Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the ARC!

After the heartbreaking conclusion of the first book, I didn't even know what to expect, and was fearful for Seokga and what he would find at the end of the red thread.

The overall feeling I had was that it was different; different characters (with some exceptions), different vibe and mood, different tone and themes (slightly a more serious tone?).
I knew instinctively, since I was attached to Hani in the first installment, that at a certain level I would try to find flaws with her reincarnated version (mimicking Seokga's feelings and frustration), however, I didn't mind Kisa all that much as a character and I found that she fitted the themes approached just fine.

We also get to look into Seokga's past more and understand him better for it, which I liked and made a more complex perspective for this character. Bonus points for the interactions between the two brothers, during the whole book - it was gradual and thus, natural for Seokga and a nice touch to the construction of his character and motivations.

However, I think the mystery was a bit stretched and predictable (I guessed right on both motive and villain) and a bit less intriguing (compared to the first book).

All in all, another solid entry in this world, and I would definitely recommend it to fantasy and Korean folklore lovers.
Happy reading :)

The God and the Gumiho is my favorite book of 2024 and I expected this to be the favorite of 2025. It's well written, has a great mystery, but it's not the same. And that's what made it beautiful to me. I'm so glad to have read this. I enjoyed the characterization and setting so much.

I loved the first book, and I loved the second. The characters continue to be awesome, the worldbuilding is fun, and I was so pleased diving back onto this world,

4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley, Del Rey and Sophie Kim for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I also read the first instalment as an eARC so this was particularly exciting for me!

As someone who was blown away by the ending of THE GOD AND THE GUMIHO, I was absolutely ecstatic to hear the author had plans to write a continuation. I spent about a year trying to come up with ways Kim could go about this because it wasn't as clear cut an answer as it typically is with fantasy romances. I am happy to say that the author's creativity far exceeded my expectations!

Just like in the first book, we accompany grumpy trickster god, Seokga, as he descends into the river of the Dead for a cruise after being convinced a vacation is exactly what he needs. He's spent 30 years searching for his soulmate (Hani) after all, so burnout is a completely normal consequence (especially after a frigid trip to Antartica). With only a thread of fate to connect him to her and after years of not getting closer to finding her, it comes as a surprise to Seokga when said thread suddenly connects him to a cruise employee, Kisa, who is very much unlike Hani and has no memories of their time together.

This would be all fine and well, but this is Seokga, who always attracts bad luck, so obviously *someone* ends up murdered on the ship and they have only five days to figure out whom before he is accused of said murder since said person was no other than Seokga's own brother, the Heavenly Emperor of Okhwang with whom he has a sort of difficult relationship. I personally hate detective stories (yes, including Sherlock Holmes, sue me), so when I tell you I still loved this book (and the one before), I mean it in the most surprising way! Even though the mystery was a little predictable, that is never the point.... The point is obviously the K-dramaesque build up to the relationship between Seokga and Kisa, as well as their lovely companions, a K-Pop idol and a gumiho.

No one will ever beat Hani for me, but Kisa came so close! I love how different she is but also how similar in a lot of ways, and how Seokga learns to accept that this reincarnation of Hani is right for him, just as Hani had been at that point in time. They were so cute together, and the writing never wandered far from humourous while still maintaining a grip on the emotional side to the plot, which made this an enjoyable, lighthearted read that had been reacting in embarassing ways in the public transit system. Highly recommend!!!!!!!!!!

4.5

thanks to del rey for the e-ARC.

okay, so my disclaimers are: I loved book one, I love urban fantasy, and I love mysteries in fantasy worlds. suffice to say, this book was a hit for me.

I really didn’t know where this story would go after the last book (and neither did seokga), but I ended up quite pleased with the plot arc we got. there were silly antics, a mystery I had some ideas about but couldn’t just solve myself, and some really angsty moments. I think the author did a great job of keeping a cohesive tone and pace to the book while blending all of these pieces together: the laughs and the tears didn’t feel at odds, rather, complementary. out of personal preference, I like drier or more subtle humor, but I wasn’t off put by the silliness. and the angst/longing/tragic fated love were excellent. of course I could have taken more, but I was moved by it and got invested in this new (old?) pairing

Rating: Absolutely Loved It

This is one of the best duologies that I've read recently! I wasn't sure where the story was going to go after the ending of the first one, but this completely surpassed all of my expectations! The banter? The yearning? The humor? The quiet healing? Just all top notch, and then to top it off we get to follow Seokga and Hani/Kisa on another murder mystery. An absolute delight from start to finish.

I LOVED the mystery in this one, and also the healing that happens between Seokga and Hwanin after Hwanin is brutally murdered and returns as a baby. Watching Seokga be reluctantly a caretaker was the sweetest thing. And I LOVED Kisa. She was a pure delight, and I felt very connected to her.

I think that there are some really very dark topics that are covered in this, so double check content warnings, but they felt to be addressed with care. I loved that this took the relationship that was so beautifully established in the first one and deepened it. The dynamic of Hani's reincarnation of Kisa also added some layers of complexity. Also, the number of times I laughed out loud was extremely high! It cracked me up, and the dynamics between Seokga and Kisa are delightful! Also with Somi! I loved it!

Overall, I absolutely flew through this one and can't wait to shove this series on all my friends!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Del Rey for an eARC of this one. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The God and the Gwisin is out now!

5 ⭐ 1.5 🌶️ 5 🎧

Ugh, this series had me in such a choke hold. I love the way Sophie wove this Korean folklore into this beautiful romance. I absolutely loved book one and wondered how book two was going to follow it up, but it was so much fun and just perfect. I mean, finding yourself on a cruise ship with your fated mate who remembers nothing about you, oh and also she's no longer living? Such a phenomenal premise.

Watching Kisa and Seokga find their way back to each other was nothing less than wonderful. Seokga's initial hesitation because she wasn't Hani was somewhat heartbreaking... But I really enjoyed the way he slowly realized that while she's different, he is perfect for him and there was a reason Fate brought them together this way.

The audio was perfect once again. With all of the Korean names it was harder for me to read this one with my eyes... I was happy I switched to listening, I was able to just enjoy the story without worrying about getting the pronunciation correct. And Rebecca Yao and Intae Kim were fantastic once again with telling this story. I loved this listen.

Thank you Del Rey for the advanced copy!

“She doesn't remember me. I will take whatever she will give me, even if they're just crumbs from her table."

Seokga has been waiting and searching for years for the reincarnation of Hani. One day, the red thread that would lead him back to her, tugger him to Kisa. Kisa was a healer that died unexpectedly and is now a gwisin, a ghost, aboard a ship waiting for reincarnation. Seokga believes Kisa is the reincarnation of Hani but Kisa doesn’t remember anything about that. How will Seokga get the his soulmate back while also finding out who killed his brother on the ship?


This was so good! The humor in this is top notch! It had me giggling! Seokga is just everyone’s favorite grumpy but powerful mmc while Kisa is our strong-willed and headstrong fmc. I love the murder mystery aspect of this but I do wish there’s more information about the different creatures. I feel like at some parts it was easy to get lost or confused but I still enjoyed this and need moreeee! ❤️

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. 💕

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Del Rey and NetGalley for the free eARC. I loved Hani and Seokga’s story in The God and the Gumiho and the sequel did not disappoint. I love Seokga’s character and seeing him connect with Kisa. I was a little apprehensive about how Seokga and Kisa’s relationship would develop as I enjoyed reading about Seokga and Hani fall in love in the first book. Kim did a great job of not rushing them along and allowing Kisa to make decisions based on her feelings and not just fate. I enjoyed how Kim wrote the red thread of fate’s role in The God and the Gwisin (don’t want to get into too much detail to avoid minor spoilers). I did figure out the plot twist very early on but overall that did not overly impact my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Is there anything more romantic than a depressed trickster god being sent to a cruise to find his reincarnated soulmate?

Sophie Kim has done it again! I absolutely loved the romance, the mischief and the drama in The God and the Gumiho. The ending had me sobbing into my pillow. I loved Hani and Seokga endlessly and desperately needed them to find each other again. The God and the Gwisin gave me that and had me busting a lung from how much I was laughing. The concept of an undead cruise mixed with the red string of fate, with reincarnation and a murder mystery on top of it all? No one is doing it like Sophie Kim!

I'm going to miss these characters so much. I can't to reread this duology over and over again!

Thank you so much Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this eArc!

Rating: 5⭐️/5

I’m obsessed with this series! The second novel in the Fate’s Thread series and I don’t know how this series doesn’t have more hype because it deserves it. Sekoga is the perfect MMC, emotionally complex and sweet yet tough and witty. Kisa is a great FMC as well, totally different from Hani in the first novel yet similar in a way that goes deeper than her wine brown eyes.

Even the side characters are unique and have their own character arcs. I loved the humor in this, so feel-good yet with the romance I needed and the k-drama, murder mystery vibe was soooo refreshing and perfectly done!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the sequel to The God and The Gumiho, it picks up 33 years into the future, after our beloved Scarlet Fox is reincarnated into a new person: Yoo Kisa, who has no memory of her past lives whatsoever. Before Kisa ends up dead falling from the roof of the hospital she works at, she feels a red string tighten around her finger, which we know is linked back to Seokga. When Seokga's brother decides he needs a vacation, they go on a cruise down the river of the dead. Guess who happens to be working on the cruise in the infirmary? Kisa. Seokga is shook up, but things must be put on pause when his brother is murdered on the cruise, and there is a time crunch to solve the mystery. Being crime solvers brings them closer, the two must decide what they mean to each other.

I liked the first book in the series, but actually liked the sequel better than the first. Usually this is not the case, but I thought Sophie Kim created such a cool world in this second book utilizing the river of the dead. The characters had so much more depth in this book when compared to the first one. I thought she did a better job exploring the connection between Seokga and Kisa, and instead of being insta-love, it was more of a slow-burn with things just clicking into place as they are soulmates. I love how she weaves silliness in with real emotion and depression. The ending was a little eh (it is easy to predict) , which is why I didn't give it five stars and I'm depressed I didn't get the fairyloot edition to go with my first book, but I am looking forward to the next book in the series since the second book surpassed the first.

Daddy issues...brought to you by a sentient red thread of fate.

This was surprisingly tender, and both books in the series were such a fun adventure. What stopped this from being a 5-star read for me was just an issue of pacing. It feels as though the "mystery" portion of the book really drags for about 75%, while more of the character arcs are set up, and then most happens at the end of the book. That being said, I think there are many readers who won't be bothered by this, and overall I've really enjoyed both books in this series.

This series is for those who want mythology and folklore but in a modern setting, with a heavy romantic subplot.

3.75 stars

I loved The God and the Gumiho. It was one of my favorite reads of last year.
The sequel was a lot of fun, but it didn´t quite reach the first one in my oppinion.

But first, I have to say: I loved the setting of the cruise as well as the mystery aspect. The not-quite-murder mystery was compelling and the sluthing gets an A+ from me.
I´m not the biggest fan of the amnesia trope - or the telepathicly linked trope. But I do think it was handled very well here and I also see the need for the frist.

This book cracked me up! It was so funny, espescially the babysitting-duty aspect of it. I had so much fun with it.
But I do believe that the almost slapstick humor went a bit far and didn´t quite feel on part with the first book in the series.
Espescially the way Seokga was the butt of the joke didn´t feel like we were dealing with a fearsome torture-loving god at times.

But all in all, I really love the setting, the characters - the found family is top tier -, the story and also how it all wrapped up.

Thank you NetGalley and DelRey for this ARC.

I unfortunately decided to DNF this book at 65%. It's not that I think it's a bad book, but it just didn't work for me.

SPOILERS FOR BOTH BOOKS IN THIS SERIES AHEAD!!

So in the first book, Seokga falls in love with Hani, who dies at the end. I really enjoyed the first book, and the dynamic between Seokga and Hani was so good. She was a fun, almost morally grey character, and their banter was top tier.

Now the thing is, because she dies, she's not in this book (obviously), and so instead Seokga is trying to find her reincarnation, who is Kisa, the polar opposite of Hani. She is law-abiding, a healer, and Seokga is constantly comparing her to Hani, which sparks a lot of jealousy between them, and that's just a trope I can't really get behind. Something about it made me really uncomfortable.

I think the idea of the story, them being tied together by fate and how they need to solve a murder together that will ultimately end with them splitting so Kisa can be reincarnated AGAIN (because yeah, she's dead) is really interesting and cute, but with Seokga constantly looking for Hani while finding a girl who isn't her, not even close, and trying to literally bring his dissapointment down makes it a hard read. Like nothing she ever does is good enough, because she isn't Hani. And I expect that by the end of this book he will be head over heels for Kisa instad, but that just undermines the whole first book and will make "the love of his life" so trivial.

So to sum it up. The premise is intreserting, but would've liked it better if we just had a different MMC who doesn't carry a bagage of a dead girlfriend and instead of comparing them can just appriciate the new girl for who she is.

I enjoyed The God and the Gumiho and honestly I was worried that this might not live up to it - but it absolutely does! Now that Seokga is a god again, he wants to find Hani, his love. When the thread of fate pulls him to a river cruise, Seokga is surprised to find that it leads him to someone else . . . kind of.

If you're looking for a Korean mythology-inspired adventure and lines so incredibly romantic they stay with you for days after you're finished reading, give this a try. The worldbuilding is lovely and despite a reveal that wasn't that much of a mystery, I enjoyed this story a lot.

Looking forward to whatever Sophie Kim writes next!!!

Starting over with your fated lover... only they've reincarnated and have no memories of you? Nobody said romance was easy. Taking place after the first book, the trickster god Seokga has finally gotten his powers back but at the cost of losing his lover, Hani. Hani sacrificed herself so that Seokga could regain his powers and in turn Seokga struck a deal with his brother, the emperor of gods to have Hani reincarnated. Seokga has been searching for years for Hani yet when he finds her again she is now completely different... and dead. Now she is Yoo Kisa, a healer who works on the luxury cruise on the river of the dead... and Kisa has been killed and waiting to be reincarnated again. Kisa has no memory of her life as Hani or of anything to Seokga but Seokga is determined to be with her again and fall for this new incarnation of her... but when someone on the ship kills Seokga's brother and a bigger conspiracy is revealed, can Seokga find a way to be with his lover again after everything or is he doomed to lose her all over again. I've been such a huge fan of this series and this second book was such a unique twist to the first book it felt like a whole new love story. I just adore the way Sophie writes and this book wraps everything up perfectly while also leaving an open door to a potential continuation of the series which I SO DESPERATELY HOPE SOPHIE DOES. I could honestly do with another book set in this universe. The characters are so much fun and there's so much more adventures to be had with them! I would highly recommend this series to kdrama lovers, fantasy romance lovers, and fated soulmates story lovers.

Release Date: June 3, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛

I had so many expectations from the final book in this duology and it completely delivered. The reincarnation arc was written with such depth, and the red string of fate storyline? Utterly captivating. The mystery kept me hooked.

The bond between Seokga and Hwanin felt raw, real, and full of growth. Their brotherly connection was just so touching.

And let’s talk about the yearning! Seokga’s quiet ache for Kisa was so palpable I could feel it through the pages. But what blew me away was how the book balanced emotion and humor. One moment I was holding back tears, and the next I was laughing out loud. It was that kind of emotional whiplash that somehow worked perfectly. Usually that mix doesn’t land well, but here? It was pure magic.

Thank you for an ARC of The God and the Gwisin. I finished this just in time for release day! Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the follow up to The God and Gumiho. I adored the first book and had high expectations for this one. However, with the change in the fmc, I struggled to connect to the romance in the same way. The story itself was fun and different but I also found it to drag in some places. Saying that, I loved the return of Somi and how the events of the previous affected her personality. Overall, I think The God and the Gumiho would have been best left as a stand alone.

“So I suppose I was her? Or she is me? Rebirth philosophy is such a convoluted field.”

The God And The Gwisin was a delightful read, maybe even more than book 1.
Just like in book 1, we go with the murder mystery’s flow and turn the pages without realizing. This time, it’s a “locked-room mystery”-like story, and it happens on a cruise boat. I loved that dynamic and how it gave rhythm to the book, as much as it engaged the reader.
Because of what happened at the end of book 1, this time the relationship and dynamics between the characters –and the resulting romance– are very different. When the Scarlet Fox was cutting and bold, Kisa is more like a socially awkward nerd (spoiler alert, I loved her SO SO much). I loved this change as it questions identity, what is left of us when we “go”, but also, what does it mean to fall in love with someone –and why do you do so. Because as much as Hani and Kisa are different, they are also the same. So… why is Seokga in love with Kisa? Because she’s also Hani? Or because of who she is now? I loved that situation, and how difficult it was for Kisa to deal with that, and the associated pressure.
In the end, that (and other things) made The God And The Gwisin a book also about that grief and letting go your “old”self, and I loved that the therapist was so present in the book to increase that feeling. But let’s be honest, this book is first and foremost very funny, and an addictive read. I’ll miss this universe.

Thank you to the author and DelRey for the eARC sent via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.