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ricarda_reads 's review for:
The God and the Gwisin
by Sophie Kim
! Spoilers ahead for The God and the Gumiho. !
I was very pleasantly surprised by The God and the Gumiho when I read it last month, so I was thrilled to get an arc of book 2 and read it relatively quickly after book 1. I basically had no other choice after that mean of an ending. But The God and the Gwisin throws much of the first book's formula overboard and introduces a new (old) main character, new character dynamics, and a new setting. It's a bold move by the author, but don't worry, it works.
After the end of book 1, Kim Hani not only reincarnated into a completely new life as Yoo Kisa, but also already died again and is now a gwisin, a ghost, working in the underworld. In the meantime, the no-longer-fallen trickster god Seokga was looking everywhere for his soulmate but couldn't find her, even though they are connected through the Red Thread of Fate. After a 33-year search (I still don't understand how the first book took place in the 90s), his therapist sends him on a ship that's navigating the waters of the underworld – for a vacation. There he finally meets his soulmate, but it's not the Hani he's been looking for, but Kisa. The question if these two are the same person plays a big part in the book, and it made the relationship with Seokga very interesting. Kisa doesn't possess any memories of her previous lives and has a totally different personality. When alive, she worked as a doctor in magical medicine and led a very academic-focused life to get there. She's intelligent and approaches everything in an analytical way, but she's also a caring friend. I liked her a lot and she fit well into the little group that consisted of: a shaman (dead), a fox (dead), a K-pop idol (dead), a trickster god (immortal), a baby (immortal). They are a merry band of characters and often unserious – I cackled over their smut book club –, but the book also doesn't fail to handle heavier themes well when necessary. I would definitely put trigger warnings for suicide and death, so be aware. Seokga's character exploration was hard to read as well, because it unpacked his traumatic past with his father. His character got a lot of depth in this book, and other gods got a bigger role as well. I'm not well versed in Korean mythology, so reading about the gods, creatures and realms was super interesting, just like in book 1.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was the whole mystery / investigation part. The reveal was so painfully obvious to me, because But no character thought the same way. The investigating lacked too, especially after Seokga was an actual detective in book 1. But I think you won't mind too much if you're mostly in for the characters and the romance. Seokga and Kisa's relationship was very nice, and I especially like that their bond wasn't a secret but clear from their first meeting. I could have done without the whole hearing-each-other-thoughts-part, because I didn't really see a reason for that.
The story wrapped up nicely this time and provided way more closure than the mean ending of book 1. The very last chapter did make room for a sequel though, so maybe Sophie Kim plans to write some more in the future. I would literally read anything set in this world.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
I was very pleasantly surprised by The God and the Gumiho when I read it last month, so I was thrilled to get an arc of book 2 and read it relatively quickly after book 1. I basically had no other choice after that mean of an ending. But The God and the Gwisin throws much of the first book's formula overboard and introduces a new (old) main character, new character dynamics, and a new setting. It's a bold move by the author, but don't worry, it works.
After the end of book 1, Kim Hani not only reincarnated into a completely new life as Yoo Kisa, but also already died again and is now a gwisin, a ghost, working in the underworld. In the meantime, the no-longer-fallen trickster god Seokga was looking everywhere for his soulmate but couldn't find her, even though they are connected through the Red Thread of Fate. After a 33-year search (I still don't understand how the first book took place in the 90s), his therapist sends him on a ship that's navigating the waters of the underworld – for a vacation. There he finally meets his soulmate, but it's not the Hani he's been looking for, but Kisa. The question if these two are the same person plays a big part in the book, and it made the relationship with Seokga very interesting. Kisa doesn't possess any memories of her previous lives and has a totally different personality. When alive, she worked as a doctor in magical medicine and led a very academic-focused life to get there. She's intelligent and approaches everything in an analytical way, but she's also a caring friend. I liked her a lot and she fit well into the little group that consisted of: a shaman (dead), a fox (dead), a K-pop idol (dead), a trickster god (immortal), a baby (immortal). They are a merry band of characters and often unserious – I cackled over their smut book club –, but the book also doesn't fail to handle heavier themes well when necessary. I would definitely put trigger warnings for suicide and death, so be aware. Seokga's character exploration was hard to read as well, because it unpacked his traumatic past with his father. His character got a lot of depth in this book, and other gods got a bigger role as well. I'm not well versed in Korean mythology, so reading about the gods, creatures and realms was super interesting, just like in book 1.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was the whole mystery / investigation part. The reveal was so painfully obvious to me, because
Spoiler
there is literally no other reason for Dr. Jang being a character in this book but for being a villain. As soon as she joined Seokga on the cruise, I knew she's not to be trusted.The story wrapped up nicely this time and provided way more closure than the mean ending of book 1. The very last chapter did make room for a sequel though, so maybe Sophie Kim plans to write some more in the future. I would literally read anything set in this world.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.