Tuesday 21 October 2014

Gilded

Gilded (Gilded, #1)

Debut author Christina Farley's Gilded is the first book in her series of the same name.

Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself.  When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting in to a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather.  Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god, Haemosu, has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she's next.

But that's not Jae's only problem.

There's also Marc. Irresistible and charming, Marc threatens to break the barriers around Jae's heart. As the two grow closer, Jae must decide if she can trust him. But Marc has a secret of his own- one that could help Jae overturn the curse on her family for good.  It turns out that Jae's been wrong about a lot of  things: her grandfather is her greatest ally, even the tough girl can fall in love, and Korea might just be the home she's always been looking for.

The Breakdown:
1. Farley makes a wonderful mix of today's Korean culture and the Korean mythology. I really loved the mythological aspect of this book. It was so beautifully written that I could believe that the myths of old have no problem coming to life in the modern day Korea. This makes me want to visit Korea, now.

2. Jae is one bad-ass girl, black belt in Tae Kwon Doe and an expert archer with the Korean Horn Bow. Girl can take care of herself which I love in my heroines.  She can be funny at times, and she is loyal to her family and friends. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she accepted what was happening to her. Farley could have easily made the story drag with Jae coming to grips of the myths becoming reality.

3. I was slightly disappointed with the character of Marc.  Don't get me wrong, he seems like a great guy, but I felt like Farley needed to develop him more.  Farley makes him smart, and he cares about Jae, but I feel like he need some more substance to him.  I do hope that Farley continues to explore his character in future books.

4.  I am excited to see where the rest of this series goes. Farley has hinted that Jae is more than a normal girl, and that the Spirit world of Korea is not done with her yet.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Currently Reading:
Rogue Descendant
by Jenna Black

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