This was such a charming read on a modern take of the Korean mythology on gumihos (nine tailed fox). I loved the characters and the plot.
My favorite aspect would definitely be the characters specifically the romance and friendship between Miyoung and Jihoon. Their budding friendship in the beginning was everything. I loved how Miyoung, at first glance, is kind of cold and standoffish due to her upbringing and her mother’s need to protect (and control) her but because of Jihoon’s enthusiastic and charming nature, he was able to break that hard outer shell and see the real Miyoung. Jihoon was honestly the softest character I have ever encountered and I loved his love and relationship with his grandmother as well. It was just so darn cute.
I also loved the underlying message about sexism that was mentioned in this book. It wasn’t what I had expected but I really enjoyed it especially in the histories and legends of the gumihos were they were seen as evil women who devoured human livers to survive.
One thing that I found so unique about this book was that it read exactly like a Kdrama. I was able to pretty much picture everything happen as if I was watching a Kdrama unfold. That doesn’t really happen to me while reading but in this book that was exactly what happened. I know that the author used a lot of Kdrama for inspiration but the fact that the book read exactly like one was surprising. And I loved the usage of all those famous Kdrama tropes (i.e. saving the girl from being run over, the misunderstandings from hilarious miscommunications, etc.).
But the one thing that I was slightly put off was the fact that this book had very distinct parallels to this Kdrama called My Girlfriend is a Gumiho that came out almost 10 years ago. There were a lot of similarities between the two and I couldn’t help but compare them while reading. I was even picturing the actor, Lee Seunggi, and the actress, Shin Minah, during the book as Jihoon and Miyoung, respectively, because it was that similar. There were even similar characters of Somin and Junu in the show.
That being said though, I do think that ultimately this book still has some very distinct elements such as Miyoung’s relationship with her mother, Yena, and the excerpts of the histories and legends of gumihos that were found throughout the book. And most importantly, Miyoung’s own deep desire to resist the temptation of feeding even at the stake of her own immortality.
Overall, I really liked this book and I’m excited to find out what will happen next because the ending especially that last page or so was a huge cliffhanger. There is also this ship that I am hoping will sail because those two characters being together would be amazing and hilarious.
My favorite aspect would definitely be the characters specifically the romance and friendship between Miyoung and Jihoon. Their budding friendship in the beginning was everything. I loved how Miyoung, at first glance, is kind of cold and standoffish due to her upbringing and her mother’s need to protect (and control) her but because of Jihoon’s enthusiastic and charming nature, he was able to break that hard outer shell and see the real Miyoung. Jihoon was honestly the softest character I have ever encountered and I loved his love and relationship with his grandmother as well. It was just so darn cute.
I also loved the underlying message about sexism that was mentioned in this book. It wasn’t what I had expected but I really enjoyed it especially in the histories and legends of the gumihos were they were seen as evil women who devoured human livers to survive.
One thing that I found so unique about this book was that it read exactly like a Kdrama. I was able to pretty much picture everything happen as if I was watching a Kdrama unfold. That doesn’t really happen to me while reading but in this book that was exactly what happened. I know that the author used a lot of Kdrama for inspiration but the fact that the book read exactly like one was surprising. And I loved the usage of all those famous Kdrama tropes (i.e. saving the girl from being run over, the misunderstandings from hilarious miscommunications, etc.).
But the one thing that I was slightly put off was the fact that this book had very distinct parallels to this Kdrama called My Girlfriend is a Gumiho that came out almost 10 years ago. There were a lot of similarities between the two and I couldn’t help but compare them while reading. I was even picturing the actor, Lee Seunggi, and the actress, Shin Minah, during the book as Jihoon and Miyoung, respectively, because it was that similar. There were even similar characters of Somin and Junu in the show.
That being said though, I do think that ultimately this book still has some very distinct elements such as Miyoung’s relationship with her mother, Yena, and the excerpts of the histories and legends of gumihos that were found throughout the book. And most importantly, Miyoung’s own deep desire to resist the temptation of feeding even at the stake of her own immortality.
Overall, I really liked this book and I’m excited to find out what will happen next because the ending especially that last page or so was a huge cliffhanger. There is also this ship that I am hoping will sail because those two characters being together would be amazing and hilarious.