I knew I would enjoy this book but it absolutely delighted me. I absolutely love Hani and Seokga's character developement was so nice to see throughout the book. I admit I cried during the climax of the novel. I can't wait to read more from Sophie Kim.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

I really liked this book. First the cover is amazing. I love the art. Second everytime I picked this up I felt like I couldn't put it down. While a bit on the surface level, I still felt like brought you along for the ride.

Thanks!

I have always enjoyed watch k-dramas and have found Korean folklore so interesting. Reading this book was like watching a k-drama. It felt fun and magical and left me wanting more. Seokga’s and Hani’s banter and tension was done so well and I loved learning more about the creatures they were. And the ending? It was a rollercoaster of emotions and I cannot wait for book two.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This one isn't for me. I even bought the audio book to see if it would change my mind, and it didn't. I don't know if it is the age range for the book, my background not relating to the book, or what seemed like very unflushed out plot something just didn't click for me.

I know others will definitely love this and I hope it has lots of success as the series continues.

The God and the Gumiho is primarily an urban fantasy set in 1990s South Korea, specifically in a fantasy city named New Sinsi.

Seokga, the titular God, is a fallen god tasked by his brother to earn back his full position and powers after trying to pull a coup on him. With a natural inclination for mischief, he generally carries himself with a strict demeanor (and a touch of superiority). 

Hani, our Gumiho, is a delightful bundle of sunshine! She thinks it’s fine to eat livers and take souls, but only if the person deserves it. 

Seokga has been assigned the mission of locating and eliminating a dangerous dark creature known as a eoduksini, who has begun a killing spree. Hani finds herself in a spot of trouble at a similar time, and when Seokga ends up tasked with tracking down an infamous gumiho also… she decides it’s safest to become his assistant. 

The animosity between Seokga and Hani leads to amusingly snarky exchanges throughout the story. Hani never misses an opportunity to taunt and provoke. Slowly, they start to become more comfortable around each other and such a natural, lovely build up to that.

Hani is, of course, lying about some things for the majority of the story, which adds another layer to what would be an amazing k-drama to watch! The interactions between Hani and Seokga had me laughing and crying at the same time.

Overall, I just adored this story and I will definitely be reading more from Sophie Kim!

DNF

This failed to grab my attention, unfortunately. The characters felt flat and I felt nothing pulling me to keep reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

The third act was fantastic and I couldn’t put it down! It definitely ended on a bang. I think the book struggled to find an identity in the beginning. I didn’t really vibe with Hani’s sense of humor. I wish Seokga was more mischievous and there was more build up to the romance. I really loved the final third and I highly recommend this book.

Sophie Kim combines fantasy and Korean mythology with a murder mystery twist in this new YA novel. We have a god banished from the heavens due to a failed coup. His task is to kill 20,000 monsters before he is able to ascend once more but of course things get in the way including the infamous scarlet fox, a very powerful gumiho. This was really unique and different and being able to experience both the mortal world and immortal world was a real fun element. My emotional connection to characters just didn't hit the way I wanted it to unfortunately which overall affected my enjoyment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

3.75/5 stars

This was a lot of fun - the characters, plot, and world were super interesting and I really loved the whole reluctant buddy-cop vibe. It wasn't quite insta=love but it was close, but it wasn't insufferable (not my favorite trope) - and the banter was actually quite cute and funny. I really enjoyed the the history and how the lore and mythology was woven into the urban setting - I am not usually a fan of Urban Fantasy but honestly this was handled perfectly.

I can't say I loved or really connected with either main character, and I found the plot fairly predictable...but I had a great time reading it and plan to continue with the series. I do recommend it, but I can't say it's a lifelong favorite. But definitely worth reading!

This book reads like a fantasy kdrama set in the 90s.
It starts off slow but picks up as you read.

Spice level is about 🌶️ maybe🌶️🌶️

Kim Hani is the infamous Scarlet Fox. Overstuffed from devouring soul, the famed gumiho works as a barista at a coffee shop. She hates coffee.

Seokga is THE disgrace fallen, trickster God. Who is given a task by his brother to earn his way back into Okhwang.

Hani teams up with seokga to help him with his tasks and reclaimed his rightful place as a God.

But does the trickster God get beaten at his own game or will the infamous Scarlet fox be outfoxed

I had so much fun with this, despite being a little hesitant when I first picked it up. I loved the banter and the conversations had between our two main characters, and I loved the way that Sophie Kim took legends and myths that are - or may be - familiar to some readers while still adding her own twist to them and allowing the characters to be their own people. This is definitely a book I'll be rereading in the future so that I can go back and reexperience the emotions and the love I felt while reading this.

I don't think there was anything about this book I didn't love. The characters, the banter, the development, the grey morality, the Korean mythology, the plot - gah! I absolutely ate this up and I'm so glad it's not a standalone. I can't wait to see where the next book leads.

The God and the Gumiho was an amazing and immersive world into Korean folklore. I loved all the mentions of different Korean supernatural creatures like goblins, water ghosts, and gumihos. Of course, I also LOVED the enemies to lovers relationship between the main characters. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book, but I will definitely read other books from this author.

I rated this 3.7 stars and decided to round it up to 4. This book gave off strong K-drama vibes, which I absolutely loved. As a fan of Korean mythology stories like My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho and Goblin, I was excited to dive into this.

The writing is easy to follow, and the characters align more with the young adult genre—despite the book being labeled as adult—making it a quick read. However, because of this, the characters often came across as immature, which felt odd given they’re supposed to be thousands of years old. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book—the engaging plot and the banter between Seokga and Hani were highlights. Unfortunately, the second half didn’t hold my attention as much, and the murder mystery twist was so predictable.

That said, the ending wrapped things up nicely, and I would pick up another book from this author. Overall, I had fun with this story and would still recommend it to anyone looking for a light, enjoyable romance fantasy book. It's an ideal choice for readers looking for a story that gives the same feeling as watching a K-drama come to life in book form.

I wasn’t sure what I expected with this one but oh my goodness did I enjoy the ride! The ending fully made me teary and when I say I cannot wait for the sequel…….i genuinely cannot wait! I can honestly say this was one of ,y top reads of the year!

I received an advanced copy of The God and the Gumiho from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I cannot describe how much I enjoyed The God and the Gumiho. The world, the characters, the banter—all of it—was on point. It was one of the best books I've read this year.

I loved the world the author created. It was urban fantasy at its finest. Though that's not usually a genre I read, the ones I have read are amazing, and The God and the Gumiho was no exception. The world was vibrant and well-developed. My questions were answered, which is much more than I can say with many of the books I've read lately. The Korean mythology was fascinating and wasn't overwhelming. As someone who doesn't know much about it, I felt that all the information was well integrated in ways I could understand without feeling like info-dumbs.

These characters were everything I could have hoped for. Hani and Seokga were hilarious. Their banter and chemistry were off the charts. Were both characters over a thousand years old and still acting like petulant teenagers? Yes. But I loved it. It goes to show that some people never grow up. It also fits their character well. A wily Gumiho and a trickster god? Why wouldn't they have a penchant for acting like children? I say all this because I've seen a lot of criticism about their characters and that they felt very YA, but again, I thought that it worked with who they were.

I loved The God and the Gumiho and hope that everyone reads it. Seriously. I need everyone to read this, and I am supremely excited to learn that there is a sequel.

I wish I could say I enjoyed The God and the Gumiho, but it just didn’t capture my interest. The premise seemed intriguing, but the writing felt bland, and the characters didn’t resonate with me. I made it to about 36% before deciding to put it down.

This novel was long-awaited, and I really enjoyed finally reading it! The different Korean mythological creatures, the interplay between Seokga and Hani, and the oh-so-good enemies to lovers dynamic they had. There was some great banter, some tense scenes and a villain reveal I wasn’t expecting, even though I’d been guessing the whole time! At the same time, I did find that the novel was slow to start, and the two protagonists barely even spent time in each other’s presence until about 100 pages into the novel, which also slowed the pacing down. On the whole, though, the ending was very sweet and had immaculate K-drama vibes, and I give it 3.75⭐, rounded to 4 on Goodreads.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Meet my new obsession. Within the first two chapters I immediately knew this would be a new favourite. I've been craving an urban fantasy like this so much, and this very much delivered. It's absolutely hilarious, the writing is SO fun, and I loved the morally grey characters. And then the further in you get, the better the romance becomes, until the epilogue just absolutely blows you away.

DNF. A surprising disappointment. I'd been looking forward to this book for a while, and so when I was reading and it just wasn't clicking for me, I was thoroughly upset about it. But the romance felt forced and the characters very stereotypical. I did enjoy some of the writing (when it didn't feel like YA) and the worldbuilding. I will maybe give this another try someday or look out for some of this authors other releases, but unfortunately The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim was not a hit for me.