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A review by bookwoods
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
3.0
The God and the Gumiho is an urban romantasy where Sophie Kim places creatures from Korean myths in a modern South-Korean city. The God is Seokga - a trickster forced to live in the mortal world to reconcile from a failed coup on the world of gods. Seokga hunts demons and unexpectedly, Kim Hani becomes his assistant. Hani the gumiho, a nine tailed fox, joins Seokga for her own reasons, to keep secret the fact that she is the notorious Scarlet Fox.
Both Seokga and Hani are old, immortal and have caused immeasurable suffering. But they feel very young and even sympathetic - especially when they banter with each other and argue about beverages (coffee, mostly). I enjoyed their scenes together, yet found the mystery element a bit lackluster and the plot points too convenient (like how easily Hani becomes Seokga’s assistant). My favorite aspect is the setting: a city where all kinds of mythical creatures live their lives like any regular k-drama characters. Though I do think that Kim should have leaned into k-drama cliches even more. As it is, I liked the story, but was not obsessed.
Both Seokga and Hani are old, immortal and have caused immeasurable suffering. But they feel very young and even sympathetic - especially when they banter with each other and argue about beverages (coffee, mostly). I enjoyed their scenes together, yet found the mystery element a bit lackluster and the plot points too convenient (like how easily Hani becomes Seokga’s assistant). My favorite aspect is the setting: a city where all kinds of mythical creatures live their lives like any regular k-drama characters. Though I do think that Kim should have leaned into k-drama cliches even more. As it is, I liked the story, but was not obsessed.