The length and pacing of this book are my only complaint, otherwise I find it to be a rich, nuanced, well thought out story that captured my full attention.

Immersed in rich detail this is the story of foxes that can take on human form and live among humans. As humans they have enhanced abilities that allow them to be more charming, cunning and persuasive than most. The story centers around Snow, one of these foxes that is looking for a man that has caused her much pain. Throughout the story there are other story lines that involve murder, love, loss and ancient curses that all connect as the story progresses.

This was a beautifully written and narrated story that is steeped in historic detail. The. Chinese culture is so fascinating to me. The author does such a great job marrying the mystery, history and love stories that enabled the story to flow seamlessly. The audiobook was narrated by the author which is sometimes a gamble but in this case it was perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️

#TheFoxWife #NetGalley #YangszeChoo

The Fox Wife had my heart and soul in around 25%. The rating was set from then on, and I knew it could only get better. Yes, the story is slow. Yes, there is a lot of building of the plot, characters, setting, and all. I could even see how it would be difficult to get into it. But by all means, it was worth the patience, and it pays off with an endearing story of Chinese mythological character come to life.

Last year, I have read "Strange Beasts of China" by Yan Ge and that set me for this story. The book was basically about the beasts living among people, sometimes blending in seamlessly living according to their nature which we get to know chapter by chapter. Here, in "The Fox Wife" I felt, like one of those "beasts" got her voice to narrate her version of the story and perception on what is like to live among people.

The other part of the book belongs to the old detective, who is trying to follow a lead on mysterious women entangled with a crime. Yet, anywhere he goes, he is bombarded with witnesses stands about a mysterious woman who probably was a fox because of her charm. I like this duality of learning about foxes. Also, there is
a certain historical setting to the story, although I have never figured out what time it actually is set to. It didn't scare me away tho, and I stayed for the mysterious connection between both protagonists which pays, of course, at the end.

I recognize this book is not for everybody, but if you are a person who reads for slow stories, and enjoy being immersed into the imagination of the author - this book is for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of the new historical novel written and narrated by Yangsze Choo - 4 stars!

In 1908, Manchuria, a young woman is found frozen in the snow. Rumors of foxes abound. Foxes are believed to have the ability to transform themselves into beautiful humans. Bao is a detective who can tell when people are lying and is hired to find the woman's identify. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman enters a Chinese household where their eldest sons die before their 24th birthdays. The last grandson is 23 - will luck change?

This is beautifully written and will transport you back in time and place. I loved the folklore and mythology of foxes and how these stories pass on through generations. The story goes back and forth in time with Bao's story and Snow's. It's a story of grief and women's roles in this time period. I love books that are narrated by the author, but there was no real distinction between the voices, which was a tad confusing to me at time. A bit slow but beautiful.

This seems to be a very unpopular opinion, but I did not enjoy this book. I found it difficult to follow, the story line to be not enjoyable and the characters to just be ehh. I wanted more of everything and just never got it. I enjoyed the historical aspect and learning about fox mythology, but the book moved painfully slow. It touched on mystery, touched on history, touched on romance, but I think there were too many side stories and nothing seemed to be the main focus. I listened to this on audio and maybe I would have enjoyed it more in book form, but despite looking so forward to this story, I just did not enjoy it.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced audio copy.

For fans of Chinese superstitions, historical fiction, suspense and magical realism, this new novel is for you!

The Fox Wife is told through two storylines: that of Snow (Ah San) a young woman looking for a photographer that might lead her to avenge the death of her child and Bao, a lonely man turned amateur detective who is trying to find the identity of an unknown murdered woman found outside a local restaurant. Set in Manchuria in the early 20th century, Bao and Snow’s journeys will eventually collide with a satisfying conclusion.

This novel will immerse you in the superstition of foxes who can switch from animal to human form. The characters are well fleshed out and although the story takes some time to get into, the pace does eventually pick up. It’s a stroll through time and some magical realism thrown in.

The narration is done by the author and I really enjoyed her voice.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for the complimentary audiobook. This book is out on 2/13/24.

I really wanted to like this book. It has so many of my favorite things - fox spirits, mythology, adventure... It just felt more like a historical fiction than a fantasy to me and started to drag after awhile. I enjoyed following Bao and Snow's storylines, especially as they weave around each other. The plot thickens as we meet more foxes, but turns into a bit of a family drama. I'll always respect an author who narrates their own books - Yangsze Choo was phenomenal throughout.

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for my honest review and to Henry Holt & Co for a gifted copy*

I quite enjoyed my time with this lovely little book. You might want to have the proper expectations going in, though, because the blurb is a little misleading. I had no expectations so I was fine. This is a mystery, but not, and this is a revenge story, but not. It's melancholy and full of grief, but also cheeky and the main characters are also full of love, and the arc of the book is not violent justice, but reconciliation and healing. You should also go in expecting something slower paced and quiet.

This is a book that follows Snow the fox in 1908, Manchuria, China, who has entered the human world in order to track down a man that she holds responsible for the death of her child two years before. Foxes in this world can pass themselves off as human, but always stand out. The best part of the book was all of Snow's talk about what it means to be a fox and how foxes must live in order to survive among humans. Her sections are told in first person POV. The second narrator is the private investigator Bao, but his sections are told in third person as he is hired to find the fiancé of man who disappeared into thin air, and he becomes involved in the mysterious death of a woman found frozen to death outside of a restaurant, which leads him in other directions as well. The first half of this book feels a bit disjointed as a lot of disparate pieces of the story are floating around, but they all come together and make sense by the end.

I haven't read this author's previous two books, though The Ghost Bride has been on my TBR since it was first published, so I can't say where this book lies in comparison to the other two. But I found this enjoyable in an understated way; just a quiet piece of historical fiction with a fantastical tilt. It also does that thing that good historical fiction does where it teaches you about a culture and a place without being didactic about it, as you go through life with the characters.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author, and she did a great job. I don't normally think authors should narrate their own books, but this is one of those rare occasions where it really works. She has a clear, pleasant voice, and knows how to do the voices properly without being melodramatic about it. I might have to track down a physical copy of this one to keep, and I definitely recommend it.

I kept seeing this book pop up on a lot of review boards and books to read in 2024 and I am so glad I was provided the opportunity to listen and review this book. I am a fan of learning about folklore and mythology of other countries and cultures and in this book we explore the folklore surrounding foxes in Chinese culture.

I was very interested to read the summary for this book and then for the "simple young woman" to be the main character of the story. We do also follow a detective by the name of Bao, but our "Fox Wife" is certainly in the forefront of the narrative.

There is some mystery and a bit of suspense as we work our way through the novel, trying to exact revenge on someone who has wronged "The Fox Wife", but I do not think it would be an exhilarating thriller or the like, but rather a journey for several of the main characters to find their path in life while resolving past issues. There is growth, understanding, humans and fox spirits. I think this book was well worth the read and I look forward to sharing it with others.

I have read a few other books by this author and was excited to see a new one. She weaves Chinese culture into her books so beautifully and I love learning more. This book was so good and I loved the narrator.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 stars. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Choo's writing and to hear her narrate her own audio book was wonderful. She's very expressive and her voice is lovely and rich.
Set in Manchuria in 1908, The Fox Wife plays with Chinese myths about the fox gods: foxes with the ability to transform into beguiling men and women. Legend has it that the fox gods sometimes live among people, causing trouble through their trickery and slippery relationship with the truth.
Bao is a detective on a mission to figure out what happened to a woman found frozen to death on the doorstep of a restaurant. His chapters, told in third person POV, enthrall with keen observations about the gods, his own past and the people around him. Snow (the fox) is on her own quest to understand the death of her only child. She begins working for a family who has been cursed: their sons die young. Her first-person POV chapters are particularly intriguing with a strong voice and a sharp turn of phrase.
As the story alternates between Snow's and Bao's POVs, the pull to solve the mysteries builds momentum. Eventually the 2 tales converge and the gaps fill in. A fascinating tale of foxes, foes, and friends.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy.

Hmmm, what can I say. This was not my cup of tea. If you are a fantasy lover, give it a try. I just had a hard time following along and was extremely bored.

The Fox Wife is a beautiful mystical tale about the last years of the Qing Empire in Manchuria in 1908, legends about foxes who transform into people, and a detective who is searching for a missing courtesan. This sounds like a lot for one story, and I'm glad I didn't read too much of the synopsis before listening to the audiobook because it unfolds in a beautiful and enticing way. The author narrates the book beautifully and I think her voice and pronunciations added a lot to the story. Yangsze Choo writes beautiful prose and wonderfully complex characters, and I wish I had the written book as well as the audio to fully appreciate it. I wasn't as enthralled by this book as I was by The Night Tiger, possibly because I only had the audiobook and not the written version, but it was still a great story.

I enjoyed this book (read and listened to the audiobook at the same time). I am with asian mythology of Fox Spirits legends so it was easy of me to grasped the concept and the lore.
Overall this story was enjoyable- there were parts I felt were a little drawn out and slow but the audiobook really helped and I enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to Yangsze Choo. She provided a relaxing experience while listening.

The Fox Wife follows Snow and Bao. Snow is a fox who seeks to find vengeance for the death of her child. She is seeking her child's murderer while encountering/becoming a servant to a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop and helps them ward the family curse.
While Bay- is an investigator uncovering mysterious death that many believe is related to fox spirits. He goes on the an adventure uncovering myths and misconceptions of the fox spirits while eventually intersecting with Snow and her journey.

Note: It would be nice to mark which POV was the start of each chapter and reminder of where they are located. (example Boa- China/ Snow-Japan). Since both stories are within the same timeline.


Thank you netgalley, Henry Holt & Company and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read/listen to this beautiful story.

Yangsze Choo has brilliantly woven together a tale of folklore, and suspense with her latest book The Fox Wife.
The story is told from two very different and yet distinct perspectives, a woman named Snow who is on a mission of revenge and has secrets she must protect, and Bao, an elderly gentleman who can sense the truth of things and is hired to look into a woman’s death.
I really enjoyed learning more about the Asian folklore surrounding foxes. It’s not something I was familiar with before this. Like other reviewers, I found this to be a slow starter for me but once it hooked me it didn’t let go.
I did enjoy this in the audiobook format. I didn’t realize it was the author voicing it until I was almost finished. She has the most lovely voice! I could honestly listen to it all day. I highly recommend this as an audiobook.
Thank you to Macmillian Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this in exchange for an honest review.

You had me at “Fox”! If it’s a book that involves foxes, I will more than likely read it as I adored foxes long before I met a young vixen in the local cemetery. And this book is so much more: mysterious deaths, tragic romances, and oh so many secrets. There is a detective who can always tell when someone is lying, a trio of characters who are both alluring and surreal in their beauty, a delightful elderly woman obsessed with foxes and fox gods, and, of course, villains. And all these elements are woven into a tale that you hope will never end.

The Fox Wife was a beautiful, exotic, and witty story. I wish I had enjoyed it more. I kept finding my mind wandering and then trying to remember which character I was currently following. I don't know if it was my current stress level or the way the story was written. Normally, I would love the magical themes. Instead I found myself being overly bothered by the women being groped and the changes in POV. I can see people loving this book, But not me. At lease not at this time.

This book was just ok for me. I really liked the premise of this book, but the execution was a bit lacking for me. I didn't really understand what was going on and the dual storylines were a bit confusing at times.

Maybe since it was on audiobook it was a bit harder to follow along.

In this Chinese fantasy, Bao is a detective asked to solve the mystery of a woman found dead. As he starts to unravel the mystery, strange stories about foxes are shared more and more. Meanwhile a shape-shifting fox vixen has revenge on her mind and will stop at nothing to get it.

This is written in dual perspectives and both perspectives are told like a bedtime story. While it took a VERY long time to get interested in this story, it was definitely worth the read.

I have never read from this author before so I am unsure if all her writing is this… complex. There are a ton of characters, lots of location changes, and multiple subtle plot lines within each main character. I had to take notes at the end of every chapter just to remember. While a lot of the details could be superfluous, I actually quite enjoyed all the little plot lines happening because it gave the reader insight on how everyone’s lives are busy and how that plays within the larger story.

Besides for the complexity of this read, it was beautifully written and very atmospheric. Describing flowers and trees or smells from markets puts the reader in the shoes of the characters.

I am unsure to whom I would recommend this book. It has an epic fantasy feels very much like mythology-based stories. People who enjoy Chinese history/folklore might also enjoy this.

Also important to note, the author is the narrator and she does an amazing job! I really enjoyed her reading of her own work.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an advanced reader copy to share my humble thoughts and opinions.

I am absolutely in the minority here.

Let me start by saying thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of great stuff going for it. The world was atmospheric and I was fascinated by the slowly unraveling mystery it seemed to promise. Snow and Bao were both really interesting initially, and I wanted to see how their stories went.
As the story went on, though, I started to care less. There were a lot of characters and none of them really had a lot of depth. They were hard to keep track of authentically. A lot of things were happening plot wise that just compounded a feeling of detachment when it came to the story as a whole. And as more new details and characters came up, I cared less about the initial mystery. It doesn't help that lots of this was really predictable, making the mystery less of a mystery and more of a story. This is okay on its own - I really enjoy stories and I don't think things need crazy plot twists to be lovable. Some of my favorite stories are entirely predictable. This just didn't work for me.
I also need to say that I didn't know how well the world building was developed. There was a lot that felt unfinished - I didn't get a great understanding of the historical context, and while foxes and fox spirits were well explained, there was a lot I wouldn't understand without having prior context for it (like foot binding) and lots I didn't understand because I didn't have the prior context for it (like the medicine shop or the curses or the ghost mythos).

I really wanted to love this. The writing is both lovely and atmospheric, and the premise was super engaging and promising. It was the package as a whole that just didn't work for me.