Even Jihoon’s grandma owning a stew shop was so reminiscent of the older “rich girl/poor boy” trope.Īs for the YA fantasy components, I really liked them. In those instances, it felt like a drama getting drunk at the children’s playground in the middle of the night (no children present), almost being hit by a car with the headlights beaming right before the dude pushes her out of the way of the car. The juxtaposition took me out of the story a few times especially when the focus became more about Jihoon and Miyoung’s budding romance. In many ways, it felt like this book was grappling between being a Korean drama and being a YA fantasy story. As much as I love the tropes in K-dramas, I’m not sure if they worked in this particular fantasy story. If you’re a fan of K-dramas, this might be the book for you. It was filled with its tropes, but it also has one of my favorite Asian folklores the nine-tailed fox! There were even moments in this book where I thought I was watching a dramatic moment in a K-drama. That’s not a bad thing! I absolutely love a good K-drama.

I’m going to be honest with you, this book read like a K-drama. forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon’s. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous. With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl–he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead–her gumiho soul–in the process.

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.īut after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. 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.

Gumiho kat cho