Thursday, December 10, 2020

Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho

 

From the blurb:  "Eighteen-year-old Lee Somin's heart is breaking. Her friends are grieving: Jihoon the loss of his beloved grandmother, and Miyoung the loss of her mother and her fox bead--her immortal gumiho soul. Somin, who is no stranger to loss, wants to help them pick up the pieces and move on with their lives, but neither seems to want her help. As Jihoon and Miyoung become more distant, Somin finds unexpected comfort in Junu, everyone's not-so-favorite dokkaebi. 

"But before Somin and Junu can discover what's truly between them, the group of friends discovers the supernatural world isn't quite done with them. Somin is seeing ghosts on the streets of Seoul, and Junu is visited by a reaper from his past. Turns out, Miyoung's lost fox bead has caused a tear between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The only way to repair the rift is to find Miyoung's bead or for Miyoung to pay with her life."

My thoughts:  Melody and I read Kat Cho's first book, Wicked Fox, last year and we both really enjoyed it, especially Jihoon and Miyoung and all the Korean mythology surrounding them. So when Vicious Spirits came out this year we knew we wanted to read it together. And it's such a great sequel! I still love Jihoon and Miyoung, but I really enjoyed getting to know Somin and Junu better. Somin is rebellious and feisty and very protective of her friends. Her verbal sparring matches with Junu made me smile. And Junu's history as a dokkaebi, or goblin, adds such an interesting layer to the story. When someone from his past returns to threaten him and his three friends...that's when the supernatural suspense really begins to build. Kudos to Kat Cho for writing such an entertaining and fun duology. And thanks, Melody, for suggesting we read these books in the first place. I'm very glad we did. Be sure to check out Melody's review of this one.

And happy reading!

Melody's questions:
Q. The mythological characters in this book are said to be immortal even though they can be killed through other means. Based on your opinions formed from this book, do you think it is a good thing to be immortal? 
A. None of the immortal characters in this book--Junu, the gumiho, the reaper--seem very happy with their immortality. The weight of all those years, and all the things they'd done in the past that they now regret, makes me think immortality is not all it's cracked up to be. It was the human characters in this book who seemed the most content with their lives.

Q. Which book of this duology is your favorite and why?
A. That's a hard question to answer, because I liked both books a lot. The first book is more about Jihoon and Miyoung, two characters I really love. And this one focuses more on Somin and Junu. I guess if I had to pick I'd say Vicious Spirits, but only because the ending of Wicked Fox leaves you hanging just a bit, and this book wraps everything up so happily. 

22 comments:

  1. Thank you for reading this duology with me, Lark! So sad to see this story comes to an end and I wonder what Kat Cho has in store next. Will definitely read her future books!

    And I'm looking forward to your book choices for our next buddy read! :)

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    1. I'm eager to see what Kat Cho writes next, too! :)

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  2. After reading yours and Melody's posts for both of these books I want to give them a try. I think immortality would not be all it's cracked up to be either.

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    1. I wonder how many pandemics you'd have to live through if you were immortal. Because one is too many for me!

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  3. I'm interested in both of these books!

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    1. I thoroughly enjoyed this duology. They're both just fun reads. :)

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  4. Sounds like an exciting fantasy read. Immortality sounds good to me. There's never enough time in life to do/accomplish the things you want! :)

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    1. That's a good point! But I'd want to be live forever in a world that's a little better than our current one. :)

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  5. You have me so intrigued by this series. It's definitely being added to my wishlist. :)

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  6. I don't think I've read much based on Korean mythology but I'd like to. This sounds excellent.

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    1. I hadn't either. But these books are a lot of fun. :)

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  7. The creatures in this book sound different. That is probably because I am not familiar with Korean mythology. It sounds fascinating.

    In general, it is usually a good thing when modern authors incorporate mythology into books.

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    1. I wasn't familiar with any Korean mythology before reading these books. That's one of the things I liked best about them.

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  8. I very much like that kind of cover art!

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  9. That's great that this was a good follow up for you guys. Looking forward to reading Melody's review too.

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