Book Review
Title: Wicked Fox
Author: Kat Cho
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Mythology
Rating: ****
Review: All I knew about Wicked Fox before picking it up was that it was a fantasy novel with heavy elements from Korean mythology. We are introduced to Gu Miyoung who is a Gumiho; a nine-tailed fox who has to consume the gi or energy from men in order to survive, but she hates that she has to take the lives of others in order to survive. We are also introduced to Jihoon, a relaxed young man who doesn’t really have a care in the world until one night he takes his grandmother’s dog Dubu for a walk and she escapes into the forest. Here Jihoon has a run-in with a mythological creature that his grandmother told him about as a child only to be saved by Miyoung, and he also ends up saving her. While he doesn’t know who Miyoung is, he is completely fascinated by the discovery that all the creatures from childhood bedtime stories might actually be real.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Miyoung ends up starting at Jihoon’s school and he instantly recognises her and tries to pump her for information about what happened in the forest despite how much she tries to ignore him. Eventually he does back off a little, which is where the stories diverge a little, Miyoung is trying to reabsorbed her fox bead and turns to Nara for help, which involves meeting another creature for a talisman they need for the ritual while Jihoon helps with her grandmother’s restaurant and we get some backstory for him. It turns out his father left when he was four and his mother left and got remarried not long after abandoning her son and has gone on to have another family but doesn’t even acknowledge around her new family that Jihoon is her son which is heartbreaking. After an encounter with his mother, Jihoon happens to run into Miyoung and they have quite a sweet moment where she gives him her umbrella which could be the start of a friendship or romance between the pair. However, as Jihoon touches Miyoung’s fox bead he has connected himself to her which she is trying to fix before he learns about the power he could have over her, but I have a feeling that he might just surprise her.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Miyoung and Jihoon are getting closer but she is torn but what she has been told and what she is feeling. However, with her fox bead still outside of her body she must protect herself at all costs even if that means hurting Jihoon even after he saved her from being arrested, became her first friend and protected her identity as a Gumiho. Both Miyoung and Jihoon suffer from attachment disorders, Miyoung is touch starved as her mother touches her as little as possible and she is quite frightened of her mother’s power while Jihoon has some severe abandonment issues and very rarely opens himself up to others. I like Miyoung and Jihoon’s push and pull relationship, sometimes they are laughing and growing closer and then all of a sudden they are pushing each other away but there is something happening between them that not even the cynical Miyoung can ignore.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, we can feel something building but we aren’t sure what it is yet, but it definitely has something to do with Jihoon and Miyoung’s fox bead. Everything seems to happen at once as Miyoung learns to accept her human side in Yena’s absence, but she needs to replace her bead but is quickly deceived by someone she thought she could trust, and it drags Jihoon into something that could seriously cost him his life. However, Yena quickly appears when things start to get too dangerous and we learn what she is capable and in order to save Jihoon she must confront her mother but even that might not be enough to save the boy she is coming to love and who loves her. As Jihoon recovers he closes himself off from the world and continues to hope for Miyoung’s return, however, she is refusing to feed despite how much Yena tries while she is looking for a way to recover her daughter’s bead from Jihoon while he is ignorant of its power. Miyoung is terribly ill and possibly dying but she is resolute in the fact she will not kill in order to survive.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Jihoon’s grandmother is still ill and he isn’t coping much better, neither is Miyoung but she needs to fix her mistake before her mother goes after Jihoon. Miyoung returns to help Jihoon but the secrets between them is driving a wedge between them, making everything a lot harder. When Yena learns Miyoung has returned to Seoul, Miyoung knows her time is running out but Jihoon having her bead is dangerous and when she finally kisses him again something happens to him. Miyoung also has her own deadline as she has less than a month until her 100 days are up, and she dies. Despite everything coming together really nicely and I am anticipating a dramatic ending, the pacing does feel a little off as it rapidly switches from fast-paced action to very slow drawn out scenes which could have been avoided by making the novel a little shorter.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, everything happens at once I won’t go into much detail as I don’t want to give away any spoilers but holy hell I couldn’t believe where Cho took this story. The ending along with Jihoon and Miyoung’s relationship were by far my favourite parts and I honestly can’t wait for the sequel to come out as it will be on the top of my to-buy list.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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