Release Day Review: Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1)
Author: Kat Cho
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Description:

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.  

Wicked Fox is the first book in a fascinating new young adult fantasy series that combines mythology and contemporary fiction in the city of Seoul. I was really excited to read this one after seeing the description, and I guess I had pretty high hopes for it. Sadly, it didn't quite live up to them for me. Please remember that these are my own thoughts and opinions and don't reflect on the book itself. I know tons of other readers are going to love this novel. I'm just going to go right into it and tell you what I liked and what I didn't care for so much.

Like:
Characters - The two main characters in the story, Miyoung and Jihoon, were both interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. They both had flaws and secrets, so that made them more realistic to me and I could connect a bit easier with both because of that. Since this is a love story of sorts, the blossoming relationship between the two plays a big part in the book. I normally don't like romance intertwined with other genres because it tends to overshadow the main plot. But in this case, it suited the story perfectly and wasn't super sappy - so I was okay with it.

Plot - The plot of this book was really unique and caught my attention right away. I'm not familiar with any of this mythology or folklore, so I found it very intriguing. I loved getting to know the different myths and the supernaturals found in them. I definitely think this could have been expanded on a bit more and I'm hoping the author will continue to weave this topic into the next book. The story line was pretty much a star-crossed lovers type situation, but the author obviously put her own spin on it to make it stand out from anything else out there. 

Dislike:
Writing Style  - This is completely on me. There were a few issues I had with the writing. First, the story was stuffed full of Korean words and names for things, which isn't a bad thing. I'm a perfectionist though, and I had no idea how to pronounce these words and kept forgetting what they meant, so they continuously tripped me up. That was a huge problem for me and I don't think I got to lose myself in the story because of it. Also, the writing is done in the third person and I'm a strong fan of the first person. This happens a lot with me and books, but I can't seem to help it. I just really like and prefer the first person because I can connect with the narrator on a deeper and more personal level - which also means I can lose myself in their world and story almost completely. I just can't get that same feeling or result with any other writing style. Again - this is totally on me and doesn't reflect on the book or writing. It's my own personal issue and nothing more.

Pace - For me, it felt like the pace of this book was so incredibly slow. It took forever for anything to really happen and then when it did, it was sort of predictable and uneventful. I kept waiting for things to pick up but they never really did. The story had a ton of potential, but the slow pace of the book definitely worked against it for me.

Overall, this was a solid and exciting first book in a new YA series that fans of fantasy, paranormal, and mythology/folklore will want to get their hands on. I'll be picking up the second book in the series when it releases to see where the author will take us next.