I’m not familiar with Chinese Fox Mythology, so I spent much of this novel wondering about the purpose of the foxes’ magical realism. The published version of The Fox Wife has an Author’s Note at the end that explains the history of these tales. I would’ve loved to have read that before reading the novel. Even without context, the story was enjoyable. Beautiful and elegant writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up having no idea what it was about. I was immediately drawn into this beautiful story by the author's masterful writing and story telling. This story draws on the idea of people morphing into foxes from Chinese Folklore. It is a gorgeous blend of fact and fiction, reality and fantasy. The narrator alternates between Bao, an amateur detective, and Snow, a woman who gives herself as a servant to avenge her child's death. I felt myself immediately carried away by the writing, characters, and story. I know it's early, but this is a Top 10 book, for sure. Excuse me while I go seek out everything Yangsze Choo has ever read.

This is the type of book that makes me struggle to write a review - in a good way! I don't know how I can put my thoughts into words in a way that would do this story justice.

The Fox Wife is beautiful and haunting. It is a unique story that explores motherhood, grief, vengeance, regret, and second chances. This is a slow placed story that dives deep into our main character, Snow, who is chasing down the man responsible for her child's death. Meanwhile, we are following to point of view of Bao, a private investigator, who is looking into mysterious deaths and disappearances. The two storylines start to converge more and more as the story goes on and I really enjoyed this aspect. Seeing the connections become clearer throughout the narrative was a fun and satisfying experience.

I especially enjoyed Snow and the exploration of her motivations. She was a very complex, yet relatable character. She had so much grit and was a force to be reckoned with but she was not spared from slip ups and sometimes making emotionally charged decisions that led to some sort of mistake. Her journey and her experiences were very heartbreaking at times but it was ultimately a very beautiful storyline for her.

This was my first experience with the author's writing and I'm definitely excited to pick up her past works. She has an incredible skill for conveying so many thoughts and emotions in a very simple, digestible way. This was a great experience and I can wait to read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is a picturesque and evocative story which draws on Chinese folklore to weave a spellbinding tale of shape-shifting foxes called huxian, which sometimes appear in beguiling human form. Humans both revere and mistrust them, manifesting in fascination, obsession, and tragedy on both sides.

The book addresses themes of grief, loss, and the thirst for revenge, and of wistful reflection on missed opportunities, and of the cultural restrictions on girls and women and the impact on their bodies, opportunities, agency, and lives.

The story is told from alternating perspectives - Snow, a huxian heartbroken over the loss of her child and hunting the human responsible, and Bao, a sentimental, aging detective investigating mysterious deaths which seem tied to the legendary creatures somehow. The author writes with graceful clarity and sensory richness, crafting memorable characters, immersive scenes, and poignant resonance. The pacing is leisurely and measured, but the payoff is emotionally satisfying and worth the reader's investment of patience.

I loved it.

I'm thankful to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a beautifully written story. The story was both heartbreaking and mysterious. The historical element combined with folk tale made it unforgettable.

The story takes place in Manchuria, China in the early 1900.s. It follows Snow and her take of revenge. It has a slow start but the writing is so beautiful it pulls you along needing to know more..

My first 5 star rating this year.

What a whimsical, mystical and heartfelt title! I have not had the pleasure of reading Yangsze Choo's works, and clearly have been missing out. She crafted two beautiful storylines about infamous Chinese fox sprits. The characters were so lovable and crafty. I was absolutely hooked from the first page. I highly recommend THE FOX WIFE!

of course i want to read about magic fox girls.

but my favorite part of this was the food descriptions.

unfortunately, the rest was extremely repetitive. we have two perspectives, one of a fox girl and the other of an aging investigator, both of which sound interesting and aren't. each perspective just follows its respective protagonist as they go from the same place to the next, looking for the same thing, unchanging in themselves or in the plot. i waited for this book to pick up and it never did.

the writing was also strange—a lot of moments where something would happen, and then it would be rhetorically referred to as if it didn't. a character spots another character, and then 2 sentences later, when he starts speaking to her: "he'd managed to find me after all." like, no, he just saw you. we just talked about that. "she'd used her patron's name, hoping it would open doors. which it had." okay, why did we have to say that then. it resulted in me going back and rereading a lot of paragraphs and getting frustrated.

the ending and romance came out of nowhere, after hundreds of pages of sexual harassment, but there were parts of this i enjoyed.

i just wish there were more of them.

I enjoy Yangsze Choo's writing and had a great experience with The Night Tiger in the past. The Fox Wife was a solid read and although it has been a while since I read The Night Tiger, I think I enjoyed this one more. There is something very comforting and cozy about her writing to me and the fact that it is paired with an interesting story really elevates my enjoyment. This book in particular was extra fun because I can't remember ever reading a book with fox mythology in it and I found it fascinating. This book is definitely going to be a good pick for any reader that enjoys enchanting and magical elements, historical fiction, and Asian folklore. Although, I am still waiting for one of her books to blow me away, I can be happy with consistent 4 star reads from her, too.

Even before I began officially reviewing books, I was in the habit of taking notes on them as I read. However, after reading the final page of The Fox Wife, I looked up in a daze to find my notebook blank. This story held me totally spellbound from the very first sentence and did not release me until the end.

The Fox Wife may begin as a simple murder mystery, but it ultimately unfolds into a deep, tender exploration of the boundaries between male and female, animal and human, mortal and god, brutality and grace. Women's pain echoes across this novel, and I felt an aching rapport with Choo's weary-yet-fierce female characters. Finishing this book felt like unwillingly awakening from the blissful, mysterious enchantment of the húxiān.

Historical fiction + fantasy, Asian mythology, a mystery, two POVs that start very separate but gradually begin to intertwine, a love story (not a romance). There were so many things about this story that were amazing. The structure of the story was very engaging and propulsive.

A complex, dual POV story rich in Lore and History that will gave you turning the page as quickly as you can! The narrator here is also the author, which I feel gives it something extra special. I absolutely loved the story, even though it broke my heart at times, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Womens lit, mysteries, or historical fiction

“I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, and neat to black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men.”

This was my first Yangsze Choo book and I really enjoyed it. Set in the early 1900s we follow Snow as she is searching for the man who is responsible for the death of her daughter. Her story intersects with that of Bao, a private investigator searching for answers about the mysterious death of a young woman. This is a slow paced, beautiful, character-driven story that explores the treatment of women, grief, fox folklore. I highly recommend it, I paired the digital copy with the audiobook read by the author and really enjoyed reading and listening.

Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for the ARC of this beautiful book.

Set in 1908, Manchuria, The Fox Wife follows two different people: Snow and Bao. Snow is a fox that can turn into a woman and she is in a path for revenge. Bao is a private investigator who is hired to look into the death of a young woman; what makes him better than the others at his job is that he can hear when someone is lying.

I really liked the author's previous book, The Night Tiger. So, I was eagerly anticipating her next one. I love how Yangsze Choo writes. Although it's not flowery, I find it extremely captivating. I like how she paints the characters and the environment so vividly. The Fox Wife is a slow book. Although it has its stakes and there is stuff happening, the author takes her time in establishing the world, the characters, and everything that surrounds them. So, even though Snow has a particular goal, she is involved in other, let's say, side adventures and she is involved in other people's lives. The same can be said about Bao. His investigation moves slowly. But I liked what happened in his thread as well, even though I liked Snow's better.

I loved Snow. I particularly enjoyed how funny and quick witted she was; it really felt like she was an actual fox, whose thoughts I was privy to. I really liked her relationships with Kuro and Shiro; I really liked their characters as well. I enjoyed how the stories slowly came together and everything was in the book for a reason - every tangent is well thought out.

By the end, I do like The Night Tiger a little bit more. But this one I really enjoyed as well.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

This book surprised me with how much I enjoyed reading it. I loved Snow's perspective and the mischievous Shiro. I am happy with the ending!

I liked the writing style. The author is great at character development and writing descriptions. I also like Bao's ability to hear lies. That was an interesting concept.

However, it took a long time to tell the story. There is a good story under all the words. I was just overwhelmed by how much had to be said to tell this story. I will, however, read other novels by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for a chance to review this book.

Link to Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R25ZIVLZXTU9FH?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

This is a beautiful book. It begins with a young woman (fox) whose child has been killed and her desire to track down the man responsible. She has been tracking his movements but always seems to be one step behind. A young boy (human) is assigned a playmate after his old nanny is sent away. He is a sickly child, the second son of the family. He and his playmate make a pretend shrine to the fox god in a bush in the yard. His name is Bao and from his illnesses has developed the ability to sense when people are lying. Bao becomes a detective and is call in to find out the identity of a young woman found frozen on the doorstep of a restaurant.
Though the two characters are in no way connected, they appear to be searching and following the same paths.
This is a beautiful blend of detective story and the folklore of foxes in Chinese society.Foxes are able to portray themselves as human and are very charming and persuasive. Is it a fox appearing as human who is leaving behind a trail of women frozen in the snow?
I started to read this and then I got availability to the audio-book which is read by the author. The book is stunning. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Readers who enjoy the folklore of the orient and a good detective story will love this book.

I really loved The Night Tiger and I was so excited for this one. Thankfully, it definitely lived up to the hype I had built up in my head! I think Yangsze's writing is exquisite and I think her characters are so compelling. I will say at the start, I wasn't sold on the two POVs, but as the story went along I couldn't stop reading because both stories were progressing and I needed to see when they would intersect. Magical and lyrical and gorgeous.

This is a great historical fantasy novel if you're willing to meander a bit and let the story lead (it's worth it, but it does require a little patience from the reader). Set in Manchuria in the early twentieth-century, where foxes can pass as mysteriously attractive humans, even foxes are dealing with rumors and change. There are two narrators, Snow, a fox woman (called Ah San in her guise as a human servant), who is seeking vengeance for the death of her daughter, and Bao, an elderly private investigator, who is seeking the identity of a young woman, probably a courtesan, who froze to death. Both of their searches have lead them to track a mysterious photographer, but their stories actually overlap even more though it will take them and the reader some time to begin to uncover the links. Both have long histories to remember as well.

Thanks to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for my free earc. My opinions are all my own.

Thank you, NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for a copy of this book for review. I also chose this book for one of my Book of the Month choices for February. I really enjoyed Choo’s 2019 book The Night Tiger, so of course, I had to pick up this one. I was not disappointed. I love stories mixed with historical folklore. This book brings in the Chinese lore of fox spirits and shows that you don’t mess with maternal love. The story is written with detail and mystery. I enjoyed this book and will read anything this author writes.

Unlike many in the book world, I was unfamiliar with Yangsze Choo. Or, at least, I thought I was — upon reading the author’s biography, I realized I’d actually seen the adaptation of The Ghost Wife produced by Netflix in 2020. Given how much I’d liked that series, as well as how much I enjoy Chinese mythology, it was really no surprise, then, that I ended up enjoying this read!

The Fox Wife follows two parallel narratives, told in alternating chapters: the fox wife, unnamed for the majority of the novel, whose daughter’s death has caused her to set off on a years-long search for revenge, and Bao, a detective, whose past experience with fox spirits has granted him the unusual ability to tell when anyone is lying. While I initially felt that the fox wife’s story was the stronger of the two, the resolution of Bao’s narrative dovetailed nicely into the fox wife’s own story in such a way that felt satisfying, rather than simply convenient.

While this slowburn historical mystery took time to pick up steam (at one point, I contemplated whether or not to finish the book), the payoff was immensely satisfying. If you’re the type of historical fiction reader who prefers worlds built with immense detail, this may not satisfy your craving for intricate world building, but if you, like me, prefer character-driven mysteries, this novel is absolutely one to take your time with. It will reward you in spades.

My favorite part of the novel had to be the unique voice of the fox wife. Her character, and the way she interacts with the world around her, was so fresh and unique without being overly anachronistic. I found myself absolutely fascinated by her, which was ironic, considering her characteristic abilities as a fox spirit included charisma and persuasion. It says something about the skill of Yangsze Choo that those traits were so clearly communicated to me as a reader.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this one! I’ll definitely be picking up another Yangsze Choo in the future.