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A review by maries_bookverse
The Red Palace by June Hur
4.0
4 stars ⭐️—I so wanted to love this book. But I didn’t.
The Red Palace had everything I love to read—historical fiction, the Joseon dynasty, a gripping mystery. Yet, somewhere between the pages, I realized: maybe I’ve outgrown young adult mysteries. Or was it just this one that didn’t meet my expectations?
The concept seemed like perfection. The execution? Unfortunately, too YA for my taste. The drama, the tone—it screamed teenage sleuth in a hanbok rather than the layered, subtle intrigue I craved.
Still, I’ll be kind: 4 stars. Because the bones of this story are everything I’d ever want. Just not, perhaps, for the me of now.
(But oh, how I wished it were.)
The Red Palace had everything I love to read—historical fiction, the Joseon dynasty, a gripping mystery. Yet, somewhere between the pages, I realized: maybe I’ve outgrown young adult mysteries. Or was it just this one that didn’t meet my expectations?
The concept seemed like perfection. The execution? Unfortunately, too YA for my taste. The drama, the tone—it screamed teenage sleuth in a hanbok rather than the layered, subtle intrigue I craved.
Still, I’ll be kind: 4 stars. Because the bones of this story are everything I’d ever want. Just not, perhaps, for the me of now.
(But oh, how I wished it were.)