Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1) by Kat Cho

Wicked Fox
Series: Gumiho
By: Kat Cho
Check it Out: Goodreads

A fresh and addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret–she’s a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He’s drawn to her anyway.

With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019 and I’m so sad to say that I thought this was just okay. Maybe I hyped it up too much in my head. 

I love me a good K-drama, so when I saw that this was for ”K-drama addicts”(per the blurbs on the hardcover) I knew that I had to get my hands on it. I even can admit that I could see this being a drama with certain scenes. I loved the setting of Seoul and being thrown into the Korean culture. 

The story did start off strong for me, but soon it felt like the pacing was way off. This book is almost 430 pages long and it really felt like it! Some situations seemed to drag and it even felt like we kept going through the same things at times. 

The characters were okay. Honestly, I never really warmed up to Miyoung. I expected her to be this kick ass character who would have an unclear version of right and wrong of her situation. What we get is a girl who keeps having the same monologue throughout the whole book of how she can’t get close to people and refusing to open up. I started off loving Jihoon. How could you not love a guy who gets by with flattery and is so loyal? However, my love for him did diminish a bit because some situations he handled like a whiny child. 

While I was all here for the friendship that was forming between these two, I can’t say the same about the relationship. I didn’t really see how it would work or why Jihoon wanted to date her. I was thinking that maybe his fascination with her being a gumiho turned into more. Because let’s be honest, besides her being pretty there was really nothing else. She was mean, lashed out, and was downright frustrating at times. 

While I wasn’t wowed by this, I know that so many people will be. I’m a little interested in picking up the sequel. If you are a fan of mythology and fantasy then pick this up and give it a try. 

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