Reviews – What Vicky Read

Books, mystery, Reviews

Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

July 26, 2019August 8, 2019by whatvickyreadLeave a Comment

Title: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Author: Holly Jackson

Pages: 432

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Published: 2019

Source: ARC from YALC 2018 (Also bought)

Rating: ★★★★★

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

I heard about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder just before YALC last year and heard that there would be early copies available. As the genre of this book is YA mystery, I knew that I had to get my hands on it and I was one of the lucky lot that did. It took me three days of chasing Holly down to get this but it was absolutely worth it. As it wasn’t out until May this year, I decided to not pick it up until closer to the time of its release. I know, I know, I had a copy so early that I had the opportunity to read it before everybody else but I just wanted to read it closer to its release date.

I read this book a few months back now over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend actually, which was in April. It’s taken me a little while getting to review it but that absolutely isn’t a reflection of how much I enjoyed this book. In fact, I read this book in 5-6 hours and that should give you more of an idea of how much I enjoyed this book. It is definitely a 5-star read but if I could, I would give it more.

Thoughts

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pippa as she does her final year project on the murder of And Bell, a girl from the same small town as Pippa, Little Kilton. Pippa believes that Sal has been wrongly accused of her murder and starts her own investigation into the case where she ends up discovering some dark truths.

As this book hadn’t yet been released, there wasn’t a lot of hype surrounding it and so that meant I went into it without the opinions of others which I quite liked. It meant that I could go into this book with little to no expectations and see how much I really liked it. As I mentioned earlier, I read this book in 5-6 hours and pretty much in one sitting. That is how much I enjoyed it. There was so much suspense and I just really wanted to keep reading to find out more. It was an exciting and thrilling read that I throughly enjoyed.

The writing is mostly told from Pippa’s perspective, but there is the inclusion of forms like Pippa’s final year project form and other things like that which help to break the book up but also help to tell the story a little bit more as you are given factual information. I quite liked Holly’s style of writing and found that in this book, it was quite fast paced and consistent all the way through, both having helped me to read this book so quickly.

In this book, we follow our main character Pippa who ends up focusing the majority of her time on this project, with the help of Sal Singh’s younger brother, who is desperate for answers. I quite enjoyed Pippa’s character. She’s a straight A-student with a few friends and a good family around her. She is an easily likeable character and very good at investigating into things further, being able to see things that others may not. She’s also a compassionate character but can get frustrated at times when trying to get answers in uncomfortable situations. Pippa does get a bit consumed with the project as the book goes on, but I think that the reader also becomes that way inclined as, like Pippa, you want answers. I quite liked Pippa’s family who were quite supportive of her.

I also quite liked Ravi, Sal Singh’s younger brother. Pippa has a lot of dealings with him throughout this story as he looks for answers about his brother and you can really sympathise with him and his family in this book, as they feel shut out from the Little Kilton community after their son and brother has been accused of murder.

This book was just so full of suspense and it’s just so, so good. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is such a great addition to the ever growing YA Mystery genre, a genre that I have been loving over the last year and have been eager to find more books that come under it. This is also a UKYA book which is great as I definitely want to make an effort to read more books by UKYA authors.

Final Thoughts

I would absolutely recommend picking up A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. It’s full of twists and turns and I read it so quickly. It really does capture you from the first page and it doesn’t let go of you until its ended. We definitely need an expansion of the YA mystery genre and this is such a great addition to it which I really do wish more people would pick up. It is such a thrilling read and a solid debut. I am most definitely looking forward to seeing more of Holly’s writing in the future.

Blog Tour, Books, Features, Reviews, Sci-fi

Review: The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

July 22, 2019July 20, 2019by whatvickyreadLeave a Comment

Title: The Kingdom

Author: Jess Rothenberg

Pages: 352

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Published: 2019

Source: ARC (I received a copy from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review)

Rating: ★★★

The Kingdom is a place where technology helps dreams come to life. Formerly extinct species roam the park, and twelve beautiful ‘Fantasists’ – half-human, half-android princesses – entertain visitors and make wishes come true. But this fairytale ends in murder, and now Ana, one of the twelve Fantasists, is in the dock after finding herself experiencing emotions and romantic feelings against all her programming . . .

Told through court testimony, interrogation records, film footage, eye-witness accounts and fragmented flashbacks.

You may think you’ve heard of The Kingdom before, well you probably have but it’s wearing a different cover. The US edition and the UK edition do have different covers that are quite different to each other. The US edition looks fairly different, as you can see.

I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t have much of an idea of what The Kingdom was about prior to reading it other than what I got from the blurb. What intrigued me was the fact that the plot is told via various methods with court testimonies, interrogation records and flashbacks being the main methods used. I find books that are set out this way to be fairly quick but also that they keep you guessing!

Thoughts

In this book, we follow Princess Ana who is a Fantasist which means she is half-human, half-cyborg. It follows her mostly through the flashbacks that make up the majority of this book. As already mentioned, the book is also told via court testimonies and interrogation records as there has been a murder. Through these different ways of story telling, we find out a lot of information about The Kingdom itself and it’s Fantasists.

This book hasn’t had a big hype around it but I definitely feel like all the reviews I have seen of it have been really positive, so I was a little disappointed to find that I just didn’t love it the same. However, I do think that’s more me than the book itself. Sci-fi isn’t usually a genre that I read that much of, especially books that are set in Space or books set in a very technological future which is the section of Sci-fi I would definitely group this book into.

The writing of this book was interesting. As mentioned a few times now, it’s told via various different methods and that made it quite a quick read. I think my favourite parts of the book to read were the court testimonies and interrogation records. I did also like the flashback scenes because they offered more information but I did find some of them to read a little bit slow at times. The writing was quite easy to read though and the pacing was fairly consistent through most of the flashback scenes. Of course, the shorter interrogation records and court testimonies read much faster.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t really connect with the characters of this book. It’s odd because I felt like the characters weren’t really human at all, what with the fact that they definitely felt more programmable rather than capable of feeling things. Although, I did feel like the systems started to get overridden over the course of the book. I guess the thing is, I didn’t really care all that much for Ana, the main character. Throughout this book, she is learning new things about the world all the time, despite never having seen it. Some of her sisters are also the same, what with learning the truth about a world that they have never been able to see. It was interesting to see the characters learn about things, but at the same time, I did just feel like I didn’t really care about the characters all that much.

The world was quite easy to get to grips with. The Kingdom, to me, was a more futuristic version of Disney World, what with a Castle and the monorail, it was definitely giving me Disney vibes and so because of that, I found it quite easy to imagine the setting. Because I had his image in my head, I did like the world because I do like Disney World. The setting is quite important to the story because it is where the majority of the book takes place, save for the court and interrogation sessions.

The themes of this book are quite clearly technology and how it could advance, but also the uglier side to it and the humans that create it. This book does show both the good things that could come of it and the bad. It’s interesting in that respect because The Kingdom is something that could realistically become a reality in our ever-changing and ever-growing, technological world.

Final Thoughts

I’m still not sure The Kingdom was quite the book for me, but I know that lots of people have really enjoyed this book and so I know that the book isn’t really the issue, it’s just that it’s not really my kind of thing. I would recommend it if you are into Disney and books with futuristic vibes as this definitely has both of those.

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

Review: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019by whatvickyread4 Comments

Title: Girls of Paper and Fire

Author: Natasha Ngan

Pages: 380

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Published: 2018

Source: Bought (Paperback received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

Rating: ★★★★

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king.
It’s the highest honour they could hope for…
And the most demeaning.

This year, there’s a ninth girl.
And instead of paper,
She’s made of fire.

Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class in Ikhara. Ten years ago, her mother was snatched by the royal guards, and her fate remains unknown. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after — the girl whose golden eyes, whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king’s interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. There, Lei does the unthinkable — she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world’s entire way of life and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Girls of Paper and Fire has been on my TBR since I picked it up at YALC in 2018. I (shamefully) didn’t pick it up until May of this year and I instantly regretted the fact that I had waited so long to get to it.

Before going into this book, I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Girls of Paper and Fire. All I really knew was that it had a pretty cover and that, from the blurb, I was interested to find out more. I did also know that there was quite a bit of hype surrounding this book and that piqued my interest too. I was intrigued to find out why this book had so much hype and whether it would live up to it.

Thoughts

Girls of Paper and Fire is set in Ikhara and follows our main character, Lei. Lei’s mother was taken ten years prior to when we meet her in this story and we can see how that affects her though she is content with her life. Lei is an intriguing character to those in Ikhara because she is the girl with golden eyes, eyes that shouldn’t belong to her. She gets taken from her home to become a Paper Girl at the King’s palace and that is where our story really starts.

I enjoyed the writing of this book and felt that the writing really settled into the story more as the book went on. I did find that the pacing was a little bit slow at first, which could be down to the slight reading slump I was in, but after the first 100-150 pages, I felt that the pace was then consistent until the last 50 or so pages when the plot really began to amp up and everything started to come together. The pacing did work for this book although I did feel it could have been a little quicker, but this did mean that it gave enough time to take in all the information given to us. I found the pacing and writing went well together, especially towards the end.

I did enjoy the plot of this book and found it to be quite interesting but also a little sad at times. The plot centres around Lei and her position of being a Paper Girl along with 8 others. The girls can be both supportive of each other and also mean. I mostly enjoyed the scenes when Lei was with certain characters as they felt more nerve wracking than others. The book explores themes of LGBTQ+ relationships and forbidden love within an environment that especially doesn’t permit it. The book also deals with themes of loss and grief and how both are dealt with. Overall, I thought the plot was interesting and solid.

As mentioned, we follow the character, Lei. Lei is quite a defiant character who deals with a lot throughout this book. After being taken from her family and all that she’s known, the wound of losing her mother is torn open again as she looks for answers as to what happened to her. Lei also fights the system in this story, displaying her strength and belief for what is right. I quite enjoyed her character and felt sorry for the situation that she had been forced into. As well a Lei, there were a few other girls in this book that Lei befriends that I liked. Though the Paper girl’s are not exactly close, we see glimpses of how they feel and because of that, I found myself warming to quite a few of them.

I thought that this was a great novel from Natasha. If you didn’t know, this is not actually her first novel, her first novel, The Elites, was actually on my TBR for a while but I never managed to get to it. Like many, Girls of Paper and Fire is my first introduction to her writing and I’m looking forward to reading more of it.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, I read this book when I was in a little bit of a slump so had I not been in a slump, I do think that I would’ve enjoyed this book more. Because of that, I have given it a more generous rating because I do genuinely think that it would’ve been a top read, had I not been going through a slumpy time. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and felt that the ending of it has been set up quite well for the sequel. I’m excited to read what happens next in Girls of Storm and Shadow.

Make sure you check out the rest of the posts on this blog tour where you can find plenty of other Girls of Paper and Fire content!

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

Review: Finale by Stephanie Garber

July 12, 2019July 5, 2019by whatvickyreadLeave a Comment

Title: Finale

Author: Stephanie Garber

Pages: 468

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Published: 2019

Source: Bought (also received an early copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

Rating: ★★★★★

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…all games must come to an end.

It’s been two months since the last Caraval concluded, two months since the Fates have been freed from an enchanted deck of cards, two months since Tella has seen Legend, and two months since Legend claimed the empire’s throne as his own. Now, Legend is preparing for his official coronation and Tella is determined to stop it. She believes her own mother, who still remains in an enchanted sleep, is the rightful heir to the throne.

Meanwhile, Scarlett has started a game of her own. She’s challenged Julian and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition where the winner will receive her hand in marriage. Finaly, Scarlett feels as if she is in complete control over her life and future. She is unaware that her mother’s past has put her in the greatest danger of all.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun―with lives, empires, and hearts all at stake. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win…and those who will lose everything.

If you know me, you’ll know that I absolutely love the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber and that it is actually one of my favourite series in the entire world. Because of that, Finale was one of my top three most anticipated reads of 2019 and I had high expectations going into it. It’s always a little scary going into a book that you have high expectations for because of the worry that it won’t live up to the hype or it won’t live up to the ideas you have in your headd but I was left feeling happy with the way that this series concluded.

Like both Caraval and Legendary, Finale was full of magic. I was expecting this book to feature a game that was more risky than the last and to be full of more adventure. I was not disappointed and it definitely met the expectations I had for it. It featured all the magic and adventure that I’ve loved ever since I first read Caraval back in 2017 and I just loved being back in this world with all the characters I’ve come to know and love.

Thoughts

Without spoiling too much, Finale is set in the same place as in Legendary and features much of the same characters from the previous book. It follows on from the events of Legendary fairly closely afterwards and of course, features another one of the famous games of Caraval. Although, as already mentioned, the stakes are higher in this book and the magic more prominent than ever before.

Unlike the previous two books, this book features two points of view, both of which we have read from already, those being Scarlett and Tella. I quite liked being able to go between the two and was happy that Stephanie had made the decision with this book to actually write it from both PoVs as opposed to just the one. I liked following both of the sisters as I think that in this book, they both have fairly unique PoVs. As well as seeing both Scarlett and Tella in this book, we also see a few other characters that are heavily featured in the previous two books which re both important to both Scarlett and Tella’s storylines.

The writing in this one was much the same as the previous two books. It was fast paced, magical and had me wanting to read and turn every page as fast as I could. I was completely engrossed in the story as the writing has a certain way of just pulling me into the story. I felt that the writing was quite descriptive, meaning that I was able to imagine things quite clearly in my mind – something that the map at the front of each book is also quite helpful in aiding. The writing definitely helps to make the plot more fast paced as it pulls you forwards through the story.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It felt a little different to the plot of the previous two books as it felt like there were more twists and turns and that there was also more complications to deal with and resolve throughout this book, however that kept it interesting. I felt quite invested in the story but also in characters as I already knew them. It was quite comforting to step into a world with characters that I already familiar with. Stephanie makes it she easy to just fall into the plots of her books.

This book does deal with quite a few differing themes including love, family, friendship, forgiveness and healing. All of these are explored in some detail throughout this book, particularly love and family.

Final Thoughts

Finale was such a good book and I’m so glad that my expectations of it were met. I thought that Finale was a great conclusion to this magical series. Although I definitely felt like I was left wanting more, I did also feel quite satisfied by this book. Although we won’t be getting any more books in this series, I’m looking forward to reading whatever Stephanie brings out next. If you’re looking for a magical and fast paced read, I’d absolutely recommend checking this out. If you need anymore encouragement, you can read my post on 5 reasons to read the Caraval series here.

Remember, it’s only a game…

Books, Reviews

Truly, Devious: Six Reasons to Read the Series So Far

July 5, 2019June 25, 2019by whatvickyread7 Comments

Title: Truly, Devious | The Vanishing Stair

Author: Maureen Johnson

Pages: 416 | 384

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Published: 2018 | 2019

Source: Bought

I am still relatively new to the YA mystery genre but I’ve been exploring the genre a bit more over the last year or so. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed over the last year (and please correct me if I’m wrong) is that there aren’t a whole lot of YA mystery books out there at the moment but there are definitely more coming out.

Truly, Devious is a YA mystery series that I had on my shelves for a little while but hadn’t picked up. If I’m totally honest, I didn’t really know very much about it but once I read the synopsis, I was very much wanting to read it. Before I’d even finished reading the first book, I’d got the second book, The Vanishing Stair, on order. Let me tell you, I enjoyed The Vanishing Stair more than Truly, Devious which I had quite liked.

With that, and the cover reveal of the third and last book in this trilogy, The Hand on the Wall, I wanted to do a little post featuring six reasons why you should pick up the books in this series.

1. As mentioned, The Hand on the Wall, which is the final book in the series had it’s cover revealed yesterday. It’s coming out in 2020 and so you should absolutely pick up the first two books in this series so you’re up to date and ready to complete this series once the third book has been released.

2. It’s a YA mystery set in a boarding school. Need I say more?

3. Ok, the blurb already mentions it so I don’t feel like it’s a spoiler but this series isn’t just a mystery series, it’s a murder mystery series. But just saying that doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s also a mystery based on a historic case that happened at the boarding school in the 1930s which is being investigated.

4. The characters are smart and interesting. Ok, yes, they do feel immature at times but then weren’t we all when we were their age? The characters are at a boarding school for some of the most intelligent kids and are given free reign over most things so that makes things quite interesting!

5. As with any mystery book, there’s twists and turns at every angle. I love trying to solve mysteries myself but with this one, we have an advantage as there are flashback scenes. I love the inclusion of the scenes from the original case as I feel like we have an advantage over our main character who is also trying to solve the case. However, despite the extra information we get, I don’t seem to be very good at trying to crack the mystery!

6. It’s fun! I know, a slightly funny thing to call a murder mystery fun but it’s true. It is quite a well thought out mystery story and it’s just even better that it’s a YA!

I’m really happy that I finally picked up this series earlier this year and whilst I understand mysteries aren’t for everyone, I hope that I’ve managed to convince you enough to give this series or at least the first book in the series, Truly, Devious, a try.

Books, Contemporary, Reviews

The Paper & Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie

July 1, 2019July 1, 2019by whatvickyreadLeave a Comment

Title: The Paper & Hearts Society

Author: Lucy Powrie

Pages: 355

Publisher: Hodder Children’s

Published: 2019

Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review – Thanks, Team Bkmrk!

Rating: ★★★★

Tabby Brown is tired of trying to fit in. She doesn’t want to go to parties – in fact, she would much rather snuggle up on the sofa with her favourite book.

It’s like she hasn’t found her people …

Then Tabby joins a club that promises to celebrate books. What could go wrong? EVERYTHING – especially when making new friends brings out an AWKWARD BUZZING feeling all over her body.

But Olivia, Cassie, Henry and Ed have something that makes Tabby come back. Maybe it’s the Austen-themed fancy-dress parties, or Ed’s fluffy cat Mrs Simpkins, or could it be Henry himself …

Can Tabby let her weird out AND live THE BEST BOOKISH LIFE POSSIBLE?

I have been looking forward to reading Lucy’s book, The Paper & Hearts Society ever since I heard that she was writing it. I’ve been following the journey of her debut novel and it’s just been such a joy to watch it go from a document on her screen to a physical copy that can be held and read.

The Paper & Hearts Society is quite a heartwarming book and is so fast paced that I completely raced through it. I was excited to read it because it features books and reading so heavily which are obviously quite a big part of my life and it did not disappoint. I’m really happy that I picked it up as I really enjoyed it and now I want my to form my own Paper & Hearts Society.

Thoughts

The Paper & Hearts Society follows Tabby, our main character, after a move down to Dorset as she gets used to a new life in a relatively new place. Tabby moves in with her Gran and, because she is living in a new place, we follow her as she meets new people and settles into new surroundings.

I enjoyed the writing of this book. It was fairly simple which meant that I was able to fly through the pages. As mentioned already, the pacing of it was quite fast and that, along with the writing, was consistent throughout. The plot flowed really well from one chapter to the next and was easy to follow. The only thing that stood out to me is that I felt that this book was a little on the younger side but that also made it quite quick for me. I would say that The Paper & Hearts Society is perfect for any high school or college student. I wish that I’d had this book when I was younger and in my first few years of high school as I think that’s the type of age group that it really appeals too.

The plot follows Tabby as she joins a newly formed club of friends and fellow book nerds. I really enjoyed the plot as I felt like it made a point of making sure that reading is nothing to be ashamed of and that it made it cool. What I found positive with this book was that it explores themes of mental health and the exploration of LGBTQ+ and identity. Because of these themes, I feel like the book is more relatable, especially for young people who are perhaps dealing with mental health themselves or are exploring their own identity. This book will help you feel like you’re not so alone and that other people do go through similar. This book also explores bullying in the present day climate where social media is involved. Again, I do feel like this book could encourage young people dealing with this to seek out help and hopefully prove that it is ok to talk about how you’re feeling.

I liked that the characters, Tabby, Olivia, Cassie, Henry and Ed are unapologetically bookish and that, though they might have differing opinions on books, they stick together and help each other whenever one of them is feeling less than their best. I think that this book really helps to promote positive friendships and how important and supportive a group of friends can be. My favourite character in this book was probably Ed, just because I found him quite funny but in all honesty, I enjoyed reading about all of them.

When I finished The Paper & Hearts Society, I felt happy and definitely ready to read the next book, Read with Pride. It made me feel happy reading this book because I was listening to characters talk about their own love of books. It was actually quite comforting to see others be passionate about books and the things they love, even if they are fictional characters themselves.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed Lucy’s debut novel and I’m really excited for everyone to read it now that it’s out in the world. I’m looking forward to seeing where the next book, Read with Pride, takes us. I’d absolutely recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, quick read and I’d especially recommend it if you’re looking for a book to gift to someone who is in high school or college – or even to you if you’re either of those things!

Books, Fantasy, Reviews

Review: Gumiho: Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

June 24, 2019June 25, 2019by whatvickyread3 Comments

Title: Gumiho: Wicked Fox

Author: Kat Cho

Pages: 420

Publisher: Penguin RandomHouse

Published: 2019

Source: ARC (Thanks, Penguin RandomHouse!)

Rating: ★★★★

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is about a girl who is also a fox with nine tails and is based on Korean mythology. When I read this, I thought it sounded so intriguing and I immediately wanted to read it. Not to mention that the cover is stunning.

I picked this one up because of my interest in it, but I became more eager to read it when I started reading the positive reviews of others and after seeing how much people were loving it. I didn’t really know what to expect when reading it other than hoping that I’d love it and I definitely did. I really enjoyed reading this one and would absolutely recommend it.

Thoughts

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is a quite a fun book but it’s also quite serious at times. As the blurb above says, Miyoung is a Gumiho who loses her bead and must find a way to get it back otherwise it could have drastic consequences. The plot was so fast paced and I definitely felt like I was left wanting to know what happens next whenever I put the book down.

I enjoyed the writing of this book. As mentioned, I thought it was fast paced and that the chapters were a perfect length. One of the things I really liked (and it’s something that I mention often with other books) is that the chapters weren’t too long. The longest chapter was probably Chapter 2 and then that was it for the remaining 400ish pages. The shorter chapters really contributed to the pace of this book. I also thought that the writing was descriptive but in a way that wasn’t too overdone. I felt that I could imagine most things quite well whilst reading this book.

Miyoung and Jihoon are our main characters that we follow throughout this book. Miyoung is afraid to get close to anybody and of disappointing her mother. She is quite naive at times but she is also smart. She is a character that just wants approval from her mother and to know what it’s like to be loved and have friendship. Jihoon is a positive character the majority of the time and is seen to be quite popular with everyone but really only has a few close friends. He is still dealing with the aftermath of being left to live with his Halmeoni, who he adores, when he was a child and that still affects him. What I liked about both of these characters is that while they do have flaws, but they are fiercely loyal. In this book, there’s a theme of family and friendship throughout which I really enjoyed. I loved the closeness of the Jihoon’s friends that they had almost formed a family unit themselves.

The world building didn’t need that much because of course, it’s based on the city of Seoul. I really liked the urban fantasy feel of the world that I thought this book really gave the vibes of and I just loved the inclusion of the Gumiho mythology throughout this book and how it linked it to the characters.

I really enjoyed reading Gumiho: Wicked Fox because it was unlike anything I’d read before and I loved that about it. I also enjoyed reading it because of the setting and the interesting mythology. There was a lot of food mentioned that I did google because 1. I wanted to make sure I was pronouncing things correctly and 2. I wanted to see the delicious food that was mentioned and oh my, I wasn’t disappointed. I feel like I immediately need to go and try everything. I found it so interesting to learn and read about a culture different to my own and it has definitely encouraged me to read even more books about cultures that are different to my own.

Final Thoughts

Gumiho: Wicked Fox is an intriguing book that I am really glad that I read because I did enjoy it so much. I would absolutely recommend it to anybody who is looking for a fast paced read that really draws you in. The characters are just like you and I with both their positives and negatives.