Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Calling all K-drama fans! The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim is an amazing adult fantasy inspired by Korean mythology. The story revolves around Kim Hani, the former Scarlet Fox who killed hundreds of human souls. Nowadays, she works in a coffee shop and doesn’t plan on murdering anyone. When Seokga, a fallen god, enters the coffeeshop one day and Hani pours coffee on them, the pair don’t get off on the best foot. But when a demon threatens their world, they team up to track him down. But will they become more than just partners?
Here is a humorous excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Seokga’s point of view:
“Seokga the not-mortal rolls his eyes and exists the shop, doing his best to hide the slight limp with the support of his beloved cane. His limbs were once mangled and ruined by his fall from grace, and although he has since healed, his right leg has never quite recovered, throbbing, with a persistent, dull pain. He presses his mouth into a firm line to hide discomfort as he continues on his way.
The mortal realm of Iseung disgusts him, but there is one feature-and, mind you, one feature only-that he finds he does not loathe with the entire expanse of his bitter soul.
Coffee.”
Overall, The God and the Gumiho is an amazing adult fantasy that will appeal to fans of Spirited Award, Hotel Del Luna, Lore Olympus, and noir detective films. One highlight of this book is how the book combines the police procedural and mystery genres with the fantasy elements. It’s such a unique idea, and I definitely want to read more books like this. Another highlight of this book is the fantastic world-building with Korean mythology. I loved reading about the world of New Sinsi and the many fantastical aspects of this setting.
One final highlight is the explosive and emotional climax, which I sped through and could not put down. I actually felt myself tearing up, which is very difficult for a book to do. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that the flirting between the two main characters felt a bit YA-ish to me, and I wasn’t sure if the book was YA or adult fantasy while I was reading it. Finally, the mystery could have been better. I predicted multiple reveals before they happened. But If you’re intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you’re a fan of fantasy books in general, you won’t regret checking out this book when it comes out in June!
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