Despite a slow start, I was charmed by this tale of a fox woman who gets involved with a local family in her quest for revenge, and an investigator who gets wrapped up in her story.

I loved the mythology in this, although at times I felt a little like I was reading a textbook. This did feel quite cozy to me once it got going and definitely felt like the perfect cold winter read. There are a lot of characters here but they didn’t feel hard to keep track of. Eventually, you learn of connections between the characters, giving it a bit of a full circle, magical feel.

I didn’t much enjoy The Ghost Bride by this author, but liked The Night Tiger, if you have similar feelings as me, I’d give this one a shot! It felt more like The Night Tiger if forced to compare. But this is probably my favorite by the author!

For absolutely unconceivable reasons, I haven't read Yangsze Choo before despite hearing so so many good things about her previous two novels. One of them is even sitting on my shelf looking pretty. Not anymore, though, because after reading "The Fox Wife" I immediately picked it up.
The prose in this is just gorgeous, there are no other words. It's almost enchanting, utterly captivating, and it is what kept me hooked throughout the entire book even though some parts were a little too slow-paced for the content of this particular story. "The Fox Wife" is told from two perspectives - the titular fox lady, Snow, who tells her part of the story in first person, and the aging investigator Bao who can sense whether a person lies or speaks the truth and whose chapters are written in third person. Snow's chapters were by far the more engaging ones to me, though that doesn't mean that I didn't like Bao's parts. Both of their stories are intricately connected from the very start, but they don't meet until much, much later. While Snow is on a path of revenge after her little daughter was killed, Bao investigates the apparent murder of a young woman, left to die in the snow with a smile on her face. The character writing is superb, and while I never completely connected with Bao I felt for him all the way. Snow does lack a bit of agency especially in the later parts of the book, where oftentimes she was put in the role of the frail, fragile woman to be worried about and protected by the men in her life, which I didn't enjoy as much. But I loved her still and her grief, her anger seeped through the pages. Her relationship with the aging lady she decides to work for is one of the best parts of the whole book. I also quite enjoyed some of the side characters, especially the other foxes. The rest of them weren't all too fleshed out.
The pacing is generally rather slow but for most of the book it's very fitting. It adds to the magical atmosphere of it all. I loved the setting of early 20th century China (Manchuria to be precise) at the end of the Qing dynasty, and it leads us to Japan, too, though we don't see as much of it. It's based on myths of shape-shifting foxes, and I just adored reading about them. There is a lot of tragedy in these pages, but there is also a lot of hope and love. It's stunningly beautiful and intriguing.

In the end, this is a well-crafted, gorgeously written mystical tale that not only made me want to read up on fox myths and Chinese history, but also turned Yangsze Choo into an auto-buy author. 4,5 stars, gladly rounding up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for sending an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are some truly beautiful passages to be had here, so much so that several of Choo’s descriptions of light and nature made me pause mid sentence just to sit with a turn of phrase.

Snow, our fox woman, was a fascinating protagonist. Her not-quite-human perspective on very human things was my favorite part of the book, and I found myself genuinely rooting for her. Plus, I’m obsessed with foxes and fox folklore, so Snow pulling the curtain back on these was a real treat.

Detective Bao, our second viewpoint character and protagonist, kinda bored me. I think part of the reason I struggled to connect with or care about him is that after the intimate, first person narrative of Snow’s chapters, Bao’s third person narrative felt like a wall between us. I also found his chapters too repetitive, with his thoughts frequently circling back to something like “once again, so much talk of girls and foxes.” Like we know bruh, it’s kind of the theme of the entire book.

The plot itself was interesting and unique, but I think it was stretched across too many pages. For me, trimming it down by at least 100 pages would’ve given a much needed sense of urgency to some of the scenes and would’ve helped the glacial pacing overall. While The Fox Wife isn’t a new favorite of mine, I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Asian Fantasy, Mystery, Mythology Retelling
Spice Level: Medium (Women are sexually threatened and sex workers are part of the background. Nothing is on the page.)
Violence Level: Threats, Some Actions, Murders are not on the page.
Themes: Revenge, Redemption, Love, Family, Honor

This is a Chinese knot of a novel. Enter the winter world of China and Japan shortly after the turn of the century. What do you have? A delicious blend of traditions and old gods or spirits that some want to leave behind combined with technology of trains and large ships. And don't forget an unexplained death. And mysterious stories of foxes permeating the city.

I love how the worlds of all the characters intertwine—beautiful, complicated, and ever-tightening.

Bao has turned investigator now that he's in his sixties and alone in the world except for a somewhat-estranged brother. He pines for the girl of his youth, the one his family brought to him as a friend and then didn't want in their esteemed family.

Snow is bent on revenge for the loss of her child. She's slippery, and yet, she has a conscious. Her path is mysterious and fraught with dangers. I loved reading about her and all the informational tidbits she offers about foxes and their natures.

The author judiciously uses dreams. Normally, I don't care for dream sequences much, but these are sharp and pointed. And just what the novel needs.

As the end approached, I didn't want to stop reading—always a sign that I'm fully vested in the story.

I would almost say this fantasy book falls into the category of magical realism. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you read it. This one deserves an award.

I'm predicting this book will be in my top 10 for 2024! It's truly that fascinating. I highly recommend this if you want to have a sense of *wonder* when reading.

Happy reading!

Parallel narratives of a fox who can take human form and an aging detective who has a fascination with fox gods.

You can say that I have a bias towards reading more books by Asian authors. I wouldn’t deny it. That should not detract from the fact this was a great novel and a beautifully written story. What some authors fail to do is to incorporate history into their story which can make the reader feel disconnected altogether. Yangsze was able to speak about the different Chinese dynasties, traditions, and throw in a dash of the political climate without missing a beat from the main story.

The main story itself was a wonderful read. This book is a dual third person POV, one FMC and another MMC, who will eventually meet, but not in a fated love kind of trope. It’s a story of revenge, love, changing times, and embracing our past, knowing that not everything stays in there. And oh, how much I enjoyed the myths of foxes.

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co for allowing me to read this anticipated book (understandably so). Highly recommend. 5 out of 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this story. The Fox Wife is part folktale, part revenge story, with sprinkles of history and mythology. I novel features beautiful storytelling, each step taking the reader closer to the target while revealing a bit of the past.

The interconnectedness of the characters seemed plausible without being forced. Enough information was sprinkled throughout that the reader could at times anticipate how some of the pieces would come together but it was done in such a way that it didn't seem contrived.

A really enjoyable read. 4 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Henry Holt for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The myths of fox spirits that can take on the form of beautiful women come to life in this novel of loss, vengeance, fear, and family. The witty style of writing was perfect for a fox’s perspective and drew me in from the first page. The characters - both the main characters and the side characters - were fully formed and compelling, even if they weren’t all completely likable.

The pacing was quick, and the one time I had to put it down for a few hours, I found myself thinking about it until I could pick it up again.

At first the alternating points of view seemed disjointed and confusing. As the story progressed, the intersections between the two gave me so many “aha!” moments, and when they finally converged, it felt seamless. The ending gave me a happy sigh.

Definitely recommend to those who like novel adaptations of folklore, cozy mysteries, and/or historical fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this novel to read. All opinions contained are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before its publication date.

I was so excited to see this book available, as I had been wanting to read it for a while. It was a wonderful story told from two different points of view, Snow and Bao. I found myself flooded with the folklore of the fox spirits and the harsh realities of 1900s China and Japan. I was hoping for a bit more of a magical realism feel, but truly enjoyed the book.

This was great fun, with flashes of pure brilliance. I wish it had gone through one last revision stage, though; the repetition (foxes are insatiably curious, we know) and late introduction of the thousand-year path made me feel like I missed out on a superb novel.

The prose in this book was lyrical at times, it read partially like a fairytale and partially like a detective story. While it was slow in some parts, this helped to build the narrative. I had never read any of Yangsze Choo's books before, but I will have to go back and read the rest now!

The Fox Wife is a character driven slow burn following a kitsune (fox) on her journey to find the man she believes is responsible for her daughter’s death. It’s a dual POV so we also get to know Bao, an investigator that has been fascinated by foxes since he was a boy. Eventually their tales become woven together. I loved every moment of this book. It does start a bit slow but I adjusted my pace and soaked in the atmosphere and detail and found it to be perfect. Magical realism at it’s finest.
Thank you to Holt and Co publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Simply gorgeous. That’s all I need to say aboht this one, simply. Utterly. Gorgeous. Thanks for the arc

I wanted to love this book from the author of The Night Tiger, which I really enjoyed. This story is fresh and unique with a lot going for it, but I don’t think it had enough to fill 400 pages. I don’t mind a slow paced book, but there was so much repetition through the middle that the story felt stalled. No doubt Choo is a talented writer and I loved learning more about the historical folklore around foxes. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for this advance copy.

The Fox Wife is an enchanting, thrilling, intriguing book written in the POV of a fox disguised as a woman. I loved reading this book as it takes the reader to a world of mythology, folklore and fables mixed with historical facts. I loved the books' interesting characters, how they are intertwined with each other and absolutely adored the main character, Snow. I was looking forward to reading this book and was immersed in it from the very beginning!

I didn't want to stop reading and put the book down!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co. For the e-arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Interesting story, a little magic and romance at the same time. Better knowing Chinese culture could have helped me love this book a little more deeply.

3.75☆

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co, NetGalley, and Yangtze Choo for an advanced copy of The Fox Wife in exchange for my honest review.

I rated this book 3.5/5 stars.

I wanted to love this book but it turned out to be just okay for me. The writing was beautiful, the mystery and intertwined lives of the characters was intriguing, but there were too many meandering asides and the pace was far too slow for me. It made for a difficult read without much payoff. I will certainly recommend it to others and will be looking into other novels by Choo in the future.

"The Fox Wife" is engaging and beautifully written. The point of view of the fox mother is the heart of this story. It drew me in and kept me invested. I don't want to write much more that might give away plot points, but I highly recommend this book for fans of historical fiction and fantasy. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Loved the concept of this book suprised on the path it went down when I'm the type of person that reads a description an sees the plot infront of my eyes before I even read through the first page😂, enjoyed this an hoped others who are interested get a chance to read this

This was a wonderfully aching tale of maternal grief, revenge, and murder mystery set in early 1900’s Manchuria. The story is filled with Chinese fox spirit lore, and the plot that starts it all off is devastating. 😢

The two POV’s in the book are written not only in a different narration style to help distinguish the two, but also to see both sides of the tale. Xue’er (or Snow by her friends, and Ah San by her employers) is a fox spirit that is set on the path of revenge after a devastating event occurs. I loved the diary-like style her narration takes on as she provided great insight into the life and culture of fox spirits. Her tale of grief is heart wrenching as you learn more of the events that lead her to where she is at the beginning of the story. The second POV, Bao, is done through third person narrative, and while he did feel a bit “bland” in comparison to Xue’er’s POV, I find that it fits him. He provides the murder mystery context of the story, and Choo does a wonderful job of leading you along while trying and failing to figure out the “who-done-it” question. 🔍

The side characters were just as evocative as the main POVs. I found Kuro and the old mistress to be the most endearing of the bunch as they treat grieving Xue’er with kindness. Shiro in my opinion, got the ending he deserved, though his motives still elude me . . . But I guess that’s a fox for you. 🦊

I did find the timeline to be a bit muddled for me here and there, and I do feel like Shiro’s relationship with Bektu not really well explained. But in the end, I still thoroughly enjoyed this snowy tale of foxes and the journey of grief, healing and revenge to be engrossing. I honestly couldn’t put it down at times! This is definitely for those who love and are interested in Chinese fox spirits, murder mysteries, and a mystery driven plot found in Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books series! 📚

Big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for accepting my request for an eARC in exchange for an honest review, and to Goodreads for hosting a giveaway where I received a physical copy. And to the author, Yangsze Choo, for creating such an endearing tale of loss, revenge, and murder mystery!

Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️

Publication date: February 13! ❤️