Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Floating World follows ex-soldier Sunho and acrobat Ren, whose journeys across a treacherous fantasy world bring them together in a twist of fate.

When people talk about romantasy, The Floating World is the kind of book I imagine: a lush world, compelling characters, rich and nuanced themes, and a romance worth fighting for. I loved the slow progression of Ren and Sunho's relationship, framed and informed by their own secret identities, and centered on the slow and meaningful dismantling of the walls between them. I loved that this romance wasn't the only thing happening in this world, too -- there's demons, magic, scientific experimentation, Korean mythology, death, you name it! I did find the pace felt a bit unbalanced for me, with an ending I would have loved to spend a little extra time on, but overall this was a remarkably even-keeled, engaging fantasy/romance, and I am already looking forward to what the rest of the series has in store!

Book: The Floating World by Axie Oh

Genre: Young adult, fantasy

Rating: 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the e-ARC of The Floating World!

I was so excited to receive an e-ARC of this book for two reasons: Axie Oh will be coming to St. Louis soon and I wanted to attend the event, and the description for this book had me immediately interested. Comparing it to Final Fantasy? A Korean celestial maiden story? Say less, I knew I'd be reading this story when it released.

The world-building in this series is top-notch. Everything is unique and interesting - I really felt the Final Fantasy vibes in this world. This story really starts strong, opening with our FMC in her happy, simple life surrounded by family, until the village is attacked by demons - yes, demons! - and her life turns upside down. We meet our MMC, who is living in a dark and dreary underland and is tasked with tracking down a girl who can wield light. I'm sure you know who this girl is, and enter in our celestial maiden story.

As a long-time lover of Ceres: Celestial Legend, I was tickled to read a variation of the celestial maiden legend (which is a common legend that appears in many cultures), and Axie Oh did such a wonderful spin on this story.

I think action sequences can be difficult to write. Some authors excel, some leave to be desired. A well-written action sequence has you fully invested in each movement, a poorly written one has you hoping it's over soon. Axie Oh did SUCH a good job! I could picture every fight in my mind from Oh's description. It really felt like a video game in my mind.

I think the only thing wanted from this was a bit more relationship building between our FMC and MMC. It was there, but not as extensive. However, this is a minor nitpick, and book 1 of this duology is well worth your time! I can't wait for book 2!

I loved the author's book The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, so when I saw this available on NetGalley, I was super excited to get the chance to read it! This is a story told in multiple POVs, about two characters who encounter each other in a mystical world, who gradually befriend each other all while trying to save the people they care for. Sunho is a solider searching for his lost brother, while Ren is a girl with mysterious powers looking for a cure for her uncle. I liked reading about the gradual friendship of these two and seeing how they were able to bond made me more invested in their relationship! Bring back slow burn and getting to know someone! I though the setting of the world was very unique, however, it was a little hard for me to imagine it in my mind at the beginning and I think maybe having a map visual or maybe more exposition about the structure of the world would have helped, Overall, this was a really fun read and I'll be looking forward to the second book!

Axie Oh builds such amazing settings and The Floating World is no exception. Ren and Sunho are engaging and I need to know what happens next!

One of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I will absolutely be reading more by her!

This is a Korean reimagining of the legend of the Celestial Maidens. I normally love YA fantasy and this one didn’t disappoint. It was so unique and refreshing.

I loved the writing… I was hooked from the very first chapter. I loved our main character Ren. The dynamic between are two main characters is so sweet.
The plot was fast paced. Every time I had to put this book down I was looking forward to the next time I could read again.

I can’t wait for the sequel! I’m so thankful it’s out this Fall!

This book was again a victim of my seemingly never ending reading slump. I did finish it though, and it was really good. The plot was good and the romance the perfect slow burn. I really enjoyed this and can’t wait for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing me with an E-ARC to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. Heavily inspired by Final Fantasy and the tale of the Celestial Maidens, this novel reads like a young adult novel crossed with a JRPG. Which, depending on what you’re in the market for, isn’t a bad thing. The plot is predictable and the characters’ motivations are straight-forward. The romance is minimal (thankfully suitable for a YA audience for once) and the action picks up around the last quarter of the book. A fun, light-hearted read overall.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook arc, and let me start by saying that if Axie Oh writes it I WILL READ IT! The world building is beautiful and the story will have me rereading this story over and over.

The Floating World is a pretty epic fantasy full of intrigue, action and danger. I appreciated the characters and their development over the course of the story. I also thought that the world-building was really well done. This was a bit dark and violent for my taste but I'm sure it will appeal to many readers of fantasy adventure.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・“𝓗𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝓪 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭𝓷’𝓽 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓵 𝓲𝓽, 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓱𝓲𝓶. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓭𝓷’𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮. 𝓗𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓱𝓮𝓻.”・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

4.25 stars 💫 Just WOW omg. My first Axie Oh book and this one absolutely ATE?!🤩 The characters, the plot, the world building, everything was sooo perfect!!😌🙌🏻 This book kind of brought me back the nostalgia of watching Castle in the Sky movie, ifykyk. And also can we take a moment to appreciate that studio ghibli style cover?!?! literally obsessed!😍

Read this if you like 💌:
⚔ allies to lovers
⚔ hidden identities
⚔ ex-soldier x troupe performer
⚔ found family
⚔ slow burn
⚔ one bed
⚔ demons
⚔ royal politics
⚔ inspired from korean legend of Celestian Maidens

✨ Let's meet the characters ✨

Ren~ we meet the lively care-free her in the present, after 10 years when she left her empire behind and came to live as troupe perfomer with her foster family. She's the heir to the Floating World, but everyone believes she has been perished along with her mother during the Festival of Light, all those years ago. She's content and happy with her little family. But as fate might have it, her happiness is only lasted for a little time until one night a demon appears and takes the life of her loved one. She soon realises she has to make a choice- it's to go back to where she came from to protect her little family that was her home. She goes on a journey back home to find a cure and save her little uncle who is in the bring of death because of the demon.

Sunho~ He works as a sword-for-hire by taking up tasks in the underworld. He was an ex-soldier, but he doesn't remember anything up until two years ago except that he has a brother, which frustrates him and that's why he is emotionally closed off and doesn't trust anyone. He soon gets a task, to find the princess and bring her back alive inexchange for finding his brother.

Ren & Sunho soon cross paths on their journey, saving each other from dangers, but also lying to each other about their true identies. I literally loved how they grow close to each other, the more time they spend with each other. They both let down their walls layer by layer, and let each other in. Their romance was so subtle, but still so realistic in this book. I also loved how because of Ren, Sunho changed his perspectives. He chose to protect her instead of giving her up to the monsters who wanted to kill her. His fierce protectiveness towards her was something I swooned over 😩💓 I can't wait to see how the story unfolds in the sequel and also more badassness of Ren, I'm already on my way to request the arc for the next one 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

Thank you to the Author, Macmillan Publishers, and Netgalley for this beautiful ARC inexchange for an honest review 🥰💞

⋆˚࿔ the floating world review 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

┆ ⤿ 💌 4 stars!

This one was a harder start for me as it really does just drop you into the world, but once you've caught on it gets super interesting and vivid! The world-building was absolutely gorgeous I felt like I was watching a studio ghibli movie come alive right in front of my eyes. I really loved Ren and Sunho their relationship felt so natural and easy, but it didn't take over the story or plot.

I wasn't as invested in the very end of the book as it felt like everything was happening a bit too fast but other than that I really enjoyed myself and can't wait for book two!

｡ﾟ• ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈ ┈ ┈ ┈• ｡ﾟ

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for the ARC on Netgalley! <3

The Floating World is Axie Oh’s return to YA fantasy with a wondrous, imaginative steampunk world of legend & magic! Ren, a traveling acrobat has unleashed a mysterious power and to help an injured family member, she sets off on a mission to find a cure. She soon finds herself colliding with a traumatized ex-soldier and now mercenary Sunho, who is looking to collect the reward from Ren’s capture. Delivering an artful fantasy-steampunk blend, thematic notes of power, alongside a unique performer x mercenary duo, this book is for those who love quiet romantic fairytales, a phenomenal blend of action and emotional character moments, alongside a whimsical adventure - though I wanted a bit more detail at particular moments, this was such a fun read from Axie and I'm eager to continue the duology!

4 Stars!

This was just so good. I loved the setting, the plot was interesting, and I was very invested in the dynamic between all the characters—but especially Ren and Sunho. In a story full of dark themes, it was a wonderful choice to have such a soft, lovely connection to accompany us on the adventure. Plus, there were times when our two main characters reminded me of movie Sophie and Howl which is something that will get me every time. The world building was vivid, and I was engaged the entire time despite my initial worry that the zombie-adjacent demons would turn me off. (I am burned out by zombies, so bring on the demons!) The tone hit this nice middle ground between fable/myth and a near contemporary fantasy which went well with many of the plot points throughout the book without making it feel too distant narratively. Plus, throughout I felt like Axie Oh laid a firm enough foundation that I could keep my footing even during the more fantastic or action scenes that I could just roll with it.

This is my first Axie Oh book but it won’t be my last, especially as I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book in this series!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advance copy to read and review!

Rating: ✨4.5 stars✨

The Floating World is a YA fantasy romance that brings the legend of the Celestial Maidens to life in a beautifully written whirlwind of adventure and magic.

The setting is very steampunk fantasy and it was really interesting exploring this world through all the great worldbuilding in the story. There are three main parts to the setting: the Underworld (a land of perpetual darkness), the mountains and the land to the east, and the intriguing Floating World.

The book follows three POVS:
➺Sunho is a mysterious ex-soldier, now mercenary living in the Underworld, who has hardly any memories from his past life.
➺Ren is lively and spirited, and part of a troupe of traveling acrobats formed by her adopted family and friends. She has the power to wield silver light, an ability she's had to keep hidden. It's linked to her emotions, but in the fear and anger during a demon attack on her family, she releases a blast of light, alerting the world to her power.
➺Jaeil is a military captain and son of the general. He doesn't get much page-time, but wow is he complicated! He gives a lot of the background about the political landscape in this world, and he's also the one who hires Sunho to find a girl who wields silver light, in exchange for money and information about the past Sunho can't remember.

Ren & Sunho are really well written and loveable! There's something about the way they are just inexplicably drawn together, and there's so much mystery around their pasts, their magic, and how much their paths are entwined more than they can imagine. The romance is slow-burn, but its also really tender and sweet and wholesome, in a story that can be rather action-packed and serious at times. I absolutely adore the way Sunho came to love Ren, became fiercely protective of her and fought alongside her, despite how his latest mission related to her.

Final Thoughts: While I didn't get to reviewing this book as soon before release as I wanted, it was definitely worth the wait! There's so much potential and I can't wait for the sequel to see where this story goes!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Overall I enjoyed the world and the prose of this book and the story had potential, but there are multiple thinks that did not quite work for me.

1. Worldbuilding - it's a really cool world of a city under another city (the Floating World), it gave me this urban Final Fantasy vibe and I enjoyed being immersed in it. I think the world was built well.
2. The plot - this is a retelling of Celestial Maidens - a Korean legend which I thought was incorporated well. I did not know the legend prior to reading this book but it compelled me to look it up. What I did not like about the plot was that it was just very convenient to the characters. At some point one of the characters just happened to show up at the exact right time to save the day in a way that had me rolling my eyes. The plotting also just felt quite simple to the point of being a little boring. There was a lot of "A happened, and then B happened, and then C happened" and it felt like there wasn't much depth to it.
3. The characters - I think this is the main weakness of the book. The characters felt very one dimensional with no much development. The romance was very insta and I did not feel the chemistry between the main characters. The side characters also were mainly for serving the plot.
4. The prose - this was the strongest component of the book. This alone would convince to pick up other books by this authors (just not this series).

AXIE OH HAS MY WHOLE HEART!!! literally on my knees thankful that the sequel comes out this year because i need MORE!!

Every thing I’ve ever read from Axie Oh has been so well-written, and this was no different. I liked the story, and I got through it quickly, but I did catch myself several times feeling like I’d missed something. It felt like pieces were missing, or maybe not as detailed as they could be. The relationship between Ren and Sunho seemed to develop quickly, but it was pretty innocent. I would have no problems recommending this to someone looking for a fantasy adventure but isn’t interested in spice.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Where to even begin??? First Axie whyyyyyyy 😭😭 I’m in such pain right now 😭😭 You are a brilliant storyteller and I think you’ll never stop hurting me. I have been greatly anticipating this duology ever since Axie started talking about it years ago. I have read every single one of her books and have loved every one and this one didn’t disappoint in any way! Axie has such a diverse and flexible writing style that has allowed her to write sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary books. The floating world is such a beautiful story and it was so exciting to get another story inspired by a Korean folktale. I love the world building, the characters, and the romance! Everything is so beautiful it made me want to cry multiple times. I read the last 50 pages in one sitting and I can’t even explain how good they were! Sunho and Ren are amazing and I love them so much!! Please everyone go pick up this book because thank goodness Axie is releasing book 2 this year. I think I’d die if I had to wait any longer. On my way to request book 2 asap 🤣

thank you so much to Colored Pages blog tours and netgalley for the early copy! all opinions are my own!

i'm so happy this was my first Axie Oh's book because it sure sets up to become a highly adored author by me 😱😱
not only the dual POV helped out to understand the characters more, but the TRIPLE POV was so amazing and refreshing. when was the last time i had read from someone who was as important and at the same time it wasn't, i don't know but the extra chapters were what kept me hooked for the drama. both MCs were amazing characters, their motivations and experiences were on point, as well as the flashbacks that helped me understand them more. the world seemed super interesting and diverse, the story and how it came to be and everything that happened left me like 😱😱 i was kinda scared going into the ending because anything could happen, and it left me really surprised and at the same time super hooked for the sequel that comes out in October, which is nice so i don't have to wait that long 😂😎
this book was just soo good and entertaining, the side characters were super cool and i even feared some of them were gonna go rogue but nooo, they helped out everyone a lot! can't wait to see how this story ends and how much the MCs have to suffer in the next one 😭

The floating world by Axie Oh is a wonderful imagination of the Korean folklore of the celestial maidens. Oh’s world building is always top notch and The Floating World doesn’t disappoint. The Floating World has a world that’s been plunged into darkness because of where it is situated under the large floating world of the elites.
Sunho, a mercenary from the dark underworld is tasked with finding the girl who brings the light. Some believe the mysterious light seen recently could be the lost princess. When Sunho comes across Ren, he doesn’t suspect her of being the lost princess. Their paths take them back to the dark underworld where the worst happens…
I really wish there was some more depth to the main characters but their stories and love story was enjoyable!