A review by cortanasreadingnook
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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.
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