I must say, I was quite pleased to revisit this world following Ocean's Godori, and the second book certainly lived up to my expectations.

The book helpfully includes a brief recap of the events of Ocean's Godori at the beginning, which I found quite useful in refreshing my memory before I began reading. Teo's Durumi picks up soon after Ocean's Godori concludes, with Ocean's and Phoenix's crew escaping Corvus and arriving on the moon.

The action was as captivating and thrilling as ever. It has a unique feel, as most of the story takes place on the ground, whether on Earth or the Moon, which gives the narrative a slightly more spread-out feel.

A new and fun romp to the series, I greatly enjoyed reading this book! The summary at the beginning was a nice touch!

I was really eager to get back into this world after Ocean's Godori and the second book did not disappoint.

It has a different feel, because most of the action is on the ground (Earth or Moon) rather than in a spaceship. That makes it a little more diffuse. But we need that because there is increasing interaction with Corvus and his crew.

There are a fairly large number of characters and that is handled really well.

Like the first book, I'd appreciate a glossary for the Korean terms at the end (though those are clunky on an ebook), though those do not really hinder my reading. There is enough context to get the general idea and keep going, while the terms do ground it in Korean culture.

Start with the first book and read both.

**Thank you Elaine Cho, NetGalley, and Zando Projects for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Posted to: NetGalley and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 15 August 2025

4.1 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
(I meant to have this finished sooner and yet here we are- my apologies for the delay)

I don’t know where to begin with this review without just raving about how much I loved this. It was such a perfect continuation to Ocean’s Godori and even has a bit of a mini re-introduction in the beginning if you’re not coming straight into it from the first book. I did really love that much of it considering I didn’t have time to re-read Ocean’s Godori as I’d hoped. So coming from somebody who had a break in between both books, I feel like it was easy enough to jump back in with the way Elaine Cho sets up the beginning before fully diving into Teo’s Durumi!

Once the story really starts, I think it’s a nice dive into the new drama starting. It’s got a bit of a faster pace than the first book considering we’ve hit the meat of the plot here. There’s more pieces moving around and coming into place whereas the first book has more of that introductory pace to allow for readers to get to know the main cast.
Speaking of cast- there’s a lot of people sticking around for the action. We lose some characters from the first book into the second to make room for the new cast of secondary characters coming through (so switching ships essentially- we are now following the Pandia more vs following the Ohneul like we did in book one.) I personally had a love/hate but only because I fell in love with the whole cast and I hate when found family has to split up (but there’s a good ending, I swear!! Also we do get a whole cast for most of the book if I can be honest. Again, I don’t like when found family must split)

There’s not much I can say I disliked about this book. The action was there and tense as ever. I believe the story takes place in a matter of days/weeks though, if I’m understanding that correctly, so I will say that romance plots are pulled along a little too fast for my own personal liking, but I don’t think it took away from the growth we are seeing during moments like these. That was something BIG that had me emotional for most of the book, actually. There’s still the grief and the taut relationships. There’s the mixed morals and the yearning for something that feels like it can’t or shouldn’t be. There’s a lot more healing happening, old wounds reopening as old faces resurface. Overall, I think Teo’s Durumi is a breathlessly intense wrap up for the Alliance series that Elaine Cho has created. It’s wonderfully written, beautifully executed, and I don’t think I can get over it. It feels like a breath of fresh air amongst the few other sci-fi titles I’ve read, and falls in a similar tune to anime Cowboy Bebop and even Star Wars (with the action and politically and morally motivated plot/scenes coming mildly into play more so in the second book but also some in the first). I cannot recommend this series enough and honestly can’t wait for my preorder of it to arrive so I can experience it all over again <3

CONTENT WARNING(S):
Death, death of family, death of parents, murder, murder scene (not too intensely graphic), murder by gutting (mildly detailed), induced comas (by neural damage and a mild spoiler cause), sexual content (no on-page sex, but very intimate scene which is later recounted again), gun use, violence, injury/injury details, broken/fractured bones

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

I loved Ocean's Godori, so I was excited to read the sequel!

There is a brief summary of the events of Ocean's Godori at the start of the book, which I found really helpful to refresh my memory before jumping in. Teo's Durumi picks up soon after where Ocean's Godori left off, with Ocean's and Phoenix's crew escaping from Corvus and landing on the moon.

There are additional new PoVs this time around, and one I greatly enjoyed was Corvus's, our villain. He is totally unhinged, and his motivation doesn't really make sense? But, like, it makes sense to him, so it kind of works.

I didn't love this as much as Ocean's Godori, but this was a thrilling and fast-paced read with a satisfying conclusion to this duology.

Last summer, when I was preparing for @rosecitycc, I picked up Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho to prepare. I loved that she is a local Seattle author and that she was writing fast-paced sci-fi with some mouth-watering food descriptions. While Ocean's Godori was a slow start for me, Teo's Durimi picked up right where we left off and did not let up until the end. The book flew by. I was so excited to get this ARC from @netgalley. This releases tomorrow, so go get your copy!
While there were mentions of food this time, they did not stand out to me as much as in the first book. It did not feel like a loss to me, as these characters had so much going on.
The romance storylines of Phoenix/Teo and Ocean/Haven were great. There was a lot of will-they-won’t-they with Ocean/Haven. Phoenix and Teo have so much to overcome in their backgrounds, and it was written in such a compassionate and tender manner.
We get a lot from our villains in this story. It adds so much depth to the plot.This book has so much to say about identity and acceptance, grief and redemption, and loyalty and sacrifice.
If you enjoyed Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee but wanted more (as Dragon Pearl is a middle-grade novel), this would be a great next read. Other books I have read and loved that have similar vibes would be The Stardust Grail by Yuma (old friends, complicated backstory/identity), the Ambit's Run series? Duology? by L. M. Sagas (that found-family vibe + space action), John Scalzi's The Interdependency (complicated politics + space action), and The Waystations Trilogy by N.C. Scrimgeour (politics + space action).

Man, Cho really got me with this one. I loved Ocean's Godori so much, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this one. Cho's characters are tailor made to tug at your heart strings. This crew has so many loveable characters/moments. I laughed and cried, which is always a sign of a good book, IMO. If you liked book one, this one will not let you down. It didn't suffer from the dreaded second book affliction of slowing down the plot to drag into a book three. The plot MOVED, and it was so good. I am not sure if there will be a book three, as things definitely felt wrapped up at the end of this one, but I would follow these characters on any adventure that Cho decides to send them on. If you love a good found family sci-fi story, I cannot recommend these books enough.

I wasn't nearly as charmed with this second book in this exciting sci fi adventure duology as the first so I struggled whether to rate it 3 or 4 stars, but I love this Korean Firefly universe so much that I pushed it up to 4. I would read any books that the author decides to write in this wonderful, unique series.

Despite the recap at the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the story because the first half was mostly a large cast of characters sitting around and talking, and two romances took up a majority of the plot. I would have benefited from rereading the first book close to reading this one since it had been so long since I'd read it, and I'd forgotten a lot.

In the second book Ocean has only small parts and it focuses on Teo, the pretty boy heir to tech moguls who's on the run from being framed for murder. They join a pirate crew and Teo falls for the head pirate, a brooding man named Phoenix. And Ocean has a tender slow-burn romance with a crewmember called Sasani, whose people are reviled because they manage death rites. Both romances similarly got a bit too juvenile and angsty but both were sweet.

I just wish the story focused more on the crew and the found family than the romances. I was glad to get to know Teo better but I felt like I didn't know the crew very well.

The villain in this is an ex crewmember named Corvus who has the ability to suck memories from people, leaving them dry husks. I found him to be kind of a cartoonish, bland villain. I also wish more had been done with the deepfake suits because that was interesting sci fi. But it ended up being more of a space opera romantic adventure than a thriller.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this and I love all these characters. I love how aggressively pro-Korean this universe is; there aren't even any Americans in this, which is refreshing considering how America is such a hellhole country these days.

This is just good, old fashioned science fiction adventure like they used to make in the golden age of sci fi. I'd love to see a film adaptation of this because it's quite cinematic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The thing with this one is (and ditto Ocean), there are a lot of characters to keep track of. (And the narration switched between using their first names and last names, which added extra confusion to the pile, so I could do without that, honestly). And I was feeling overwhelmed, I was. But when I finally got into the story and started to remember the characters, things really took off. And I daresay I liked this one a bit better than the first, even! The excitement is ramped up, and the characters felt even more fully developed, as did their relationships. The ending felt completely satisfying, and while it doesn't say whether the series has officially concluded, it could be and feel complete and wrapped up, so I love that for us.

Bottom Line: An exciting space adventure with some great (albeit numerous) characters makes for a very entertaining and satisfying sequel!

I really love this duology. This was a great conclusion to the story. It was exciting and touching and I love the character growth from the last book. I’m also a sucker for found family. I had a blast with these characters and I hope we get to do more space robin hooding with this crew.

I was so excited to be back in this world with these characters! Every character is lovable in their own way, yet still complex and distinct. They each have unique relationships with each other the warm the heart. I’m often wary of sequels, but Elaine U. Cho delivers. This second book expands on the found family from book one with deeper backstories and emotional depth. While there’s still plenty of action and suspense, this installment gives more into character development and romance, which felt like the perfect choice given that much of the story takes place in one location. As a duology, it feels complete and satisfying, offering a moving exploration of loyalty to people, to values, to morality, and what it means to stand by them.

While I was lukewarm on Book 1, this follow-up absolutely drew me in and make this duology a must-recommend to many of my friends. Giving this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel picks up RIGHT where Ocean's Godori left off... After crash landing on the Moon, Teo and company now have a lot of diverging pathways in front of them. Like the first book, Teo's Durumi is VERY character driven, with all of the characters having their unique quirks, motivations, and interpersonal relationships to navigate. Now try dealing with all this personal stuff while the rest of the universe thinks you are an airheaded bimbo murderer.

Compared to Book 1, the pace of Teo's Durumi is much slower, so less high-speed space chase and more slow, emotional space opera. The Korean influences on the world are even more prominent in this novel, both the good and the bad, and are enmeshed into the story in a way that feels realistic and authentic.

This duology is absolutely stellar (pun totally intended).

The ending of Ocean’s Godori, both exciting and amusing, gets one's attention for sure and certain. I enjoyed it enough that I immediately upon receiving this DRC opened it and dove in.

Some of y'all are chuckling....

Literally minutes after the end of the previous book, we're into a new narrative regime. Teo's troubles are now preoccupying Ocean and Teo (and Haven, remember them?) with their awesome scoobygroup of really good people. Permaybehaps it's because I never had a family that included me that I've spent my life making family where I was and the stories I gravitate toward are those of made/found family.

Here's a very good example to follow...people who give their all to a goal they share, negotiate within the framework of making "it" work for all...and pulling for things in their orbit to end up better than they start. It doesn't hurt that their Big Bad, Corvus (really authors let the crow/raven clan alone now!), practically twirls mustachios like a silent-film caricature. Really, my one big eyerolly quibble in the books is Corvus' supervillainy being So Very Overplayed. (Well, that and the KDrama yearning between Ocean and Haven being protracted beyond slow-burn, though that does finally end.) I'm sure some of y'all will find the first third of the book being mostly sitting and talking, plotting and planning, kind of...overlong...but stick with it, or better yet read the books back-to-back with no interruption. That is my best suggestion to avoid any hint of a sense of sag in the story.

Phoenix (who, curiously, comes from a background like Corvus' but is somehow not a lunatic murderous sleaze, and I'm left to wonder why) and Teo are very effectively counterpointing our swoony-yearny-KDrama pair. I'm pleased that they have more than what Joseph Campbell called (in that memorable Bill Moyers series) "the zeal of the organs for each other," but equally pleased they're not shilly-shallying around. Lest I leave someone with the wrong impression, this story is not steamy. It's passionate, just not graphic, more the "fire flickered and died" way.

Multiple PoV storylines are often fraught with pacing issues and there's no exception here; I was expecting it so came into the read prepared. As a result the issues I outlined above emerge from this central one. Polyphonic novels do best when everyone in them heads for different places, where in this novel we are going to crash into the same place as is evident from the get-go. S why not use an omniscient narrator, or close third-person narration? I didn't *get* this choice.

Considered on a craft level, I'm at three stars; considered on an emotional satisfaction level, four-plus; considered on a delivery of what was promised from page on of book one level, four.

Elaine U. Cho can write well and frequently does. I hope she has many more opportunities to do it.

Elaine U. Cho's 'Teo's Durumi' is a poignant, character-driven sequel that shifts the spotlight from fast-paced heists to emotional reckoning. Where 'Ocean's Godori' delivered the adrenaline, this follow-up gives us the heart - and it lands with grace.

After the catastrophic events that ended 'Godori', Teo Anand is now a fugitive, reeling from betrayal and loss, and accused of killing his own family. He crash-lands on the Moon with nowhere to turn except Ocean Yoon - his estranged best friend, maybe more, maybe not enough - who reluctantly agrees to help. As they regroup in Artemis, a city rich in Korean culture and memory, they're pulled into tangled alliances and intimate tensions that test every bond they have left.

This is not a sequel that tries to outdo its predecessor in scale; instead, it turns inward. The romance arcs (yes, plural!) are beautifully layered - Teo and the magnetic Phoenix, Ocean and the principles Haven - and Cho handles them with sincerity, nuance, and the occasional well-placed sting. Found family, queerness, and grief thread through every scene, making even the quieter moments feel weighted and earned.

That said, readers expecting a tightly plotted space thriller may feel the lack of urgency. The political intrigue introduced in book one recedes here, replaced by reflective dialogue and emotional detours. But that's the trade-off: less propulsion, more poignancy.

Cho's world continues to dazzle with its Korean cultural texture, from language to setting, and Artemis is an unforgettable backdrop - part refuge, part reckoning. The title's reference to the durumi, a mythical crane said to carry souls to the afterlife, becomes an elegant metaphor for Teo's own transformation.

Teo’s Durumi picks up almost exactly where Ocean’s Godori ends. To understand this novel, you need to have read Ocean’s Godori as this novel does not work as a standalone. Truthfully, my recommendation would be to read these books back to back because they almost read as one long novel instead of two separate ones.

I enjoyed this novel, but I think I liked Ocean’s Godori more. For me, there were a few too many points of view in this book, and I definitely cared about some of the characters more than others. Additionally, I felt like this book slowed down a bit in the middle before its action-packed ending, which I really enjoyed!

If you are looking for a fun space duology, or are looking for a series based on Korean culture, I would definitely check both of these books out.

Teo's Durumi was a great read. It continued Ocean's Godori, an action-packed space drama with the focus on Ocean (the Crane, Humingbird, or Headshot), an ace pilot or crack shot or both at the same time, and her best friend Teo, the second son of an intergalactically wealthy family, who gives everyone the impression he's a wastrel but is much more. And we get the cornucopia of the crew and soon-to-be-found family of Phoenix, Gemini, Aries, Cass, Maggie, Lupus, Dae, and Haven. What was just hinted at in Ocean's Godori is fleshed out in Teo's Durumi. We get POVs from everyone, and it is fantastic. Throw in super bad guy Corvus, his clan of psychologically damaged crew, and others, and it makes for an, at times, heartbreaking adventure.

Elaine Cho takes the time to make her characters more than what is on the surface. Although the relationship between Ocean and Haven nearly had me pulling my hair out, it did fit perfectly in the setting and atmosphere of the book. That atmosphere where Korea is a major player in the world, and that culture colors everything. There is classicism, prejudice, and the ever-present Korean ideal of obedient children honoring the family, and what it does to the psyche of the children when they don't meet those familial expectations. There's a lot going on, interspersing into this book's main subject, stop Corvus. My angst levels were so high, I didn't want to read the final showdown out of fear that I was going to lose one of the gang. I made it through--you will have to read for yourself to know if my fears were unfounded.

This made for an excellent duology and this will be one of my favorites from 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley and Zando|Hillman Grad Books, for the eArc. These opinions are mine.

I loved Elaine U. Cho's first book in this series, Ocean's Godori, and I'm so happy I got a chance to read Teo's Durumi before it came out! Cho's world building is amazing, and the characters feel grounded in great writing. I love the fact that this is a duopoly so I won't have to wait another year + to read the final book, however I would love to see more books that exist in this world if/when Cho decides to write more sci-fi!.

This is a character driven space adventure, with romance, politics, and action. It's the kind of book i will occasionally love beyond reason. But so many times they just fall short. Not even for any specific reason. With this book I was intrigued by the excellent world building and diverse characters with interesting back stories. But I found myself never really engaging with the plot or feeling a connection with the characters. I felt the same with oceans godori but thought I liked it enough to try this second in the series. At the halfway point I felt like I was forcing myself to read it and gave up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Warning: spoilers for Teo's Durumi ahead.

For such an action packed novel, Teo's Durumi maintains the intimate nature of its predecessor, emphasising the complicated but heartwarming nature of found families comprised of those who have never fit into their pre-ordained place in society. Teo's Durumi picks up right where we left Ocean and her crew crash landing on the Moon at the end of Ocean's Godori after being chased by both the authorities of the galaxy and their enemies who want to destroy the alliance. Teo is now a fugitive who's been set up and falsely accused of murdering his family and this sequel centres around him with the aid of Ocean trying to clear his name and getting justice not only for himself and his family but also for the millions of people his family has exploited.

The first half is a introspective comedown from the ship chase we ended on and focuses on the crew recuperating on the Moon with two political players who are important figures from Ocean and Teo's past. Cho spends a lot of this time exploring the ever increasingly complicated relationships Ocean and Teo have as their past and present clash. There's a lot of angst on both sides but Teo and Phoenix's relationship gets most of the development alongside their initial attraction and it was nice to read how well they complement each other. I will get to Ocean and Haven's angst as they deserve their own paragraph... The second half focuses around their final stand to simultaneously clear Teo's name, unmask the villain and save the galaxy. I think it was a fun and creative plan and Cho can write a good action scene and overall I was satisfied with the ending even if it was conveniently tied off.

Interspersed throughout this are scenes about Corvus, the antagonist and his followers where his tragic backstory and motivations are revealed. They aim to humanise and shed light into his actions and his past suffering due to Teo's father's mining empire but there's a lot of cognitive dissonance going on given his current actions of mentally subjugating strangers in a misguided attempt at empathy are horrifying. It's hard to sympathise with a character who is basically a hypocrite and refuses to have any insight into the harm they are causing. I think this plot point was also abruptly introduced making it quite jarring and ultimately Corvus felt like a melodramatic villain. The ideas he represents are good and worth exploring but the execution could have been more elegant.

Now Ocean and Haven, where do I even start. I love this pair and I think Elaine Cho writes yearning so incredibly well. She's able to create fantastic romantic chemistry which is impressive for a new author. The will-they-won't-they aspect is such a key draw for me but I also think it was dragged out to ad infinitum until literally the final page. The tension is mostly on Haven's side, he is, I think, quite desperately trying to cling onto his old identity and original goal of returning back home after his adventure to avoid the inevitable hurt of rejection by society and in extension Ocean which is something he is used to but nonetheless still hurts. Ocean herself tries to push him away, emphasising her choices that she knows Haven hates in theory but they can never really stay away from each other. Haven is my favourite character, he grows a lot but never strays away from his core self and I think his acceptance of Ocean demonstrates this. Killing is bad but it's also complicated for Ocean who never regrets her actions to protect the ones she loves which is something Haven accepts is more nuanced than he previously thought. The contrast is smart given that his culture revolves around death rites. I also love the theme of people who've gone on a journey and realising that they have changed and can never really return to home or the person/life they used to be/have. I love that feeling of bereftness but I also love that Ocean and Haven get their happy ending together with a crew that loves and accepts them for who they are.

This continuation of Ocean’s Goderi wraps up the story started in book one in a satisfying way,

I enjoyed this book, but it paled a little in comparison to the first. Not in terms of the characterization or the prose, but more so because it feels like it lost momentum from the first book. It takes a great while to get this one started, as the characters spend the first third to almost one half just sort of sitting around for the most part - rather than over the plot, they react to things that happened ot them, which wasn’t as engaging as their circumstances in the previous novel. There were times when I wondered why this couldn’t have been trimmed down a little bit, as I struggled a) to remember who everyone was despite the handy re-cap at the start and b) to see where the story was going.

But once it shook this off, the novel is very compelling with interesting character arcs and interactions, and two love stories that are similar in circumstance but different in approach. The depth of feeling between the two pairs of lovers is really well developed, though some might find it overly dramatic (but I liked it). The villain, Corvus, also gets some backstory, which was helpful in understanding him, though while his invention was really fascinating, his motives were a bit suspect, given that he has the same background as Phoenix (yet Phoenix wasn’t a lunatic). If why they diverged had been approached more, it might have worked better for me.

The action scenes were great and the dialogue slaps, so if you enjoyed Ocean’s Godori, it is well worth checking out the conclusion!