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A review by readabookortwo
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
"The sound is as bright and sparkling as the morning sunshine. And like the morning sunshine , it annoys him."
Trigger warnings: blood, gore, violence, death, sexual content
The God & The Gumiho was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I am SO happy to say, it absolutely did not disappoint me. I loved this book from start to finish, there wasn't a single second where I felt bored or wanted it to pass quickly I just loved it. In this book we follow Seokga, a fallen God who wants to become a God again and Hani, a Gumiho who is trying to leave her old life behind her but when a demon starts to attack and a deal is struck, the two of them find themselves working with each other even though they hate each other.
I'll start with Hani and I loved Hani so much!! Yes, she definitely was selfish especially at the start of the book but I really loved watching her growth as a character throughout the story. I also just loved her so much she was so funny and witty and her quick one liners when it came to Seokga absolutely made me giggle. You could tell that she was truly battling herself when it came to what she knew she should do and what she wanted to do and the way she came to care for Seokga my heart I loved them so much!!
My favourite character of the whole book, of course, was Seokga. From the very first chapter I knew he was my favourite. He absolutely is such a little shit but of course he is the Trickster God but he made me laugh so much. The way he absolutely hated Hani and then started to become fond of her and then their relationship I really loved. The way he started to really care for the people around him especially with Shim and he really again did have so much growth during the book. I mean of course he wad still a little shit but he really cared for these people around him and wanted to help the city he thought he hated. I just really loved Seokga and think he deserves every happiness.
One thing, I really loved about this book was the setting. Not just the setting of Korea which I did really love and was really beautiful but also the fact it was set in 1992. Its so fun when they talk about mobile phones and cars etc because you know that it's clearly set in the 90's and I loved the way Hani talks about getting her phone and how it's so hard to get etc because you compare that with what life is like now. I just really loved that and it made for really fun parts in the story.
Talking of the setting, I also really loved the Korea Folklore aspects of this book. I really found it so interesting learning about the God's of Korean folklore and of course the creatures such as Gumihos, Joseung Saja's etc I really love reading books about mythology and folklore from different cultures and really loved the way it was told in this book.
The Plot of this book was so, so good I genuinely loved every second of it. I see why some people think its a slower pace at the start but I liked that, it gave room to really build these characters and learn their personalities before getting into the really gritty stuff because whilst the characters created funny moments, this was truly a very dark and at some points quite scary book. The way the eoduksini killed their victims through nightmares and stuff really creeped me out and the darkness and all that kind of stuff was quite creepy but I really loved the atmosphere and the plot itself. I'd absolutely love to read another of the authors books!
I loved the relationship between Seokga and Hani. Watching it develop from genuine mutal hatred to reluctant acquaintances to friends to more than that was so fun. They had such good banter and the way they constantly threw lines back and forth they absolutely had me giggling and their romance was very sweet. The only note I have on this is whilst their relationship doesn't happen fast in the book, it does in terms of plot because this whole book takes places over around a week but I could honestly push past that because I loved them so deeply!
Overall, if you couldn't tell, I loved this book so much. It was truly an absolute amazing read that had me laughing and sobbing and everything in between. I truly loved Hani and Seokga so so much and they are characters I will hold so dearly to me for a very long time!! I am absolutely interested in a sequel but this book ended so perfectly in my opinion so I will wait until we get more information. But, overall, this is one of my favourite books of the year and I'm so happy I read it!
Trigger warnings: blood, gore, violence, death, sexual content
The God & The Gumiho was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I am SO happy to say, it absolutely did not disappoint me. I loved this book from start to finish, there wasn't a single second where I felt bored or wanted it to pass quickly I just loved it. In this book we follow Seokga, a fallen God who wants to become a God again and Hani, a Gumiho who is trying to leave her old life behind her but when a demon starts to attack and a deal is struck, the two of them find themselves working with each other even though they hate each other.
I'll start with Hani and I loved Hani so much!! Yes, she definitely was selfish especially at the start of the book but I really loved watching her growth as a character throughout the story. I also just loved her so much she was so funny and witty and her quick one liners when it came to Seokga absolutely made me giggle. You could tell that she was truly battling herself when it came to what she knew she should do and what she wanted to do and the way she came to care for Seokga my heart I loved them so much!!
My favourite character of the whole book, of course, was Seokga. From the very first chapter I knew he was my favourite. He absolutely is such a little shit but of course he is the Trickster God but he made me laugh so much. The way he absolutely hated Hani and then started to become fond of her and then their relationship I really loved. The way he started to really care for the people around him especially with Shim and he really again did have so much growth during the book. I mean of course he wad still a little shit but he really cared for these people around him and wanted to help the city he thought he hated. I just really loved Seokga and think he deserves every happiness.
One thing, I really loved about this book was the setting. Not just the setting of Korea which I did really love and was really beautiful but also the fact it was set in 1992. Its so fun when they talk about mobile phones and cars etc because you know that it's clearly set in the 90's and I loved the way Hani talks about getting her phone and how it's so hard to get etc because you compare that with what life is like now. I just really loved that and it made for really fun parts in the story.
Talking of the setting, I also really loved the Korea Folklore aspects of this book. I really found it so interesting learning about the God's of Korean folklore and of course the creatures such as Gumihos, Joseung Saja's etc I really love reading books about mythology and folklore from different cultures and really loved the way it was told in this book.
The Plot of this book was so, so good I genuinely loved every second of it. I see why some people think its a slower pace at the start but I liked that, it gave room to really build these characters and learn their personalities before getting into the really gritty stuff because whilst the characters created funny moments, this was truly a very dark and at some points quite scary book. The way the eoduksini killed their victims through nightmares and stuff really creeped me out and the darkness and all that kind of stuff was quite creepy but I really loved the atmosphere and the plot itself. I'd absolutely love to read another of the authors books!
I loved the relationship between Seokga and Hani. Watching it develop from genuine mutal hatred to reluctant acquaintances to friends to more than that was so fun. They had such good banter and the way they constantly threw lines back and forth they absolutely had me giggling and their romance was very sweet. The only note I have on this is whilst their relationship doesn't happen fast in the book, it does in terms of plot because this whole book takes places over around a week but I could honestly push past that because I loved them so deeply!
Overall, if you couldn't tell, I loved this book so much. It was truly an absolute amazing read that had me laughing and sobbing and everything in between. I truly loved Hani and Seokga so so much and they are characters I will hold so dearly to me for a very long time!! I am absolutely interested in a sequel but this book ended so perfectly in my opinion so I will wait until we get more information. But, overall, this is one of my favourite books of the year and I'm so happy I read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit