Wow, this was such a fun story, the prose gave me the magical feeling of a traditional fairy tale just in a way more contemporary setting. I loved watching the relationship of Seokga and Hani develop against the backdrop of the mysterious murders. Sometimes I feel like books with multiple things going on tend to favor one side of the story more, but in this case, I felt like everything was balanced really well. I really enjoyed the world with the blend of magical creatures living out their supernatural lives amongst the humans, it kind of reminded me of the manga xxxHoli but with Korean creatures of myth. Also the ending made me tear up a little but I loved it :') I like when stories don't necessarily end with the happiest of endings that are all butterflies and sunshine but give a conclusion realistic to the circumstances of the storyline with a happy(ish) (or not!) ending that is on that same level.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to access an early digital copy of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the arc! This was very good, and like a hot chocolate, indulgent. It does read like part anime, part fairy tale, part Ghibli film, part rom com. In the same vein, it was sometimes cliche, yet it also went in many places I didn’t expect, sometimes even subverting said cliches. Enjoyment did drag for a tiny bit in the middle, where 2 big tropes come into play, but if this is a letter to Korean and Asian culture and pop culture, I have a feeling said tropes and cliches are done purposefully; given that I didn’t mind them too much either means that were done well. Also the ending was masterfully done, making me laugh, cry, and smile. A dark chocolate hot chocolate then. Most definitely somewhat bittersweet, warm, delicious, satiating, and lending you hope. -4.5

**eARC provide by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

First of all, I do not think that this genre is for me. I will be giving the cozy fantasy world one more chance and then remove myself if I find that these books do not hit the spot for me.

I do think that this book is 100% for you if you like popular cozy fantasy reads like Forged by Magic. This is meant sincerely: if you enjoy snarky predictable dialogue, characters who are there to serve a purpose and tropes like Just One Bed (which I die for).

I did really enjoy the setting as I absolutely love the weaving of the magical world with the mortal world.

This boom is comfortable and I think that's why it's cozy! You understand where the story is going and what the stakes are. However, I found most of it just very boring. It was far too long for the content provided. The characters fell flat and I didn't feel like there were any development arcs.

Kim Hani is supposed to be selfish to the point where she would sacrifice her best friend to continue being free, so why is she then so happy to sacrifice herself for someone she despised a little over a week ago? A point of entry for Hani and Seokga's bond could have been their moral gayness, I suppose. For Hani, killing men, eating their livers and getting a taste of their souls is simply part of her nature, but it's something that's now outlawed, something that she is punished for. Seokga is the god of trickery and deceit. He is okay with killing his own brother, so why is this dynamic never explored between the two of them? He only kills unrulies bec his brother told him it's the only way to get reinstated.

Things only seem to happen for plot convenience and, at first, I thought I was going to really enjoy this. I loved the grumpy sunshine dynamic and Hani seemed well-thoughtout but but as the book went on, I just lost a sense of who each character was and why.

This book was very good. The plot was very well done and was very quickly paced. The banter was hilarious and I loved it so much!

first of all i would like to thank netgalley and random house for giving me this opportunity to read this wonderful book!

this is the first time i have read one of sophie kim’s books, and let me say she took my breath away! she is a fantastic author. the world of new sinsi is amazing, the characters equally as amazing. kim hani is such a badass character and i adore her so much! she isn’t afraid to go after that she wants. as for seokga, he wasn’t my favorite at first, but just as hani went through, he grew on me. i couldn’t put this book down, the mixture of adventure and romance just
kept me in its clutches. i cannot wait for this book to get formally released. i will be purchasing it!!

if you are a fan of story’s having to do with mythology, romance, and some adventure, this book is 100% for you!

i cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out. thank you sophie for making such an awesome book, i will be taking the time to look into your other works.

This book will have you hitting the ground running. There is so much to see and do in this world and the characters are badass yet hilarious at some points. There was not a single boring moment in this book and I want more!

As always, Sophie Kim has delivered an incredible read.

I loved the story of Hani and Seokga, and found the entire novel to be enrapturing. Korean mythology is a fairly new genre to me, and this novel offered an incredible glimpse into how powerful a retelling can be. The creatures are sympathetic, grotesque, powerful, admirable, and a whole host of other adjectives. The story speaks to love and loss, selfishness and selflessness (and everything in between). It calls for us to look deeper into what motivates us, and for us to examine how much we're willing to hide from those we love.

Sophie Kim is a wonderful author, and I believe that this book will be her next greatest hit. Needless to say, I'll be scooping up a physical copy from my nearest bookstore come June 4th!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Sophie, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this story.

Dear Sophie Kim,

Please make this is a series. PLEASE. It awakened my fantasy kdrama enjoyment, and the ending absolutely gutted me. I love my grumpy god and his cute, endearingly, sassy hot-chocolate drinking fox. I want to see them to continue to solve mysteries, live in his fancy palace, catch / kill more demons.

Please?

You like My Demon? Alchemy of Souls? Enjoy grumpy / sunshine trope, and actually want to read a fun fantasy detective mystery - read this. It shocked me honestly this was the same person who wrote the YA series. I think she truly has a hit with this one.

I love the world of fantasy creatures, grim reapers, gods, magic, and food. Lots, and lots of food.

I also love that while it took 7 days for him to develop feelings for her, it took a while to see it played out on paper. I also loved that as soon as he kissed he fell harder and wanted her like he never wanted any one before.

I loved the ending, and while it ended on a happy note, I don't think their work is finished and I don't think we've seen the last of them. But just in case, please read this, support it, and get me book two.

A dash of Asian myth and fantasy dress up a detective tale with a whisp of romance and cute banter. A trickster punished to clean up demon crimes in the human realm after a failed coup and a mythic fox trying to avert notice after she plays avenging hero, Seokga and Hani have a fun chemistry that made this an enjoyable read. There is definitely the feel of a k-drama, and it would be one I'd be excited to watch if this book was ever adapted. For anyone who likes romantic fantasies that aren't very spicy with some mythical adaptations and a bit of sleuthing as a backdrop, this is an entertaining book and I am excited to see how it continues, since it seems like it is the start of a series.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This was a fun, delightful read. There can never be enough non-Western fantasy novels, and books like this are exactly why. I loved the worldbuilding, learning about Korean mythological creatures and gods and seeing them in a contemporary setting—the idea of the haetae as a supernatural PD was cool, while Jeoseung being run like a corporation was hilarious. The premise of Hani and Seokga's enemies-to-lovers arc was great, the tension between them deliciously high as Hani both helps and obstructs Seokga's goals. The pacing was brisk, and I binged the story in just about two days.

There were just two aspects of the story that fell a bit short for me. The first was that the third-person present tense narration, coupled with a tendency to tell rather than show, felt emotionally distancing at first; luckily, as the story went on, it got better (or at least less noticeable). The second was that I never fully bought why Seokga fell head-over-heels for Hani. He never came to a realization or revealed that his asshole nature was a front for a gentle heart; he just seemed to tolerate and then fall for Hani because of her sunshine nature, and I would have liked a little more depth to his feelings.

But otherwise, I really enjoyed this!

Kim Hani is both a legend and a wanted criminal, the most wanted Gumiho in all of Iseung, killing five hundred men alone on London. Of course that was in 1888, and now in 1992 all she wants to do is live her life and so far she's been been doing a pretty good job of it. That is until she has one slip up and has now garnered the attention of the Seokga The Fallen, former god of mischief and chaos and current detective charged with sending twenty thousand monsters (which definitely includes Hani in their numbers) back to Jeoseung as punishiment for trying to overthrow his brother Hwanin. In a desperate bid to keep the insufferable ex god off her tail(s) she volunteers to be his assistant, planning to sabotage his case against her. Little do either of them know that a being far more deadly than any Guhimo has somehow broken free from Jeoseung and plans on bringing hell to Earth quite literally. With a mere two weeks to stop this demon Hani and Seokga will have to learn to get a long at the very least or they'll both lose everything.

Did not expect to read this straight through in a few hours (okay like six) and now that it is 3:06am I can say that I have absolutely zero regrets. Kim wrote an absolutely adorable story with extremely likable characters and a romance that I thought would end up filled with tropes and was happily not.

As Hani and Seokga are the only reasons this book even exists we'll start with them because I loved, absolutely adored, Hani. She is just genuinely so full of life, a ray of sunshine as Seokga calls her. Considering she's murdered 500 people that we know of I almost immediately assumed that Kim would have made her more of Wednesday Addams type, just a little bit more emo than she actually is and I am so grateful she didn't. She's just smart ass enough to not cross into bubbly, smart and quick witted, and as we find out in the last fight scene a bad ass. Seokga is amazing because he doesn't hold out very long after he realizes he has feelings for Hani, he's basically just like, well this is different might as well roll with it and he does. And it's glorious because he's just a sweetheart.

And that brings me to why this is so freaking good; outside of the ending (which is amazing) there are very few tropes here. And omg could Kim have happily skipped down trope lane here, there were so many times I was afraid it was going to, literally to the very end of the book and she just doesn't. And I'm eternally grateful for that. It is so wonderful to read a romance that doesn't have ninety pages of completely unrealistic interaction between two characters who clearly care for each. And while yes, almost the entire premise of the book is based on a trope, I'm okay with this, Kim doesn't compound it by piling more on so I'm good there.

And while I did figure out who the bad guy was pretty quickly I still enjoyed getting to the reveal. He was definitely a worthy adversary.

Overall, simply an excellent little fantasy romance that I found was a testament to the Kdramas Kim mentions in her Authors note. And not gonna lie I literally spent a good deal of the book trying to decide who I'd cast if this was turned into a drama. Totally worth losing some sleep over.

And as always thanks to Netgalley and Random House -Ballantine for the eArc!

He is a fallen trickster God with a surly attitude trying to regain his place among the Korean Deities. She is an infamous mischevious fox spirit that enjoys giving him hell. When bodies start turning up all over the city they must work together to solve the murders, some of which point to her, before their wntire world is cloaked in darkness.

Who doesn’t love a clever, snarky, and playful FMC who can hold her own against and even fluster the MC?! Sophie Kim delivers! Hani is funny, unbelievably clever, compassionate towards her fellow spirits, and vengeful when the situation calls for it—altogether a well rounded, relatable, and likeable main character. Seokga is cold and bitter, but onky to protect his heart that wants to be kind so badly. Watching him fall for her was just the sweetest thing, wven as he tried to deny it.

The banter between them was perfect! Although it did feel a little one-sided in the beginning. I expected more come backs and even some pranks from someone labeled a trickster God. And of course after he started falling we found out what a gentleman he actually was!

As someone unfamiliar with Korean mythology and culture I was grateful that SK took the time to explain everything out to us- such as the three realms, the pantheon of gods, and even the type of spirits. Having Seokga be a detective trying to capture and destroy the unruly spirits was a great way to introduce us to them and their abilities. The fights were varied enough between them to keep it interesting instead of feeling repetitive.

For those who are squeamish I would like to warn that there are quite a few depictions of dead bodies and even a bit of the spirits consuming humans—nothing that you wouldn’t see on television in a supernatural show but some people are sensitive about that kind of content. Also for those who don’t like spice in their YA books there are a couple scenes as well, though nothing overly graphic like a romance novel.

I enjoyed the book a lot. I found myself laughing and smiling and trying to figure out the killer from the little tidbits we got early on. I am guessing from the ending (omg the Red String of Fate! That I do know the legend of!) that we will get a second book, if not an actual series of Hani and Seokga fighting together. I would definitely keep up with new volumes!