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lunxchloe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I have rarely felt so much love radiating through the pages of a book as I have with this novel. What a beautiful story that has had me laughing and crying and feeling like I too need to choose my own fate.
5/5
5/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Child death, Death, and Blood
bankaqlota's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
cortanasreadingnook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is such a lush, young adult fantasy set in a magical ancient Korea. This adventurous tale is that of a young girl determinedly breaking the curse of the Sea God, jumping into the sea to spare their village’s newest sacrifice to appease the god’s anger. What I really liked about this book was its lore about the afterlife, and the magical creatures of old such as dragons and spirits. All of the characters were very enjoyable to read especially the dynamic between Mina, Namgi, Kirin, and Shin. I get why a lot of readers would consider this a favorite book. However, I noticed the lack of direction in the storytelling. The plot was definitely all over the place and it’s why my rating went down. If the romance could’ve been developed with an engaging form of narration, this wouldn’t have been so bad because some parts felt like dragging fillers. The lack of build-up towards the turning point made me lose enthusiasm all over because it should’ve been the very culmination of why this story was even written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
fiercereadsfiction's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death and Violence
Minor: War
baolade's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, and Blood
_marycappiello3's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
smileypers0n's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Violence, and War
bethsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This is a book I’ve had on my TBR for such a long time. Not only was the cover stunning but the story of an underwater fantasy world based on Korean folktales and the red string of fate? Absolutely yes. However, this one ended up as a disappointment for me. I think it was more of a let down because it had so much potential. There were so many incredible ideas to work with and nearly all of them fell flat or where completely under developed.
This book needed to be double the length so it actually had space to develop the world and the characters. The progression of the story is so jumpy; there is never any downtime, it just hops from plot point to plot point, and most of the time it is actually quite jarring. I wanted the story to stop and take moments to breathe and let the characters and world actually come to life — it needed the meaningful ‘filler’ moments that flesh out a story.
The world building was one of the most disappointing parts. At times you had gorgeous glimpses of a Spirited Away style, enchanting underwater spirit world, but those moments got swept away in unanswered questions about the workings of the world and many elements that really didn’t make sense at all.
My biggest issue has to be the characters. They are all so one-dimensional. The main character doesn’t feel like a real person, just a collection of tropes that are told to you, not even really shown or given proper backstory. And the side characters feel like they only exist to aid the main character and fill in plot points. A lot of the dialogue felt awkward or elicited eye rolls and the relationships between the characters and their feelings are not meaningfully developed but just told to you, so I really felt nothing for them at all.
I think I am slightly harsh on this one because it had so much potential. Some of the writing is really beautiful, the story is very compelling and unique, and the characters could have been very meaningful. But overall it ended up being underdeveloped, one dimensional, and a big disappointment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Violence, and Grief
sapphicbloom's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide attempt
e_riahh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and War