I cannot say how extremely excited I was to read this Arc; I adored the first in the series, once I saw the arc for The God and the Gwisin I Squealed.
Sophie Kim delivers on a solid follow up to The god and the Gumhio -- picking up a little bit after the first, Seokga is still in mourning and waiting for his Hani to be reincarnated.

The God and the Gwisin is a delightful romance, filled with mythology, fated troupes, yearning, beautiful written fantasy with a perfect woven mystery. I found this book to be even more enjoyable than I had hoped and the thread of fate was seriously a favorite. This would make a wonderful k-drama on an epic level as I would love to see this world come to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Author for allowing me to read this Arc in exchange for my honest review!!

"He can feel it, at the end of the thread. Someone is waiting. Someone is waiting for him."

The God and The Gwisin is a spectacular story that continues where The God and the Gumiho left off, where we join Seokga on his journey and embark on yet another wild adventure that Sophie Kim has spun, this time on board a cruise ship!

I really enjoyed the story, it held a different kind of appeal compared to The God and The Gumiho. In this book, we get a nice balance between nostalgia and freshness, with familiar faces as well as new ones joining us on the mystery abord the cruise ship. It is quite interesting to see that in this book, compared to The God and The Gumiho, that Seokga and Hani are more mellowed out, with Hani having reincarnated into Kisa, who is a completely distinct individual with differing personalities from Hani. I really liked that this book filled in some gaps from Book One, allowing us to look closer at Seokga and his relationship with Hwanin, and it was quite surprising to go on this journey of healing with Seokga.

I will say though, that this book may not be for everyone. It does seem to me, that if you wished to stop the story after Book One, you wouldn't be missing out on much. The storyline feels like it is it's own seperate plotline entirely and doesn't necessarily have to be connected to the first. This was more like tying off our loose ends and truly saying goodbye to some characters.
I loved The God and The Gumiho primarily because Seokga and Hani were both spitfires and what I'd deem close to morally grey. That gave the book a fresh appeal, but in this one, it was slightly less exciting to see that they had mellowed out. Of course, Seokga's moral compass remains questionable as always.

Regardless, I had a really fun time reading this book and giggling and also almost crying and I love these characters so much! The ending might hint at a third book possibly? Who knows!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This gets a solid 4 stars from me. This was a pretty enjoyable continuation of the series, though I have to admit I liked the first book a bit more. I was really attached to Hani and Seokga’s relationship, so it took me a while to warm up to Kisa and Seokga’s dynamic. Their relationship is sweet and has its own charm, but it didn’t feel quite as fresh or emotionally layered as what we got in the first book. I did eventually come to appreciate Kisa and Seokga's relationship, but I think the real standout in this one was exploring Seokga's relationship with his family. I also found myself a lot more invested in the side characters this time around.

I will say that the mystery in this one felt more like a backdrop rather than a central driving force. And while it didn’t quite reach the stakes of the previous book, there was still enough to keep me reading (especially in the latter half when everything started to click into place). I just wish we had gotten more of that earlier on.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and I’m very invested in finding out where this story goes next. Thank you to Del Rey & Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sequel worked for me. I was pleasantly surprised that it doesn't feel like an echo of the first book, but a unique story with familiar characters. Seokga has been waiting for Hani's reincarnation, so the romance is a little more of a foregone conclusion this time around. However, the relationship between Seokga and Kisa is unique and heartwarming in its own way. Kisa's character was especially easy to connect to and feel for.

The mystery is somewhat secondary to the relationship building, but overall the plot moved along well despite some reveals being a bit obvious. I wished the events at the end were detailed a bit more, it did feel rushed in the last 10% of the book. It didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of it but did bring it from a 5 to a 4 star read for me.

Overall this was a fun and engaging read despite it's minor flaws.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for approving my request to view this ARC.

This was just as entertaining as the first book and just as funny and warm.

It takes place thirty-three years after the events of The God and The Gumiho and Soekgwa is trying to find Hani's reincarnation and he goes on a ship in the underworld for a vacation and there's a murder mystery involved.

What I loved so much about this is that Kisa, Hani's reincarnation is so much different from her in a lot of ways but just like Hani she's still an interesting main character and I love that she's incredibly intelligent and kind. I enjoyed her development and her relationships with the other characters.

Seokga did have a lot of development in the first book, but he grew a lot here. I believe that there are some decisions he wouldn't have made here that he would have made in the first book. Watching him bond with his brother was also so sweet.

I honestly adore everything about his character and I loved how he slowly came to love Kisa and accept that she's different than Hani and even love her more. Their relationship was sweet, warm and so cute, teared up at the last paragraph of the last chapter.

Honestly, the writing, the plot, and the characters just did it for me.

"In this swoony sequel to The God and the Gumiho, a trickster god must work with his reincarnated lost love to solve his brother's murder on board a luxury underworld cruise ship.

Seokga the No-Longer-Fallen is working on himself. Reinstated as a god, the trickster now attends much-needed therapy, even as he desperately searches for his lost love, Hani. But when the red thread of fate tangled around his finger - signaling Hani's reincarnation - leads Seokga to a luxury cruise down the river of the dead, the woman he finds waiting for him isn't Hani...she's Yoo Kisa, and she has no memory of him.

Yoo Kisa is exhausted with her afterlife. While she'd hoped the underworld would be peaceful, whoever she was in a past life racked up quite the karmic debt, and now she must pay it, working thanklessly aboard the SRC Flatliner. Even worse, the red thread wrapped around her pinky followed her into the underworld...and although her fated partner has found her, he seems to find her lacking.

When the heavenly emperor is murdered aboard the ship, Seokga and Kisa must solve the crime before the cruise ends. As the mystery draws them closer, the god and the gwisin will have to decide what they truly mean to each other. But there's something bigger at play aboard the SRC Flatliner, something that holds the key to Kisa and Seokga's fated connection - and the fate of the mortal and heavenly realms."

I mean, this sounds far out there, but the fact that the cruise ship in hell is called the SRC Flatliner slays me.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

After what The God and the Gumiho put me through, I needed this ARC because there’s no way I was waiting to find out if my favourite god gets his happy ending.

The God and the Gwisin picks up shortly after book one, with a heartbroken Seokga desperately searching for Hani. He’s so down bad he ends up in therapy—which is kind of hilarious but also refreshing? I love that the author chose to humanise him like that. Even gods need help sometimes.

To get him out of his funk, his brother and therapist convince him to go on a cruise... where, surprise, someone gets murdered. So this turns into Death on the Nile but make it Asian, with gods, spirits, and magical creatures. The vibes? Immaculate.

I loved the plot—it’s quirky, humorous, and feels like a cosy fantasy murder mystery. But as with the first book, the real heart of the story is Seokga and his love interest. Sophie Kim absolutely nails that emotional core again.

If I had one tiny gripe, it’s the occasional tell-don’t-show moments. Sometimes I wanted the writing to let scenes unfold more naturally instead of summarising them. But honestly? That didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.

Loved this book. Loved the ending. My god is happy. I’m happy.

I feel like I’ve been waiting for book 2 since book 1 came out. I was not disappointed!

“A god and a gwisin. It is an impossible thing. Isn’t it?”

The God and the Gwisin picks up 33 years after The God and the Gumiho. Seokga is no longer banished and repenting - his debt has been paid. He’s still struggling with the loss of Hani, going to therapy, and is living day to day waiting for her to be reincarnated as her brother promised. His luck is looking up when one day he find the red thread of fate latched onto his finger and he knows that Hani has been reborn out there somewhere.

After searching he finds he is becoming more irritable and defeated, in a twist of fate he boards an afterlife cruise and finds her! The catch is she’s already dead and working as a nurse on the boat with no memories of her previous life or the history that she shared with Seokga. She only remembers the life she was living before that fateful fall.

Following the same vein as the first, book two quickly turns into a “Who Done It” murder mystery with the gang having to come back together to stop the big baddies. Kisa is an amazing character who really struggled with the fated-mate thing because she worried that Seokga wasn’t really seeing her, but the Hani that came before. I loved reading how these two found one another and overcame their differences at the end.

With book two we also meet a cast of new and returning characters that make the story feel rich and engaging. Somi makes a return and we are introduced to Hajun - Kisa’s undead bff. We also get an extended introductions to some of the gods and their roles.

And the ending :tears: it was just the absolute sweetest.

Overall this was an amazing read and well worth the wait.

Favorite Quotes:

“…a fight between two gods, a gumiho, and an elderly rubber-duck-loving woman…” - sounded like one of those bar jokes XD

“Try again. Perhaps use some threats. You’re historically very good at that.”

“Kisa, I have wanted you before I even knew you.”

If you read any of my reviews or best of lists last year, you know that The God and The Gumiho was one of my absolute favorites and that I was eagerly awaiting the second book in the series.

I was not disappointed.

In The God and Gwisin, Seokga, is conned into going on a vacation in the underworld with his brother, the heavenly emperor Hwanin, and his therapist. There, he is finally reunited with the reincarnation of his beloved Hani. Except that she isn’t. At all. She’s Kisa, a once-doctor, now medical staffer aboard Yeomra’s SRC Flatliner, the most luxurious cruise ship to sail the underworld. And she’s pretty sick of it. She also has some words for whichever one of her previous lives racked up the karmic debt that has her stuck on the boat (hint: it was Hani).

Sparks do not fly.

Disaster.

And then, Hwanin is murdered and reincarnated, as murdered gods are, in baby form.

Disaster.

And Hwanung, Hwanin’s son and Seokga’s nephew, who is in a rebellious phase and hates his uncle takes the throne. Temporarily.

Disaster.

Great adventure all around, a sweet romance that has a few spicy moments with model consent checking. I like that, despite Kisa and Soekga being tied together by a red thread of fate (that has its own personality and is maybe my third favorite character in the book), their future isn’t a given because there’s fate and there’s choice and while Seokga could compel Kisa, the idea never crosses his mind. He wants her and he falls hard but at no point, despite his reputation or previous actions, does he entertain the notion of tricking her or leading her, even when things between them are at their bumpiest, even when Kisa is actively, physically pulling away. Seokga is honest with Kisa in a way he never was with Hani, open with her in a way he couldn’t be with Hani, and while I don’t want to give everything a way, there’s a theory in the book about this I really liked.

I really loved this one, just for the sake of itself. I loved being in this world again and interacting with these characters. I know it’s supposed to be a duology but there was a little something at the end that has me hoping there might be more. I really, really hope there’s more.

I don't think I have it in me to name a better duology if I tried.

Never, did I EVER, see it possible to love this sequel as much as I adored the first book, but after finishing this I realise what a mistake that was. At the start, I wasn't quite as taken with the plot as I was in the God and the Gumiho, but I believe that part in parcel with the way the last book ended. Due to my love of Hani, I worried about how Sophie Kim would pay this out, but my worry was for nought. After I was able to fully engage, my love for the characters came back and honestly, got brighter, with both returning and new characters to fawn over.

Additionally, from a plot standpoint, the murder mystery aspect of this book was to DIE for (pun somewhat intended). With twists and turns at every corner, I was never fully convinced I knew where the story was going. Sophie Kim has an ornate ability to understand exactly how much to give when writing a hooking plot, something I noticed as well with the first book in this series. You will never not be engaged, trying to narrow down exactly what is happening while also keeping track of every small detail you are given is, as I've found, a very attention-grabbing task in this read. Every detail has an importance, and the having it all rounded to a perfect stop within the last 5-ish percent is one of them most satisfying parts of reading this book.

Don't even get me STARTED on the chemistry between these two! I went into this thinking we'd be following the same mild-ish closed door structure I can remember from last time, but this...was more than that. The spice in this read was simply perfection. Seokga and Kisa compliment each other so well, their scenes together were something I enjoyed reading, and I feel it served to show so much about how well they fit together. I loved Hani, I did, but the ship of thesus debate following the narrative was something I found myself adapting to as well as Seokga, and it served to make me fall in love with Kisa all the more. The ending was something truly heart warming, as so healing compared to how painful book one was (Its a happy ending this time everyone, I promise) and it was exactly what I needed.

Not a day wont go by when I don't love this series, its cast, and its writer, and I couldn't be more grateful to have been chosen as one of its ARC readers. Please, if you do one thing, read this duology, the only regret you will have is not being able to read it for the first time again.

I gotta preface this with this being my first time reading one of Sophie Kim's books, and quite frankly, I enjoyed it. I got an ARC of this book, and I could never be more grateful!!

First of all, it took me a while to grow warm at first, as I didn't expect to be showered with romanized Korean terms in a novel book (we don't speak of fanfics here *ahem*), but looking at those now, it's very interesting to get a glimpse of how Korean mythology works in another person's perspective. Though, I did need to compare them with Norse gods to understand the picture (I'M SORRY OK I GOT BETTER THOUGH 😭).

🚨 Anyway, this is such a feel-good book... in a Persona 5 Royal kind of way. If you know how that game started, there are some implications of it in this book as well. So, just keep that in mind if you're sensitive to implications of suicide. There's also mentions and implications of self-harm. 🚨

TROPES!! Yes, yes. This book is definitely in the Fated Mates category, and if one would squint, it can also be part of the Yearning, Brooding, Dark MMC category, which I really loved—I say squint, only because of their situation... it's complicated. UHM. One Bed? Forced Proximity, perhaps. ALSO OMG, THE DOMESTIC VIBES!!! 😭😭

Something I've also noticed in this book is that it definitely falls under mythology, mystery, action, romance, and fantasy genres; it's 10% action, 80% romance and mystery—as for the rest of the 10%... it's for the side couple. LOL. I love them, though, really. They gave the story a little bit more flavor, to be quite honest.

Another thing: If only they had Kisa during that one scene... this book would have been shorter than it currently is. But that goes to show how good Sophie was with crafting such situations.

Writing style, it's very easy to read. I liked it; it's like reading a Manhwa but in text form (sans sound effects). Lots of attempted "squashing" though. Heh.

Overall, I rated it 4* just because I struggled getting into it for a few chapters, but other than that—IT'S SO GOOD!!

P.S. If you also squint hard enough, you can count this under "fluff"—those moments when the FMC and MMC were together? UGH. I felt like I was a third wheel. 👹

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 4.75/5
The God and the Gwisin is an absolute delight, and I loved it just as much as the first book, if not a little more. I went into this book a bit nervous as to whether I'd enjoy the new romance with Kisa, after spending the first book warming up to Hani, but I found Kisa just as delightful. She was her own character, with her own interesting personality traits, while retaining a few similiarities with her past life. Seokga and Kisa was so sweet, and I found the author's take on 'reincarnated soulmates' (with only one of them being reincarnated, ofc), the best take I've ever read. I could really feel Seokga's heartbreak about Hani and his doubt about whether Kisa would like him. Though he kept comparing her to Hani at first, it really felt like in the end he fell for her as Kisa. This feels like a perfect end to the series though I'd certainly still be eager to read another sequel.

This was my most anticipated book of 2025 and it really did live up to the hype 🤩 When book 1 is so good, I am always worried that book 2 will be a let down, but The God and the Gwisin did not disappoint.

I didn’t think any relationship could match Hani and Seokga but the way the author explores Seokga’s complex feelings towards Kisa is so special. The SRC Flatliner in the underworld was a fun and unique setting for this story. Also, Hajun needs to be protected at all costs 🥹 I desperately want more of this series! 5⭐️

Thank you to the author and publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first one so much I was so excited to read this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review.


kdrama vibes continue into this book as Seokga searches for his lost love. Their threaded lives creates some painful moments that turn into some fun romantic moments. The plot twists were a little bit obvious but it was still fun to see how the story led to those reveals

Would love to see Sophie Kim continue this world but with other characters

Just like with book 1 with Hani, I feel like the story could end here, with this book 2 ending - even if we get at the very end a potential plot for book 3 with "new adventures". This book is to me a good ending for Seokga, there is really no need to keep on going, with a need to learn how to stop.

I feel like this book has way lesser high risks than the first - there is indeed an investigation about a murder, but I feel like the little plot twists are just more funny and easier than anything that happened with Hani.

We mostly get heavier on the thread of fate, which I surprisingly really enjoyed discovering and learning more about!

I really liked the difficulty Seokga had understanding that Hani was Hani, and Kisa is Kisa. The difficulties in all feelings and emotions regard this, from both sides, were described well and weren't going too fast to solve. Kisa is a very interesting character and I enjoyed her strength, her small character growth within herself and her feeling, it was done well.

It was also really nice to get to see Somi again, and meeting Hajun! It was a nice quatuor, a fun one, and the weird-ish state Hwanin was in was fun but luckily not a heavy focus on it.

I honestly really don't know if I'll ever read the book 3 if the author/publisher decide to go in with this book 2's ending. I feel satisfied with everything that happened, and how things ended here. The story is closed. I think my story with this series is as well - I'm a bit afraid to be disappointed with the need to extend a story into a trilogy when everything is perfect the way it is.

4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)

If you read the first book then I'm sure that I don't even need to even tell you how phenomenal it was and you absolutely will not be disappointed with this one.

I went through every emotion just in the first 20% of this book. I don't think I have ever felt more heartbroken so early on in a book before. Sophie writes in a way that feels light and cosy yet can somehow also be emotionally devastating and I honestly don't know what magic she weaves into her writing but the result is utterly captivating!

This book is almost entirely set in one place yet does not feel stagnant or claustrophobic at any point. I loved learning about a few new creatures and would love it if they included a glossary with a brief description of each in the book as I have no prior knowledge of these going in.

Watching Seokga be mushy for his love while still being the incredibly irksome trickster god to others was wonderful and I absolutely loved getting to know Kisa (I am always going to be a sucker for an overthinker!)

It ends in a way that I hope means the series is continuing without being left with a cliffhanger! I am so incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to read this early.


Potential spoiler below:
- I never would have guessed that I would be so invested in when someone is using the formal or informal Korean. I was internally doing backflips when Kisa first started using banmal

*Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of in exchange for an honest review!*

(spoilers for *The God and the Gumiho* below, read with caution!)

What a delight of a sequel! *The God and the Gumiho* was a highlight of last year for me and I was very much looking forward to this book, though also nervous given the ending of the first book and Hani’s death/reincarnation. I loved Hani’s personality so much and her dynamic with Seokga, I was unsure how this book would be able to live up to its predecessor. However, I was happy to be proven wrong!

Kisa, on the surface, couldn’t be more different than Hani (though we do eventually learn perhaps they aren’t actually all that different, which I thought was lovely). These differences ended up bringing such a different side out of Seokga compared to his dynamic with Hani, which helped this book feel so fresh. It wasn’t just more of the same, which is something in sequels that tends to bug me sometimes. I really appreciated her intelligence and how much she cares for and loves her friends, she’s just so sweet!

Seokga for me is such a gem and such an interesting character. There’s so much depth and emotion within him and I really enjoyed watching his layers slowly get peeled back more and more as the story progressed. Despite his cocky and confident exterior, he’s got so much love within him :,-). Especially with regard to Hwanin, Seokga becomes little brother/older brother of the year!

Our side characters both new and familiar were wonderful. Hajun my beloved!!! And I was honestly happy to see Somi again, and seeing how her and Kisa’s new (but also old???) friendship was able to blossom.

I had a similar complaint with the first book, where the mystery to me was not the most engaging part of the story, but just there to drive the plot forward and progress in the background of the character-focused moments. It wasn’t bad by any means, just predictable and not what in this book with stay in my mind when I think of this book. I hope if this series continues the next book will be a bit less driven by a mystery and more directly focused on the characters!

Overall, this was a wonderful sequel filled with love and growth and forgiveness <3 and I will be looking forward to the next book in the series (I’m presuming there will be another one after that ending??).

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Tropes:
🚢 He Falls First
🚢 Murder Mystery
🚢 Fated Mates
🚢 Troubled MMC
🚢 Intellectual FMC

TW: Themes of suicide and self-harm

This book was such an emotional follow up to the first in the series! Truly there is little I can say without spoiling the conclusion of the last book, but the predicament between the FMC and MMC is heartwrenching, and the author does an AMAZING job of highlighting that beautifully (and painfully) every step of the way.

If you enjoyed the first book, you will undoubtedly have a great time with this second one. The Korean mythology woven throughout adds unique cultural depth, and that teasing tone that made me fall in love with the first book is back in full force. Also, can we talk about the himbo MMC? A vibe. I love him dearly.

An absolutely fantastic sequel to The God And The Gumiho, I was concerned how I'd feel about Hani not being the protagonist but Kisa won me over quite quickly. She stands out well on her own, with different strengths to Hani but still some similarities.

Fair warning, the start of this book is super sad though! We start off with a family vacation on a cruise to destress (autocorrect said distress and that seems like something Seokga would agree with). It's here where Seokga meets Kisa.
Poor Seokga! Their first meeting and he can't stop thinking of Hani whilst Kisa is looking at things from a scientific point of view regarding the red string of fate. Its hard for the reader as well, as our Hani is gone.

Not soon after, familiar faces return as an investigation into the murder of Seokga's brother begins. The cast of characters is just as loveable as the first and clues to the culprits are dotted about if you keep an eye out. Kim's writing is fantastic and like the first, the humour is top notch. I loved the little things like Seokga's texting proficiency, there was so much joy to be had with this book!

You won't be disappointed with this sequel, if you loved the first then you'll have just as an amazing time with The God And The Gwisin.

Thanks to Del Rey & Netgalley for this arc.

A wonderful story that encapsulates a fascinating mythos, a romance spanning lifetimes and a mystery. This author seamlessly works Korean mythology into a procedural crime story with a touching romance theme. The world is richly developed and the characters so well thought out that you feel for them. This is a murder mystery that Seokga a trickster god must solve before he gets blamed for it. He's been searching for decades for the reincarnation of his beloved soul mate and has been forced by his brother to take a probably well needed vacation. This means he's been dragged kicking and screaming (metaphorically) onto an underworld cruise ship peopled by the dead or all types. It is there he finds Yoo Kisa, the reincarnation of his beloved, who knows nothing about him. Now he must navigate this new relationship with someone who is definitely not Hani, but is her own remarkable person. Then someone has to go and ruin this stressful journey by dropping a body practically in his lap. So now he must solve the mystery before the cruise ships end, form a lasting relationship with a woman who is already dead and wants to reincarnate not remain stuck on this ship. Such a wonderful story. It really is beautiful, exciting and well written. Thank you to the Author and netgalley for letting me read this book early.