Overall: 3.25/5 Stars
Characters: 3.5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Plot and Themes: 3/5
Awesomeness Factor: 3/5
Review in a Nutshell: Wicked Fox is a fun read, great for fans of k-dramas or paranormal romance, but otherwise may not be worth it.

“Night and darkness made a believer of everyone.”

[ Related: Top 7 June 2019 Releases ]

// Content Warning: Violence, Death, Abuse, Murder, Illness //

“The rest of the night, all Jihoon thought about were myths and fables. The lessons they taught and the price they came with.”

Release Date: 6/26/2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 429 
Premise:
Wicked Fox follows Miyoung, who is half-human, half gumiho (nine-tailed fox). To survive, she must feed off of men’s gi every full moon, but Miyoung doesn’t want to be a killer. When she sees a stranger, Jihoon, being attacked by a goblin, she saves him, but in the process, she loses her fox bead- a magical bead that grants control over who to whoever holds it. However, when she tries to reunite with her bead, the results only cause more problems.

Read more for all of my thoughts on Wicked Fox!

Writing & Setting

The writing is pretty average overall. There really isn’t anything special about it, but at the same time, it’s easy to read and pretty straightforward. The setting is really what stands out about this book. Wicked Fox takes place in Seoul (Korea), and is the first YA book I’ve read that actually takes place in Korea. I loved that it highlights a culture that doesn’t usually get shown in YA. Kat Cho weaves so much of the culture into her book and into the magic system and mythology, and I absolutely loved every aspect of it!

Plot

This book feels like two different books. The first half is a cute paranormal romance and seemed to be building up to a solid conclusion, but then it focused more on lots of drama, major reveals, and constant twists. There was also a solid chunk of pages between the two sections that were more character-focused and seemed to not have much going on. The second half definitely felt as if I was reading a k-drama, which is unique and fun, but I preferred the tone and direction the first half of the book was going for. After a point, the reveals were a little too much and lost their impact. That said, it’s still interesting to read, just not as captivating as it could have been. Although the ending seemed… unnecessary? Everything got wrapped up pretty well, no need for a sequel, until the epilogue. It felt like a last-minute attempt to try and make a series when this book would have been fine as a standalone. 

Characters

This book has quite a few characters, and all of them are interesting and unique in some way, but I just didn’t feel that connected to them. Miyoung and Jihoon are both good protagonists, each with a solid amount of depth and development. The main relationship in the book is a little insta-lovey, but it’s somewhat called out, and it isn’t the worst I’ve seen so I didn’t mind it. There are a lot of side characters, and more than a few of them were one dimensional. I really did like Junu and Yena, but everyone else was felt flat. 

Conclusion

Pros- Great setting and mythology
Cons- The plot was a little all over the place, and the side characters were flat 
Overall- 3.25/5 stars. 
Wicked Fox is a good read if you’re a fan of Korean culture and k-drama’s, but it didn’t quite reach the expectations I had for it.

Have you read Wicked Fox? What did you think???

Add To Your Goodreads Shelf
Purchase From: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound

Follow Me: [Bookstagram] [Twitter] [Tumblr] [Goodreads]