Cover Image: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

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Member Reviews

What a sweet and charming read. I dare say I’m not sure why it took me so long to dive in, but I’m glad I did.

I know I say don’t compare or say “this book reminds me of x”, but this is a read with major Spirited Away vibes and randomly, to me, Avatar. Fabulous.

My only gripe with this read is the romance. It evolves from nothing and doesn’t really make sense until it is forced to be at the end, but I did like it all the same.

I read XOXO from Axie and loved her words, with this book being just as charming.

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First of all, this cover is absolutely stunning!

However, this book was disappointing to me. I found that I needed to world to be more fleshed out and the characters fell flat for me. I also found the lack of foreshadowing to make the events extremely convenient with info drops coming at the exact right point for the characters.

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I was completely surprised by how much I adored this book! A retelling of Korean mythology, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is totally charming and brilliantly written, with fantastic characters and a gripping plot. I'd highly recommend to anyone looking to read some great YA fantasy with a dash of adventure and romance.

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This book was everything I wanted it to be. The story was beautiful and vivid and the characters were absolutely adorable. The story kept me engaged throughout and the ending was a big surprise but in a good way. If you enjoy stories with beautiful prose, vivid descriptions and a fun and cute cast of characters then I think you will really enjoy this book. It is a short book that doesn't take too long to read and has a satisfying and interesting story that will keep you turning the pages!

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A beautiful story and the description in this book is just fantastic. Can we also mention the cover design? Just amazing! A wonderful story filled with loss, love, and hope.

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I struggled with this book and that’s really disappointing as I know so many people loved this book.
My main issue is the pacing and the overall timeline, I found a lot of the worldbuilding to be a little convenaient and wish there had been more foreshadowing as opposed to information being reveleaded at the exact moment it was needed and this meant the book felt a little jarring to me. I also feel a better spread of information reveals would allow for more depth to the characters and that would help progress the characters further.
I don’t think this book is bad, I think it’s just not for me.

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This has an enjoyable story with a strong female main character. At times the plot was a little confusing but it definitely improved. A nice story based on a feminist retelling of a Korean folk tale.

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After reading and loving the Axie Oh’s YA contemporary, I was excited to read more by her. A fantasy wasn’t exactly what I expected her next book to be, but boy did she hit again!

Axie Oh writes in a very accessible and easy to read way, and her characters and their emotions leap off the page. I quickly got invested in Mina’s story and ended up finishing THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA in just two sittings.

It’s truly a beautiful tale of choosing your own fate. I loved the creativity, the themes of gods and hope and destiny, and, let’s face it, I adored the slow-burn romance, too.

Honestly, Axie Oh really confirmed that she’s an auto-buy author for me with this book. I’ll follow her to any genre and highly, highly recommend this wonderful YA fantasy!

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Simply magic. Perfect for fans of fantasy escapism such as Spirited Away, this book will transport you to places beyond your imagination. Compulsively written, with a central couple to ship for, I cannot recommend this enough. Now, if only I could acquire the gorgeous sprayed edges edition..!

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I’ve beenhaving a hard time expressing my thoughts about this book. The entire story is so beautiful, so epic and so freaking amazing. It’s definitely a new favorite for me.

I loved reading about all the characters. Mina is brave and sympathetic, she drives the story and would do anything for her loved ones. I also love the sode characters, which doesn’t always happen, so I was pleasantly surprised. Each had their own backstories and personalities. I loved the trio Shin, Kirrin and Namgi ❤️

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I've been thinking about how to put my thoughts for months now.
I've been waiting for this book for so long! The story had everything to attract me: a fierce strong character, it's underwater, and it's fantasy.

But I really had issues with the coherence of the story and the main characters. For the storyline, I didn't understand how it unfolded, the plot twist arrived at what felt like a wrong time and not in the best way. I didn't understood Axie Oh's choices neither. Some chapter felt like they were written separately, which gave the story a choppy pace.

Eventually, Mina's character just annoyed me. At the beginning of the story, I was just waiting for some evelution which never happened.

I took almost 8 months to think about the story because I really thought I wasn't in the good mood back when I read it for the first time, but I tried several time since and I just have the same feeling. I'm so sad because it was a realease I was really eager to read.

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The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea… This copy was kindle gifted to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (submitted on Instagram)

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I am so annoyed about how long it took me to pick this one up! An instant new fav! The writing is so so stunning. I cannot wait to read other books by Axie Oh. I envision me rereading this book often.

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Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

To save her brother's beloved, who is due to be this year's sacrifice, Mina throws herself into the water to protect her brother from his grief.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of other gods, mythical beasts, and lost souls, Mina finds the Sea God, only he has been in an enchanted sleep this whole time. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin, Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

This is a beautiful book - inside and out (that cover?!). The imagery, the writing, the flow, the characters, all of it was just great. My only let down at times was the intrigue of it all - you knew what was coming a lot of the times, but it was nice to see - and fairytales and myths tend to be guessable stories.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes their fantasy whimsical and dreamlike, with a dash of fairytale romance.

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i was really excited to read this book, but it archieved and now i cant download it im now planning on buying the book.

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I tried so hard to love this but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. It felt very info-dumpy in places and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it or find myself absorbed in the story.

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I was so excited for this book and it delivered! This was a wonderful take on Korean myth. The set up and opening blew me away.

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The Sea God once protected the islands nestled in between his watery abode but now he plagues them with deadly storms instead, only ever appeased and only ever momentarily by a bride sacrificed to him. Shim Cheong is this year's sacrifice and, as the most beautiful girl of the island, its inhabitants are hopeful she may be the last. For her true love, Joon, it is an unbearable sacrifice and so his little sister, Mina, plunges herself into the waves and takes Shim Cheong's place.

Mina finds her way to the ocean floor and the sleeping god who resided in silence inside his palace there. She also makes her way to discovering the inhabitants of the teeming city beyond its hallowed walls too. Where does the answer for how to save her people lie? With this petulant god, able but unwilling to aid her? Or is it contained with souls of the Spirit Realm, so bright and seemingly full of life?

I adored every aspect of this enchanting story. It was as full of whimsy and wonder as it was action and adventure, heart and humour as it was grief and gravity. The reader was spared no emotion and many a tear, of both the happy and sad variety, were shed.

Mina was a strong protagonist whose flaws only served to make her both more authentic and more lovable. She introduced the reader to her new underwater world and invited us to explore its streets together. All that was found there was fantastical in nature and intriguing in design. I loved gaining an understanding for all that the author conjured and seeing how everything had its perfect placement inside the story.

The underwater cultures and religion were perhaps the most inventive and intriguing aspects for me, only shared with my love for the blossoming romances that featured alongside them. This romantic focus was as searingly painful in some instances as it was sweet and promising in others. As in every other area, the dualities served to bond me with all that was occurring on the page and the author's exquisite prose made each scene dance vividly inside my imagination. A faultless creation!

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The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is a fantasy inspired by Korean myth about a young girl who sacrifices herself to the Sea God in order to save her family. The writing is lyrical and dreamlike, with vibes of Sprited Away. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the book, and Mina as a character - she is soft and emotional, and strong and determined all at the same time. I loved the dreamlike vibes and found the beginning really strong, but as the book went on it started to drag and I felt like it kind of lost its way. Overall though, I still really enjoyed it!

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I loved this book soooo sooooo much!! It felt like a historical fantasy kdrama. The descriptions brought the scenes alive , the characters stole my heart and the writing was so so beautiful . The romance was also beautifully executed and I just loved everything about this book. If there’s one teeny tine complaint I have it would be that the the book was too short. I wish this was a duology so that the characters could be fleshed out a little more and the plot had a hit more time to develop into itself fully. But I would still highly recommend this book!!
Rating: 4.5 stars

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