Wicked Fox

Miyoung is a 17-year old half-gumiho, half-human girl who is presented as a morally gray, flawed protagonist. She is clearing strong-willed and stubborn, as evidenced by how tightly she clings to the rules of her life as taught to her by her mother—a beautiful and terrifying gumiho. She holds her emotions close and doesn’t let anyone get close to her for many reasons, all of which have been modeled for her by her mother and reinforced throughout her life. As a result, she is clearly lonely. Jihoon is a human boy who is also guards his heart. Like Miyoung, he is quite strong-willed and stubborn, which is how he is able to remain in Miyoung’s life despite her determination to keep everyone away. Unlike Miyoung, he does allow a few select people into his life and so, knows how to love and care for others, when he allows himself to. Their story reflects the love stories typically seen in Korean dramas (but without the love triangle), which is a draw for a lot of people (myself included). I think book relationships are more believable and relatable with a slow build such as with Miyoung and Jihoon, rather than intense love or even hate that then flips over into love. Even though Miyoung is resistant, it’s not specific to Jihoon. And as for Jihoon, his consistency and determination is really sweet and charming. Overall, the characters appear fully fleshed out, which enhances their relationship. Also important to note is that although this is very much a romantic love story between Miyoung and Jihoon, there is more than one kind of love being dissected, challenged, and fostered throughout the book with several well-developed characters. This makes this book a story about love more than just romance. There are a ton of Korean references in terms of food and myth as well as plenty of world building to transport the reader to Korea’s schools and streets. Also done well was the layers of respect and seniority present in the different relationships between Korean people in the book. It’s really the little details that flesh out the world in a natural way and I think the author did a good job with at.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho was an automatic five stars from me!!! Though I knew very little about the book going in, I couldn’t put it down once I began. The main storyline is a beautiful blend of Korean mythology and modernity. Its focus follows a young gumiho named Miyoung but shamans, ghosts, and even dokkaebi make appearances. Humans, however, play perhaps the second greatest role in the story considering that Miyoung is surrounded by them and even half of one herself. Her love interest, Jihoon, is also human. This love story acts as pretty much the main story line of the novel, and its safe to say that it was absolutely endearing. It was so heart-warming to see the two characters connect and grow together. However, as fun as Miyoung and Jihoon’s romance was, I think my favorite part of the book was the side-relationships. The various friendships Miyoung creates with Jihoon and his friends was developed very slowly and thoughtfully, which I really appreciated. Jihoon’s contrasting relationships with his grandma and his mother were probably the highlight of the book for me. They were so complex and intricate in their own ways that each had me in tears at one point or the other. I really appreciate the extra mile the author took to ensure that such relationships maintained significance in the story and for the characters. It’s far too often that such relationships are simply pushed aside in romances so seeing them so fully developed makes me so excited! I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!!!

- 4.75 Stars - "You're the brightness," the girl said. "The sun chased by shadows. She's the shadows." Miyoung is a half-gumiho (nine-tailed fox) who needs to suck the gi (energy) out of men in order to survive. Because of this, she is forced to keep her identity secret. However, when Jihoon, a normal human boy in high school, is attacked by a goblin, Miyoung decides to save him and reveals her nine tails. In the process, she loses her fox bead (her gumiho soul), which puts her in great danger as we soon find out that whoever wields the bead can control her. I truly love this book, the plot, and the characters in it SO MUCH. Aspects I loved: - I loved the Korean mythology in this book. It was so interesting to read about, and I appreciated the little background stories about the mythology scattered throughout as well. - I LOVED the characters. Most of them are morally grey, which I actually enjoyed in this book, and they deserve the actual WORLD. - Miyoung and Jihoon's character development. Because of their experiences throughout the book, Miyoung learned to open up to people and Jihoon became more mature. - I loved the inspiration taken from kdrama tropes. The romance was so cute! - The plot twists. There were so many things I didn't see coming; I was VERY surprised during some moments of this book. - I had a few remaining questions about the ending, but I think overall, the story wrapped up very nicely. Aspects I disliked (the only thing keeping me from giving this a full five stars): - Something about the plot development in the first third felt a little scattered to me. Luckily, this did get better later on in the book, where the story progressed in a very intriguing way, and the pacing was impeccable. I definitely recommend this book, especially to those who love kdramas and mythology inspired fantasy. (originally posted on Goodreads @june_reads)