The God and the Gumiho is The Dresden Files meets Loki -dripping in Korean folklore and mythology!
I feel like I have been anticipating this release forever!! I am obsessed with fox spirits across Asian mythologies incl the Gumiho and will pick up anything featuring them. Unfortunately this one is not for me and I had to DNF - but that doesnt mean this isnt for you!!
In this story we follow a trickster god detective who is investigating crime and gets his daily coffee in the local coffee shop. Where our gumiho works. She is not a fan of his attitude and it is very obvisou that they are supposed to be enemies to lovers. On the background we see that there is more killings of men going on most likely done by a very powerful gumiho.... you know where this is going. I think the story is not bad, it just tries too much and therefor over simplifies in plot and character development. It feels a lot like a YA novel which is not my thing but if you adore the pick this one up!

I found The God and The Gumiho a fun and interesting story and loved the flow of the writing.

The world building and the lore was interesting and easy to understand but sometimes I found the Korean mythology a little hard to keep track of and wish there was a glossary for all the unrulies and immortals as I felt this took me out of the story for a moment. The beginning does start at a rather slow pace and it was only near the end of the book that it picked up, I do wish it had captured me a little more from the beginning as I liked the concept behind the story.

I loved Hani’s character the scarlet fox in hiding and I found her very fun and Seokga was the fallen god who was rather grumpy and did enjoy some of their interactions. One of my favourite things I liked was how unique the ending was as it’s not something done enough.

Overall I did enjoy certain parts of this book and loved how fun the writing was and that it gave a different take on regular fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this eArc.

Reading this story was a rollercoaster of mixed opinions.

I started reading it with great enthusiasm but as I read it I realized that I don't like that type of story that has the trope that the protagonist lies to the protagonist about something from the beginning and you spend the entire book waiting to see what happens. That truth is going to be discovered. I realized that I don't even like watching it in kdramas because I just started one with that cliche and I'm not watching it anymore. Clearly the book is not to blame, but hey, I realized that I don't like it at all.

I liked the story itself, but I wasn't interested in the link between the protagonists and at a certain point there were moments and scenes that became a little repetitive and uninteresting.

I think I expected a lot more from the story and that's why I ended up a little disappointed. But it is a light and entertaining read.

Thanks Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I’m being completely honest, I don’t really know what exactly made me pick up The God and the Gumiho--it could have been the beautiful cover, my recognition of Sophie Kim’s name, my desperate search for a good romantasy or fantasy romance, or the fact that I’m using this book for one of my r/fantasy bingo squares. Nonetheless, I read it in a few days, and I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this read!

The World:

I found this world to be pretty well constructed. The story takes place in New Sinsi, Korea, and the world is otherwise the same as our own. As such, humans are roaming the world and falling victim to the Unrulies wreaking havoc on the city and world; we get the sense that the immortals want to live separate from the humans because of the glamored stores/shops, bridges, etc. However, we don’t really get any backstory about it: I do not know if they want to live separately because they can’t afford for the humans to find out (and if that’s the case, why is that?) or if they just don’t want them to. There is a passing mention of a monotheistic religion that’s taken root in Korea, which I assume is Christianity, but the comment is made by Seogka while he’s grouchy for not receiving as many prayers or worship. We don’t know why, if for any reason other than vanity, he would want that worship. I wish we would’ve gotten more information, just generally, about the relationship between humans and immortals other than humans being prey for Unrulies.

Beyond that, though, I really liked the influence of Korean mythology that clearly drove this story. I wish we would’ve had a glossary of some sorts, as I had some trouble keeping track of the different types of Unrulies and immortals; however, even without that, Google served me well, and I felt that Kim did a nice job of adding in small details to remind me of what was what in the text without becoming redundant or condescending.

The Characters:

This story follows the tried and true Grumpy x Sunshine trope for our main characters. Sophie Kim is not reinventing the wheel here, but what she does, I thought she did fairly well. I was invested in the tension and romance among our characters.

I do wish that we got a bit more background about our two main characters, Seogka and Hani. Kim gave us only the backstory we needed in order to frame the story, but I think we could’ve used more. We spent a lot of time pondering specific moments from each character’s past, but there was absolutely more to be learned about each of them based on the choices they’ve made in the past. For example, we don’t know why Hani ended up in New Sinsi, where else she’s lived, etc. I think her character motivations (to save the realm and all that) would have greatly benefited from a more thorough backstory to reinforce the context of her actions.

In general, I thought both Seogka and Hani had compelling and nearly believable arcs.

My biggest complaint for Seogka is that Hani warms his heart, but we never really investigate why. Why is she the one to make him warm? What about her, specifically, has opened him to love for the first time in his millenia-long life? He comments often on how hot she is and how much he likes her laugh and banter, but surely this can’t be the first time he’s encountered someone who’s quick-witted and hot. On top of all that, he is down astronomically bad & so deeply in love. Why?? I found it increasingly difficult to suspend my reality for his character because his being so in love & with no explanation, exploration, or investigation was out of character. He’s arguably short-sighted, sure, but he’s not impulsive; he’s calculating, and I wanted to see him do more than simply deny his feelings.

Hani, on the other hand, I thought was a well-written character. I thought her duality was much more compelling than Seogka: she falls for him and denies it, but her denial and aversion to loving him is rooted in guilt for her deception. Her character was significantly more believable for the simple fact that her character motivations–preservation of her self, relationships, and reality–are layered and somewhat complex. She is battling with herself to figure out how her priorities are aligned, and she struggles with this until the bitter end. I also really liked how her cleverness was written as well. From Seogka’s POV, we see a fearless and clever gamiho whose cracks occasionally show. From her own POV, though, we see Hani faltering between true fearlessness/cleverness and a deep-rooted uneasiness. Too often, especially in these types of stories. our clever FMCs are reduced to being clever with no real personality, and this book did not fall victim to that.

The Plot:

[slight spoilers in here]
Like I said, Sophie Kim is not doing anything necessarily new here. I found the plot to be really predictable; it was one of those situations where characters stick around in order to propel the plot. I could tell from miles away who was going to be /the bad guy[s]/ and when our MCs were on wild goose chases.

Regardless of how predictable the plot was, though, I don’t think there was necessarily anything wrong with it. I still enjoyed reading it, and the plot formula we have here is a standard for a reason.

Audience:

As I was reading this, I had a bit of a difficult time deciding who exactly I thought this book was written for. I found that the story was written at the YA level, but we had a few spicy scenes. I’ve concluded that I’d categorize this book as the dreaded “New Adult” audience–written to be understood by YA-level readers with content that’s not appropriate for them.

Overall:

The God and the Gumiho was a really fun, entertaining read that I’m glad to have picked up. I’m pleased to see that this will be a series, as there are certainly elements that seem to have been intentionally untouched. I’m looking forward to see how our two lovers reconnect in future installments.

This book is like a K-drama on paper, it's so much fun! It's got all the humour, romance, and magic of series like Doom At Your Service (which I adored), but this story adds a more adult vibe and a sassy, morally grey MC, which gives it more depth and impact for me.

Full of incredible Korean mythology, the world-building is fascinating, and Kim's witty, pacy writing gives us a slowly unravelling mystery with a few twists I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the character development, and how each MC builds on the other, acknowledging last trauma and their own morally grey natures.

You really fall in love with these characters throughout their journey, and looking at some of the story's themes through their eyes, such as death, self-sacrifice, warring with one's nature, and accepting help, it puts them into a different perspective that's easier to examine because of the fantasy element.

I really enjoyed this release, and it reads really well as a standalone. However, I believe there is another to follow, and I'll be eagerly awaiting what comes next for these characters! Look at that stunning cover by @kuri_huang as well! This image was shared by them for the cover reveal and shows their beautiful design style.

Thank you to Sophie Kim and Netgalley for this fabulous ARC - all opinions here are my own, honest and freely given.

The God and The Gumiho by Sophie Kim is the first book in the Fate‘s Threads Series.
 
This story is set in South Korea and also inspired by Korean myths and folklore, and I really enjoyed that. In this book an unlikely pair must work together to track down a demon that threatens the mortal world and this concept was great. Seokga is a fallen trickster god and Kim Hani is a gumiho known as the Scarlet Fox. I absolutely love stories with a nine-tailed fox, and it was done great in this one as well.
 
Seokga and Kim don’t like each other in the beginning and the hate to love vibes were strong in this story. Next to the sprinkles of romance the story also included a great mystery plot and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was glued to the pages and couldn’t stop reading. In addition, the writing style is very flowery and poetic and that is something I really liked, and it made me appreciate the storytelling more.
 
Overall, I really enjoyed The God and The Gumiho and if you like an action packed romantasy with mythology, definitely check this one out. 4 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one!

It was kind of refreshing to read a fantasy that was set in the more recent past (well 1992) that seamlessly incorporated South Korean folklore with police procedural drama. It felt like it could be adapated for tv and was incredibly original. I also loved that the romance between the two characters was a romance of equals in terms of power balance - yes one was a fallen god with clout in the immortal world, but the Gumiho was also thousands of years old and actually had more power. I liked the morally grey aspect and the redemption arcs and I personally thought the humour in it was great. I loved the female MC, she was sassy,

4/5 stars, with a star knocked off because the book could have benefited from a glossary at the beginning for people not familiar with Korean culture or the mythological creatures, I did have to do a bit of googling at the beginning.

** Thank you netgalley for this arc. all thoughts are my own. **

I feel like this is the perfect example of a book that has all the individual parts to be a great read for me but comes up short in the execution. Although I can safely say that this has a very pretty cover.

Seogka, the fallen trickers god, is forced to do penance (after a failed coup to take over his brother's heavenly kingdom) using being a supernatural investigator on earth and sending nasty creatures back to the spiritual dimension they came from. Then there is the FMC Hani, who is a legendary fox spirit called The Scarlett Fox, who is best known for a mass-scale slaughter 100 years ago. After Hani accidentally draws attention to herself following some murders, she infiltrates the investigation to try and sabotage the efforts to find her.

While this felt slow to start and it took me a while to warm to the character of Hani (who felt insufferable quite a lot of the time), I ended up really enjoying it and consuming it very quickly.

I loved all the references to creatures of Korean folklore, as well as a modern take on the Korean pantheon of gods. It's nice to see a new pantheon get some attention after the multitude of Greek mythology retellings. Korean folklore is so rich with monsters and stories that give you shivers, so the way they were utilized in this book was very appealing to me.

I feel like once you start it, you need to read it all in one go, otherwise, the story will fall flat a little, as it takes a bit to get into.
I enjoyed that it picked up near the end of the book, but I wished that it captured me more from the beginning. the prose of the book was wonderfully set though, I think it helps if you know a little about the Korean folklore going into this story too.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

The God and the Gumiho should appeal to everyone that likes morally grey characters, grumpy male lead x teasing female lead and stories inspired by Korean mythology. I would have prefered a bit more worldbuilding/history of the characters, but hopefully we'll get it in the sequel!

4,25-4,5 / 5

Somehow, judging by the cover (which is just really a 10/10 cover), I expected something very different, but I have to say this was way better than anything I could have expected!

Let me tell you, Hani and Seokga are kind of the best!
Seokga, especially in the beginning, gave me old-50+ year old-grumpy-I am *done* with this-man vibes and the funny thing about this is, that the more the book progresses, the younger he suddenly becomes.
But the star of the book was definitely Hani. She was funny, she was caring and she made sure to annoy the shit out of Seokga whenever she could. Gotta enjoy the little things in life.

If you enjoy TV shows like Castle, The Mentalist, Sherlock and the like, you will have a blast reading about Hani & Seokga. The banter, the sarcasm and the way they treat each other is very much like the earlier and better seasons of those shows. And all of it sprinkled with korean culture and pop culture references makes it just all even better.
I saw people comparing it to K-Dramas and maybe I’m just really out of the loop here (haven’t watched one in 2 or 3 years) but the only K-Drama-esque resemblance I saw was the more than average coffee consumption.

The writing was super fun (like, literally funny) and very complementing to the characters’ personalities and story.

I think the only issue/critique I have with this book is that it takes place over a span of I think two-ish weeks. If those were maybe 3 or 4 months, I think I would have found myself a taaaaad more invested, because it would just have made more sense to me in terms of the development of the romance.

There is basically an open ending which is unfair because my heart can’t handle stuff like this (I obviously shed a tear. Maybe two. Or more).
I need book 2 ASAP pls.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"There are no happy endings in your story. The god and the gumiho ends with tragedy."

While this felt slow to start and it took me a while to warm to the character of Hani (who felt insufferable quite a lot of the time), I ended up really enjoying it and consuming it very quickly.

I loved all the references to creatures of Korean folklore, as well as a modern take on the Korean pantheon of gods. It's nice to see a new pantheon get some attention after the multitude of Greek mythology retellings. Korean folklore is so rich with monsters and stories that give you the shivers, so the way they were utilised in this book was very appealing to me.

While I didn't find Hani relatable or hugely charming, she redeemed herself in the last 15% of the story. I think part of my problem was attempting to buddy read it with a friend who also got the ARC, meaning we were reading set chapters per day. This is not the kind of book you should do that with.

Seokga was your typical brooding, grumpy fantasy MMC - not that I'm complaining though! I ended up loving him by the end of the book. He grew on me slowly, and then all of a sudden. One thing that really bothered me however was the constant referencing of his fall from grace - I feel like we only needed to be told once or twice!

The side characters really shone for me - Somi the 'baby' gumiho (nine-tailed fox), Hyuntae the joseung saga (grim reaper), Chief Shim who was essentially a surrogate father to Seokga even though he didn't realise it himself.

Reading it was kinda like grabbing some odeng and scarfing it down as fast as possible - very satisfying but probably not super nutritious! Like fast food, The God and the Gumiho is a book you need to read in one go while it's still hot.

THIS. BOOK.

I don't even know where to start. The setting. The vibes. The grumpy/sunshine relationship. The banter. The snark. The slow melting of the hearts and warming up to each other's little idiosyncrasies. Seokga and Kim are EVERYTHING.

I don't even like romance that much but this book may have damn well near cured me.

A sweet story with Korean mythology

With "The God and the Gumiho", Sophie Kim takes us into a world full of Korean demons, gods and other exciting mythological figures. This is Kim Hani and Seokga's story.

The disgraced Trikster God Seokga has to kill the demon who has disappeared and is responsible for a series of murders, as well as Scarlett Fox, whose identity is unknown, in order to rehabilitate himself and regain his power.
He is a very impatient and aloof God who is extremely arrogant. But together with Kim Hani, I found his quirks very entertaining.

Kim Hani is a barista who hates one thing from the ground up: coffee. When a demon escapes and the fallen god Seoka takes on the investigation and the suspicion arises that the Scarlett Fox is working with the demon and killing a lot of people, she takes on the job as his assistant so that he never finds the Scarlett Fox.

Kim Hani and Seoka really set the mood together! Since the two are very different, there was a lot of banter which I really enjoyed and made me laugh.

The story was cute and entertaining, but unfortunately I also have a few criticisms. Kim Hani and Seoka are several hundred years old, but you don't notice that in their behavior. To me, they behaved more like young adults or sometimes teenagers.

Sometimes the story was a bit hard to follow. It would have been helpful if there had been a small glossary for the Korean mythical figures. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with them and therefore don't know the characteristics of the mythical figures.

I only realized that the story takes place in the 1990s at the end 😂

I give "The God and the Gumiho" by Sophie Kim 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

4.3⭐️
Thank you to Hodderscape and Netgalley for this eARC.

I admit that I started this book without much knowledge of K-drama or Korean mythology, and it took me a little bit to get into it due to the unfamiliar terminology, however after that I was well and truly hooked by this grumpy x sunshine pairing.

Seokga is a fallen god trying to make his way home, and Hani is a Gumiho with a secret past. They start the story as rivals (including Hani sabotaging Seokga’s coffee, which I cannot condone as a coffee lover myself 😂) however circumstances lead to them forming an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery, save the world from darkness, etc.

I loved how sassy Hani is, and this combined with Seokga’s general grumpiness (and relatable obsession with coffee) made for a very entertaining read. Although they went from fighting to being obsessed with each other pretty quickly, I still enjoyed watching their relationship grow. It also doesn’t hurt that one of my faves tropes made an appearance (only one bed, anyone)? 😏

I did suspect the twist before it happened, however it didn’t take away from the reveal which was still well executed.

All in all, I enjoyed this story a lot, and it was great to learn more about Korean mythology.

This book came across my Netgalley feed and I clicked on it mainly because I watch a lot of K-drama and I hoped this would have similar vibes. And it did!

Kim Hani is a 'retired' Gumiho (the notorious Scarlet Fox who retired mainly because she overate in the 1800s) who works in a coffee shop, serving coffee to other non-mortals.
Soekga is the fallen trickster god who is serving his punishment in the mortal plain and, well, he's not exactly Mr Sunshine.
When Kim Hani's secret past is threatened, she ends up taking a job working with Soekga to uncover the identity of the Scarlet Fox - because if she's working with him, she can misdirect him and make sure he never catches her.
The set up is perfect for enemies-to-lovers. They are working towards different ends. I loved grumpy Soekga and enjoyed the interaction between him and Hani. Their transition from enemies to friends to lovers was delightful.
There's quite a lot of Korean mythology in the book, which was interesting. I was hoping for something that gave me the same feelings as watching a K-Drama and that's exactly what I got! I look forward to reading more books like this!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy from Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read! I was not sure at first if this would fit my taste of fantasy reading but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It took me a couple chapters to get into the story and the Korean lore with all these new names for creatures but I was hooked by the halfway point.

Seokga, a fallen god on a mission to redeem himself and Hani, an infamous gumiho, are trying to solve a murder case. These two are the perfect grumpy-sunshine couple and their dynamic was sooo good. I loved their banter and romance and I am so glad that this is not the typical story about an immortal god and a teenage girl. Hani herself is over 1000 years old and a morally grey character. This was refreshing to read and made me feel good about their relationship.

Their investigation led them all over the place and I would have never guessed who the villain is! The ending though... It leaves me hoping for a happy ending in book 2.

"The sound is as bright and sparkling as the morning sunshine. And like the morning sunshine , it annoys him."

Trigger warnings: blood, gore, violence, death, sexual content

The God & The Gumiho was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I am SO happy to say, it absolutely did not disappoint me. I loved this book from start to finish, there wasn't a single second where I felt bored or wanted it to pass quickly I just loved it. In this book we follow Seokga, a fallen God who wants to become a God again and Hani, a Gumiho who is trying to leave her old life behind her but when a demon starts to attack and a deal is struck, the two of them find themselves working with each other even though they hate each other.

I'll start with Hani and I loved Hani so much!! Yes, she definitely was selfish especially at the start of the book but I really loved watching her growth as a character throughout the story. I also just loved her so much she was so funny and witty and her quick one liners when it came to Seokga absolutely made me giggle. You could tell that she was truly battling herself when it came to what she knew she should do and what she wanted to do and the way she came to care for Seokga my heart I loved them so much!!

My favourite character of the whole book, of course, was Seokga. From the very first chapter I knew he was my favourite. He absolutely is such a little shit but of course he is the Trickster God but he made me laugh so much. The way he absolutely hated Hani and then started to become fond of her and then their relationship I really loved. The way he started to really care for the people around him especially with Shim and he really again did have so much growth during the book. I mean of course he wad still a little shit but he really cared for these people around him and wanted to help the city he thought he hated. I just really loved Seokga and think he deserves every happiness.

One thing, I really loved about this book was the setting. Not just the setting of Korea which I did really love and was really beautiful but also the fact it was set in 1992. Its so fun when they talk about mobile phones and cars etc because you know that it's clearly set in the 90's and I loved the way Hani talks about getting her phone and how it's so hard to get etc because you compare that with what life is like now. I just really loved that and it made for really fun parts in the story.

Talking of the setting, I also really loved the Korea Folklore aspects of this book. I really found it so interesting learning about the God's of Korean folklore and of course the creatures such as Gumihos, Joseung Saja's etc I really love reading books about mythology and folklore from different cultures and really loved the way it was told in this book.

The Plot of this book was so, so good I genuinely loved every second of it. I see why some people think its a slower pace at the start but I liked that, it gave room to really build these characters and learn their personalities before getting into the really gritty stuff because whilst the characters created funny moments, this was truly a very dark and at some points quite scary book. The way the eoduksini killed their victims through nightmares and stuff really creeped me out and the darkness and all that kind of stuff was quite creepy but I really loved the atmosphere and the plot itself. I'd absolutely love to read another of the authors books!

I loved the relationship between Seokga and Hani. Watching it develop from genuine mutal hatred to reluctant acquaintances to friends to more than that was so fun. They had such good banter and the way they constantly threw lines back and forth they absolutely had me giggling and their romance was very sweet. The only note I have on this is whilst their relationship doesn't happen fast in the book, it does in terms of plot because this whole book takes places over around a week but I could honestly push past that because I loved them so deeply!
Overall, if you couldn't tell, I loved this book so much. It was truly an absolute amazing read that had me laughing and sobbing and everything in between. I truly loved Hani and Seokga so so much and they are characters I will hold so dearly to me for a very long time!! I am absolutely interested in a sequel but this book ended so perfectly in my opinion so I will wait until we get more information. But, overall, this is one of my favourite books of the year and I'm so happy I read it!

This book is a good example of great idea with poor execution. I thought the set up for this world of gods and otherworldly creatures was done quite well. The writing as well is easily accessible and is a breeze to read. There's a couple of mild spicy scene here and there but for the most part this book feels and reads like YA (just putting it out there to avoid any confusion).

However, the books biggest failure is the characters. Both, Kim Hani and Sekoga feels like a caricature of what there characters should be. There's no depth to their personalities. The trope used here is grumpy × sunshine and they are exactly that. One is grumpy and the other one is sunshine, I can't tell anything else about their characters. Their relationship has no depth. It is too insta lovey and theres not enough time put in the development of their relationship. As a result, I couldn't care less about what happened to them. Plus, for beings who have lived for thousands of years, they came across as pretty silly to me.

Overall, I think there's an audience for this book who will definitely enjoy it but sadly, I am not one of them. Do pick it up if you are looking to read something easy which is also a bit different from our regular old fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder Stoughton for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I really enjoy exploring different mythologies and were therefore very excited for this novel. A fallen god who needs to kill a gumiho in order to get back to heaven? And then they fall in love? Whats not to love? A really interesting concept for a novel.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review


5 stars

I went into this book a bit unsure if I was going to struggle due to being in a bit of a slump and not knowing much about the story. Boy was I wrong.

I absolutely loved it. The main FMC Hani is so sassy and badass I love her. Seokga the MMC is such a grumpy sod at the beginning which makes the shift between the two exceptionally good. Their banter is perfection and I loved both of their growths. The story flowed very well and the second half of the book had the best pacing and left me wanting more at the end. There are lots of twists and turns, betrayal, romance and fight scenes. It was just amazing.

I loved the worls building once I figured out the different creatures and types of Asian inspired foods etc. The spice wasn't alot but it was exactly right for this story.

I am hoping we get to see more of Hani and Seokga as their grumpy x sunshine vibes made me smile and I would love to see what happens next. Definitely add this to your TBR if you haven't already, you won't regret it.