I'm not sure why I give in to the hype surrounding certain books. It makes these reviews so much harder. Although it didn't live up to the hype, it had its positives and so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
I am going to start off the talk about the plot by saying that it is very unique. I have not ran across another book that talks about the mythology around a gumiho. It was very interesting and I loved the added details at the beginning of each chapter that usually tied into the plot quite nicely. There were also a few plot twists but only a couple were actually surprising. I wouldn't say there was ever any slow points but the brewing relationship was one thing about the plot I just didn't like. It felt a bit rushed even though they started as friends first and there wasn't any surprise to it.
As for the characters, Miyoung and Jihoon were just average characters minus the one being a gumiho. She was beautiful, special, and full of self-sacrifice. All of those things I have read about before and so it didn't make her standout. Some characters wanted to believe she was bad/evil because of what she was but I never thought that about her. Her actions seemed to be justified. Jihoon seemed to be infatuated with her from the beginning. He stood up to everyone to protect Miyoung and never cared about the consequences. He was okay but not a character that I will remember.
The one character that I did like was Junu. They were funny and would be described as morally grey. They switched sides a lot and so that kept everything quite interesting.
The parental relationships in this book are quite complicated when it comes to Miyoung and her mother as well as Jihoon and his. One can be overbearing and the other is never in the picture. There was a lot of conflict but a lot of it was resolved by the end which I enjoyed, especially for Jihoon.
The ending wasn't what I was expecting and it did leave on a cliffhanger. Obviously there will be a second book. I will most likely pick it up just because of the plot even though the characters were alright. Only time will tell!
Overall, it was an okay read and although the characters lacked it had its redeeming qualities in the unique plot. I know others have enjoyed this book so definitely check it out if you are interested!
I am going to start off the talk about the plot by saying that it is very unique. I have not ran across another book that talks about the mythology around a gumiho. It was very interesting and I loved the added details at the beginning of each chapter that usually tied into the plot quite nicely. There were also a few plot twists but only a couple were actually surprising. I wouldn't say there was ever any slow points but the brewing relationship was one thing about the plot I just didn't like. It felt a bit rushed even though they started as friends first and there wasn't any surprise to it.
As for the characters, Miyoung and Jihoon were just average characters minus the one being a gumiho. She was beautiful, special, and full of self-sacrifice. All of those things I have read about before and so it didn't make her standout. Some characters wanted to believe she was bad/evil because of what she was but I never thought that about her. Her actions seemed to be justified. Jihoon seemed to be infatuated with her from the beginning. He stood up to everyone to protect Miyoung and never cared about the consequences. He was okay but not a character that I will remember.
The one character that I did like was Junu. They were funny and would be described as morally grey. They switched sides a lot and so that kept everything quite interesting.
The parental relationships in this book are quite complicated when it comes to Miyoung and her mother as well as Jihoon and his. One can be overbearing and the other is never in the picture. There was a lot of conflict but a lot of it was resolved by the end which I enjoyed, especially for Jihoon.
The ending wasn't what I was expecting and it did leave on a cliffhanger. Obviously there will be a second book. I will most likely pick it up just because of the plot even though the characters were alright. Only time will tell!
Overall, it was an okay read and although the characters lacked it had its redeeming qualities in the unique plot. I know others have enjoyed this book so definitely check it out if you are interested!