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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the eARC of this book :)
The God and the Gumiho was one of my absolute favorite books of 2024 and its sequel lived up to every one of my expectations. It has the fun elements of a murder mystery (on a cruise ship), reincarnation, k pop idols, second change romance and Korean mythology all mixed into one with a mix of new and old characters that we already love.
After the cliff hanger of the first book, it picks up 33 years later with Seokga following the red thread of fate towards Hani, except it turns out it is not Hani, but Yoo Kisa. Much to Seokga’s dismay, we learn that Yoo Kisa has no memories of her past life as Hani (and therefore him). But when his brother gets murdered, they have to band together to figure out who the murderer is all while trying to understand their connection and where they fit into each other’s lives.
I really loved Yoo Kisa’s character and how the relationship with Seokga developed over time and in a completely new way compared to his and Hani’s relationship. Although she is not Hani, I really liked the way the character arc and story line was done to tell us that she is her own person but not skipping over Hani completely since her character still plays a part in this book. I loved how her past life started blending with her new life, yet not erasing the parts of her that still made her Kisa. We also get to see deeper parts of Seokga as he delves into his relationship with his parents and brother, as well as his insecurities from his past.
All in all, I really really loved this. It has the same humor and banter as The God and the Gumiho, yet also touches on the mental health issues of the characters.
The God and the Gumiho was one of my absolute favorite books of 2024 and its sequel lived up to every one of my expectations. It has the fun elements of a murder mystery (on a cruise ship), reincarnation, k pop idols, second change romance and Korean mythology all mixed into one with a mix of new and old characters that we already love.
After the cliff hanger of the first book, it picks up 33 years later with Seokga following the red thread of fate towards Hani, except it turns out it is not Hani, but Yoo Kisa. Much to Seokga’s dismay, we learn that Yoo Kisa has no memories of her past life as Hani (and therefore him). But when his brother gets murdered, they have to band together to figure out who the murderer is all while trying to understand their connection and where they fit into each other’s lives.
I really loved Yoo Kisa’s character and how the relationship with Seokga developed over time and in a completely new way compared to his and Hani’s relationship. Although she is not Hani, I really liked the way the character arc and story line was done to tell us that she is her own person but not skipping over Hani completely since her character still plays a part in this book. I loved how her past life started blending with her new life, yet not erasing the parts of her that still made her Kisa. We also get to see deeper parts of Seokga as he delves into his relationship with his parents and brother, as well as his insecurities from his past.
All in all, I really really loved this. It has the same humor and banter as The God and the Gumiho, yet also touches on the mental health issues of the characters.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First of all, thank you to NetGalley and DelRey for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, there will be slight spoilers for the end of ‘The God and the Gumiho’, so if you haven’t read it, then what are you waiting for?
I went into this book with high expectations, as ‘The God and the Gumiho’ was one of my favourite books of 2024 and the ending left me both devastated and excited for the sequel.
And I can safely say that Sophie Kim delivered a satisfying conclusion to this fantasy duology!
The plot revolves around Kisa (the reincarnation of Hani’s soul and Seogka’s first love), who died on the day the red thread of fate manifested and now has to work on a cruise ship on the river of the dead where she meets Seogka (our trickster god), who has searched endlessly for her for 33 years.
But there are two complications. First, Kisa does not remember her first life or Seogka at all, and secondly, the Heavenly Emperor is murdered on the first night of the cruise (I always love an isolated murder mystery setting a la ‘Death on the Nile’).
What follows is a clandestine-ish murder investigation with faces both old and new, as well as a beautiful and careful exploration of Kisa and Seogka’s evolving relationship.
For me, a huge focus of this book was on the characters and exploring their pasts, traumas, mental health struggles and their complicated interpersonal relationships.
The author handles sensitive and heavy subjects such as suicide, depression, burn out, grief and toxic or complex familial relationships with care and manages to balance those with hopeful moments filled with connection and humor between the characters.
The relationship between Kisa and Seogka unfolds beautifully and explores what it means that while Kisa is Hani’s reincarnation, she is still her own person with her own peculiarities and characteristics. Both characters have to reflect on their feelings (and where they come from), their internal struggles and who they are to one another.
Sophie Kim has a seemingly effortless writing style that makes it very easy to connect to the characters and to picture the different mythological creatures and surroundings. In combination with the humorous undertones and bantering, I was reminded of K-Dramas such as ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’ (I mean that with the highest compliments!).
Of course, the action does not fall short and though I felt the ending was a bit rushed and the reveal was not as shocking as in the first book, I enjoyed every minute of it and loved where the characters ended up.
All in all, ‘The God and the Gwisin’ was a delightful ending to this duology and I will miss Kisa and Seogka (and foolishly hope that we get to see more of them in the future).
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this as I haven’t read book one, but I ended up really loving it. The story weaves together some really interesting mythology. The premise of falling in love, being soulmates across time and across reincarnations is so interesting and the author did a great job with it. The pacing was very slow at times, but honestly, I didn’t mind. It was close to a cozy fantasy vibe and I was here for it! I'm looking forward to reading the first book and rereading this one!
**This review is based on an e-ARC generously provided to me through Netgalley**
Big Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy!!
'The God and the Gwisin' is the second and final book in the 'Fate's Thread' duology.
The story of the first book leaves things on a most tragic note, and this book also starts in a depressive manner, but things quickly become quirky and funny as the beloved arrogant god takes charge of the plot. I also loved Kisa, much more than Hani, to be honest, as she was more relatable and bookish, and scholarly. I also enjoyed how the author wrapped things up and gave the story the best possible ending!
On the other hand, I found myself struggling to go through the middle part where the investigation was going on, but the final part got things back on track.
'The God and the Gwisin' is the second and final book in the 'Fate's Thread' duology.
The story of the first book leaves things on a most tragic note, and this book also starts in a depressive manner, but things quickly become quirky and funny as the beloved arrogant god takes charge of the plot. I also loved Kisa, much more than Hani, to be honest, as she was more relatable and bookish, and scholarly. I also enjoyed how the author wrapped things up and gave the story the best possible ending!
On the other hand, I found myself struggling to go through the middle part where the investigation was going on, but the final part got things back on track.
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
"He can feel it, at the end of the thread. Someone is waiting. Someone is waiting for him."
The God and The Gwisin is a spectacular story that continues where The God and the Gumiho left off, where we join Seokga on his journey and embark on yet another wild adventure that Sophie Kim has spun, this time on board a cruise ship!
I really enjoyed the story, it held a different kind of appeal compared to The God and The Gumiho. In this book, we get a nice balance between nostalgia and freshness, with familiar faces as well as new ones joining us on the mystery abord the cruise ship. It is quite interesting to see that in this book, compared to The God and The Gumiho, that Seokga and Hani are moremellowed out, with Hani having reincarnated into Kisa, who is a completely distinct individual with differing personalities from Hani. I really liked that this book filled in some gaps from Book One, allowing us to look closer at Seokga and his relationship with Hwanin, and it was quite surprising to go on this journey of healing with Seokga.
I will say though, that this book may not be for everyone. It does seem to me, that if you wished to stop the story after Book One, you wouldn't be missing out on much. The storyline feels like it is it's own seperate plotline entirely and doesn't necessarily have to be connected to the first. This was more like tying off our loose ends and truly saying goodbye to some characters.
I loved The God and The Gumiho primarily because Seokga and Hani were both spitfires and what I'd deem close to morally grey. That gave the book a fresh appeal, but in this one, it was slightly less exciting to see that they had mellowed out. Of course, Seokga's moral compass remains questionable as always.
Regardless, I had a really fun time reading this book and giggling and also almost crying and I love these characters so much! The ending might hint at a third book possibly? Who knows!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
The God and The Gwisin is a spectacular story that continues where The God and the Gumiho left off, where we join Seokga on his journey and embark on yet another wild adventure that Sophie Kim has spun, this time on board a cruise ship!
I really enjoyed the story, it held a different kind of appeal compared to The God and The Gumiho. In this book, we get a nice balance between nostalgia and freshness, with familiar faces as well as new ones joining us on the mystery abord the cruise ship. It is quite interesting to see that in this book, compared to The God and The Gumiho, that Seokga and Hani are more
I will say though, that this book may not be for everyone. It does seem to me, that if you wished to stop the story after Book One, you wouldn't be missing out on much. The storyline feels like it is it's own seperate plotline entirely and doesn't necessarily have to be connected to the first. This was more like tying off our loose ends and truly saying goodbye to some characters.
I loved The God and The Gumiho primarily because Seokga and Hani were both spitfires and what I'd deem close to morally grey. That gave the book a fresh appeal, but in this one, it was slightly less exciting to see that they had mellowed out. Of course, Seokga's moral compass remains questionable as always.
Regardless, I had a really fun time reading this book and giggling and also almost crying and I love these characters so much! The ending might hint at a third book possibly? Who knows!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This sequel worked for me for the most part. I was pleasantly surprised that it doesn't feel like an echo of the first book, but a unique story with familiar characters. Seokga has been waiting for Hani's reincarnation, so the romance is a little more of a foregone conclusion this time around. However, the relationship between Seokga and Kisa is unique and heartwarming in its own way. Kisa's character was especially easy to connect to and feel for.
The mystery is somewhat secondary to the relationship building, but overall the plot moved along well despite some reveals being a bit obvious. I wished the events at the end were detailed a bit more, it did feel rushed in the last 10% of the book. It didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of it but did bring it from a 5 to a 4 star read for me.
Overall this was a fun and engaging read despite it's minor flaws.
Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication.
The mystery is somewhat secondary to the relationship building, but overall the plot moved along well despite some reveals being a bit obvious. I wished the events at the end were detailed a bit more, it did feel rushed in the last 10% of the book. It didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of it but did bring it from a 5 to a 4 star read for me.
Overall this was a fun and engaging read despite it's minor flaws.
Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Thank you so much NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for approving my request to view this ARC.
This was just as entertaining as the first book and just as funny and warm.
It takes place thirty-three years after the events of The God and The Gumiho and Soekgwa is trying to find Hani's reincarnation and he goes on a ship in the underworld for a vacation and there's a murder mystery involved.
What I loved so much about this is that Kisa, Hani's reincarnation is so much different from her in a lot of ways but just like Hani she's still an interesting main character and I love that she's incredibly intelligent and kind. I enjoyed her development and her relationships with the other characters.
Seokga did have a lot of development in the first book, but he grew a lot here. I believe that there are some decisions he wouldn't have made here that he would have made in the first book. Watching him bond with his brother was also so sweet.
I honestly adore everything about his character and I loved how he slowly came to love Kisa and accept that she's different than Hani and even love her more. Their relationship was sweet, warm and so cute, teared up at the last paragraph of the last chapter.
Honestly, the writing, the plot, and the characters just did it for me.
This was just as entertaining as the first book and just as funny and warm.
It takes place thirty-three years after the events of The God and The Gumiho and Soekgwa is trying to find Hani's reincarnation and he goes on a ship in the underworld for a vacation and there's a murder mystery involved.
What I loved so much about this is that Kisa, Hani's reincarnation is so much different from her in a lot of ways but just like Hani she's still an interesting main character and I love that she's incredibly intelligent and kind. I enjoyed her development and her relationships with the other characters.
Seokga did have a lot of development in the first book, but he grew a lot here. I believe that there are some decisions he wouldn't have made here that he would have made in the first book. Watching him bond with his brother was also so sweet.
I honestly adore everything about his character and I loved how he slowly came to love Kisa and accept that she's different than Hani and even love her more. Their relationship was sweet, warm and so cute, teared up at the last paragraph of the last chapter.
Honestly, the writing, the plot, and the characters just did it for me.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 4.75/5
The God and the Gwisin is an absolute delight, and I loved it just as much as the first book, if not a little more. I went into this book a bit nervous as to whether I'd enjoy the new romance with Kisa, after spending the first book warming up to Hani, but I found Kisa just as delightful. She was her own character, with her own interesting personality traits, while retaining a few similiarities with her past life. Seokga and Kisa was so sweet, and I found the author's take on 'reincarnated soulmates' (with only one of them being reincarnated, ofc), the best take I've ever read. I could really feel Seokga's heartbreak about Hani and his doubt about whether Kisa would like him. Though he kept comparing her to Hani at first, it really felt like in the end he fell for her as Kisa. This feels like a perfect end to the series though I'd certainly still be eager to read another sequel.
Rating: 4.75/5
The God and the Gwisin is an absolute delight, and I loved it just as much as the first book, if not a little more. I went into this book a bit nervous as to whether I'd enjoy the new romance with Kisa, after spending the first book warming up to Hani, but I found Kisa just as delightful. She was her own character, with her own interesting personality traits, while retaining a few similiarities with her past life. Seokga and Kisa was so sweet, and I found the author's take on 'reincarnated soulmates' (with only one of them being reincarnated, ofc), the best take I've ever read. I could really feel Seokga's heartbreak about Hani and his doubt about whether Kisa would like him. Though he kept comparing her to Hani at first, it really felt like in the end he fell for her as Kisa. This feels like a perfect end to the series though I'd certainly still be eager to read another sequel.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
|| Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review ! ||
Just like with book 1 with Hani, I feel like the story could end here, with this book 2 ending - even if we get at the very end a potential plot for book 3 with "new adventures". This book is to me a good ending for Seokga, there is really no need to keep on going, with a need to learn how to stop.
I feel like this book has way lesser high risks than the first - there is indeed an investigation about a murder, but I feel like the little plot twists are just more funny and easier than anything that happened with Hani.
We mostly get heavier on the thread of fate, which I surprisingly really enjoyed discovering and learning more about!
I really liked the difficulty Seokga had understanding that Hani was Hani, and Kisa is Kisa. The difficulties in all feelings and emotions regard this, from both sides, were described well and weren't going too fast to solve. Kisa is a very interesting character and I enjoyed her strength, her small character growth within herself and her feeling, it was done well.
It was also really nice to get to see Somi again, and meeting Hajun! It was a nice quatuor, a fun one, and the weird-ish state Hwanin was in was fun but luckily not a heavy focus on it.
I honestly really don't know if I'll ever read the book 3 if the author/publisher decide to go in with this book 2's ending. I feel satisfied with everything that happened, and how things ended here. The story is closed. I think my story with this series is as well - I'm a bit afraid to be disappointed with the need to extend a story into a trilogy when everything is perfect the way it is.
Just like with book 1 with Hani, I feel like the story could end here, with this book 2 ending - even if we get at the very end a potential plot for book 3 with "new adventures". This book is to me a good ending for Seokga, there is really no need to keep on going, with a need to learn how to stop.
I feel like this book has way lesser high risks than the first - there is indeed an investigation about a murder, but I feel like the little plot twists are just more funny and easier than anything that happened with Hani.
We mostly get heavier on the thread of fate, which I surprisingly really enjoyed discovering and learning more about!
I really liked the difficulty Seokga had understanding that Hani was Hani, and Kisa is Kisa. The difficulties in all feelings and emotions regard this, from both sides, were described well and weren't going too fast to solve. Kisa is a very interesting character and I enjoyed her strength, her small character growth within herself and her feeling, it was done well.
It was also really nice to get to see Somi again, and meeting Hajun! It was a nice quatuor, a fun one, and the weird-ish state Hwanin was in was fun but luckily not a heavy focus on it.
I honestly really don't know if I'll ever read the book 3 if the author/publisher decide to go in with this book 2's ending. I feel satisfied with everything that happened, and how things ended here. The story is closed. I think my story with this series is as well - I'm a bit afraid to be disappointed with the need to extend a story into a trilogy when everything is perfect the way it is.