Thoughtful, excellent dive into three Korean women's lives📬

There's a lot of heartbreak in this novel as it focuses on the lives of two Korean sisters, Sunyuh and Gongju, and Gongju's Americanized daughter Angelina. It's evident that author Helena Rho did some solid research for the historical parts, and especially the Japanese trafficking of thousands of young girls and women, mostly Korean, during World War II for the use of Japanese troops stationed throughout Asia. These "comfort women" remained either dead or silent and cut off from their families until decades after the war when the first victim went public.

Angelina's mother remains traumatized and broken decades after her beloved older sister was stolen away on a 1944 night. She refuses to discuss her family back home with her daughters. But Gongju is also devastated by the trajectory of her marriage and her inability to connect with her daughters. Each of the three women portrayed here have so much to battle through, but it's not overdone, just real and heartbreaking.

After her mother's death, Angelina finds letters to Gongju from her grandmother and wonders what, exactly, caused Gongju to break ties with her family back in Korea. So she embarks on a summer trip to Korea to study the language and try to solve the mystery, learning for the first time that she had an aunt trafficked during WWII. In the process she meets a sympathetic investigative journalist and searches for any evidence of what happened to her missing aunt. I must admit, this story had me riveted to the pages.

Angelina's search leads her to the archives and witnesses of the comfort women trafficking, a part of the story that I knew little about. The scope and geographical spread, the cruelty and aftereffects for the surviving victims were especially eye-opening. And the social stigma the victim's families sought to avoid.

Angelina's tribulations relate more to her divorce and the men in her life, including her manipulative ex. Though Angelina's actions drive most of the story, they work best for me as the impetus for her search for her aunt Sunyuh.

Despite so much tragedy, the story does end on a hopeful note which I appreciated. I just thought the last few chapters rambled off the path a bit until returning in a really moving finale.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 2/27 on Waterstones, Goodreads, Bookbub and with Barnes & Noble. Will be shared on kobo and Google Play upon publication.

I love historical fiction stories when I learn about events that are impactful!

Learning about the young women/girls stolen from their homes and sold into sexual slavery as “comfort women” and knowing that it has taken decades for the stories to come out is heartbreaking. I did so much research on my own while I was reading and the author included multiple research articles and resources.

The pacing is done well and the multiple viewpoints were well placed and kept relevant information flowing. Trigger warnings: There are graphic descriptions of rape, assault, violence, and murder.

I appreciated the slower moments of the story as we see Angelina process her own trauma and how to understand her own cultural identity. The diving women were a fascinating subplot and I also looked into their culture and history! I felt transported to Korea throughout the entire story.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC of this novel. I truly enjoyed it and would recommend it to my historical fiction reading friends :)

I am a big fan of historical fiction and family life. I wanted to like this book but I couldn't get interested in this novel. I am grateful to the author Helena Rho, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me a chance to try this novel. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Angelina Lee, newly divorced and grieving her mother's death, travels to Seoul to reconnect with her roots and uncover the mystery behind her mother's suicide. She discovers her mother had a hidden sister, Sunyuh, who disappeared during WWII. This revelation leads Angelina on a journey across continents to uncover family secrets. The story, narrated by three women, explores themes of love, loss, and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, highlighting the power of second chances.

It's been a while since I read a true historical fiction book, and Stone Angels reminded me why I love them. The raw emotion and powerful journeys of the women, especially Angelina, were captivating. While I've read many books about WWII in Europe, this was my first set in Korea during that era, and it did not disappoint. The last 30% of the book truly sold me, but the entire story was exceptionally well-written.

Angelina's character growth was phenomenal. Her quest to uncover her family's truth was powerful and gave her a new perspective. I loved the multiple POVs, the deep dive into Korean culture, and the realistic portrayal of how our inner thoughts and upbringing influence our actions. Highly recommend this book!

Rating: 5/5
Spice: 1/5

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Helena Rho for a chance to read this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Angelina has started to question her life. A recent divorce, her two children that she is having trouble connecting with and her mother’s suicide. Nothing makes sense so she goes to Korea as part of her master’s with the intention of finding her mother’s family. What she learns is shocking but helps her understand her family better. Dual timelines : This book is set in the present and also during World War II when Japanese soldiers took young Korean women to be there “comfort women.” Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary ARC. This review is my own opinion and not coerced in any way.

After her mother’s suicide, Angelina travels to Seoul seeking connection and answers from the family she hasn’t seen since she was a child. Discovering a long-buried secret about a missing aunt, Angelina embarks on a journey of self-discovery, exploring themes of family, grief, and second chances. This is a compelling women’s fiction story written in a lyrical style.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I loved that this book takes a look at WWII through a completely different lens than most historical fiction books about the time period do. It was fascinating to learn about and led me to explore further after reading. The alternating timelines allowed the reader to really understand the emotions both women were going through. Highly recommend!

Sadly, this did not keep my attention well enough to remember the story even as I read it. I'm disappointed because I was very interested by the book's description.

A beautifully written historical fiction. As Angelina embarks on a solo trip to Korea after her tumultuous divorce and the tragic loss of her mother, she uncovers a family secret. While searching for her long lost Aunt, Angelina also rediscovers herself and begins to understand her strengths and rebuild her confidence and support network.

I didn’t care for this one. The flashback scenes depicting the torture and cruelty definitely merited trigger warnings but there was no prior indication to the violence therein, possible because the author didn’t want to “spoil” what happened to the big sister. I appreciate the angle of wanting to spread awareness of these issues from the war but the scenes felt too much like shock value than actually adding substance to the story. The main character wasn’t terribly likable and the romances fell so flat.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

I had hoped for more of the historical time line, and also less of the current day timeline, which was a little too focused on romance and the anxieties of the daughter/central character in the story. It ws well plotted, but I felt more time could have been spent on the history of Korean women/people during WWII.

<b>4.5 stars</b>
Angelina Lee, an Korean-American is trying to come in terms with her mother, Gongju 's suicide. She is one of the four daughters of Gongju, where she sets out to find answers to her mother's actions and buried family secrets, all the while tangled with her divorce and heart breaks. Jumping between Angelina's timeline and her aunt Sunyuh's, we see the women grappling with abuse, social/cultural pressure in modern and WWII era, side by side.

It was a great story of family, love, loss, grief, healing and strong women. It gives a strong message on moving on and self acceptance. No matter what we do, the path is ridden with mistakes and regret and never let these you from doing what you want to do next.

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
<b>Happy Reading!!</b>

Set primarily in beautiful, exotic Korea, this family drama is at once captivating, educational and inspiring. The heroine is struggling with everything in her tumultuous life as she studies in Korea and tries to locate her mother’s family. The alternating POV story is of her aunt who sadly was kidnapped and lived her teenage years as a prisoner. As they each grow through their tragedies, their separate stories of love, life and redemption are an inspiration to thrive after unimaginable hardships.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A recent divorcee travels to Korea to learn the language and search for traces of her long-lost aunt who disappeared during the Japanese occupation.

Wow. This is a beautifully written story about moving on from trauma. (That said, if you have unresolved trauma you aren't ready to face, it's probably in here.)

Although it has three points of view, the main storyline follows Angelina, a 40-year-old Korean American who recently went through a messy divorce and has come to Seoul to improve her Korean, reconnect with her maternal relatives, and (though she doesn't immediately recognize it) reconnect with herself. The other two points of view are of her late mother and her mother's sister, who has been missing since she was 16.

I really can't say much more about the plot without unforgivable spoilers because everything connects back around and ... You'll find out. And you'll be awash in beautiful writing while you do.

I read an advance copy via NetGalley for no consideration other than an honest review.

Stone angel seems to be the extended metaphor for three generations of Korean women who shadow their emotions in stoicism, rarely sharing how they truly feel. Angelina, the youngest, in an attempt to understand her mother’s behavior spends time in her native land, learning the Korean language and reacquainting herself with the culture. Her mother Gongju who criticized harshly is unhappily married, having not produced a son, and rarely shows affection. Her own mother is steeped in grief and shame, hiding behind a cold facade. While in Korea, Angelina discovers through a journalist, Keisuke, whose Korean mother never was accepted in Japan, the possibility of finding her mothers sister, gone missing during the War. Sunyuh, the aunt, had been kidnapped by the Japanese soldiers and made a sex slave, “comfort woman,” She was brutally used and abused for the duration and witnessed the murder of her friends. Once freed, she could not go home; instead, she started over in a strange community unwilling to let her grieve. Sunyuh teaches her new-found niece that she need not stay in an unhappy life. She shows her what real love is and how family influences our choices. Helena Rho’s novel reveals the suffering of the Korean people during World War II. It delves into their stoicism; it celebrates friends who listen and support; it emphasizes the need to attend to one’s joy and release the stone angel.

Five stars based on exquisite writing and devotion to the historical necessity of preserving the story of “comfort women”.

Before and during WWII, the Japanese forced thousands of young girls and women into sexual slavery to serve the “needs” of their armies. This novel, based on fact, explores the atrocities forced on these women and the irreparable harm done to them and their families. A fictional niece that serves as the main character in the present day supplies some of the book’s tension and romantic conflict.

The book was well written, characters were superbly developed, and this was definitely a story that needed to be told. My only criticism is the current day love story tended to overshadow the much more important historical one.


Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing/The Hatchet Group for the ARC to read and review.

Angelina Lee, 40, a newly-divorced Korean-American, feels "...completely unmoored by the sudden and tragic death of her mother, she hopes studying Korean will reconnect her to her roots, but nothing about Seoul feels familiar. Further complicating matters is the resurgence of an alluring man from Angelina’s past, and fellow classmate Keisuke Ono, an irritatingly good looking Japanese American journalist who refuses to leave her alone. What she’ll barely admit, however, is the true reason behind her trip. She’s convinced the key to understanding her mother’s suicide lies in Korea." She finds out that her mother's older sister, Sunyuh, with whom she was extremely close "...disappeared under the Japanese occupation of Korea during WWII—a secret the family buried for over sixty years.' Angelina is convinced that the secret to her mother's death is linked to Sunyuh--so she travels to Seoul to find out.

Of family [3 generations], love, mothers and daughters, disconnect, the horrors of the Japanese occupation/comfort women--to frame a few issues. Angelina's time in Seoul is complicated by Lars [a man from her past] and Keisuke [fellow student and journalist].

A dual timeline--past [1945] and present [2005]--primarily, but not exclusively.

Description:
"Angelina looked down at the top of her mother's scalp, gray roots defying a forest of brown"

"Disconnect" mush: "She left herself melt into him."
Sometimes melodramatic.

No spoiler but I thought the breadcrumbs were obvious for resolution. And I do not like a neat and tidy ending--which I thought it was on two fronts.

Somewhat pedestrian.

Engaged at first, but slowly lost interest/momentum.

3.5, not rounding up.

Be sure to read the Author's Note.

Stone Angels is saga of finding one’s roots, while trying to understand her mother’s last actions for Angelina Lee. By Helena Rho this is the voice of three women of Lee’s family. Part history lesson not only for Angelina, a Korean American woman, but also for the reader. It is not difficult to follow the back and forward with the women, showing how the past can affect the present. It is a gripping read if heartbreaking to read at times. A story that needed to be told and is done so with grace and quiet boldness.

Stone Angels by Helena Rho is an important read that brings up a dark time in history of "comfort women" in Japan that were young girls taken from Korea. That is a small part of this story but an important one. The families that were broken apart have an effect for generations and this is what we see in this book. Angelina's story is so important as she travels to her mom's country to learn Korean after her mom. has passed. While there she uncovers more about the family's history. There were parts of Angelina's story that I didn't love, but I understand why the author included it to show the human side of the next generations. This book has so much to discuss and would make a great bookclub pick., my book club was able to get a copy from The Book Club cookbook Galley Match program and our discussion was fantastic, with varying views and we all picked up different important parts of the book as important. Look for this book out in March 2025.