crothe77 's review for:

King Foretold by Jayci Lee
adventurous emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
 
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

King Foretold by Jayci Lee is a mixed first and third person multi-POV romantic fantasy continuation of Nine Tailed. Sunny has accepted her love for Ethan, but she hasn't accepted that she is destined to kill him. As she stays in the supernatural realm, she learns more about herself and the destiny before her and the part Ethan will play.

There is a brewing attraction between Sunny and Jihun, especially on Jihun’s side, but Sunny tries to let him know that nothing is going to happen. I appreciated this because just because we fall in love with someone, it doesn't mean that we stop being attracted to other people. Sometimes somebody comes along that could have turned our heads if we didn't have a partner already and that's just part of attraction. It doesn't mean we have to act on it or be ashamed of it. 

Sunny and Ethan's relationship develops more on the physical side before the emotional one in this book as Sunny continues to push Ethan away and is convinced their love is doomed from the start. This leads to a lot of pining on Sunny’s end and Ethan being willing to take whatever Sunny will give him in the spicier moments. It's very focused on Sunny's feelings for the most part, but we do see some of how this is impacting Ethan because he is so very much in love with her.

A major aspect is folklore and various aspects of Korean mythology. I don't have more than very basic knowledge of concepts shared across East Asia and across a variety of cultures so I cannot comment on how accurate the folklore is to the original tales vs as a new interpretation. The Golden Axe and the Silver Axe, the celestial maiden who had her dress stolen, various figures such as Gumiho and mermaids all play a part. Between several chapters are brief interludes telling the myths of the world and the reader needs to draw their own conclusions as to whether or not they actually happened or are just a tall tale that humans twisted over time.

I would recommend this to readers of romantic fantasy who like a strong folklore element and fans of books involving celestial maidens and nine-tailed foxes