I finally read The Fox Wife and it was a delightful read. The book is beautifully written, and uses folklore surrounding foxes as shapeshifters to weave a riveting story – which is also a detective story. There were many discussions of delicious sounding food as well, so you might want to have a snack handy while reading. Maybe fried tofu.
Author Yangsze Choo reads the audiobook in a way that feels like she is giving you a wink throughout which is very effective. Her voice is also quite calming, which works for both narrative paths through this book.
Thank you to MacMillan audio for my advanced copy of The Fox Wife.

A truly beautiful book that blends and melds history with folklore, spanning Korea, Japan, and China. It's slow but never plodding, heartwrenching but never saccharine. A wonderful read.

This book was interesting to say the least. Told from a different perspective than I am used to which was a breath of fresh air when it comes to books. The story is just so beautiful. If folklore is not your gam this would probably not be your cup of tea but if you are anything like me and love folklore then you will definitely enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know this is an unpopular opinion but this was a very difficult book for me to get through. I liked the concept and the author made some profound points throughout the novel, but it was very slow. I felt like the pacing dragged and made it difficult to finish. As an audio experience, the narrator did an excellent job but it was hard to distinguish between the different points of view. Overall, I do recommend checking this book out if the premise interests you.

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking.

Thank you Macmillan Audio & Netgalley for sending me a review copy of this book! I’ve never read anything by this author. It’s my first book by her. It’s an interesting story but it’s not for me so I decided to DNF it at 62%. I tried to read this book but it’s moving too slow for me. I was so bored when I was reading this book. This book is a slow paced story and it hasn’t really drawn me in. I don’t feel invested in the story. Would I recommend this book? It depends on what kind of books you like to read. If you like reading a fast paced story then this isn’t it but if you like reading a slow paced story then you might like this.

4.5 stars out of 5

I was very impressed by The Night Tiger (4 stars) so I was so excited to take a chance at The Fox Wife.

This is the kind of book that you need to sit and enjoy slowly. If you’re looking for a quick read, this isn’t it. However if you want something to savor over a few days, I highly recommend.

The Fox Wife is a dual POV story that follows Snow, a fox who wants to avenge her daughter, and Bao, a detective who investigates the death of a young woman found in a doorway.

The story spans from China to Japan and back and is filled with mythology and mystery. If you’re looking for a story where all plot lines are tied up in pretty bows at the end, this isn’t it.

a bit of a slow start but fascinating story. i thoroughly enjoyed the narrator and how the characters connected in the end.

I gravitated to this book due to its uniqueness. It was refreshing to learn about how intricate the folktale of the fox is in Chinese culture. I didn't feel that Bao's story was delivered to the reader in the best manner. The dual storylines made the book a little hard to get through as it was unclear what the point was in having the story jump when it did. The dialogue and observations of the foxes wasn't always presented in a digestible manner. Pacing was off throughout the entirety but it was readable.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Publication date: February 13, 2024

Date read: February 13, 2024

Audiobook read by the author



A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now. Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?

I enjoy Choo's style of storytelling and her take on magical realism. (I had read The Night Tiger previously and really liked it, and I've been wanting to read The Ghost Bride for awhile, but haven't yet). Her use of Chinese folklore is really intriguing but also - for a western reader - not written in a way that you need to know any backstory.

This story is very much a slow-burn, with a lot of little plot points moving us through the story, but very few big exciting scenes. This type of writing is not for everyone, I know - and I don't say that in a condescending way. It's natural to want books to flow quickly through the plot, and slow-burn books are not everyone's cup of tea. I enjoy them as long as the writing is interesting and not too florid (I don't need three pages describing an item of clothing or someone's breakfast), and I think that Choo's style of writing is a good mix of beautiful and to the point.

Choo also narrates this book if you choose to listen to the audio, and I didn't have any issues with her narration, but neither is it the greatest narration I've listened to. I do like when an author reads their own work, since they know where to put emphasis when needed and I know I'm getting correct pronunciations, though. I think this book would be equally enjoyable as an audiobook or as a print book.

There were a lot of characters in this book, which did make some parts a tiny bit confusing, but the main storyline was easy to follow. And while many of the human characters were more or less average, the investigator - Bao - was very intriguing to me; I thought he was written very well and I enjoyed following his character during the chapters focusing on his life and investigation. And, of course, the fox characters were lovely and complex and I loved following their stories.

Overall, this book is a nice, quiet magical realism story that I quite enjoyed but which is not for everyone. Readers who enjoy magical realism or folklore I believe will enjoy this story, and anyone who likes a little magic mixed in with their mysteries should like it as well.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Content warning: foot binding, death of a child, talk of killing female babies

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This book is well-written and I liked it. But I am not really a fan of the narrator (I believe it's the author.) I will probably read this book, but I'll go for the ebook next time.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the copy of this book!

I am a huge historical fantasy lover, and really enjoyed this unique read based off of mythology surrounding foxes and set in 1908 China & Japan. A family owns a famous Chinese medicine shop, but they cannot stop their eldest sons from dying before their 24th birthdays. Snow, a mysterious woman from the north, enters their household as a caretaker -- but is she a servant or a fox spirit seeking revenge?

I really loved our FMC, Snow. She's determined, swift, and cunning -- oh, because she's also a fox in human form. I love how she was the one who was teaching us about fox spirit mythology - "foxes often do ___" or "there's a misconception that foxes ____." It made for top-tier storytelling. The mystery element in the story kept the plot moving forward, but it did start to drag a bit for me in the second half. The book is read by the author, which I ADORED because you know it's being told perfectly.

"Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . ."

🦊THE FOX WIFE🦊 was another enchanting story filled with Chinese folklore by @yangszechoo. I listened to the audio for this one and Choo narrated the story herself. Her sing-song voice complemented the magical realism of the story perfectly and her pointed inflections and emotional injects made you feel like you were really immersed in the story. Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher @henryholtbooks & @macmillan.audio for the physical ARC and audio-ARC respectively.

This story is set in early 20th century Manchuria where a young courtesan is found frozen in the snow. Bao, a local detective, takes on the case while rumors swirl that the young woman's death was due to the trickery of foxes who are shape shifting spirits that are clever, cunning, and always have an agenda. Fascinated by these mythological creatures, Bao sets out to determine why the young woman was murdered. The fox rumors make it very difficult for our other MC, a fox pretending to be a lady's maid to Bao's mother as well.

This story is a mystery enveloped in mythology and I really enjoyed the slow-paced intertwining tales that sprang from the multiple POVs of the characters. Lots of discussion of yin/yang balances to the world, descriptions of the landscape and traditions of the time, and a puzzle that the characters look at from different angles.

I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy magical realism, mythology and folklore, murder mysteries, and certainly trickster spirits. In fact, I would also highly recommend her other two novels I have read: THE NIGHT TIGER and THE GHOST BRIDE.

💥💥💥

Do you read any authors that write magical realism stories? My two favorite authors in this space are Choo and Anna-Marie McLemore!

💚SMASHBOT💚

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I am a bit late on this review but only because it took me so long to finish this... literally MONTHS. It just couldn't really hold my attention. I got this book originally as an audiobook arc but ran out of time to download it so I found it as an audiobook through my local library instead. I had to renew my borrow at least 5 times (lol).
Though I did enjoy the content of the story, there was just something missing for me the whole time. I'm not sure exactly what it is but it couldn't grip me.

Choo's writing in this is so beautiful though so I will try again with future books!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

What a beautiful surprise. This is the first Yangsze Choo I've picked up so I had little frame of reference going in. I am familiar with Chinese folklore about foxes and thought I knew exactly what to expect, I was wrong to assume. This is an incredibly crafted historical fiction that introduced me to a time period I know little about in China, the early 1900s. It is also a revenge story with several interwoven mysteries and magical realism is mixed into the entire narrative. Narration by the author was excellent and added a nuance that might be missed in print. I am eager to pick up Yangsze Choo's debut after reading this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

This is set in 1908 Manchuria. This has to do with the Chinese folklore of fox spirits that have the ability to transform themselves into humans. There's one point of view from Snow who is a mother seeking revenge for her sons death. The next point of view is of a detective who is investigating the death of a women who is found dead outside a restaurant on a cold winter night. This detective has a really cool skill that he can determine if a person is lying. This story is so moving, I loved it.

I believe this is a case of it’s not you it’s me. The writing was beautiful, the premise unique but I say couldn’t connect with the story. The narration was enjoyable.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for and honest review.

The Fox Wife was so much more than I ever could have imagined. This book pulls from the magic of Chinese folklore and the predictability of human behavior to create a beautiful story about foxes.

The Fox Wife is told from a dual POV. One point of view is from Snow- well she has many names- but we will call her Snow. Snow is on a mission to avenge her daughter, a fox cub that was murdered for the greed of man. In her journey Snow meets the matriarch of a medicine shop who Snow attaches herself to as a servant to use this position to further her revenge but soon finds that her and the matriarch are connected by more than just coincidence. They have interconnected fates. Which Foxes take very seriously.

The Second POV is a detective called Bao. Bao was blessed by a fox as a child and is now able to hear lies. After being hired to find the identity of a girl who died in a shop’s door, Bao is put on the trail of the foxes.


The Fox Wife isn’t even all that long but because of the pace, action, and interconnected characters it feels long. But in a good way. The story, while technically taking place in a brief amount of time is so action packed that you feel the weight of the story. It really helps you understand how tired Snow must be. The author was also able to personify foxes in this really beautiful and subtle way. When I heard it was a book about a women who turns into a fox, I was thinking like animorphs or something but this was beautifully executed.

There is also a subtle romance plot that you don’t see coming but end up so heartily rooting for by the end that I was certain my heart would break if they didn’t find their way to one another.

I just can’t recommend this book enough.

I was genuinely shocked when I discovered that this audiobook is read by the author. The voice is clear, the cadence makes sense. There are no weird voices or accents attempted- I thought it was a professional audiobook reader until literally 90% into the book. This is one of very few occasions that it being narrated by the author is a good thing. I also loved getting to hear the pronunciation of names and places. I was co reading this physical book while listening to the audio version and seeing how things were spelled and how I would assume they were said vs how they are actually said scratched an itch in my brain I didn’t know I had.

Yangsze Choo does a wonderful job telling the story of a woman who struggles with a world designed and built for men using the lense of a fox woman. Her narration is also wonderful and I look forward to reading and listening to more from her.

the Fox Wife was such an interesting read. I love reimaginings of folktales. Choo writes so beautifully.