When I initially requested this arc I was pretty excited, since it sounded like it would be right up my alley, but unfortunately this book ended up being too messy for my tastes. This will be a great pick for anyone who loves a classic anime storyline, about a heroine living her peaceful life only to be forced into a quest to save her adopted family; this then broadens dramatically in scope over the course of the story. I did end up feeling like most of the important things happened off-screen, with the most plot-relevant things being mentioned in Jaeil's scattered POV chapters before we went back to the journey of our main characters. At around the 70% mark things finally felt like they were starting to happen on-screen, with revelations and action popping up left and right, and it was a quick ride to the end.

If you're someone who's here for a good time, not a critical one, I think you'll love this one! Once I noticed a few of the flaws here, I couldn't put the cat back in the bag - for example, the way Ren seems almost totally unbothered by the death of Big Uncle and the urgent timer hanging above Little Uncle's head, especially after she meets Sunho. The fate of the red umbrella, Big Uncle's last gift to Ren, perfectly encapsulates the emotional tone of the story overall; if it seemed important, it's not, and it will be discarded at speed and without a second thought.

This is the newest YA fantasy novel from Axie Oh, author of one of my all time favorites, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. I went into this book with very high expectations. Some of them delivered. Some of them did not.

What worked - The characters

This is a retelling of the Korean folktale of the Celestial Maidens. In this story, our main character is Ren, a traveling performer. She and her aunt and uncles (Big Uncle and Little Uncle) travel the land, putting on comedy and acrobatics shows for coin. Ren is a likeable character from the start. She's lighthearted and kind and loyal to her friends and family. She also suffers from some anxiety and wears her performer's mask more often than not. She feels safer behind it. When she's forced to use her light magic to defend her family from a demon is when her story begins. Little Uncle is nearly killed by the demon and Ren sets off for a cure.

Our second character, Sunho, is a former soldier with no memory and a demon inside of him. He's in search of his brother and his memories, and when light magic is spotted across the land, he's sent to find the missing Celestial Maiden. When he and Ren meet, she's wearing her mask, and he's respectful of her privacy and grateful for her saving his life.

Our third character is Jaeil. He is the General's abused son, and yet he has a kind side to him. He is honestly the most interesting character in the book and I wish he had more page time. As it was, his chapters were mostly used to full in the world-building of the politics and at times felt a little overwhelming and confusing.

What didn't work - The World
This did AND didn't work. This seemed like a very cool place and the descriptors of the different locales were incredibly visceral and real, but I was confused how it all tied together. At first I thought all the places were part of the Floating World, as if the mines were on the underside of it. But I think they are two separate places? I'm still kind of confused. I'm hoping there's a map or the illustration in the final version to show it more clearly.

The Plot
This book could have benefited from 60-100 more pages at least. I honestly think it could be 2 books. I don't even know if this is getting a second book. Some fight scenes were glossed over. As I mentioned, the world building needed more, and the ending was rushed, left with some loose ends.

It's hard to rate this because I really LOVED the characters, even the side characters. I loved their relationships with each other and the dialogue, but overall I kept getting confused and lost and missed things that had been covered too quickly, I couldn't really sit back and enjoy this one. I'm hoping it gets a second book so I can get all the answers I want.

thank you so much to axie oh & macmillan children’s publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

rating: 4.75 starts out of 5

i won’t lie, it took me a little bit to get into this book just because i think the beginning had a slow start. i’m a big fan of axie oh’s writing from her modern fics to her mythology, so i really overall enjoyed the book!

the world building was fun, though it took me a moment to understand what was going on but once i caught on, it was enjoyable!! i love the difference between the worlds, and how they had a “door” in the sky, and the mines being above the world and instead of below’! just really fascinating.

SUNHOOOOO. oh wow, i really enjoyed him!! like yurhee, i too enjoy an emotionally unavailable guy. i loved seeing him rediscover emotions and feelings that he forgotten about, especially the more time he spent with ren! i think he was very sweet, and i feel so terrible for him that he remembered what happened in the lab.

ren!!! omg, my princess. i loved her, and she was sooo fun! i liked seeing her discover feelings as well, especially jealousy when she interacted with yurhee, but quickly got over it! she is definitely is a very ambitious girl, and she truly thinks with her heart, which tends to get her into some trouble, but i love to see her make it through! her remembering her backstory, who she is, and her
powers was fun! i hope we see her gain more control over her powers and use them in the next book!

jaeil… i’m not gonna lie, multi-pov books just aren’t my thing, but i did like this one! it was nice to see an outside perspective of our main two, and im not gonna lie, i really thought there would be some sort of love triangle. maybe in the third book? 👀 that would be interesting, but i don’t think that will be happening.

i enjoyed the supporting characters as well, and i loved seeing everyone interact. it was interesting to see the inter workings of the characters and all of their dynamics.

overall, i really enjoyed the book. i’ll tell you this… i did NOT see that ending coming. IM MAD ASF. i can’t wait for book two.

thank you again for the ARC!! 🩷

this felt like reading a studio ghibli film and that is the highest possible compliment coming from me.

axie oh really started off this book with some nice emotional trauma and i teared up from there itself because ouch that was painful hahaha. that truly did set the tone for the rest of the book, because from then on it was one thing after another. however, she was kind enough to sprinkle in bits of a delicious romance (even if it was doomed from the start) which was def the highlight!!

🪭⋆.˚ ren: after releasing powers she's kept hidden from her childhood to ward of monsters, she must set out on a journey to find medicinal herbs to save her uncle. ren's character was so interesting to read about; i loved her growth, her backstory, and the way she survived the journey. she does not have any combat skills, like other fmc's in fantasy books, but the ways she dealt with dangers were so creative. it felt like i was learning more about her simply from the way she handles situations. and of courseee her relationship with sunho was so freaking cute!! the way they slowly became comfortable with ench other was absolutely adorable.

⚔️⋆.˚ sunho: coming from the under world, he can't remember anything from 2 years ago. now, he's a sword for hire doing odd jobs, until he comes across a job where he has to hunt down a girl who wields the light, and of course that's none other than ren. but he doesn't know it's her when he happens to collide with her on his journey. sunho is THE man i am so absolutely in love with him. i love the way he slowly opens up to her and starts wanting to protect her. he is so steadfast and loyal, he really gives off similar vibes to ashitaka from princess mononoke.

ᯓ𖹭 ren and sunho are like day and night, darkness and light, both from opposite worlds yet somehow drawn together. i loved them so much, and i can't wait to read more of them in book 2! (they are definitely going to destroy me in that book)

A troupe performer named Ren with a hidden past, and an ex soldier hired sword named Sunho with a forgotten past find each other by chance, both on different missions. Together they try to uncover their own truths and what that means to move forward, in both their individual journeys and together. The side characters help round out found families for both main characters and show the power of what belonging can do to one’s spirit.

I enjoyed the world building and the writing style. It felt very magical and ephemeral. I also enjoyed the two main characters and how they interacted with those around them. They were both young, but had seen so much in their 17 years. I enjoyed the multiple pov’s to see how both Ren and Sunho were dealing with their own things, and how they grew from those revelations.

I am now impatiently waiting for the sequel so I can get back to this world and these characters.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a long-time fan of Axie Oh, this was one of my most anticipated reads—and it absolutely delivered.

The story follows Ren, a cheerful traveling acrobat with a hidden past, and Sunho, an ex-soldier turned mercenary with no memory of who he is. When Sunho is tasked with hunting Ren down, fate takes a turn and the two end up journeying together across the treacherous mountains to find a cure for Ren’s uncle, who was wounded in a demon attack.

I loved the dual POV, especially watching both characters slowly unravel their own truths. Ren’s inner conflict and slow build into confidence was compelling, while Sunho’s mysterious past and emotional depth made him such an interesting foil. Also—classic he falls first and falls hard dynamic? I was living for it. The romantic moments and dialogue were swoon-worthy.

The worldbuilding was stunning. A mystical Floating World above a sun-starved realm filled with demons and ancient dangers? It felt lush and immersive, filled with both beauty and despair.

My only wish was for a bit more of the Celestial Maiden mythology, which was so intriguing but only lightly touched on here. I’m really looking forward to how that thread expands in the next book!

This was a heartfelt, atmospheric fantasy with emotional stakes, soft romance, and beautiful writing. Axie Oh fans won’t be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! 🌙✨

The Floating World by Axie Oh

4 Stars

368 Pages
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Felwel & Friends
Release Date: April 29, 2025

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens, Young Adult, Romance, Korean, Celestial Maidens

Ren lives with a family of troupe performers. They travel the country performing. At their last scheduled stop, a demon attacks them. One uncle is dead, and the other is poisoned. She uses her forbidden magic and light to battle the demon. Unknowingly, she just told the world she was alive. She beings a journey to find where the demon originated.

Sunho is a warrior. He joins a group of mercenaries, but their goal is to protect the girl. He has no memory beyond two years ago. Something happened to him, and he wants to find out what it is. He is on a collision course with Ren. When the two meet, she helps heal him. They have an instant chemistry even though they do not know the role each has.

The story had a building pace, the characters were developed and grew throughout the book. It is written in the third person point of view. If you like Korean myths, you will enjoy reading this book.

his book was exceptionally well-crafted, and I thoroughly appreciated it. It tells a charming and romantic tale of an acrobat who possesses a secret power and a former soldier struggling with fragmented memories of his past while searching for his brother. From the very beginning, I was captivated, and the characters were delightful to follow. I eagerly anticipate exploring more works by this author.

The beautiful cover drew me in and the description had me wanting to read this!

I pictured Sunho as Cloud from FF7 and Ren as Ty Lee from ATLA. I liked the characters. I think Jaeil ended up being my favorite. Which is a bit surprising. I couldn’t stop picturing things from Final Fantasy while I read this. Which may be why I struggled a bit with the world building. The pacing seemed a little off. It felt like it dragged a bit in the beginning and some in the middle.

Overall I really enjoyed this and can’t wait for the next one!

3.5⭐

LIKED:
- There is something just so magical about Axie Oh’s writing style. It has a really beautiful simplicity that still somehow elicits vivid imagery. It was something I was highly impressed with in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and I don’t think this book was as successful as her first in that regard, but I did definitely still enjoy the imagery, especially of the characters and locations.
- I generally liked Ren. I think she made a lot of sense in her choices, especially as a somewhat sheltered teenager. Her lore is also interesting that I’m hoping gets even more fleshed out in the next book.
- Jaeil, surprising even to me, was my favorite POV character though. I just found him to be the most nuanced, though I was really confused when his first POV chapter came up. I felt very blindsided by it and I would guess others will, too.
- This cover gorgeous. The “The” is kind of hard to read, but the illustration is just stunning.

LAMENTED:
- The pacing of this book is a bit all over the place. The last act is strong, but the first and middle are wonky. The first act really drags and the two main characters don’t even meet until like a quarter of the way in. And then the middle also drags while a lot is happening? Kind of? I don’t know, it felt like it was trying to do a lot while also not doing enough. Maybe it was the multiple POVs? Though I’m not sure.
- I found Sunho to be really flat. I get he had amnesia, sure, but she’s done that before as an author and to greater success. I don’t know if it’s because he had POV chapters but I just didn’t care for him.
- These two characters, especially Sunho, fall very fast and it’s pretty unbelievable. These two characters barely have any conversations before he’s like “I can’t believe I’ll never see her again my best friend in the whole world.” I’m paraphrasing obviously, and I get it’s YA, but I think that condescends to teens.
- I feel like I wanted or maybe was expected to like the side characters more than I did. I don’t think they were bad by any means, I just wasn’t invested in them at all.

LONGED FOR:
- Better pacing
- More connection between the lead characters
- World building that felt more connected

Will I read the next one? : Yes. The last act of this did intrigue me enough for me to want to keep going. And I do just adore Axie Oh’s writing style.

I enjoyed this story … after a bit of a slow start I found myself drawn into the story of the two main characters - Sunho was especially interesting and his search for his brother added an additional layer to his story. I also enjoyed the side characters and am interested to see how the story develops in the next book (which I assume is coming based on this ending!)

Thank you for the chance to read this early

This was a fun and fantastic read that kept me engaged throughout. The world felt magical and very fairy tale-like. I definitely can see where the Final Fantasy descriptor for the book comes from as it definitely feels very inspired by it which I don't think is a bad thing. I definitely recommend it and I'm very excited for the sequel!

I’m such a huge Axie Oh fan, but this was a miss for me. The world building wasn’t fleshed out and I never felt like I could get fully immersed in the story. Worldbuilding is important when the plot is so centered around power and politics, but it felt vague and confusing. The book struggles a bit with plot as well. Ren’s seemingly high stakes time-sensitive motive to find a cure for her uncle quickly takes a back seat as a plot point and gets replaced by meandering political intrigue. Most of the book is medium-paced travel moments between the two main characters, but it did pick up towards the end and finished on an interesting note.

My biggest issue was with character development. Axie Oh usually does such a good job with writing dimensional, fleshed out characters but Ren and Sunho both felt empty, and have an instalove relationship. They don’t have developed personalities, and for storyline reasons the reader doesn’t get either of their backstories for a very long time (and what we do get is still vague). Having finished the book, their only defining characteristics is that one is a troupe performer and one is a swordsman (which I already knew before opening the book). Axie Oh usually writes such depth and vibrancy into her characters, so I’m a bit at a loss for words there.

Axie Oh has done it again! This time she’s combined Korean mythology and magic with steampunk/silkpunk elements and it was a fantastic experience! My heart broke in half at the ending- I can’t wait for the next installment! The anticipation might just kill me. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I’m so grateful that I got to experience it early!

I was left partially confused by some of the worldbuilding, so I hope that the official release will include a map. From what I interpreted there’s the main world, the Under City, and then the Floating World? But I’m not entirely sure on the placement of each of these locations. I could visualize what they looked like based off of the descriptions, but not where they were!

Ren was such a lovely protagonist. I thoroughly enjoyed that her main focus was her adoptive family- she didn’t care for the politics happening in Sareniya. Just wanted to save her uncle. Sunho was equally as lovely as a character to read, but I’m still unsure of Jaeil as we don’t see any of his intentions in his chapters! Hoping we’ll learn a bit more about him in book 2!

Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel and Friends for the e-arc! 💕

Review will be up on socials tomorrow!

This was such a lovely story. It had so many of my most loved things about it.

• magical, whimsical, and beautiful setting and world building
• political intrigue
• family bonds
• sweet and tender romance

I was pulled in right away, and the characters were so fun to read. I'm looking forward to reading more books from this author.

Thank you to MacMillan Publishing for the complimentary early digital copy of this book through Netgalley. All the opinions in this review are my own.

Will officially post to social media and good reads soon! But love the studio Ghibli vibes. Those are my absolute favorite movies. The cover is also so stunning!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 stars)

The Floating World begins with Ren, a traveling performer whose life is turned upside down when a demon attacks the village where her troupe is performing. In a moment of desperation, Ren unleashes a mysterious light from within—a power she doesn’t understand. While she manages to defeat the demon, her Little Uncle is poisoned in the process. With time running out, Ren sets out to discover the origin of the demon and, hopefully, a cure. Meanwhile, Sunho, our MMC, is among hundreds of mercenaries hired to track down the girl with the light.

The book is loosely inspired by Final Fantasy VII, which was both a strength and a bit of a stumbling block for me. At first, it was fun to spot the parallels and imagine who might represent which character—but as the story progressed, the similarities started to pull me out of the narrative. I found myself comparing it to FF7 rather than getting fully immersed in Axie Oh’s unique world.

That said, there were still some lovely things about this book!

What I liked:
🌟 Found family elements
🌟 Beautiful world-building
🌟 The sweet connection between Ren and Sunho—they had such cute chemistry and brought softness to the story

What didn’t quite work for me:
🌀 The FF7 similarities became too noticeable and made it hard to separate the two stories
🌀 I wish the book had leaned further into original storytelling to fully let Ren’s journey shine on its own

While it didn’t completely win me over, The Floating World has a lot of heart and is a cozy, emotional YA fantasy that readers who love gentle romances and classic fantasy tropes may really enjoy.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy!

First off thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book.

IT WAS SO GOOD! I loved the world building and the lore that was behind it. I did some minor research on celestial maidens before reading this book but I felt like anyone could ready this book whether or not they had.

I honestly got Arcane vibes the whole book. From the plot to the setting it felt like an Arcane show, which I loved.

I loved the romance between Ren and Sunho. It felt like a natural progression. Nothing felt rushed or forced. More than anything I love that there was no miscommunication. Ren was honest about who she was and so was Sunho (to the best of his ability). The romance also didn’t take away from the main plot which I really appreciate it.

The characters felt well rounded and believable. Every action they made actually made sense. I loved the side characters too and I’m excited to see more of them. I want to know more about Tag and Yurhee.

I think my only issue was that I didn’t get a map, but it this was an ARC so that’s probably normal.

This was so good! Sunho and Ren were such interesting characters and I loved this Korean retelling. It was interesting to learn more about a culture I’m unfamiliar with. The plot was super engaging and I did not want to put the book down while reading.

What's great about this book:
- Unique world in an asian inspired setting
- Sweet and whimsical
- Cute love story between the FMC and MMC
- Adventurous and fun
- Fast-paced plot
- Ending had me hooked and I can't wait for the next book

What could have been better
- Never felt fully immersed in the story telling
- The plot resolved a little too quickly and it felt like there should have been more build up of tension
- The prose in The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea was top tier and I was a little disappointed that the prose in this book did not live up to the level I expected from Axie Oh.