), Seokga and Kisa, with the help of some old and new faces, team up to solve the murder before Seokga can be blamed for the crime. After all, he did try to kill his brother once.
There is so much that I loved about this book. The character development from all sides is outstanding. Watching Kisa become more confident in who she is and what she wants with her life was such a joy. She is so different then Hani, yet they both share some of the same traits, just expressed in different ways. Watching her try to figure out how she feels about Seokga, given that he loved Hani first, was an experience. I appreciated that just because there was this fate thread, it does not mean that she falls in love with him right away. It happens slowly. I also appreciated Seokga's inner battle between wanting Kisa and still loving Hani. There is also another character from the first book that I LOVED seeing and being able to witness how much she has grown from the end of the first book. Outside of the character development, the plot was great in this book. I often feel like books are either all about character development or all about plot. Being able to read a book that truly was both all about plot and character development was a treat. I enjoyed trying to solve the murder right alongside the team, and I also appreciated not being able to easily solve the murder on my own. It was a surprise at the end to see how it all played out and the why behind why the crime happened. For all those who loved the first book, I promise you will love the second book even more. It is unique, and while many of the characters are the same, you can clearly see how they have grown over the past 33 years, rather than remaining stagnant.
The God and the Gwisin is the second book in the Fate's Thread Duology. This book takes place approximately 33 years after the end of The God and The Gumiho. Seokga is no longer a fallen god but he is still struggling after the loss of Hani. When a red thread of fate leads him to a cruise down the river of the dead, the last person he expects to find is Kisa, who is Hani reincarnated, and is dead. Except Kisa has no memories of her past life, and she has no interest in Seokga. Oh, and she is dead. When Seokga's brother is killed (who is the Emperor), Seokga and Kisa, with the help of some old and new faces, team up to solve the murder before Seokga can be blamed for the crime. After all, he did try to kill his brother once.
There is so much that I loved about this book. The character development from all sides is outstanding. Watching Kisa become more confident in who she is and what she wants with her life was such a joy. She is so different then Hani, yet they both share some of the same traits, just expressed in different ways. Watching her try to figure out how she feels about Seokga, given that he loved Hani first, was an experience. I appreciated that just because there was this fate thread, it does not mean that she falls in love with him right away. It happens slowly. I also appreciated Seokga's inner battle between wanting Kisa and still loving Hani. There is also another character from the first book that I LOVED seeing and being able to witness how much she has grown from the end of the first book. Outside of the character development, the plot was great in this book. I often feel like books are either all about character development or all about plot. Being able to read a book that truly was both all about plot and character development was a treat. I enjoyed trying to solve the murder right alongside the team, and I also appreciated not being able to easily solve the murder on my own. It was a surprise at the end to see how it all played out and the why behind why the crime happened. For all those who loved the first book, I promise you will love the second book even more. It is unique, and while many of the characters are the same, you can clearly see how they have grown over the past 33 years, rather than remaining stagnant.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this work!
Another fantastic work by Sophie Kim. I thoroughly enjoyed The God and the Gwisin just as much as I loved The God and the Gumiho.
The narrative continued so effortlessly from the first book to the second. Each character and their story grew and developed even farther. Sophie did a really wonderful job at exploring a wide variety of emotions for each character. They all were dealing with such real, poignant emotions and it really broadened what had been established in the first book.
While I was able to see some elements of the mystery early on, I was still able to be surprised by some of the turns at the end.
Another fantastic work by Sophie Kim. I thoroughly enjoyed The God and the Gwisin just as much as I loved The God and the Gumiho.
The narrative continued so effortlessly from the first book to the second. Each character and their story grew and developed even farther. Sophie did a really wonderful job at exploring a wide variety of emotions for each character. They all were dealing with such real, poignant emotions and it really broadened what had been established in the first book.
While I was able to see some elements of the mystery early on, I was still able to be surprised by some of the turns at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the eARC!
Humorous, emotional and with a satisfying ending. I loved the relationship between Kisa and Seokga as well as the murder mystery plot.
Humorous, emotional and with a satisfying ending. I loved the relationship between Kisa and Seokga as well as the murder mystery plot.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Many thanks to DelRey and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.
Love, love, love, love, love, love!! I stayed up to 1:30 in the morning to read this in one sitting. Could not put it down, even when tears were leaking steadily out of my eyes and blurring my vision. I loved The God & the Gumiho, but this was even better!
Seokga might be my most favorite grumpy MMC ever. I wanted to give him a hug so bad, but I know he'd have hated it. My heart just ACHED for him throughout this entire book. Finding his Threaded, but then Kisa not knowing who he is, and then all the existing emotional baggage from his father and brother--it just tore at my heart. But Kisa ended up being so amazing. I loved her. And watching them getting to know each other anew was so cute at times, I was just kicking my heels in glee. The character work in these books is just phenomenal.
Did I guess the "bad guy"? For once I did! I just didn't guess the why of it all. The end was definitely heart-pounding as everything played out. It wrapped up neatly and quickly, but I'm not mad about that at all. And seriously, I love these characters so much that I would happily sign on for more detective adventures from them!
Highly highly recommend these books!
Love, love, love, love, love, love!! I stayed up to 1:30 in the morning to read this in one sitting. Could not put it down, even when tears were leaking steadily out of my eyes and blurring my vision. I loved The God & the Gumiho, but this was even better!
Seokga might be my most favorite grumpy MMC ever. I wanted to give him a hug so bad, but I know he'd have hated it. My heart just ACHED for him throughout this entire book. Finding his Threaded, but then Kisa not knowing who he is, and then all the existing emotional baggage from his father and brother--it just tore at my heart. But Kisa ended up being so amazing. I loved her. And watching them getting to know each other anew was so cute at times, I was just kicking my heels in glee. The character work in these books is just phenomenal.
Did I guess the "bad guy"? For once I did! I just didn't guess the why of it all. The end was definitely heart-pounding as everything played out. It wrapped up neatly and quickly, but I'm not mad about that at all. And seriously, I love these characters so much that I would happily sign on for more detective adventures from them!
Highly highly recommend these books!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Fantastic.. As usual when a book is really good, I don’t have that much to say other than read this.
I adore everything about this, I don’t think I have a single criticism honestly. The plot is great, the romance is amazing, the world building is fabulous.
Seokga and Kisa are just.. Just perfect. I have not read a book with this particular trope and I think Kim did it amazingly! It has the potential to go very badly, and the execution of this was flawless. Once again such a harmonious and beautifully developed romance.
I once again enjoyed this plot a lot and had so much fun figuring out the “who did it” although I do think that this time around some plot points were a little more obvious.
Also this book has one of the coziest frikkin epilogues I’ve ever read?!? I want a whole book based on that epilogue alone.
In short, an absolutely fantastic anding to a duology and I can't wait to read more from this author.
I adore everything about this, I don’t think I have a single criticism honestly. The plot is great, the romance is amazing, the world building is fabulous.
Seokga and Kisa are just.. Just perfect. I have not read a book with this particular trope and I think Kim did it amazingly! It has the potential to go very badly, and the execution of this was flawless. Once again such a harmonious and beautifully developed romance.
I once again enjoyed this plot a lot and had so much fun figuring out the “who did it” although I do think that this time around some plot points were a little more obvious.
Also this book has one of the coziest frikkin epilogues I’ve ever read?!? I want a whole book based on that epilogue alone.
In short, an absolutely fantastic anding to a duology and I can't wait to read more from this author.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 stars
Content warning: mentioning of suicide, death, murder, eating disorders, medical terms, injury detail, betrayal, medical suppressants, revisiting toxic parenting (historical)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy. All thoughts are my own.
After the way The God and the Gumiho ended, I knew I'd have to get my hands on the sequel and continue this story, even though I had critical thoughts about how some of the information was presented in the first book. Admittedly, I wish I had left it at that fond point, because I won't sugarcoat it - this was a mess. In the series' storyline, it's been over thirty years since the first book's ending, and it seems as if the trickster god Seokga degenerated in maturity and all those around him were equally as juvenile to read about.
In the case of Kisa, the main female protagonist, a sheltered medical genius in her early twenties when she passed away, some of the naive responses could be accepted, but for the rest of the cast? I feel as though the author slipped back into more of a YA style of writing for the sake of making this story exceptionally humorous. And despite every attempt to settle into this Korean retelling of a dramatic Olympus with the sequel set in the underworld on a ship called the SRC Flatliner, I wish I could have thrown myself overboard instead of enduring this tale at times.
There were moments where there was so much potential, but the story was shrouded by endless longing and desire for the loss of Hani to Seokga and Somi, Kisa trying to fit into the mold but equally telling them all she was her own person, a dead idol (who's entire storyline gave me the biggest ick from the beginning, but I'll get to that) who was only utilised to make characters react, and a murder mystery that was all too easy to guess from the beginning which led to a god reincarnation to bring a baby god into their mix. Adding to this was the author's attempts to bring in emotional character development, throwing in quite dark subjects amongst nonsensical humour at times. The continuation of Korean pop culture interjections is still very on the nose, especially as I mentioned above around idol culture. I respect that the author was trying to approach the subject of mental health and suicide in the Korean entertainment industry, but the casual way it was thrown into the storyline alarmed me. Every time Hajun's past was brought up, it got worse, and by the time anorexia was addressed, at the most inopportune moment for the main protagonist to be thought drifting, I realised my hopes for giving this story a higher rating than three stars were over.
Everything towards the ending felt rushed and overproduced, and then love declarations were given over. Whilst the ending was sweet enough for the trickster god, Kisa, and their friends, I found myself questioning the relationship between Kisa and Seokga. They didn't have enough build-up in their romantic tale, and relied too much on the red string of fate plotline, and Kisa's previous life as Hani. It left it all feeling a bit underwhelming, and I'm disappointed that I had looked forward to this sequel and found myself disliking a lot of the elements here. I just wanted more, and every turn it made towards good growth, another bout of needless humour or random thoughts threw it off for me again.
Content warning: mentioning of suicide, death, murder, eating disorders, medical terms, injury detail, betrayal, medical suppressants, revisiting toxic parenting (historical)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy. All thoughts are my own.
After the way The God and the Gumiho ended, I knew I'd have to get my hands on the sequel and continue this story, even though I had critical thoughts about how some of the information was presented in the first book. Admittedly, I wish I had left it at that fond point, because I won't sugarcoat it - this was a mess. In the series' storyline, it's been over thirty years since the first book's ending, and it seems as if the trickster god Seokga degenerated in maturity and all those around him were equally as juvenile to read about.
In the case of Kisa, the main female protagonist, a sheltered medical genius in her early twenties when she passed away, some of the naive responses could be accepted, but for the rest of the cast? I feel as though the author slipped back into more of a YA style of writing for the sake of making this story exceptionally humorous. And despite every attempt to settle into this Korean retelling of a dramatic Olympus with the sequel set in the underworld on a ship called the SRC Flatliner, I wish I could have thrown myself overboard instead of enduring this tale at times.
There were moments where there was so much potential, but the story was shrouded by endless longing and desire for the loss of Hani to Seokga and Somi, Kisa trying to fit into the mold but equally telling them all she was her own person, a dead idol (who's entire storyline gave me the biggest ick from the beginning, but I'll get to that) who was only utilised to make characters react, and a murder mystery that was all too easy to guess from the beginning which led to a god reincarnation to bring a baby god into their mix. Adding to this was the author's attempts to bring in emotional character development, throwing in quite dark subjects amongst nonsensical humour at times. The continuation of Korean pop culture interjections is still very on the nose, especially as I mentioned above around idol culture. I respect that the author was trying to approach the subject of mental health and suicide in the Korean entertainment industry, but the casual way it was thrown into the storyline alarmed me. Every time Hajun's past was brought up, it got worse, and by the time anorexia was addressed, at the most inopportune moment for the main protagonist to be thought drifting, I realised my hopes for giving this story a higher rating than three stars were over.
Everything towards the ending felt rushed and overproduced, and then love declarations were given over. Whilst the ending was sweet enough for the trickster god, Kisa, and their friends, I found myself questioning the relationship between Kisa and Seokga. They didn't have enough build-up in their romantic tale, and relied too much on the red string of fate plotline, and Kisa's previous life as Hani. It left it all feeling a bit underwhelming, and I'm disappointed that I had looked forward to this sequel and found myself disliking a lot of the elements here. I just wanted more, and every turn it made towards good growth, another bout of needless humour or random thoughts threw it off for me again.