Plot: .5
Writing: .5
World Building: .5
Characters: 1
Themes: 1

This is a beautiful story about choosing your own destiny, love, and spirits. We follow an incredibly brave Mina as she sacrifices herself to be the Sea God's Bride. This is a great book for those who love atmospheric tales of wholesome relationships and fans of Studio Ghibli.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

Plot & Writing: The writing felt like a tale being told. It was beautiful but took a little more time for me to feel invested in the story and characters. There was one thing that I would have liked to see done differently. The Red String of Fate. I didn't like how it could be so easily severed and you could create a new bond/fate with someone else. Typically, fate doesn't give you a choice. It would have been cool for Mina to have continued to be tied to the Sea God while falling in (forbidden) love with Shin, his guard, or be tied to Shin while trying to save the Sea God and either not be able to because she was no longer tied to him or having to take a more indirect path to saving him. If choice was the point of severing the red string, I don't think it was necessarily needed at all. There are many other great examples of this in the story. I also felt like some scenes ended abruptly and it took me a minute to catch up on what was going on or what had happened.

World Building: Though the setting in the spirit realm is magical/fantastical, I wanted a little more to the world building. I was constantly confused by the rules of the world. They felt loose and undefined, which may be the point, but kept me from feeling grounded in the story. I loved the spirit realm, with the school of fish flitting about above our characters. It does feel very Spirited Away-esque, but also like Ponyo with the colorful and magical underwater world!

Characters: We have such a fun, wholesome cast of characters. Very YA appropriate. It would have been cool to see more of the other Lords/houses, if only to be able to understand the world more. Namgi is probably my favorite character because he is boisterous and fun. I would have liked more moments between Kirin and Mina to see their relationship grow. It felt like Kirin flipped a switch on his feelings towards Mina. Mina and Shin were so cute.

Themes:
- Choosing your own destiny
- Love (family, friendship, relationship)

**Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing an eArc for an honest review

When I heard there was a new fantasy book coming out featuring an old Korean folktale and written by a Korean American, I knew I had to get my hands on it. What I ended up with is a sweeping tale that takes you to the Spirit Realm, faces your biggest destiny, and fall in love. This book is out later this month, but thanks to Fierce Reads for gifting me an ARC.

This book hits the ground running. I mean, the first scene takes place on a boat as Shim-Cheong is about to sacrifice herself to the Sea God for another year without terrible storms that destroy their crops and flood their farms. But Shim-Cheong doesn't want to go and instead, Mina jumps into the sea sacrificing herself. From there, she's off to a Spirit Realm where the Red String of Fate ties her to the Sea God as a potential bride. I have to be honest, there were some jaw dropping moments throughout the story. The twists and turns throughout the book were spectacular and really keep you engaged with wanting to find out more.

The book is already compared to Spirited Away and that is so accurate. From the moment Mina is in the Spirit Realm, she only has a finite amount of time before she loses her soul and becomes a spirit of the world (related), then she meets a man who doesn't remember why he's the way he is (also feels related), and she helps him find out at the end (can we admit that they're similar now?!). The swept-off feeling and entering a world of angry gods and vengeful goddesses with helpful spirits as well, it truly feels like you're leaving the real world for another.

I also loved the running theme throughout the book; the gods and goddesses working to help out the humans and the reciprocal nature of worshipping them. You see how the gods and goddesses are sort of slacking in their work and Mina correlating that to how the real world suffers. I loved that Axie Oh dives into these because the symbiotic relationship between humans and gods was so prevalent in Korean history. The theme returns often throughout the story and really examines this Spirit Realm from the third-party observer.

I'll be honest, there was a few things that irked me about the book. The book has a ton of potential. There were so many new things introduced in the story, there was romance, there was action, there were villains and dark plots. There was everything you wanted in an epic fantasy novel, but I just wanted the dial turned all the way up. These things were introduced, but not enough for me. I wanted to see the romance slowly play out between the characters, I wanted to clearly understand why the villains were the way they were. I wanted much more exposition and much more world building. The story doesn't suffer from the lack of these things, but it would have launched the book into a favorite for the year for me.

But overall, I definitely felt swept away by the story, immersed in the world of Spirits and hoping that Mina was able to find a way to save her village. You'll need to hold on for the ride on this one!

After reading this, I can certainly understand why people have been saying this book has the feel of a Studio Ghibli movie--there were so many scenes I was imagining like a movie in my head, and I would actually really love to see this book as an animated movie! This whole book had such a magical and romantic feel to it, the world and its characters were so beautiful, and while at times I wasn't as in love with the plot, I always loved Mina and her motivations were filled with such genuine love for her family and people, it made me tear up so many times! While I found some of the plot predictable, there were still some scenes that kept me on my toes, and I ultimately think there's just a lot of heart in this book that made me love it. A lot happens, and sometimes I felt a bit like I was getting yanked about a lot, but it also contributed to the otherworldly and magical feeling of the world Mina was dropped into. All in all a super enjoyable read that I'll be sure to come back to.

the girl who fell beneath the sea is a short, action packed fantasy book that follows mina, a young girl who volunteers in the place of her brother’s beloved to be thrown into the sea. in performing this act, mina hopes that she might be deemed the true bride of the sea god, which would end the storms that have wreaked havoc on her home for so many years. mina quickly arrives in the spirit realm, and almost immediately discovers that the sea god is fast asleep. in order to wake this god, mina and some companions she meets along the way embark on a journey filled with action and adventure. and as if that wasn’t enough pressure, mina only has one month to accomplish this, before she loses her humanity forever and is unable to go home!

there were so many things that this book did well! i truly never found myself bored; the book moved extremely quickly, which made it nearly impossible to put down. despite the influx of information in the beginning of the story, it was never overwhelming to follow along. i found mina to be an endearing and interesting protagonist; from her initial bravery to her growth throughout the story, i really enjoyed reading about her. i additionally loved all of the characters mina meets along the way, and the relationships she forms with them. the story comes together seamlessly, and is an easy and enjoyable read for everyone. it was fun from start to finish, and i haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since i finished it a little bit ago! 4/5 stars!

thank you so much to netgalley and macmillan children's publishing group for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Review originally written for APLS's the Yakety YAK Youth Services listserv newsletter:

Mina loves her family, but she especially adores her brother Joon. Joon loves the beautiful Shim Cheong, but all three know that Shim Cheong’s fate is to be sacrificed to the Sea God in her eighteenth year—that her beauty is far more of a curse than a blessing.

Mina’s only sixteen. She’s too young to be the Sea God’s bride. She doesn’t have Shim Cheong’s unearthly beauty. But she refuses to watch her brother mourn his love, and with her grandmother’s knife in hand, she takes Shim Cheong’s place.

She doesn’t know what she’ll do when she comes face to face with the Sea God meant to protect the lands, who instead torments their shores with deadly storms year after year. The true bride of the Sea God is meant to save them all. Mina wonders if killing him will suffice. But faced with a slumbering god who will not wake, her soul stolen, and thirty days to either break the century-long curse upon the Sea God or die, Mina will have to succeed where ninety-nine girls have failed.

This is an absolutely lovely book. I’ve heard people talk about reading books and watching it happen in their head like a film. That’s never happened to me before reading this book. The way Axie Oh describes things is beautiful, as if you’re in the middle of a Studio Ghibli film (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc.). It’s not to the point where the story drags, just enough to make you imagine the otherworldly city of spirits for yourself.

I love the characters. I love the plot. I love the romance, even if it is a speedrun that takes place over thirty days. I prefer a slower build, to see it develop over a longer period with more interactions, but it makes sense within the constraints of the story. And compared to some YA books, thirty days IS a slow build. There are parts of the ending that could be said to be bittersweet, but more due to the uncertainty of the future which cannot be helped, and overall it’s a happy ending.

Really, my main complaint is that I wanted more. What an absolutely lovely story, and the fact that it came out the year our theme is “Oceans of Possibilities” is just the cherry on top. I highly recommend it.

Recommended for: Fans of fantasy, fairytale fiction, Asian/Korean fiction, and/or strong female protagonists.

Things to watch out for: Intent to sacrifice people to appease gods and fantasy adventure level violence. Some (not much) kissing.

I am in utter awe of this fantastic story about a girl who will do whatever it takes to save her family (and country) and it turn finds herself making her own.. fate?

This. Story. WAS. AMAZING. Every time I picked it up, I was swept into a land under the sea full of spirits and just beautiful world building and was honestly so completely captivated by this world. Meeting all of the spirits and gods and seeing DRAGONS?! The lord and myths, everything was just so vivid to me and so intriguing, I loved every bit of this book and can’t wait to get the finished copy in my hands.

Every year a girl is thrown into the sea in hopes of appeasing the sea god and stopping the storms that devastate the land. Every year, it’s a waste of a girl. But this year, Mina’s older brother is forced into watching his love be the next sacrifice. That is until Mina has snuck on the boat and can’t stand the look of devastation on both of their faces.. she throws herself into the sea instead. But she’s not dead, she’s in the spirit realm where gods and monsters are real. Dragons and spirits exist and Mina finds herself following a fate she didn’t sign up for..

That’s all I will say, but The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea will definitely be on my top reads list for the year. It’s vivid, beautiful and touching with a dash of slow burn romance sprinkled into the mix!

This book. THIS BOOK! I can’t even describe how much I loved this book!
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea follows Mina who takes the place of the girl her brother loves as the Sea God’s Bride and sacrifices herself to the ocean to save her people from raging storms. After falling into the sea, she’s taken to the Sea God’s kingdom to kill the sea god and save her people. Once there, she finds out the Sea God is actually asleep under a curse. With the help of spirits, gods, and creatures, she sets out to end the curse.
There is so much to love about this book! I loved the plot of this book. It was unique and intriguing, and it kept me continuously invested in the story. Plus, just the idea of following what happens after someone is sacrificed to the gods, is an amazing plot.
I also loved all the characters. Axie Oh writes the best characters and I feel like I can never pick a favorite or a least favorite. We have:
• Mina, our main character, who is relatable in the sense that she is determined to do what she must but she’s still scared. She felt real—she set out to do these impossible tasks, but she wasn’t perfect and she could still cry.
• Mask, Dai, and Miki—3 spirits who befriend and help Mina. I really enjoyed the mystery of these 3
• The Sea God—I loved how he was described more like a person than an entity
• Shin—frickin’ love him.
• Namgi and Kirin—I lowkey ship these 2.
There’s also so many more: Joon, Cheong, Hyeri, Shiki, and numerous gods, goddesses, and spirits.
I also loved the lowkey humor in this book. While the story was beautiful and exciting, there were a lot of funny moments mixed in.
And the settings! Axie was able to create this beautiful, mythical world in a way that I felt I could see it.
My only complaint is a little pet peeve of mine—I wish there was just a little more lead in before Mina went into the ocean. I would have liked to have known her in her normal life first, just to get to know her as a character before the story started, if only for a couple pages.
This is definitely a must read, and I’m so glad I preordered! I can’t wait to see that beautiful cover in person!

This book. THIS BOOK! I can’t even describe how much I loved this book!
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea follows Mina who takes the place of the girl her brother loves as the Sea God’s Bride and sacrifices herself to the ocean to save her people from raging storms. After falling into the sea, she’s taken to the Sea God’s kingdom to kill the sea god and save her people. Once there, she finds out the Sea God is actually asleep under a curse. With the help of spirits, gods, and creatures, she sets out to end the curse.
There is so much to love about this book! I loved the plot of this book. It was unique and intriguing, and it kept me continuously invested in the story. Plus, just the idea of following what happens after someone is sacrificed to the gods, is an amazing plot.
I also loved all the characters. Axie Oh writes the best characters and I feel like I can never pick a favorite or a least favorite. We have:
• Mina, our main character, who is relatable in the sense that she is determined to do what she must but she’s still scared. She felt real—she set out to do these impossible tasks, but she wasn’t perfect and she could still cry.
• Mask, Dai, and Miki—3 spirits who befriend and help Mina. I really enjoyed the mystery of these 3
• The Sea God—I loved how he was described more like a person than an entity
• Shin—frickin’ love him.
• Namgi and Kirin—I lowkey ship these 2.
There’s also so many more: Joon, Cheong, Hyeri, Shiki, and numerous gods, goddesses, and spirits.
I also loved the lowkey humor in this book. While the story was beautiful and exciting, there were a lot of funny moments mixed in.
And the settings! Axie was able to create this beautiful, mythical world in a way that I felt I could see it.
My only complaint is a little pet peeve of mine—I wish there was just a little more lead in before Mina went into the ocean. I would have liked to have known her in her normal life first, just to get to know her as a character before the story started, if only for a couple pages.
This is definitely a must read, and I’m so glad I preordered! I can’t wait to see that beautiful cover in person!

I adored this book! I can’t believe how lucky I was to get an advanced copy, it was everything I was expecting. I am for sure recommending this to my friends and my book club!!

I received this an ARC through Netgalley. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea has a modern day fairytale feeling to it. Mina's village is plagued by storms, wars, and life disappointments. 100 years ago the emperor just disappeared and there has been no strong leadership. Every year for 100 years a girl has been sacrificed to the Sea God as a bride and he is appeased it seems for about a year. Mina chooses for herself to be the bride to the Sea God to safe the chosen bride and her brothers love.

Once Mina has entered the palace and realm of gods, spirits, and mythical creatures. Mina along with the help of a mystery man named Shin and a rag tag band of spirits and creatures work together to solve the mystery and possible curse of the Sea God. Will they be able to survive attacks from other gods and lords of the spirit realm? Can Mina finally be the true bride of the Sea God and put both the real world and the spirit realm back in harmony?

This was beautifully written and very poetic. There were aspects about the story that I loved. However, I did not feel there was much depth to the characters and had difficulty connecting with the MC. Readers who appreciate less character-driven books/ more plot-driven books are sure to enjoy this one.

Fantastically written story. I didn't see the twist coming and enjoyed every minute of reading this. Loved the humanity and the personalities of the characters.

3.75 Stars

One Liner: Entertaining; suitable for young teens as well

Mina’s homeland has been suffering from storms, floods, and losses for years. Every year, they choose the most beautiful girl and offer her as the Sea God’s Bride. Myth has it that the true bride will get the Sea God to fall in love and save the village.
That year, it was Shim Cheong’s turn. But Mina knows that her brother Joon and Shim love each other. She doesn’t want them to go through heartbreak and decides to offer herself as the Sea God’s Bride.
The trouble, however, is that Mina is still sixteen (the brides have to be eighteen) and doesn’t particularly possess any special talents or beauty (according to others). Moreover, her entry into the underwater realm unleashes chaos, and the Sea God is not who she thought he’d be.
Matters are further complicated when Mina meets the mysterious Lord Shin and realizes she has to choose. Her decision could save her family and villagers. But she’s not sure of anything yet. How can Mina break the curse when there are too many immortals willing to do anything to prevent her, especially when a mortal like her can’t live in the land of spirits for long?

What I Like:
• Retellings are tricky, but this one works well. I read a summary of the original before starting the book. It helped a lot.
• The descriptions of the underwater world are beautiful. I had no problem visualizing the setting.
• Side characters like Mask, Dai, Namgi, and Kirin were interesting. I enjoyed Mina’s interaction with them.
• The aspect of storytelling plays a major role in the book. The grandmother’s role was heartwarming. What are we if not for the stories we make and share!
• The blurb calls it a feminist retelling, and the story does justice to it. Mina is the hero of the book, without demeaning other male characters.

What Could Have Been Better:
• I know this is a YA book, but the pacing is uneven and bumpy. Even the writing is a little all over the place. The ARC is an uncorrected proof copy, so I hope these issues would have been ironed out to an extent in the final copy.
• There is some character development, but we still don’t fully know Mina, the Sea God, or Shin. The pacing needed to be better to let Mina bloom and grow (despite the limitations).
• I’m not sure if there is romance. There seems to be some, but it’s not explored. Yeah, the characters are teens, I know. That doesn’t mean they can’t interact or have conversations to establish their relationship. Most of it was ‘read between the lines’ or implied and left to the readers to assume. The declaration of love seemed a little abrupt, though we know it’s inevitable.

To sum up, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enjoyable retelling with some good moments. Go with low expectations, and you’ll enjoy it more.
Thank you, NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Feiwel & Friends, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

All in all, this wasn't too bad. I'm not familiar with the Korean folk tale that this is based on, so I can't speak to that, but I did like the story overall. The setting and the world-building were pretty good and I liked the main character for the most part. I wish there had been a bit more depth to all of the characters though. While I liked Mina, I wish there had been more to her than just her desire to do the right thing. I struggled to feel connected to any of the side characters though.

I think some of these issues could stem from the pacing, which seemed to jump all over the place. Some parts felt rushed, other sections felt just right, while the ending felt dragged out. The book really did start out strong, but struggled a bit as it continued. It also occasionally felt like it would appeal more to a younger YA audience as well.

I had high hopes for this book, and I’m glad it did not let me down!

Things I loved from this book:

- Korean folklore - I don’t know any Korean folklore, so it was fun to read and learn about
- The writing style - I felt completely immersed into the fantasy world
- The world-building - the story was easy to understand and believe
- Mina's love for her family and references to her grandmother's tales of the gods
- Themes of family, love, sacrifice, grief, and hope
- The plot twists - I didn't see any of them coming!
- The cover - how can you not like the beautiful cover?!

Things I didn’t enjoy as much:
- The pacing was uneven. At times, a sense of urgency was felt, but it seemed to drag at others
- The romance - while I enjoyed the romance, it felt a bit rushed at times

Overall, I found this to be a fun and magical journey. I’d recommend this if you're a fan of fantasy YA romance.

I am absolutely reeling from finishing this book! I read it pretty fast—faster than average for me—and I’m in the headspace where it feels like I’ve been mentally somewhere else. Because mentally, I’ve been in the Spirit Realm.

This had kind of a slow start. Not in a way that there was development but no plot, but in the way where the writing was lacking and it was more tell-than-show, as if we were being sped through the premise without taking time to explore any of it. This was the main reason why I rated the book 4⭐️ instead of 5, although the pacing was slightly off in a couple of other places as well.

There were a *lot* of things I liked about this book.

First of all, let me just say that I love love love books with a fairytale feel. Two of my all-time favorite books are The Bear and the Nightingale and Uprooted. While this book is not incredibly similar to either of those, it does have the same kind of feel to it, although perhaps less dark and more wholesome. I really loved reading a fairytale-ish book that was Asian-inspired, since most of those I love have been European. Most of the Asian-inspired fantasy I’ve read has been more high fantasy than fairytale, so this was super refreshing and exactly what I had in mind when I picked it up.

The romance is vital to the book itself to the point where I would consider this is be YA fantasy romance. It wasn’t especially angsty and wasn’t spicy at all, but it had me on the edge of my seat hoping that everything would work out for the best. I think the romantic part of the book was well-done and definitely made me love it.

A lot of the worldbuilding, being Korean-inspired, is similar to real-life culture. I’m not Korean or especially well-versed in Korean culture, but I think the writing somehow made me see those aspects with new eyes. It was really beautiful and poetic through the fairytale lens of the book.

In fact, there were several good lines that I had to highlight to remind myself of them later. I might come back and add them here at some point.

I don’t really know what else to say, which is always a problem when I write reviews right after finishing a good book. I liked the characters, the worldbuilding, and the writing (for the most part, except for those pesky pacing issues), and I didn’t see any of the plot twists coming. If you like fantasy romance with fairytale vibes this is probably a good choice for you.

𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘢𝘴 (𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵) 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘖𝘩.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘚𝘛 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘠𝘈 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘊𝘩'ŏ𝘯𝘨.”…𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺!

𝘐 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴, 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘬𝘦’𝘴 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 𝘐𝘚 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘠𝘖𝘜!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 22? 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘠 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘱𝘰𝘤 & 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴.

Thank you for this ARC!

When a young woman sacrifices herself to become a bride of the sea god, she is thrust into a colorful adventure in the spirit world trying to heal the connection between humans and the gods.

First, what a gorgeous cover and amazing comps--I think both of these things will draw many readers and they will not be disappointed. My favorite thing about this book is the amazing setting of the spirit world. It is a very vibrant setting, with lots of exciting surprises and fun details. The book has a great energy and is quite vivid in its world-building.

I think at times the book had minor pacing issues--the plot has a slightly meandering quality that did not always keep me totally hooked. But every time I picked it up, I still found myself smiling.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh in exchange for a honest review.

This book immediately caught my interest with the cover, which is absolutely gorgeous, and when I read the back, I was even more interested. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea tells a story of a girl who decides to choose her own fate in order to save those she loves.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was beautifully written, and the story was amazing. For me, the biggest reason I rated this book 3 stars was the pacing. The first two thirds of the book, while good, felt like they dragged on - I had to pause at one point to see how long the book actually was, because it felt way longer than a 336 page book. The last third of the book picked up, and the story overall was very good - I LOVED the ending, but the pacing of the first two thirds was a bit too slow for me.

Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I would absolutely put it in my classroom library; I just wish I knew it had a slow start before I began reading - I think that would have helped.

Absolutely gorgeous book! Highly recommended! Strong female main character and interesting cast of secondary characters, quick and tidy plot that ventures far enough from the source material to keep you guessing, vibrant world-building, and a fantastic message.