Alright, so let me first start off by saying:
This book was far from perfect
but it was still perfectly enjoyable.
Huge thanks to Bookish First and the publisher for providing me with an early copy for review. This book was highly anticipated by me and did not disappoint.
I found so much to love about this fun, exciting, unique tale of love, adventure and family. It kind of reminded me of a gender-swapped Korean Twilight in a way. Only switch out the vampires for gumihos and cut out a third of the melodrama. Not that this book didn't have it's fair share of melodrama - because trust me, it did - but if you're familiar with the K-drama format then you will fall right into it with no problems.
So this is an urban fantasy, something that I wasn't sure would benefit the story when I first tucked into the book. However, I really think that setting this tale in the modern day city of Seoul only helped to benefit the story. I felt really immersed in a different culture and place that I probably will never have the chance to visit in my own life, so I really enjoyed all of the little cultural nuances found in this world.
On to the characters. Jihoon is my bias rofl fite me. But no seriously, I fell in love with his character straight away. He's a fun guy, super funny, super cute, charming, charismatic and pretty much every girl's perfect 'boy next door' type. I felt he made a perfect choice for the love interest and I was more than happy to receive half of the book from his POV.
The main character Miyoung... eh... I mean, she was alright. Kind of generic though. She fell into that tough, stoic, beautiful but strong role that is oh so common these days. I would have liked to have seen her crack her tough shell a lot more during the story. If the main character would have had as much character as Jihoon there is a chance that this book would have been a 5/5 from me.
I also loved the best friends Somin and Changwan. Especially Somin. I want her to be my best friend but sadly I felt she was severely underutilized in this story. She could have been such a big part of the story because I felt she was such a strong character but she hardly made a dent in the tale. Changwan was cute af but also semi-pointless.
Nara, I hated her and didn't trust her from the get-go, even though I had no reason to. (but i was right bish i was right)
Yena, the mother, fite me if I'm wrong but even though the author kept trying to make her hate her... sorry pal I just couldn't do it. She's a mother. She has her reasons. Be nice to her. Goosh damn.
Alright, now I'mma talk about the pacing because apparently I have a lot of things to say today. I felt that it kicked off like DAMN GIRL BAM and kept up the fun and perfect pace for the entire first half of the story. Then things started to unravel and fall apart a bit. The pacing went a little boring and slow for a spell and then a smidgen of insta love and forced friendship occurred without the proper time and attention needed to get there and that left me sourly trudging along hope for things to pick back up again. Which they did, eventually. You definitely get to a satisfying conclusion...
until...
BAM! CLIFFHANGER!
Oh noes! but also
OH YES!
because that means we get a book 2.
So hoorah!
This book was far from perfect
but it was still perfectly enjoyable.
Huge thanks to Bookish First and the publisher for providing me with an early copy for review. This book was highly anticipated by me and did not disappoint.
I found so much to love about this fun, exciting, unique tale of love, adventure and family. It kind of reminded me of a gender-swapped Korean Twilight in a way. Only switch out the vampires for gumihos and cut out a third of the melodrama. Not that this book didn't have it's fair share of melodrama - because trust me, it did - but if you're familiar with the K-drama format then you will fall right into it with no problems.
So this is an urban fantasy, something that I wasn't sure would benefit the story when I first tucked into the book. However, I really think that setting this tale in the modern day city of Seoul only helped to benefit the story. I felt really immersed in a different culture and place that I probably will never have the chance to visit in my own life, so I really enjoyed all of the little cultural nuances found in this world.
On to the characters. Jihoon is my bias rofl fite me. But no seriously, I fell in love with his character straight away. He's a fun guy, super funny, super cute, charming, charismatic and pretty much every girl's perfect 'boy next door' type. I felt he made a perfect choice for the love interest and I was more than happy to receive half of the book from his POV.
The main character Miyoung... eh... I mean, she was alright. Kind of generic though. She fell into that tough, stoic, beautiful but strong role that is oh so common these days. I would have liked to have seen her crack her tough shell a lot more during the story. If the main character would have had as much character as Jihoon there is a chance that this book would have been a 5/5 from me.
I also loved the best friends Somin and Changwan. Especially Somin. I want her to be my best friend but sadly I felt she was severely underutilized in this story. She could have been such a big part of the story because I felt she was such a strong character but she hardly made a dent in the tale. Changwan was cute af but also semi-pointless.
Nara, I hated her and didn't trust her from the get-go, even though I had no reason to. (but i was right bish i was right)
Yena, the mother, fite me if I'm wrong but even though the author kept trying to make her hate her... sorry pal I just couldn't do it. She's a mother. She has her reasons. Be nice to her. Goosh damn.
Alright, now I'mma talk about the pacing because apparently I have a lot of things to say today. I felt that it kicked off like DAMN GIRL BAM and kept up the fun and perfect pace for the entire first half of the story. Then things started to unravel and fall apart a bit. The pacing went a little boring and slow for a spell and then a smidgen of insta love and forced friendship occurred without the proper time and attention needed to get there and that left me sourly trudging along hope for things to pick back up again. Which they did, eventually. You definitely get to a satisfying conclusion...
until...
BAM! CLIFFHANGER!
Oh noes! but also
OH YES!
because that means we get a book 2.
So hoorah!