The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Op zich geen slecht verhaal, maar er mankeerde iets aan de schrijfstijl.
Het was nogal gevoelloos en hakkelig, waardoor ik totaal geen verbinding voelde met de personages of de plot. Dat laatste leunt ook te veel op toeval en gemak. En de obligate romance is extreem onderontwikkeld en gehaast.

Kortom, ik had hier meer van verwacht.

2.75 stars. I loved the premise of this book, the story and the setting. unfortunately, the characterization suffers a lot here. First of all, a map would have been helpful. A capital and different houses are mentioned, but nothing is explained in more detail. Characters lack personality, I could not connect with them and it becomes difficult to follow the story, too. it feels like the author put too many ingredients in the recipe, creating a wonderful world and story, yet underdeveloped. it's a pity that the book is too short. some more space could have helped to define the characters in more depth. it's not a book I would recommend. If you look for Asian myths, I would suggest to look somewhere else first, like daughter of the moon goddess or six crimson cranes.

Wow!  If you are into anime this book gives off major anime vibes.  This book is a retelling of Korean mythology.  Mythology is not really an area I get super pumped about but, this book was fabulous.  This book follows Mina, who sacrifices herself to be the sea god's bride to save her brother, his girlfriend, and her entire village.  She travels to the spirit realm, which is filled with all sorts of creatures, gods, and spirits.  Instead of finding herself preparing to be the sea god's bride she finds herself tethered to another god.  Mina must figure out how to get back to the sea god to save her family.  The only problem is she only has 30 days to do it.  Mina must also navigate the many dangers for a human in the spirit realm.   The story is about love, not just romantic love but love for family, past and present, and love and compassion for all people.  The cover is stunning.   Axie Oh weaves a magical story with vivid details and descriptions that will have you thinking about them long after you have read it.  There were so many amazing and beautiful quotes in the book.  I found myself happy while reading it and deeply drawn into the story.  I have found nothing that I didn't like about this book therefore I gave it 5 stars.  Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

From the beginning until the end - I absolutely LOVED this book!

Oooh yes! What a treat. A bit Spirited Away theme, but very enjoyable.


Some cliche YA tropes, but still a fun read in a beautiful setting. I'd love to see more stories set in a similar setting and look forward to more by this author.

I was very excited going into this book since the plot is inspired by the myth of Shim Cheong which is my favourite one from Korean mythology. However, it wasn't exactly how I imagined it to be

Gene: fantasy,young adult
stars:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page counts: 336
Age range : 13-30 yr

Wanted to love this, but it fell a little short of that for me.

I have found another favorite for 2022. This one is packed full of adventure, emotion, mythology, and best of all love.

I honestly wasn't sure to expect when I started reading this one as this isn't a genre that I'm normally reading. I love reading fantasy, but I haven't read much Asian mythology and folklore type fantasy. I have been wanting to read more of this genre as I have always loved these types of movies.

This is such a beautiful written story, one I read in under 24 hours. It is seriously that hard to put down.

I absolutely love Mina. She is strong, determined, kind-hearted and just an all-around lovable character. Her story entwined with Shin's was perfect and made my heart so full.

I also really love how the story also encompasses family and friends and what one would do for their love of the same. This isn't just a fantasy, this is a story with meaning. Of course you know, and saying that, that means that there were times that I had tears in my eyes and loved every minute of it.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

Rating: 4.5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction/Mythology
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yeah

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! If you like Spirited away than I think you would really enjoy this book. There are certain details that just drew me to the Studio Ghibli movie.

Another thing I wanted to mention is I haven't loved you YA novel since I was a teen, but this book was so well done. I didn't hate the main girl like I usually do. So was so mature and held a level of respect that many YA characters don't get from me. I loved this book.

I rated a 4.5 but rounded it to 5 because it deserved it!

Looks like I'm having a good time this year reading YA fantasies which are based on Asian mythology/folklore and I'm glad to add this book as well to that list. I've been eagerly waiting to read it since the announcement, and the gorgeous cover only cemented my belief that I would love it. I was ecstatic when I got an advance listening copy and it was truly worth all the wait.

The inside of the book perfectly matches the outside. The writing here is absolutely stunning - the author creates such a lush and vibrant world borne out of myths that even me who has zero imagination could picture the sea god's city in my head. The alleys, the pavilions, the gardens and lakes and food, the various spirits and beasts of myths and the gods and goddesses - it all adds up to a world which feels both real and dreamlike, somewhere I wished I could travel to as well. The pacing is also pretty fast, with the author throwing us in the middle of the action right from the first page and then keeping it up all throughout; but there are also many lovely and soft moments of wonder and love and hope and it all ends up being a perfect balance in storytelling. There are quite a few thrilling action sequences which were both exciting and very tense, and I really enjoyed them. I also loved the author's use of flashbacks as well as stories within stories to evoke various emotions among the reader and I felt magically transported every time I heard a new story. The beautiful story is well complemented by the narrator Rosa Escoda whose enchanting voice kept me hooked and I couldn't stop listening.

Mina is such a wonderful protagonist. Yes, she can feel like a typical YA heroine who has to sacrifice her life to save the world but she truly is special. Because she isn't the chosen one - she chooses to be the one, so that her brother can have his love. Her love for her family is her strength throughout and whenever she feels unsure or lost, she derives hope by reminiscing about them and finds herself renewed in purpose. She is also extremely compassionate, moved by the plight of the sea god and wanting to do her very best to help him break his curse and take away his loneliness and despair.

In her new found purpose, she is ably supported by a whole host of characters and I'm absolutely in love with every single one of them. Mask, Tai and Miki are the first trio she meets in the spirit realm and though she doesn't know them, she finds trusting them easy and all three of them help Mina in multiple dangerous situations. Mask is mysterious, Tai is a delightful but brave boy and Miki is the most adorable baby, and they are instantly lovable. Then we might next trio who become indispensable in her quest to save the sea god as well as her people. Namgi is ever cheerful and talkative, forming a deep friendship with Mina pretty quickly. Kirin is more reserved and grumpy but he is loyal as ever and his steadfastness is commendable. But it is Shin who steals our heart, maybe not right at the beginning but slowly, with his protective nature, his willingness to fiercely defend the sea god and the city, and trusting Mina to solve such an immense curse. His relationship with Mina is so well written and delicious that I could weep.

To conclude, this book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It has all the elements of a great YA fantasy - strong female character, both amazing blood and found families, a wondrous tale of curses and gods and fate and adventure, a vibrant world taken right out of Korean mythology, and ultimately a story of love, family, duty and hope. I'm absolutely delighted that I got to experience this tale and I can't wait to read the author's future works.