Kat Cho

While I did only give this 3 stars, I mostly enjoyed reading it and it was far from bad. Just a little disappointing.

What I liked

I really loved the characters. Jihoon and his friends were hilarious and felt like they were right out of a k-drama. I loved their dynamics and really wished we got to see the three of them interact more. Miyoung was really cool too. I loved how she hated when boys stood up for her and she had pretty strong morals for someone who is only half human. She tries so hard to be good even though she's forced to kill once a month. I also really love Jihoon's grandmother and the older lady that lived close to them. They were both so entertaining and I badly wished we could have more of them.

I love that the book took place in Seoul but I found myself forgetting that's where it took place. Nothing was really standing out to me that it was set in Korea and I wished the author had pushed it a little more.

What I didn't like

In the beginning of the book the author threw in a lot of Korean words and it felt forced and unnecessary. Maybe because I do know a little Korean and found it weird that the two were mixing like that? Either way I found it really awkward and I didn't like it. BUT moving forward in the book the author did it less. Just for titles of people which made a lot more sense. Also quick sidenote: for some reason it really bothered me that they kept spelling Miyoung with and without a hyphen? Is that on purpose or just bad editing? It didn't take away from reading the story but it kept bothering me.

The first half was easily a lot better than the last. Kat did so good building up the world and throwing in the folklore but then as we progressed it started falling flat. The plot got too messy and I don't think the story was very well thought out at that point. The stuff with Miyoung's dad and those shamans was weird and felt like it didn't fit since she hardly mentioned her dad until the end. Plus the shamans just disappeared without doing anything. I expect they'll return in later books but it was strange that they just vanished. The climax near the end felt rushed like it was just thrown together last minute and wasn't very satisfying to me.

While I do love some good romance, I don't think this book needed it. It was doing SO well when Miyoung was learning about having friends and I wished the author would have stuck with that. Or at least waited for the next book to play on the romance side a bit. It felt like their friendship was only beginning when the author pushed the romance on them.

I tried SO hard to love this book and I just feel disappointed now that I'm done. It was everything I love (Korea, mythology) and I was so hyped to read it. I do think I'll give the next book a try but I'll keep my expectations much lower this time.… (more)

2.5 ⭐️ First few chapters seemed ripe with promise, world building and excitement. The rest of the book sadly became super trope-y; immense amounts of miscommunication, weird found family, insta-love.

Internal dialogue can be a books downfall when the MC has the same back and forth argument with themselves. I found this book bloated with angst of the worst kind. I would have loved more growth with Miyoung with both her external and internal dialogue and relationships. She was the character I was most excited to follow along with in this story but surprisingly I fell in love with Jihoon, the MMC.

I rarely do this as I tend to identify with a FMC more often and their journeys but he was so endearing without being overly sappy. Loyal and damaged. Flawed with immense and normal amounts of growth. He definitely had a case of insta love which turned me off but the story flips and I’m back to loving his sweet little face all over again.

The characters feel “young” for their 18 years in this YA. While I enjoy YA fantasy quite a bit , this would be better geared to very early adolescents. The premise isn’t that bad and the ideas are fresh ( it’s severely flawed in pace and focus unfortunately). The repetition of the definitions of Korean terms was annoying but if you’re a younger reader this might be great. Maybe I’m used to current YA edging on NA but this is a solid YA that my 30 something self could live without.

Skipping the next book in the series, unsure if I’ll read more by this author sadly.… (more)