I liked this book but I felt like I was missing important information about the world, that the overall world building was just a bit lacking. That being said I like Sunho and Ren and am invested enough in their story to keep reading the series as it comes out.
There were a few places where the fight descriptions were off and should be looked at

Overview:

Ren is a cheerful acrobat performer traveling with her adoptive family (with her inventive names of Auntie, Big Uncle, and Little Uncle) until a demon attack forces her on a journey to save her family. She also starts to become priority number one when she accidentally uses her special Light power. Sunho is a "closed-off, emotionally inaccessible" swordsman with severe amnesia and a demon lurking under his skin who takes a job to locate and protect the girl. Jaeil is an aloof captain in the army who weaves his actions seamlessly into the plot while simultaenously hiding his thoughts. The journey for Ren and Sunho once they meet has strong Studio Ghibli-esque vibes.

What I Loved:

Strong world-building with celestial magic, a class-like society, and some Korean mythology.

Main characters Ren and Sunho grow and mature bit by bit as they encounter various situations on their journey

Nobody wants to achieve a grand destiny - they actively work to return to having normal lives

The slow. burn. romance with cute interactions


What I Wish Was Better:

The plot goes from building the world and main characters' journey to becoming a whirlwind of events happening back-to-back toward the end of the book

more exploration/description of the different sections of the Under World as we fly by most of it after initial character introductions


Overall, I definitely recommend this book! I'm excited to see what book 2 has in store for this world and its characters!

I really enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea so I was excited to see Axie Oh branching out even more into the fantasy genre! The Floating World doesn't have TGWFBTS's folkloric charm but it trades that for a much more epic scope of story, including a war of expansion, a lost princess, and a plague of demons upon the world. To be clear, this story is also based on Korean folklore, but it has a different FEEL to it than TGWFBTS and so while those folklore elements are present, it has less of a storybook vibe and more of an epic vibe.

It took me a bit to get the hang of what this world actually looked like and I think it's important to note that "the Floating World" is actually just a floating CITY, and "the Under World" is just the part of the city that is below the floating part, and there is much more of the world that is not involved with it. This does become clear eventually, but it takes a while to get there and I found it to be a bit confusing for the first part of the book.

There is a fairly standard YA romance here between lost princess (who knows it but prefers not to think about it) Ren and Sunho, an ex-soldier with amnesia who is sent to retrieve her (along with a bunch of other people sent on the same mission, though some of them want to kill her instead). There is NOT a love triangle; I was concerned there might be when Jaeil was introduced as a POV character, but it seems like no! Which is good. The romance, though standard-issue, is sweet and I do love a good duality romance (light and dark, fire and water, etc) so that hit the right spot for me. There are enough layers and subplots to keep things interesting without them becoming too convoluted. The pacing at the end is a bit off; most of of the chapters of Part 4 feel like they should have been the start of the second book, but on the other hand, the very last chapter DID feel like an appropriate place to end.

The second book, The Demon and the Light, looks slated to come out later this year, and I hope it concludes this story; I think there is plenty here for a second book but a third could be stretching it. Anyway, a very solid addition to YA fantasy for this year! I'm glad Oh didn't stop her fantasy efforts with TGWFBTS.

This is my first Axie Oh novel I have read and it did not disappoint! I personal love the YA genre and sometimes it is hard to find a good fantasy that is truly satisfying in that category. For me this book hit all the marks. I loved the world building, I really thought this was an interesting concept and I love that as the story progresses you learn more about the world through the stories that the characters tell. I enjoyed the main characters and the relationships they have with side characters. Sunho and Ren are both characters with big stories and they really were drawn to each other. But really everyone you meet is well written and has a purpose and a story.
I feel like the last few chapters felt a little rushed, but I do feel like this book closed out well. While we know there’s another adventure to come and more to this story (and I CANNOT WAIT!!!) the author did an amazing job coming full circle on the plot of this first book and leaving it in a place that had you a decent mixture of satisfied with the story that was told and wanting more of what’s to come.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The Floating World is the first in a new YA duology by Axie Oh. The only other book I have read by Axie Oh was The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, which I thought was pretty good. However, since then Axie Oh has really improved and deepened her writing skills. You probably saw that the book is advertised as Final Fantasy x Shadow and Bone, but I felt that it was not super Shadow and Bone-ish. I definitely saw parallels with the plot of Final Fantasy 7 (the main game in the FF series that I have played). It also is inspired by the korean folktale about the heavenly maiden and the woodcutter.

Plot: The Floating World follows Ren’s journey to help her family and Sunho’s journey to find his brother. Sunho is a mercenary, who is hired to hunt down her. However, when he accidentally stumbles across Ren, he doesn’t know who she is and they end up working together.

Characters:
Ren - a traveling performer with the mysterious ability to wield silver light, she’s kinda naive sometimes, but very family driven

Sunho - a gifted ex-soldier/mercenary with no memory of his past other than his brother, he’s very Cloud Strife coded but less brooding

There is a third pov, but he doesn’t appear as often, and I don’t want to spoil who he is. However, this book doesn’t have a love triangle (thank god)

I thought that this book was overall very good and had a strong plot (although sometimes eerily similar to Final Fantasy). This might However, I felt that Ren’s pov was sometimes a bit slow/uninteresting. The book itself is more medium paced. I just struggled a bit during Ren’s pov. This might just be a personal issue though, because I did find some of the other side-characters to be pretty interesting. In the end I was thoroughly entertained and really enjoyed reading this book. I’d definitely recommend this book to YA and asian fantasy lovers. Also, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the FF series.

Oh also the second book is also supposed to come out later this year, so I’d pick this book up even if you don’t like waiting a long time for the sequel since it’ll release soon.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Feiwel & Friends for providing this eARC

Thank you so so much to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for an e-ARC of The Floating World. Axie Oh has done it again! She has taken a Korean myth (this time it is the Celestial Maiden and the Woodcutter) and has turned it into some modern and beautiful. The publisher describes it as Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone. Having played Final Fantasy, I can agree that part of the novel definitely has a Final Fantasy vibe. However, the pages also ooze a Castle in the Sky vibe. Which is no surprise if you've read my review of the Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

The Floating World is told through three POVs. The first is Ren's. The novel starts out with Ren, a member of a traveling troupe and her found family. Ren has a past that she tries hard to not remember. She is actually descended from the celestial maidens and she can use magic.During one of their performances, Ren and her family are attacked by a demon. Ren is able to reach for her magic and kill the demon, but not before Little Uncle gets injured. Since Ren used her magic, people who thought she was dead may actually start looking for her. Not wanting to put her family in danger, Ren leaves the troupe to travel across the land to find a cure.

The second POV is Sunho. Sunho is a mercenary for hire that woke up one day without any memories except that he has a brother out in the world somewhere, Junho. Sunho is contacted by two members of the Sayrenian Army (Jaeil and Sana) to look for the girl who is responsible for the light appearing. In exchange, Jaeil promises Sunho that he has information about his brother's whereabouts. Sunho accepts the mission and starts looking for the girl. Sunho is not the only one looking for the girl with the light. Mercenaries, assassins, and soldiers are also looking for her.

The third POV is Jaeil. I won't go too much into his character, but he and Sana gave off major FMA Hawkeye and Mustang vibes. Jaeil clearly has a motive for wanting the girl with the light to be alive. His POV was very interesting. Even after the book is over, I'm not sure how to feel about him.

As you can guess, Sunho finds Ren first. The two work together to travel and find a cure for Little Uncle and to find Sunho's brother. There is a little romance between Ren and Sunho. But it feels natural. The interactions between Ren and Sunho feel not like a blazing fire, but of a comfortable hearth. Axie Oh does a great job of having tension in the story come from external factors such as the people trying to kill Ren rather than from romance.

There is a cast of side characters that feel delightful fleshed out. Axie Oh has clearly poured a lot of thought and love into even the side characters. I didn't realize this was a duology until I finished the book and was like "where is the rest? Please Axie Oh...more pages." Needless to say, I can't recommend this book enough! Thank you again to the publisher and Netgalley for this incredible read.

DNF @ 31%

I was absolutely floored by how much of this book was taken wholesale from Final Fantasy 7. Sunho is literally Cloud Strife: former soldier; some kind of scary experimental enhancement that makes him strong at the cost of killing/altering him on an accelerated timeline; amnesia but with vague memories of a brother-figure who can definitely fill things in that he forgot; personality that’s pretty much “I have a sword and know how to use it”. The empire is essentially Midgar, down to the round two-tiered haves above and have-nots below structure separated into numbered districts like slices of pie, with an industrial site in every district.

Outside of what’s taken right from FF7, the book doesn’t have anything to say. All the social commentary about corporate greed and climate change (ie willful environmental destruction) was stripped out. There’s no rebellion to stir things up. Axie Oh is likely someone who shipped Cloud and Aerith and therefore wrote everyone else out of the equation because once the two characters meet, their relationship becomes the main focus, to the detriment of all else.

I will say I liked Jaeil’s character, and his role in papering over some of the cracks in the worldbuilding, but he wasn’t prevalent enough to differentiate the story.

I don’t know Castle in the Air the same way I know FF7, but I have seen reviews that say it’s equally derivative.

Being so similar to something I know definitely dramatically hindered my reading experience (hence the DNF), but I’m kind of devastated because a story LIKE Final Fantasy should be everything I’ve ever wanted. But it was just way too close without being IP (also with no Tifa character, which is just rude)

4.5/5

I loved The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea so much that when I finished it, I was so sad that I could never read it for the first time again. So when I saw that Axie Oh was writing another book, I eagerly awaited my chance to read it.

The Floating World follows our protagonists Ren and Sunho. Ren is living happily as a troupe performer in a circus, content to move forward instead of facing her past. Sunho does not remember his past, and moves forward with the goal of reuniting with his lost brother. While the story does introduce a cast of characters and even has a POV outside of our MCs, the reader is not given too much information about them. Honestly, that suits me just fine because while the secondary characters are all fun in their own way (except for a couple whom I can't stand, and it's all their own fault anyway), Ren and Sunho have my whole heart—Sunho from the beginning. Ren took me a bit to like as she came off as bratty in the beginning, but I appreciated her growth and now I'll take her, too.

This is most definitely a YA romantasy with these two having such a sweet relationship—not quite insta-love, but not a slow burn per say. They are strangers and quickly move into mutual friendship but find each other extraordinarily attractive, maybe because they were working toward a similar goal; but it did seem a little fast, how quickly they cared about each other. Ren is all sass, which I found to be quite funny at times. Sunho on the other hand is described as taciturn and tending to keep people at a distance, but that's not exactly the case with his relationship with Ren. Now, I think the quick attachment to be explained with the darkness in Sunho being drawn to Ren's light, but I still would have appreciated more back-and-forth or some struggle on his end.

When describing the world itself, Oh does a wonderful job of giving the scenery poetic details while at the same time letting the reader's imagination do some work. She weaves information about the world at all points of the story, peppering instead of dumping all of the information at once. The vibe felt very Studio Ghibli- and Final Fantasy-esque, which I don't have a problem with as I happen to be a fan of both of those studios. Does this mean that sometimes some plot twists are expected? Sure, but I didn't feel any less emotion when I read them.

Overall I loved this story, and am eagerly waiting for the next one.

Endless thanks to MacMillan's Publishing Group, Feiwel and Friends, and NetGalley for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is an absolute ride. Magic, Korean mythology, and a dash of Studio Ghibli vibes all wrapped up in a high-stakes fantasy. Ren and Sunho’s slow-burn romance feels real and heartfelt, and the worldbuilding is just chef’s kiss. It’s immersive without info-dumping, pulling you right into this vivid, enchanting setting. The pacing gets a bit rushed near the end, and a few side characters deserved more spotlight, but the twists, emotional moments, and stunning atmosphere totally make up for it. Axie Oh totally nailed it, I’m already dying for the next book 😔

A cinematic adventurous story set in a world filled with corruption and betrayal and bloodthirst. This story follows a teenage girl with a hidden background and magic that could change the world as they know it and a teenage boy with secrets of his own to hide. They first set out as enemies but a simple act of kindness changes their course. Fighting against those who wish them and the world harm, they must find a way to stop it all and save the ones they care about most.

The Floating World by Axie Oh offers a captivating premise full of potential, blending a dark, mysterious world with themes of memory, destiny, and hidden power. The story of Sunho, an ex-soldier living in the Under World, and Ren, a spirited acrobat wielding a dangerous silver light, is rich with intrigue. The setting is atmospheric, and the narrative is filled with moments of tension and discovery. However, I struggled to connect with the writing style, which felt a bit too distant for my taste. While I appreciated the world-building and the slow unfolding of the characters’ pasts, I found it difficult to engage with them on an emotional level. The romance and character dynamics, though present, didn’t quite resonate with me, and the pacing sometimes faltered. Overall, The Floating World has a lot of promise but didn't quite hit the mark for me. It’s a solid read for fans of epic fantasy, but I was hoping for a bit more emotional depth and connection to the characters.

ARC Disclosure: This book was received free of charge from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The Floating World" serves as an impressive start to a fantasy series where Axie Oh builds a universe reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII's greatest qualities. The clear division between the luxurious Floating World above and the relentlessly dark Under World below reflects FFVII's Midgar city and the mithril mining system functions similarly to the game's Mako energy extraction by offering parallel commentary on themes of exploitation and corruption.

A narrative emerges through Ren's silver light and Sunho's battle with amnesia and inner "Demon" which mirrors Cloud Strife's journey to create powerful revelations and conflicts that FFVII fans will instantly recognize and enjoy.

The book excels because Oh skillfully mixes fantasy with real emotions while exploring identity, power, and connection with nuanced depth and heartfelt storytelling. The magic system starts with deliberate vagueness which could provoke reader frustration but develops through storytelling instead of direct exposition to match the protagonists' process of understanding. With that, at times the plot can feel a tiny bit forced, and the ending of the book does feel a bit rushed, but overall ties together well.

Readers who love character-focused tales and Final Fantasy fans will find themselves drawn to "The Floating World" which features a Korean mythology-based setting and concludes with a rewarding ending while setting up the next chapter.

Full review can be found at https://bromantasy.com/reviews/the-floating-world/

This was okay. Great concept, interesting storyline, likeable characters. But there was just something missing in the progression of the plot that didn’t provide enough development or tension. There was a lot of telling the reader how the characters were feeling and not enough showing. The pacing was off and I just couldn’t get fully invested in these characters.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

I really liked the focus on the tale of the woodcutter which reminded me of the stories told in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. However, overall this book had a very different feel to it. It was much darker in tone. I struggled with that for a good portion of this book I guess just because that prior book was feeding my expectations. However, the ending of this book is everything!!! It is powerfully romantic and empowering at the same time!!! Now I can’t wait for book 2!

Thanks to Netgalley and Feiwel and Friends for the eARC!

I really enjoyed The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea so when I saw Axie Oh was writing a Final Fantasy / Castle in the Sky inspired book, I jumped at the chance to read it.

Except… “inspired by” is relative when Floating World has almost the exact same plot points as Castle in the Sky and it felt almost like a remake and the only major change was that the World is not abandoned like the Castle was. ☠️

Even taking away all my qualms with the unoriginal plot, this story felt so BASIC and VANILLA. There were no plot twists. There was no morally grey decisions. Everything was so perfect and predictable and ultimately… boring. The only somewhat good portions were Jaeil’s chapters and even then, his motivations changed on a whim and annoyed me in the end.

If you’re looking for something that does not push any limits and does not bring anything new to the writing world, then you may be fine with this book. There’s nothing necessarily “wrong” with this approach to storytelling… and had I read this as a child, I may have enjoyed it. But when you have books that change the way you think, this just pales in comparison.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I may have squealed LOUDLY when I got approved for this ARC because I've said it aloud and I'll say it now in written form—Axie Oh is one of my go-to authors; everything she writes, I have loved and this was NO exception.

The Floating World gives me Studio Ghibli vibes in the best way. It mixes the technological dystopia of Howl's Moving Castle and the environmental and warlike chaos of Princess Mononoke with the royal magic of Castle in the Sky, coming together to form a well-paced, engaging, and almost cozy(?) narrative about two protagonists that give me intense Sheeta and Ashitaka vibes!!

I loved how pure Sunho and Ren were. They're not perfect, by any means—Sunho is a mercenary and Ren is literally running away from her "responsibilities" as a princess in favor of a simple life—but their motivations are so genuine and realistic. You can't help but root for them and the cast of secondary characters, whether they be friend or foe. And while some plot points were either convenient or easy to infer, they never took me out of the story and away from the characters. The emotional arcs that both Sunho and Ren go on are well worth a little bit of cliché.

I could go on and on... My overall reading experience for this was SO positive, and I truly cannot wait for the next installment. If you are a fan of YA dystopias, then sir/mam, this is for YOU. Do yourself a favor and pick it up!!

This was so good. I am left with so many questions and need so many answers. I feel like there’s a love triangle, or at least a friendship redemption coming up and I cannot wait to see more of it. I need more of Yurhee and Tag, Little Uncle and Hwi. So much more. I cannot wait for book 2!

This was an good book with an interesting premise! This is a reimagining of the Korean folktale, the Celestial Maiden, while the setting and characters are clearly inspired by Final Fantasy 7 and the plot has some inspiration from Castle in the Sky (and FF7). The tone in this book leans towards the younger side of YA (almost middle grade), although it deals with some heavy topics (but not in depth) and also comes with all the things a typical YA novel has, such as simple sentence structures, light world building, a high convenience factor and ease of resolution for plot lines. It was a little too YA for me, which is a personal preference for sure. The beginning starts out relatively slow and picks up towards the end, although the action scenes at the end were lacking in my opinion - many fights that only lasted a few paragraphs and then we'd move on. I also think that there were too many things going on and the main plot (which I think is the romance?) got completely lost in all the random side plots.

The romance also kind of came out of nowhere, one day they were just in love? Which is not to say that I didn't like Ren (FMC) and Sunho (MMC), because I did like them. They are both complex characters and hopefully they get more depth in the next book as they have a lot of potential! I will say that my favorite characters are Jaeil and Sana and I hope they get a lot more screen time in the next book as well. I would like to know a lot more about Jaeil.

I'd recommend this if you enjoy YA fantasy romance! I'll likely read the sequel since I am interested in knowing what will happen next. I think though that if I read another book by Axie Oh after this series, it will not be in her fantasy works. I just find her world building and fantasy plot lines to be too weak and so I think her romances will be better for me.

This was a fun read that felt very Studio Ghibli mixed with Marvel and would really work out well as either an anime or graphic novel.

I definitely think this book is geared towards the younger YA set. The main characters' motivations, actions, and feelings were very straightforward. While I liked the worldbuilding, the storyline and characters were a little too simplistic for me. There wasn't really any subtext for older teens or adults to parse out. Authoritarian governments are bad. Wealth and class inequities are also bad. There is a Chosen One to round out the usual fantasy tropes.

This would definitely be a good introduction for tweens and younger teens to the world of fantasy, especially one that mirrors real world issues and with strong characters to root for.

For those who are well versed in fantasy, this is more of a lighter read that works as a palate cleanser. And I won't lie, it's been almost two weeks since I've read this, and I don't remember any details that really stood out to me.

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for this arc.

This was such an enjoyable read. The world is really cool and well-developed. I loved the characters, Sunho and Ren. The way they brought peace to each other in their dark and unstable world was so sweet. I only wish there was a little more from the third POV character (I'm so intrigued by him and feel like there could be more to him) and some of the plot/reveals felt very predictable. But this didn't take away from my enjoyment of The Floating World at all. Sunho and Ren stole my heart and then made it ache at the end. I am very much looking forward to book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends for this digital ARC!