When I tell you I was thrilled when I received a copy of the lovely Axie Oh's book THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA, I was SCREAMING when it arrived. I’m already shipping characters and dying to keep going so I can finish and figure out how she’s going to make everything come back together again. I really shouldn't have started at midnight. 😂

A talented story genius, Axie has created a magical world that has me wanting to rewatch all the Studio Ghibli movies. Her words are bold and vivid with color, texture, and description while still being digestible and pleasant to read. For a few hours, I was in her world and allowed the plot she crafted to carry me away to the underworld where a girl, braver and more sure of herself than I have ever been, is determined to break the curse of a Sea God and save her village from the killer storms. A true delight.

Axie, if this does not list, I’m going to throw hands at whoever I need to throw hands at. 😤

A beautifully woven tapestry of a tale with lively, lovable characters. I couldn't put this book down--feasting my eyes on it until I was finished with the epic story. Though, it pulls on a Korean folktale for its basis, this story resonates with a wonderful message of the value of friendship, trust, perseverance, and the enduring love of family and friends. Axie Oh crafts a detailed, lyrical fantasy world that you can immerse yourself in. If you find yourself getting lost, just remember that the Red String of Fate will see you through. I look forward to reading more works by this author.

Initial Thoughts
I was already excited to read this book but then I saw a friend from Instagram’s review and was even more excited to dive in!

Some Things I Liked
Found family vibes. I loved Kirin, Shin, Namgi, Mask, Dai, and basically everyone we met. The entire crew was so phenomenal and I want spin offs for each of them. I loved the bonding and they way they all changed for the better for knowing each other.
The romance. It was subtle but also epic. I also loved the enemies to lovers elements between Shin and Mina.
The themes. I loved the Asian mythology and the themes of sacrifice for family. The entire story just felt so epic and emotional. I loved it all so much. This book was so much more than a fantasy story.

Series Value
While I’d love more books set in this world, following these characters. I think it’s best left as a standalone. This book is a work of art on its own and I loved the ending.

Final Thoughts
I adored this book. I can easily see myself rereading it over and over.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an wonderful story about a girl who chooses the people she loves above everything. A retelling of a Korean folktale, this story weaves elements of fantasy, a little historical fiction, and a good helping of Spirited Away into itself.

I was drawn into Mina’s character because she is not a sad, weepy creature who sits back and waits for her fate. While she does cry often, it’s not because she’s weak. She quickly befriends different characters in the spirit world that aid her on her journey.

This love story is not one to miss! 5/5.

Sometimes you come across a book, and after looking at the cover and reading the description, you know you just have to read that book. This is what happened when I stumbled upon a blog post a while back, which highlighted a bunch of upcoming releases to keep an eye out for. As soon as I saw The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, I knew it was a book I would want to read.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is such a whimsical and lovely book, with stunning imagery and descriptions. This book is inspired by Korean mythology and had a fairytale-esque feel to it. From the moment Mina arrives in the Spirit Realm, I was enraptured by the world and was always wanting more. The market especially captivated me, and the descriptions of the scenery, food, and people helped the area to come alive vibrantly in my mind.

I really loved the writing style in this. It didn't feel too stilted like some fairytale-like books do, but it wasn't so modern and fast-paced that it felt out of place. There was a richness to the style, and my favorite part was that it was easy to read and understand, while still feeling elegant and lovely. Another interesting thing is that this book was written in first person. Normally I would prefer third person for a book such as this, but I think I would've felt too distanced from the characters had that been the case, so it was a smart choice to keep it in first person.

While on the subject of characters, I really enjoyed reading about our main protagonist Mina and the perilous journey she has to endure. She was especially determined and would do anything for those she loves. Shin's character was also of particular interest. At first he comes across as standoffish and maybe a little shallow, but the longer we spend with him, the more we realize that is far from the case. There's a big reveal about him toward the end, that while exciting, I did predict very early on (though I was kind of excited about that, because I love predicting plot points!).

However, my favorite character was probably Namgi. I felt he had a lot of depth to him; he was funny and added a lot of comedic relief, but he also had a lot of other things going on. He was well-rounded and developed. I wish we'd gotten more backstory and explanation on his relationship with Kirin. I never fully understood what Kirin's issue with Namgi was, but even so, I enjoyed watching them grow closer as the book went on. My only wish would have been a little more page time with them.

Something I really enjoyed about The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea was how complex the story was. At first, it seems rather simple, but as it went along and new nuggets of information were introduced, I began to wonder whether I had the whole picture, and the answer is that I didn't. While I was able to piece a lot of it together as it progressed, there was still a lot that I had missed, and by the time everything was revealed in the end, it truly became apparent how intricate the story is. I was so impressed!

While I enjoyed most of this book, I felt the pacing was the weakest part of the story. It felt off at times. One minute, something exciting with high stakes would occur, but the next, slow scenes ensued for several chapters. It felt a little jarring at times, going from non-stop action to drawn out sequences, then right back into more action. This is the biggest reason this book was only four stars for me. It definitely had the potential to be a five star read, but it didn't quite get there, in my opinion.

Despite that, I really liked this one! The take on the myth was so interesting, and unlike any other fantasy I've read. If you're a fan of YA myth-based fantasy, I would definitely recommend this!

I'm so glad I was able to read The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, and I can't wait to see what other books Axie Oh has in store!

Thanks NetGalley for this eARC!
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a lovely story. Mina, the protagonist, lives in a village by the sea that is plagued yearly by dreadful storms- unless the kingdom sacrifices a bride to the Sea God. This year, the sacrifice is meant to be the woman Mina's brother loves, so Mina takes her place. She finds herself in the Sea God's city, where she finds out he's been asleep for 100 years- and various forces are trying to usurp his power.

The world building in this book is exquisite. I also loved the side characters of Mask and Dai- probably more than Mina, to be honest. The romance was sweet, albeit a bit rushed. There were a couple of twists, one of which I thought was predictable (but I didn't hate it!), but the other took me by surprise.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this to any fantasy reader.

This was a lovely book with a fairy tale feel. Every year a young woman is sacrificed as a bride of the sea god in order to calm the storms that ravage Mina's home. In order to save her family and her home, Mina throws herself into the sea in the place of her brother's love, making herself that year's bride. In the spirit world she has to figure out how to break the sea god's curse and wake him up so that he can stop the storms, but she may just lose her heart in the process.

BEAUTIFUL! I finished this book in less than a day. I could not put it down! Thank you so much to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book before its publication. It will go down as one of my all-time favorites!

Truth be told, I was never into Asian fantasies, folklore, or mythology until I read the Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (another one of my favorites!) This book was really something special. It was a beautiful, feminist, retelling of a Korean folklore tale and I am so obsessed with Axie Oh’s writing style! It is beautifully descriptive and flowy.

The book dives right into the action; no fluff, no filler, just straight into the main plot line and the rest of the book reads so evenly and fast! The flow to this story was really nicely done.

I read other reviews on this book because I was baffled that people could give this less than 4 or 5 stars so I wanted to know why. A big recurring theme was people said this book was painfully young adult, and I have to wildly disagree. This book has depth and layers and much of what I personally believe as a Christian about the afterlife is displayed in this story, but I believe a lot of different religions and backgrounds could get a lot out of this. It makes people think (even though it’s not a religious book, I would say it is very much a spiritual one). It is truly something beautiful when a movie, tv show, or book can be so relatable to so many different types of people and cultures. It, in my opinion, is a true work of art.

I don’t really have anything bad to say about this book. I thought maybe towards the end, some plot lines may be beginning to be forgotten about but it all tied up nice in the end.

I highly recommend this book. It was such a nice way to start out my reading goal for 2022, and I know I will be talking, thinking, and recommending this book for years to come! It is not very often that after I read an e-book that I have to go out and buy the hard copy to have in my collection, but this book has definitely earned a prime spot in my personal library.

In this case, one should absolutely judge this book by its cover. This cover is absolutely stunning and is worthy of being framed. The story is just as beautiful. The writing is gorgeous and flows well. The characters are just as enchanting as the plot. This is quite simply one of the most stunning books I’ve ever read, and I will not forget it.

Thank you to Axie Oh, the publisher, and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Amazing!! I loved this book so much. First of all the cover is gorgeous for the US and the UK editions. I was drawn into this book by the title ‘The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea.’ Sounds so interesting. It was so good!! I was hooked from the very beginning. Mina is racing trying to find her brother who is with Cheong. Cheong is to be sacrificed to be the next bride of the sea god. The people believe that by sacrificing a beautiful girl each year to the sea god they will bring peace to their world. A peace from storms, floods, drought, and other things. Well Mina jumps into the sea instead. Mina comes to realize along her way that things are not as they seem. While reading this book so much of the plot was a mystery regarding the sea god. I had my guesses and I ended up right. I’m just so happy with the happy ending. I have already preordered a copy of this book. I loved the beautiful descriptions of the world and people. I also even cried at one point in the story. I will not forget about this book.

*thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars
This was such a fun read because I am not very familiar with Korean legends and myths. This was a quick read with characters that are relatable and not flat at all. There are themes of love and family throughout the story and the end was done beautifully. I would recommend this book to anyone middle grade and above.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is an amazing story! Super creative premise, just absolutely fantastic

Such a beautiful story! Mina did not plan on become the Sea God’s latest bride, only wishing to save her brother Joon from the storm’s wrath. But Joon followed the beautiful Shim Cheong out to sea when it was decided she would be sacrificed, and so Mina went after him. Then it all happens in a moment—Cheong hesitates, Joon steps out in front of her and Mina makes the decision to throw herself into the sea instead. But instead of being swallowed up and drowned by the thrashing waters, Mina is whisked away to the Spirit Realm, where the Sea God resides.
She follows the Red String of Fate, a tie between Mina and her newly betrothed, through the empty town until she reaches the palace gates. Upon entry Mina finds the Sea God is not the all-powerful being she was expecting, and can’t imagine a life as his bride. Then with the flash of a blade, Mina’s fate is altered once more. And if she wants to save the human world, Mina will have to work together with a mysterious god named Shin, some rogue spirits who seem to know her already and an assortment of other inhabitants of the Spirit Realm.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for the e-arc of this novel.*

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea tells the story of Mina the youngest and only daughter of the Song family, who is willing to defy gods and mortals alike for the love of her family.

Mina is a loving and good sister, so when the woman her brother loves is meant to be sacrificed to the God of the Sea, Mina throws herself into the sea in her stead. What Mina thought the Sea God and the spirit world would be from her grandmothers stories, is enchanting and beautiful, the world she arrives in is anything but. Gods bid for power and quietly war against each other as the Sea God sleeps. Mina feels she must wake the Sea God and save the people of the spirit world, but can she do that without losing her heart to another first?

The squeal of joy that came out of me when I received this Arc is impossible to replicate. Thank you to Netgalley, Feiwell and Friends, and Axie Oh for the advanced copy of this book.

One of my favorite things over the last few years is all of the retellings of myths, legends, and folklore across the world. As a child I loved reading fairytales and stories about Gods who chose mortals over other Gods. I love the idea and the magic in passing down stories for generations. I often wondered when reading Greek Mythology, how many of those stories lost their bulk through centuries of telephone.

Mina lives her life in stories that have been told to her and passed down to her through generations. The stories she hears and learns from are mainly those from her grandmother and when she is in the spirit world, you can tell that the knowledge passed on to her with love, is the same that she uses to save those that she loves. Mina is probably one of the strongest female characters that I have had the pleasure to read about in a long time. In times of darkness and trial, she allowed herself only a moment of fear before she turned and faced head on whatever was coming her way. She is strong, witty, and uncomplicated. She has only ever known love and wishes to share that same feeling with those she cares for, and even those that scare her.

I absolutely loved this book. I greatly appreciate that Axie Oh is sharing a part of her culture in the retelling of Shim Cheong. She writes this tale in such a beautiful way that you can tell every word is filled with a tenderness for the characters, and the original folk lore itself. I highly recommend this book to everyone and have already pre-ordered my own copy for my shelf.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

<i>The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea</i> is a new YA novel brings vivid life to Korean mythology with a fun, engaging story packed with genuine heart. Mina has been raised in a world of violence and terrible storms. Every year, a girl is sacrificed to the wave in an effort to appease the Sea God. This year, the girl is the one that her older brother loves. Mina sacrifices herself instead, and finds herself in the Spirit Realm where new friends help her survive terrible foes. She has 30 days to find out why the Sea God is lost in sadness, or Mina will become a spirit herself and never be able to return to her family.

The structure is nice and cozy--feisty girl defies standards, ends up in a dangerous place, meets a cute boy, needs to solve a major mystery to hopefully end up with cute boy in the end. What makes this innovative and fresh is the spin Oh brings to the mythology and the emotional depth interwoven between all of these characters. There were a few moments where tears stung my eyes. This is a book that delivers on every level. I loved it.

Major thank you to Feiwel and Friends, and Netgalley for the ARC!

After reading Axie Oh’s XOXO and loving it, I was eagerly anticipating The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. A book inspired by Spirited Away, Korean mythology, with one of the prettiest covers I’ve seen lately? What more could a girl want?

Our main character, Mina, lives in a village that has been cursed. For almost a hundred years, young girls have been sacrificed to the Sea God in an attempt to calm his wrath. The Sea God’s anger takes the form of violent storms and floods, leading to communities fighting for increasingly limited resources. In an attempt to save her brother, Joon, to protect his happiness, and to spare Joon’s beloved, Shim Cheong, Mina sacrifices herself to be the Sea God’s bride. In doing so, she hopes to be the one to break the curse. Once she’s in the Spirit Realm, a series of events happen: Mina’s soul gets stolen, and she finds herself banned from the palace.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is utterly charming. With lyrical prose, and lush worldbuilding, Axie Oh’s reimaging of the tale of Shim Cheong is something so special. The way Oh has written the Spirit Realm was incredibly whimsical, and felt like something straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie. The food descriptions made my mouth water, and I truly felt like I was in the Spirit Realm with Mina.

Once I picked The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea up, I simply couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened with Mina, and how the pieces all fell into place. It’s very fast paced, and I think anyone looking for a quick — and short — read would enjoy this book. Oh’s writing is so enthralling, and one of the strongest elements of this book.

I really admired Mina’s stubbornness, her strength and her will. I loved how determined she was to be the person to determine her own fate, and to break the curse. That being said, at times, I was more invested in some of the side characters, and how the plot would unfold, rather than Mina herself. Axie Oh has woven a wonderful tale of grief, family, sacrifice, and self-determination, and I would highly recommend it!

Axie Oh’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea has destroyed me, ripped my soul from my body, crushed my heart beneath its scaly dragon feet.

Pining, monsters, gods, demons, family, friendship, love, hate, assassins, battles, death. Did I mention pining? Delicious, delicious pining. Seriously. I read this book straight through – it was that enthralling – and I’m still caught up in the pining. So much pining.

This is the story of a teen girl, Mina, who chooses to protect her brother’s happiness by taking his beloved’s place as the Sea God’s bride. For nearly one hundred years, young girls have been sacrificed to the Sea God in an effort to calm his wrath. His anger takes the form of violent, destructive storms that have killed whole families, laid waste to the land, and caused communities to turn against each other in a fight for increasingly limited resources.

In sacrificing herself, Mina makes the slightly over-confident decision to fix whatever is causing the Sea God’s wrath so no other girls will be sacrificed to him.

Easy enough, right? Unfortunately, she has no idea where to start, immediately has her soul stolen, and somehow gets herself banned from the Sea God’s palace. The storms worsen, an assassin is out to get her, and she’s suddenly all confused about her goals, emotionally torn in the Spirit Realm. What if she’s no longer willing to tie herself to the Sea God? What if she has accidentally become attached to someone else?

Oh’s pacing is excellent. Her character development is mature and the story is well-crafted. Occasionally, I took issue with the sometimes stilted or, in my opinion, inappropriately formal wording. But I actually can’t wait to read this book again. Like Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, this is a book I will be reading again and again.

Take my advice: do not read any spoilers. This is a story you want … no, you need to discover for yourself. It takes as many twists and turns as the red ribbon of fate and you won’t want to miss any of them.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56978100-the-girl-who-fell-beneath-the-sea" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616788834l/56978100._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56978100-the-girl-who-fell-beneath-the-sea">The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15243084.Axie_Oh">Axie Oh</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4505541626">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Axie Oh’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea has destroyed me, ripped my soul from my body, crushed my heart beneath its scaly dragon feet. <br /><br />Pining, monsters, gods, demons, family, friendship, love, hate, assassins, battles, death. Did I mention pining? Delicious, delicious pining. Seriously. I read this book straight through – it was that enthralling – and I’m still caught up in the pining. So much pining. <br /><br />This is the story of a teen girl, Mina, who chooses to protect her brother’s happiness by taking his beloved’s place as the Sea God’s bride. For nearly one hundred years, young girls have been sacrificed to the Sea God in an effort to calm his wrath. His anger takes the form of violent, destructive storms that have killed whole families, laid waste to the land, and caused communities to turn against each other in a fight for increasingly limited resources. <br /><br />In sacrificing herself, Mina makes the slightly over-confident decision to fix whatever is causing the Sea God’s wrath so no other girls will be sacrificed to him. <br /><br />Easy enough, right? Unfortunately, she has no idea where to start, immediately has her soul stolen, and somehow gets herself banned from the Sea God’s palace. The storms worsen, an assassin is out to get her, and she’s suddenly all confused about her goals, emotionally torn in the Spirit Realm. What if she’s no longer willing to tie herself to the Sea God? What if she has accidentally become attached to someone else? <br /><br />Oh’s pacing is excellent. Her character development is mature and the story is well-crafted. Occasionally, I took issue with the sometimes stilted or, in my opinion, inappropriately formal wording. But I actually can’t wait to read this book again. Like Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, this is a book I will be reading again and again.<br /><br />Take my advice: do not read any spoilers. This is a story you want … no, you need to discover for yourself. It takes as many twists and turns as the red ribbon of fate and you won’t want to miss any of them. <br /><br />I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/34492692-sandra-sloop">View all my reviews</a>

“The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea” tells the story of Mina, who lives in a nation that, for a century, has been devastated by storms coming from the sea. Every year, a young girl is sacrificed as a bride for the Sea God, hoping to end their suffering. When Shim Cheong, her brother Joon’s lover, is chosen as a bride, she decides to save them both by jumping into the sea. On the Spirit Realm, she will try to break the curse that falls on the Sea God, freeing him from a deep sleep and, hopefully, saving her village from further storms.

The book starts off quickly, with Mina already heading to the Spirit Realm and setting events into motion. Everything happens very fast, and in the first few chapters, you can tell it is going to be a book aimed at younger audiences, something that would have changed my perspective had I known when I first started. All the characters appear too fast and don’t give the reader enough time to get attached and believe in their goals, and they all fell flat, with no personality other than doing what they have to do to move the story. The descriptions of places and characters weren’t able to make me visualize them easily, so I kept having to reread them, which slowed down the experience and took me out of the story.

Overall, it is not a book I enjoyed, mostly because of the writing. The story had amazing potential to be great, but it fell flat. Perhaps younger audiences could enjoy it better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the e-arc in return for an honest review.

Absolutely beautiful cover and story! The story is absolutely stunning and has the feel of a majestic fairytale. So many emotions in the story that you can’t help but be moved. I love that there is a little bit of background in the beginning of the story, so that you’re not completely lost when the story starts. A couple of the details I did feel were taken right out of Miyazaki‘s Spirited Away and Nausica(Kirin’s form and the lost names in the memories for example) but if you like Miyazaki stories you will absolutely love this. Even though there seems to be a lot of running back-and-forth, the story and characters are beautiful!!

A retelling of Korean folklore, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea tells the tale of Mina, a girl who offers herself to the sea for the sake of her home and family. Mina takes the place of another girl chosen to be the Sea God's bride in an attempt by their people to appease a god they believe has turned from them. In the Spirit World, Mina finds Sea God in an enchanted sleep that can only be broken by his "true" bride. Mina sets out to free the god and bring safety to those she left behind with the a motley collection of demons, gods and spirits, including Shin, the Sea God's protector, and some of the bride's that came before her.

Mina, herself, follows one of my favorite character tropes of the girl who never stops believing. She truly believes those around her can, at every turn, be better and be worthy of the hopes and dreams that have been placed in them. The book presents that humanity is worth kindness and worth taking care of, a thought that will never cease to be one of my favorites. In contrast Mina is place opposite the trope of person who has forgotten why they once had hope, and in doing so has forgotten parts of themselves. The pairing of faith and earned cynicism was so well balanced through out the book. Every character presented a different turn on faith in others and support for and from a community that I really loved.

This book was luscious read. From characterization to setting, the whole novel was a warm bath. The comparisons to Spirited Away are well earned. Somehow Axie Oh has captured in her words the way Miyazaki's animation feels. The world of this book is not always kind and yet language was warm and comforting. I usually don't push a comparison to other media in a recommendation, but in this case I couldn't better sell Oh's writing to most folks I know than to say this book felt like Spirited Away made me a cup of tea and wrapped me in a blanket on a snowy day.