Reviewer: Rowena
Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
Series: Gumiho #1
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First Person
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 448
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Reading Challenges: Rowena's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
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Series Rating:

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.

I read reviews about this book around blog land before I purchased it and though there were a bunch of reviews that said this book was just okay, I was still intrigued to read it myself. I didn’t read it immediately after I purchased it but I did read it while I was watching the k-drama, Tales of the Nine-Tailed with Lee Dong Wook.

I will say that it took me just a smidge longer to get into this story and connect with the characters than I thought but overall, I really enjoyed this one. I really loved Jihoon’s character and though I wanted to smack Miyoung a time or two, I ended up really enjoying her character as well. There were moments during this book that I thought dragged on forever but for the most part, I was entertained and invested in everything that was going on. I also really enjoyed reading a story that is set in the same

The tale of the Gumiho is interesting to me so I’ll give anything that has to do with gumiho’s a chance. I watched Tale of the Nine Tailed and enjoyed it so when I finally got this one, I couldn’t wait to read it. This was a pretty quick read for me though I will admit that the beginning was a little on the slow side. This story follows Gu Miyoung, a teenage girl who is in a new school and one of the guys at her new school has discovered her secret. Her secret of being a gumiho. The gumiho can be pretty ruthless in their everyday life but Miyoung isn’t like that. She only goes after the bad guys and she wants nothing to do with being like her careless mother. Her mother thinks that humans are for eating and being a gumiho and keeping the gumiho secrets are the only things that matter. When Miyoung loses her fox bead (her soul), things really jump off.

Jihoon, the boy that discovers Miyoung’s secret when she saves his life vows to be Miyoung’s friend, and of course that turns into more over the course of the story, and while I enjoyed Jihoon’s character, Miyoung made it hard to full-on cheer for their romance to blossom.

There were times when I wanted to strangle Miyoung but she could probably kick my ass so I let a lot slide, haha. The background story was pretty interesting and I did really love Jihoon’s character. He had a depth to him that I connected with and I adored his relationship with his grandma. It took me quite a while to warm up Miyoung’s character but I did eventually do it. It’s hard not to sympathize with everything she goes through but I don’t know, I guess I had hoped that she would warm up to Jihoon a lot sooner than she did.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to continuing the series. I liked Kat Cho’s writing style and agree that it was like reading one of my k-dramas. I’m looking forward to what’s next for the gang so yes, I recommend this one if you’re into the high school k-dramas with a little bit of fantasy thrown in.

Gumiho