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shaun_trinh's Reviews (124)
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
I ended up enjoying this a lot more then I thought I would. The korean mythology was great and I had fun looking up the lore behind the various mythology creatures in the story and I really liked that this story felt like it was written by someone who has actually lived and experienced Korea.
What I think really set this book a part for me is that both characters, Hani and Seokga, are written on the same playing field. They're both over a thousand years old and are powerful but not to an obscene degree. It's pretty refereshing to not read an unbalanced power dynamic. Seokga is in fact, on a higher level because he's an actual god, but it never feels that Hani is beneath him in spite of that.
What I also love, is that these two are actually kinda bad people. They are selfish, they're very open to killing, and they make choices that end up sometimes harming those around them. I especially appreciate that Hani is like this. The whole reason why she's being hunted is that she went on a mass murder spree in 1888 (also killing Jack the Ripper in the process - we have to stan) that had never been seen by a Gumiho before. To the point where Gumiho eating male souls and livers became a BANNED practice. I appreciate that they're both not morally just people and that reflects in their aggrivative and robust personalities. I also like these two practically hated each other for the first 200ish pages. It was funny and seeing the whole cat and mouse plot go down was nice. I also liked the how both of them viewed their nature. Hani constantly mentions that it's in her and Somi's (a young Gumiho) nature to kill and eat the liver and souls of men, and how it wasn't always a banned practice (because of Hani). Seokga also references his nature as the trickster god as a reason for his multitude of actions. And I like the fact that they're not totally foresaken by the plot for that, yes bad things had happened because they acted "within their nature", but it wasn't the story's message to say acting within ones nature is inherently wrong.
I will say though the pacing felt very flimsy and odd in the 2nd half. There were so many points where I was confused on what was happening because we'd have a very cozy scene during what should be a scene filled with intense agency and foreboding. People are getting murdered left and right in the city but lets relax and have a cute bed and coffee scene.
The villains were also, interesting I suppose. The Eoduksini was great when he didn't have physical form and was mroe of an unerving, onimous presence following Hani and Seokga. The twist with who he was actually did get me, but the dialouge on that man was very much cartoon villain and ruined the atmosphere he created. There's also the whole thing with Somi which felt very predictable. A great reflection onto Hani's careless actions, but a little to easily seen.
An unexpectedly great read.
What I think really set this book a part for me is that both characters, Hani and Seokga, are written on the same playing field. They're both over a thousand years old and are powerful but not to an obscene degree. It's pretty refereshing to not read an unbalanced power dynamic. Seokga is in fact, on a higher level because he's an actual god, but it never feels that Hani is beneath him in spite of that.
What I also love, is that these two are actually kinda bad people. They are selfish, they're very open to killing, and they make choices that end up sometimes harming those around them. I especially appreciate that Hani is like this. The whole reason why she's being hunted is that she went on a mass murder spree in 1888 (also killing Jack the Ripper in the process - we have to stan) that had never been seen by a Gumiho before. To the point where Gumiho eating male souls and livers became a BANNED practice. I appreciate that they're both not morally just people and that reflects in their aggrivative and robust personalities. I also like these two practically hated each other for the first 200ish pages. It was funny and seeing the whole cat and mouse plot go down was nice. I also liked the how both of them viewed their nature. Hani constantly mentions that it's in her and Somi's (a young Gumiho) nature to kill and eat the liver and souls of men, and how it wasn't always a banned practice (because of Hani). Seokga also references his nature as the trickster god as a reason for his multitude of actions. And I like the fact that they're not totally foresaken by the plot for that, yes bad things had happened because they acted "within their nature", but it wasn't the story's message to say acting within ones nature is inherently wrong.
I will say though the pacing felt very flimsy and odd in the 2nd half. There were so many points where I was confused on what was happening because we'd have a very cozy scene during what should be a scene filled with intense agency and foreboding. People are getting murdered left and right in the city but lets relax and have a cute bed and coffee scene.
The villains were also, interesting I suppose. The Eoduksini was great when he didn't have physical form and was mroe of an unerving, onimous presence following Hani and Seokga. The twist with who he was actually did get me, but the dialouge on that man was very much cartoon villain and ruined the atmosphere he created. There's also the whole thing with Somi which felt very predictable. A great reflection onto Hani's careless actions, but a little to easily seen.
An unexpectedly great read.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
ALRIGHT this was a super cozy read. Not cozy in the sense of being very warm (they were freezing most of the time), but it was just a very comfortable and easy going read. It was written from the perspective of Emily's journal that she kept as she researched which was fun and it even showed us Windell's perspective as well when he took it.
This book is filled to the brim with stories, folktales, and legends of the fae that Emily had spent her life researching as the way that she and the story progressed which was great. It really did feel like the fae were these otherworldly beings that you know are there, but are also just out of reach even as they are right next to you. They are viscious, whimsical, and feel omnipotent. This felt like a research study and an exploration in all the best ways. You felt like this was making a real eneclopaedia for faeries
Emily is like Dr Brennan from Bones (iykyk) but to a less radical degree and I think that works really great here. She lives for understanding the fae and has difficulty connecting in meaningful ways to most other people, but even as she does grow to like the towns people more, that core piece of her that prioritizes her intellectual thirst is always there which makes her a lot more interesting. Seeing her come into a different balance of her curiosity and new fondness of people that still gives salience to the biggest part of herself. Most stories would make it a theme of prioritizing the real life connections you have over all else, but here while it does push Emily to do so, it doesn't in a way that alters who she is on the inside as if her ambition is a total fault.
I also loved how her and Wendell's relationship played out. I was afraid the story was going to be a whole thing about Emily not being able to get anything done while her rivals beats her out on every beat, but it wasn't like that at all. While Wendell excelled in the most social aspects of their research, he also had structural faults that Emily excelled at, and instead of them working against each other as I initially thought, it very quickly turned into them working together. Unlike my my initial understanding it wasn't an enemies-rivals situation but friend-rivals which I found surprisingly endearing. They're the embodiment of an introverte with their extroverted friend always a step too close and a tad too affectionate, but that affection is appreciated and accepted nonetheless, even if that introvert would never want to admit it.
Despite romance being a core aspect of this book, it really is an undercurrent. You get tips and hints of it every now and then of what could be, but the story really builds them up as being two pieces of a puzzel that unexpectedly fit together.
The last thing I will say is that the author makes something that would normally be a giant reveal in the third act of another book, into something that's already suspected by the main character which is the progressively revealed which I thought was cool. It's a "twist" that I didn't expect and I appreciated how it was progressively laid out in the first third of the book and when it was revealed in it's entirety, it was still made into a shock despite us and the main character suspecting part of it.
Pleasently surprised. I enjoyed this a lot more then I thought I would .
This book is filled to the brim with stories, folktales, and legends of the fae that Emily had spent her life researching as the way that she and the story progressed which was great. It really did feel like the fae were these otherworldly beings that you know are there, but are also just out of reach even as they are right next to you. They are viscious, whimsical, and feel omnipotent. This felt like a research study and an exploration in all the best ways. You felt like this was making a real eneclopaedia for faeries
Emily is like Dr Brennan from Bones (iykyk) but to a less radical degree and I think that works really great here. She lives for understanding the fae and has difficulty connecting in meaningful ways to most other people, but even as she does grow to like the towns people more, that core piece of her that prioritizes her intellectual thirst is always there which makes her a lot more interesting. Seeing her come into a different balance of her curiosity and new fondness of people that still gives salience to the biggest part of herself. Most stories would make it a theme of prioritizing the real life connections you have over all else, but here while it does push Emily to do so, it doesn't in a way that alters who she is on the inside as if her ambition is a total fault.
I also loved how her and Wendell's relationship played out. I was afraid the story was going to be a whole thing about Emily not being able to get anything done while her rivals beats her out on every beat, but it wasn't like that at all. While Wendell excelled in the most social aspects of their research, he also had structural faults that Emily excelled at, and instead of them working against each other as I initially thought, it very quickly turned into them working together. Unlike my my initial understanding it wasn't an enemies-rivals situation but friend-rivals which I found surprisingly endearing. They're the embodiment of an introverte with their extroverted friend always a step too close and a tad too affectionate, but that affection is appreciated and accepted nonetheless, even if that introvert would never want to admit it.
Despite romance being a core aspect of this book, it really is an undercurrent. You get tips and hints of it every now and then of what could be, but the story really builds them up as being two pieces of a puzzel that unexpectedly fit together.
The last thing I will say is that the author makes something that would normally be a giant reveal in the third act of another book, into something that's already suspected by the main character which is the progressively revealed which I thought was cool. It's a "twist" that I didn't expect and I appreciated how it was progressively laid out in the first third of the book and when it was revealed in it's entirety, it was still made into a shock despite us and the main character suspecting part of it.
Pleasently surprised. I enjoyed this a lot more then I thought I would .
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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
OKAYYYYY OKAY OKAY OKAY I was already liking the story but the TWIST now that did get me. I was a little suspicious but I didn't expect it to be THAT.
Great great great. Great characters, cat-and-mouse chase, stakes, motivations. Great EVERYTHING
I didn't expect Rune to do what she did at the end, I thought she'd go off on her own tbh after everything she knows about you-know-who. But a girl is traumatized so i'll look past it.
Great great great. Great characters, cat-and-mouse chase, stakes, motivations. Great EVERYTHING
I didn't expect Rune to do what she did at the end, I thought she'd go off on her own tbh after everything she knows about you-know-who. But a girl is traumatized so i'll look past it.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
Somewhere between a 3.5/5 and 4/5 star read.
I thought this was gonna be a little more of a plot driven book and not character driven, but I'm not complaining! Let me tell you the 3 main characters and their POV's are messyyyyyy. I've never read a book that ends with a polyamorous couple and now I know that it's an experience worth while. Plus all the supernatural, psychic, devil yadayda they had going on. 3 main characters: David, Rhys, and Moira
David and Rhys used to date but had a big falling out
Rhys is now married to Moira
But now all 3 of them are in this polyamorous throuple by the end of the book and I find that so incredibly entertaining. Bonus that no one was ever actually against polyamory and was more so if it would work out specifically with these 3 people.
Fun, fresh, nice read. Loses me a little when it does focus on the plot if I'm being honest though, especially with the climax against the devil or whatever evil spirit they were dealing with.
I thought this was gonna be a little more of a plot driven book and not character driven, but I'm not complaining! Let me tell you the 3 main characters and their POV's are messyyyyyy. I've never read a book that ends with a polyamorous couple and now I know that it's an experience worth while. Plus all the supernatural, psychic, devil yadayda they had going on. 3 main characters: David, Rhys, and Moira
David and Rhys used to date but had a big falling out
Rhys is now married to Moira
But now all 3 of them are in this polyamorous throuple by the end of the book and I find that so incredibly entertaining. Bonus that no one was ever actually against polyamory and was more so if it would work out specifically with these 3 people.
Fun, fresh, nice read. Loses me a little when it does focus on the plot if I'm being honest though, especially with the climax against the devil or whatever evil spirit they were dealing with.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Yes
Surprisingly heart warming, coming-back-home, small town story. Big Mariana Zapata fan, most of her female main characters are nearly identical (if its not broke don't fix it I guess), but this was one probably the best written out and endearing.
However comma, I am still of the belief that there is no need for her books to be as long as they are. Nearly 550 pages???? This book was cute but could've been even cuter if it was like 100 less. While I think this about all of her books, it ultimatley doesn't bther me that much by the end most of the time, but with this book I really did have to stop and think about how I wish this book had ended sooner.
Also the 3rd act conflict was BULLLLLLLL It was RIDICULOUS. I don't know who they were getting so mad at and giving the cold shoulder but surely it wasn't going to be the leading lady because who's private business were they getting upset over???? Surprised and shocked, sure, but they needed to reel it in.
Still great though! Very sweet, slow burn, self-love, familial story!
However comma, I am still of the belief that there is no need for her books to be as long as they are. Nearly 550 pages???? This book was cute but could've been even cuter if it was like 100 less. While I think this about all of her books, it ultimatley doesn't bther me that much by the end most of the time, but with this book I really did have to stop and think about how I wish this book had ended sooner.
Also the 3rd act conflict was BULLLLLLLL It was RIDICULOUS. I don't know who they were getting so mad at and giving the cold shoulder but surely it wasn't going to be the leading lady because who's private business were they getting upset over???? Surprised and shocked, sure, but they needed to reel it in.
Still great though! Very sweet, slow burn, self-love, familial story!
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
Yes
Surprisingly very interesting - accidentally transported to another world with the "main character" and continues work as an accountant. The fantasy system/elements are cool but aren't too conveluted and are similar just enough to not require much thought. Everything is subtle but also not subtle at all especially between characters which is pretty funny.
This story is by far from being the biggest offender as it kept it very PG, but it continues a trend of otherwise chill or wholesome BL's having jump scare sex scenes that I accidentally read in public cafe's.
This story is by far from being the biggest offender as it kept it very PG, but it continues a trend of otherwise chill or wholesome BL's having jump scare sex scenes that I accidentally read in public cafe's.