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A review by abookandchai
The Red Palace by June Hur 허주은
5.0
check out the full review along with an aesthetic on my blog!
"Everyone is listening in the palace. Everyone is spying for someone.”
This is my first time reading a June Hur book and while I’m kicking myself for not picking up her works from earlier, I’m so so glad I loved The Red Palace. Like come on, this book pushed me out of my reading slump and made me a June Hur fan, I can now proceed to read her other two Korean historical mysteries!!
The Red Palace follows Baek-hyeon, a palace nurse whose mentor is wrongly accused of a massacre and to clear her name she teams up with the police inspector Seo Eojin. Together they work to get to the root of it all and discover dark secrets, even when the evidence points to the Crown Prince himself. I was really excited for this ever since it was announced, and when the cover dropped I knew I had to read it. And well, you can see what my I liked so much about it below!
page turning mystery
Usually, mysteries are a hit or miss for me. I would need shocking reveals, relevant themes or simply a good mysterious atmosphere for me to end up loving it. There’s something about Hur’s writing that kept me turning pages, as Hyeon and Eojin start to investigate, and I was transported to that time in Joseon, figuring out the murderer, sneaking into places or travelling through fields and the palace. Its simple enough to draw you into Hyeon’s POV and then keeps you invested in the action, the depth of the historical mystery as well as the cruel reveals. I might have had my suspicions of the real murderer but the satisfaction of seeing it play out through Hur’s writing as well as the bittersweet epilogue that concludes Hyeon’s character arc seals the deal.
all the historical kdrama feels
As someone who has loved the historical kdramas such as Mr. Sunshine, My Country: The New Age, Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung and Kingdom, reading The Red Palace was almost like seeing a kdrama come to life. The politics, the setting (1758 Joseon Korea!!), the cultural descriptions and the character motivations, they’re brought to life SO well I couldn’t help but be hooked. Even the prevalence of class system in those times, the glaring mistreatment of the lower born by the higher class, is efficiently incorporated.
I really loved reading about the inspiration behind this book —which is Crown Prince Sado and his tragic downward spiral and death. I found myself down the rabbit hole of reading articles about him and I could see how Hur stayed true to the known facts—an abusive father, psychological stress and the violent behaviour. His story isn’t the main focus here because as Hur specifies in her newsletter as well as the Author’s Note that she doesn’t plan to suggest people with mental health issues as dangerous but I think she portrayed the instances of his life authentically, forming the perfect backdrop to the story. Its as if we’re seeing him through a lens that’s close enough to show us his dire circumstances but far enough to not know the complications, which is through Hyeon’s character.
compelling main characters
Nurse Hyeon, the main character, is a determined and brilliant character. I loved her relentless pursuit of and her skill in the profession, despite being faced with the hardships of being from a lower class in a patriarchal society. I could very much relate to her desperate attempts of pleasing her father and being good enough for her family. But at the same time she was attached to her sense of justice and love for her mentor and mother figure. And so she hunts for the truth, despite being reminded of the risks and unfairness of the justice system. Its incredible how her character is developed in such less pages. I also really loved the complex relations she has with her parents, and the easy friendship with her fellow nurse Jieun.
And then of course, there’s my sunshine (with a sad past), flustered boy Seo Eojin, also striving for justice. I just really love how he doesn’t overshadow Hyeon but steps up as an equally intellectual partner. He’s a comforting character to be honest.
royal inspector x palace nurse pairing
Though the romance is very subtle, almost a back burner, their dynamic was highlighted so well. Their teamwork is excellent—both have guts and brains, Eojin being from a higher class and Hyeon being the eyes and ears of the palace, their slow descent from strangers solving a crime to becoming genuine partners—you can tell I love them both dearly. It didn’t take away the attention from the main mystery at all but served as a perfect subplot to further the story and the stakes.
Did I mention a slow burn romance?? Oh boy their ship was so gentle and slowly but sweetly developed over the course of them pursuing answers. I’m a total sucker for the lovers from different classes trope and the trope where the characters only team up for personal benefits but grow to enjoy each other’s company. Hur employed some great tropes to build the relationship between these two!!
The Red Palace also deals with grief and loss and how people react to it. There are multiple instances where characters have lost something or someone important to them and their reactions are brought forward validly—be it as vengeance, as fuel to not lose anything else further or simply grieving. Its a really great plot point, as it brings out the traits in Hyeon as well as our culprit.
So, in case if it wasn’t already clear, you all have to be excited for and love The Red Palace when it releases in 2(!!) months. Fans of historicals, murder mysteries with a dash of romance, palace intrigue will definitely enjoy this engagingly written standalone. I’m so eager to reread this one day and experience Hyeon and Eojin’s story again.
thank you to the author and the publisher for the arc!
"Everyone is listening in the palace. Everyone is spying for someone.”
This is my first time reading a June Hur book and while I’m kicking myself for not picking up her works from earlier, I’m so so glad I loved The Red Palace. Like come on, this book pushed me out of my reading slump and made me a June Hur fan, I can now proceed to read her other two Korean historical mysteries!!
The Red Palace follows Baek-hyeon, a palace nurse whose mentor is wrongly accused of a massacre and to clear her name she teams up with the police inspector Seo Eojin. Together they work to get to the root of it all and discover dark secrets, even when the evidence points to the Crown Prince himself. I was really excited for this ever since it was announced, and when the cover dropped I knew I had to read it. And well, you can see what my I liked so much about it below!
page turning mystery
Usually, mysteries are a hit or miss for me. I would need shocking reveals, relevant themes or simply a good mysterious atmosphere for me to end up loving it. There’s something about Hur’s writing that kept me turning pages, as Hyeon and Eojin start to investigate, and I was transported to that time in Joseon, figuring out the murderer, sneaking into places or travelling through fields and the palace. Its simple enough to draw you into Hyeon’s POV and then keeps you invested in the action, the depth of the historical mystery as well as the cruel reveals. I might have had my suspicions of the real murderer but the satisfaction of seeing it play out through Hur’s writing as well as the bittersweet epilogue that concludes Hyeon’s character arc seals the deal.
all the historical kdrama feels
As someone who has loved the historical kdramas such as Mr. Sunshine, My Country: The New Age, Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung and Kingdom, reading The Red Palace was almost like seeing a kdrama come to life. The politics, the setting (1758 Joseon Korea!!), the cultural descriptions and the character motivations, they’re brought to life SO well I couldn’t help but be hooked. Even the prevalence of class system in those times, the glaring mistreatment of the lower born by the higher class, is efficiently incorporated.
I really loved reading about the inspiration behind this book —which is Crown Prince Sado and his tragic downward spiral and death. I found myself down the rabbit hole of reading articles about him and I could see how Hur stayed true to the known facts—an abusive father, psychological stress and the violent behaviour. His story isn’t the main focus here because as Hur specifies in her newsletter as well as the Author’s Note that she doesn’t plan to suggest people with mental health issues as dangerous but I think she portrayed the instances of his life authentically, forming the perfect backdrop to the story. Its as if we’re seeing him through a lens that’s close enough to show us his dire circumstances but far enough to not know the complications, which is through Hyeon’s character.
compelling main characters
Nurse Hyeon, the main character, is a determined and brilliant character. I loved her relentless pursuit of and her skill in the profession, despite being faced with the hardships of being from a lower class in a patriarchal society. I could very much relate to her desperate attempts of pleasing her father and being good enough for her family. But at the same time she was attached to her sense of justice and love for her mentor and mother figure. And so she hunts for the truth, despite being reminded of the risks and unfairness of the justice system. Its incredible how her character is developed in such less pages. I also really loved the complex relations she has with her parents, and the easy friendship with her fellow nurse Jieun.
And then of course, there’s my sunshine (with a sad past), flustered boy Seo Eojin, also striving for justice. I just really love how he doesn’t overshadow Hyeon but steps up as an equally intellectual partner. He’s a comforting character to be honest.
royal inspector x palace nurse pairing
Though the romance is very subtle, almost a back burner, their dynamic was highlighted so well. Their teamwork is excellent—both have guts and brains, Eojin being from a higher class and Hyeon being the eyes and ears of the palace, their slow descent from strangers solving a crime to becoming genuine partners—you can tell I love them both dearly. It didn’t take away the attention from the main mystery at all but served as a perfect subplot to further the story and the stakes.
Did I mention a slow burn romance?? Oh boy their ship was so gentle and slowly but sweetly developed over the course of them pursuing answers. I’m a total sucker for the lovers from different classes trope and the trope where the characters only team up for personal benefits but grow to enjoy each other’s company. Hur employed some great tropes to build the relationship between these two!!
The Red Palace also deals with grief and loss and how people react to it. There are multiple instances where characters have lost something or someone important to them and their reactions are brought forward validly—be it as vengeance, as fuel to not lose anything else further or simply grieving. Its a really great plot point, as it brings out the traits in Hyeon as well as our culprit.
So, in case if it wasn’t already clear, you all have to be excited for and love The Red Palace when it releases in 2(!!) months. Fans of historicals, murder mysteries with a dash of romance, palace intrigue will definitely enjoy this engagingly written standalone. I’m so eager to reread this one day and experience Hyeon and Eojin’s story again.
thank you to the author and the publisher for the arc!