The God and the Gumiho is well-written and fun - a unique blend of fantasy romance and Korean mythology that led to a satisfying, if not life-changing, read.

The Plot. The God and the Gumiho follows two individuals: Hani and Seokga. Hani, the morally gray Gumiho (nine-tailed fox) has killed thousands of humans throughout her 1,700 years of existence as the infamous Scarlet Fox. About a hundred years ago, she killed a few (about a hundred) too many humans and ended up too stuffed to eat anymore. So now she lives a quiet life working at a cafe for supernatural creatures. Seokga is a trickster god who staged a coup centuries ago that ended up with him being sent to the mortal realm, basically powerless, with the only hope of redemption (and regaining his powers) through killing 20,000 Unrulies (basically evil supernatural creatures). Seokga's brother, the king of all gods currently, strikes a deal with Seokga that if he kills the infamous Scarlet Fox (Hani) and a nightmare-wielding Unruly, he will be allowed to return to the God realm and gain back his powers. Hani hears of this, decides she doesn't want to die, and teams up with Seokga to ensure he never actually finds out who the Scarlet Fox is (her).

I came into The God and the Gumiho expecting one thing, and it wasn't quite that. I was expecting (and hoping for) a fantasy romance with a morally gray female character (which pulled through) and a mischievous, Peter Pan-esque male trickster god. The trickster god is where I was thrown off and, frankly, a bit disappointed. Seokga was actually quite a cold and grumpy character who sometimes liked to play pranks. This makes sense, since he is a fallen god, was thrown out of heaven, and has no powers. I would be grumpy, too. But it definitely wasn't what I expected, so for about the first half of the book, it took me a bit to get into. Seokga felt very similar to other cold/grumpy male characters in fantasy romance novels, which I'm honestly getting a bit tired of.

I enjoyed Hani, although you can't really analyze her character too much or it becomes a bit hard to be on her side (she killed thousands, doesn't regret it, and yet I still think she's cool?)

The plot itself was amusing but nothing too deep. It is a pretty basic who-dun-it plot involving a detective (Seokga) and his assistant (Hani), who are after a murderer.

That being said, I did enjoy The God and the Gumiho, especially towards the end. The ending was satisfying and felt unique compared to the majority of other fantasy romances. I have high hopes for the next novel in the series. I recommend this novel to fantasy romance readers, people interested in Korean mythology, and/or those who like Korean dramas.

Thank you, NetGalley, Sophie Kim, and Del Rey Publishing, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4/5 stars.

It takes a bit for this story to get going, and the pacing can be uneven in places, but IT IS WORTH IT. I'm still reeling from the ending,and from the sheer emotional resonance of a perfectly crafted story arc coming to an....well, not an end (read and find out why!) but to an inevitable peace.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.

Although it took a few chapters to fully immerse myself, I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book and now find myself invested in the characters. The unexpected plot twist caught me completely off guard, which is always a win in my book! This was my first time reading Sophie Kim, and I was impressed with her descriptive writing style. The story was engaging, easy to read, and fast-paced, making it the perfect choice for a light palate cleanser. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an enjoyable, feel-good read.

The story centers on a modern woman who becomes entangled with a gumiho— a nine-tailed fox with a mysterious and complicated nature. Kim skillfully combines elements of fantasy with emotional depth, exploring themes of identity, love, and the clash between the human and the supernatural. The chemistry between the leads is both intense and tender, and the narrative's pacing keeps readers engaged throughout. With its rich cultural backdrop and enchanting storyline, The God and The Gumiho is a must-read for fans of mythological romance.

Gotta love K-dramas

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5⭐
Diversity: East Asian/Korean

SUMMARY:
She's a nine-tailed fox who daydreams of the good ole days of seducing men and heating their hearts. Now she's stuck working a coffee shop and she hates coffee. He's a fallen trickster god (think Korean Loki) sullen and moody because he lost his powers after attempting his brother's thrown. These two are thrown together trying outsmart each other while capturing a revengeful demon. What could possibly go wrong?

WHAT I LIKED & DISLIKED ABOUT IT:
This book read like a funny rom-com K-drama and I'm surprised I ate it up. The witty banter and playfulness. The gods and goddesses of this storyline are reminiscent of the chaebol families of South Korea (think "China Rich" rich families). Even the paparazzi headlines were comical. I felt the pacing and story build-up were just perfect. The comedy balanced the darker themes in the book.

RECOMMENDATION:
If you love K-dramas, rom-coms, enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor (the beautiful blend of humor and dark stories), or looking for a fun escape, this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Tropes:
Hidden identity
K drama vibes
Forced prox
Slow burn
Enemies to lovers
Unruly demon creatures
Gods and fallen gods

This is my first Sophie Kim book and I enjoyed it. A mix of contemporary k drama and Korean ancient mythology. The banter was so fun, a little slow burn. Sometimes I felt like I could picture the scene happening.

I would highly recommend the audio for this. It was a fun listen.

This story I had a hard time getting into. I had a hard time following the plot. Though I really did like the characters the author created!

What do you get when you have a sourpuss god banished from his realm into detective work and a sassy, secretly powerful thousand-plus year old gumiho (a nine-tailed fox woman whose only current goal seems to be serving aforementioned god as wrong a coffee order as she can manage? Well, something that grows into mutual-dislike-into-lovers (and enemies, too, although one party is unaware of this), and an unlikely duo teaming up to both protect her secrets and take down the literal darkness that threatens more than just the supernatural beings residing in South Korea.. Throw in a cute grim reaper, a young gumiho coworker, and an integrated sort of urban fantasy and you get The God and the Gumiho.

This book actually took quite a while to grow on me, but when I picked it up again about 50ish-percent through I got hooked in better than the previous start. (Timing? Vibes? Who knows.) When they started to understand each other and get the feelings, okay, I'm here for this, let's go, let's see what develops when such major consequences are waiting in the wings even if to me the attraction/romance seemed quite sudden but hey, I enjoyed them enjoying each other!

I'll probably read the sequel too to see what happens; I do particularly like characters like Seokga so that helps..!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the eARC in exchange for review!

4.5 stars, rounded to 5 stars

This was such a fun read! As a fan of kdramas, I had requested an arc of this book on a whim. I had heard great things about Sophie Kim’s writing, and I loved the idea of reading about a kdrama in book form(my two guilty pleasures meshed together)! I picked up the book the day I got the arc, intending to only read a chapter or two but the next thing I knew I was flipping over the last page, and I’m not even joking, I had tears in my eyes. I loved learning about Seokga and Hani, I absolutely adored the way they went from hating each other to unwilling partners, and finally to where they fell in love. Living for centuries would have been so lonely, they definitely needed a companion and found the perfect on in the most unlikely place. The mystery was done well, the side characters had an actual personality which was refreshing to read about, and best of all, everything felt genuine and real. This book reminded me a lot of an amazing kdrama I watched called Suspicious Partner, so if anyone loves kdrama, a fun enemies to lovers story, really great chemistry, or just needs a book to lose themselves in, please please pick this book up. I’m eagerly waiting for book 2, and this is the first book in a long time that I’ll be running to the bookstore to buy the day of release(and I hope it gets more special editions because I think this story turned me into a collector and I need more for my set)!!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way by the publisher.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie Kim for the opportunity to read this book.

The God and the Gumiho – ★★★★★

I absolutely loved "The God and the Gumiho"! The chemistry between Kim Hani and Seokga is off the charts—it's amazing how much tension and sparks can fly even when they're at each other’s throats. Their banter kept me hooked from start to finish. The pacing is spot-on, too; nothing felt rushed, and everything flowed perfectly, making the whole story so enjoyable. It’s a fantastic mix of humor, adventure, and a dash of romance that you won’t want to put down. Seriously, if you’re into mythical tales with great character dynamics, this book is a must-read!

This book was decent, if a bit predictable. But an easy, fun read nonetheless!
Though I will say, some phrases would get repeated once, then again a page or so later which was distracting to a degree. It also felt as though the characters were trapped in the wrong medium, and could have been better suited to television.
I also felt as though the main characters' relationship advanced rather quickly and abruptly. Though I personally didn't feel much chemistry between them. It did help, however, that the characters themselves were self-aware and also felt that their relationship was changing quickly.
I loved getting a taste of Korean culture and learning more about the Korean creatures featured in this novel, though some were not written in a wholly accessible way, this encourages those interested to learn more to research independently.
The ending was a bit anticlimactic in my opinion.
Overall, an enjoyable read but unfortunately not a very memorable one.

I love this new wave of Asian urban fantasy. I think the mythology really lends itself to it but we typically only see it in tv rather than books. I read the author's YA debut and you can see how much her writing has improved over a few publications and how well it lends itself to adult. Really excited for Sophie Kim to continue writing adult, I can't wait for the next book. I really appreciate Kim giving voice to Korean folklore in her stories. Also this was like reading a K-drama! The push and pull between Hani and Seokga!! Can we take a moment to appreciate how stunning this cover is??

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC.

I was so intrigued by the plot when I started this book and I enjoyed the Korean setting and mythology. Unfortunately, most of this fell flat for me. I found Hani and Seokga's characters astronomically immature for immortal beings that were 1500+ years old. There were some decent moments between them, but the way they were thrown into every enemies-to-lovers trope without any actual chemistry was disappointing. The mystery of the killer itself was way too easy to solve and I found myself exasperated by the characters' idiocy at every twist. The epic fight at the end was good enough to salvage this from being a 1 star read, but that's about it. My forehead muscles started to hurt with how long and hard I was furrowing my brow in annoyance, this book gave me wrinkles--and not for a good reason.

Thank you for the eARC NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group . All opinions provided are my own.

The God and the Gumiho is a romantic fantasy about two immortals in a Korean city filled with mythical creatures. If you like Kdramas and mythology, then you picked the right book.

Kim Hani is a Gumiho (think magical fox that likes to snack on men’s livers). Roughly 200 years ago ,Hani went on a feeding ramage and earned herself the nickname “the Scarlet Fox”. Hani is trying to be incognito by working at a coffee shop (fun fact she hates coffee so you can imagine the fun she is having). While working at the coffee shop, she meets the fallen tricker god, Seokga. Seokga is forced to live in the mortal realm to repay his debt to the Heavens by killing demons. He hates it and the only thing that can somewhat give him joy is coffee. They hate each other but are forced to work together when a murder occurs in the city and Hani’s past gets intertwined with the murder investigation.

I overall enjoyed the book. It very much reads as a Kdrama story and it didn’t take me long to read. It was easy to get engrossed in the story. The banter and the mythology was the best part of the book for me. It was interesting seeing how the supernatural had a city to themselves and how the world worked around it. I do wish Hani and Seokga had been a little more ruthless during the story. Both of them are “villains” in a way and hardly acted like it. It wasn’t till the end that we witnessed the blood thirty side of them.

4.25 stars for me and I’m really curious how the second book goes.

A fun read. I really enjoyed the lore of this book as it is not typically the kind of book I read. Very glad to have the fairyloot edition on my shelf.

This was actually really fun. I would recommend it to our readers who enjoy mystery, fantasy, and K-Drama! Definitely got it for our collection.

I think this author's adult debut was so much better than her YA work! I remember when I read her YA, I really couldn't get into it but this one has a gripping plot that has you hooked since the beginning all the way until the end :)

"There are no happy endings in your story. The god and the gumiho ends with tragedy.”

Kim Hani - the once-terrible gumiho known as the Scarlet Fox - spends her days working at a café and trying not to let a certain customer irk her. Seokga - a trickster god thrown from the heavens for his attempt at a coup - spends his days hunting demons and irking a particular gumiho.

When a demon of darkness escapes the underworld, and the Scarlet Fox emerges from hiding before quickly vanishing, Seokga is offered a chance at redemption: kill them both, and his sins will be forgiven. But Hani is prepared to do anything to prevent Seokga from bringing her to justice, even trick her way into his investigation to lead him astray.

I am not the biggest fan of watching tv - but I do adore reading books. So I'm glad that this book was able to give the same vibes as kdrama's to lots of people but that didn't really appeal to me. What drew me in was the idea of otherworldly beings in our world and the fun and mundaneness that goes along with it. The little tabloids being sent out, the cops and the idea of cafes frequented by them makes me think of them just as us. I also ADORE a murder mystery novel - I've been reading so many of them lately and this one really hit the spot for me.

The world building isn't sudden, we're seeing the world through people who have lived through it for a very long time, which appeals to me as an older reader. Hani and Seokga might have their little moments of being out of touch but they're not NEW NEW to this anymore. You see them only stumble in their partnership but not their "humanity" so to speak.

For the actual mystery itself - I enjoy turning my brain off when I read so I had truly no inklings of who the killer was and I loved that. Perhaps more intuned minds than mine will have their own thoughts. I did find the final setting to be wonderfully written. The battle, the aftermath and the anguish and the HOPE were so vivid in my mind. I absolutely cannot wait for book 2.

rep// Korean cast, mobility aid

cw// blood, body horror, confinement, death, gore, murder, sexual content, violence

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC!

i loved this one! the god was so mischievous and their verbal duets were so beautifully well written. would recommend

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.