Ren is a performer in her family's traveling troupe. She has the power of silver light, something that she must hide. Due to a demon attack, she is forced to use it to save her uncle. But he becomes deathly sick. Sunho, the amnesiac sword-for-hire, who lives in the ever-dark Under World, could gain a chest of coins if he finds the girl with the silver light. He also has a secret of his own. Their paths cross as Ren searches to find a cure, but he doesn't know who she is. As they travel together, they have no idea that they will ultimately alter each other's lives and the worlds they know

The narrative presents poetically infused with beautiful wording, a cool breeze caressing our imagination, not boxing it in, but letting it roam. In addition to being inviting, we feel like we have always been there, at the side of our heroes. We breathe their story. Masterful setting of scenes, even the busy, exhilarating, action-filled ones are uncomplicated to follow, with distinct details.

A fantastical world enhanced by East Asian influence and industrial accents — factories & swords, lanterns & grapple guns — mishmashing into a unique setting. Its well-structured foundation is built with obvious fondness and creativity. The gradual unveiling, part of the ongoing adventure, piques and firmly holds our interest. I genuinely enjoyed the feeling of discovery.

Each POV is of a different but equally strong personality, engrossing, almost cinematic in how 'alive' their depiction is, the interchanges between them amplifying the anticipation. Sunho's sense of displacement due to not remembering his life prior to 2 years ago is portrayed admirably, the loneliness and sorrow following him. Ren, on the other hand is warmth, a song to his quietness. Although determination leads them both. Their situation is entertaining, though dangerous, and inevitably soul-squeezing. A surprising 3rd POV changes the game and adds more texture to the winding storyline for this well-conceived plot.

The antithesis of the Under World and the Floating World is a play on light and dark, as is the essence of our heroes. The impact of privilege and criminality, kindness and greed, the existence of haves and have-nots. Whether we want it to or not, the past can define us and nothing is truer for both protagonists as one has left it behind and the other seeks to uncover it. This tale is about the family we choose, identity and justice. About changing the world, or in this instance the worlds.

Full of wonderfully fleshed out characters you will love or relish hating, an enchanting mythology and a beautiful budding love, it is beyond exciting. It gifts us with enticing intrigue and scheme-acrobatics that will make you want to scream. Embellished with smile-provoking, heart-tugging moments, but I must warn you this is not a leisurely read. With so much craziness happening — make sure to pay close attention — your adrenaline and emotions will spike and you will love every second of it.

This book took me two weeks to read, I usually finish a book this size within a couple of hours - 2 days max. It was really hard to get into and I really struggled with the first 20-30% but once I got past that I actually really enjoyed the storyline and couldn’t wait to get back to it when I put it down. It was so refreshing after reading lots of romance books to end on only a semi HEA and also a little bit of a cliffhanger for what I assume to be a next book.
I love the ease at which Axie Oh’s world building and character development unfolds and you quickly become attached to the characters and the world that they belong!
I now can’t wait for the next book . . . I absolutely need to know if they find each other again.
🌟🌟🌟🌟

A well-written young adult fantasy with a unique setting and likable characters, but a predictable plot.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape for providing me with this ebook in exchange for an honest review*

I knew I was a fan of Axie Oh's for some reason and oh boy did she deliver. Yes, she did!

I was deeply immersed into the story of Sunho and Ren's and it was everything I was hoping for, and more. The world building was, as ever, to die for, and Oh managed to weave into her story demons, and magic. I really loved it and I can't wait for book #2.

That's all she ever wanted. To find happiness in small, shared moments with the people she loved most.

Another light romance woven with Korean myth and family orientation by Axie Oh!

Demons with feathers and celestial maidens with wings — but no, it's not as strange and odd at all... from 3 different POVs

Ren, a young acrobat traveling with her aunt, little uncle, Little Uncle, and Big Uncle

Sunho, a soldier who lost his memory two years ago, is looking to find his almost forgotten brother

Jaeil, the son of… well, spoilers, but let's just say his family tree comes with thorns

Hardly can say anything because it's very easy to spoil everything.... If you’re in the mood for a soft and myth-touched fantasy with characters who need a hug, The Floating World is a lovely escape.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for DRC. I have given my honest review.

Axie Oh knows how to write cute and heartwarming fantasies, with sweet and brave characters, capable of believing they can, and they should, change the world. The Floating World isn’t an exception and, one more time, in a world of wonders and dangers, a girl is ready to accept her destiny.

A bit cliché and predictable, but still cute and entertaining, this book is easy to enjoy but not remarkable enough to love. I felt that everything, in general, could have been better. Even the worldbuilding, my favorite thing about it, was behind my expectations. The plot took a while to develop but, when it did it, was interesting enough to kept me hooked. The characters were also very sweet and naive and the romance was fluffy. I just missed more complexity in their personalities and relationships.

Overall, I liked it but not enough to be anxiously waiting for the sequel. But if you like more cute romantic fantasies, this will be definitely for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for giving me an eARC in exchange of an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodderscape and author Axie Oh for this eARC

What an absolutely great book from Axie Oh!

I was immediately sucked into the rich world Ms. Oh created in her re-imagining of the Korean folklore of the celestial maiden.
She also doesn’t waste time and drops us right into the action for both our main characters from the very beginning.
Everything about this book was well thought out, planned and executed and it sets up the next book perfectly.
The only thing that kept me from a 5 star rating was the fact that our FMC Ren was too naive and felt much younger despite her back-story, which is a pet peeve of mine. Otherwise, absolute perfection and I can not wait to see what awaits our heroes in the next book!

A mesmerising read that drew me in from page 1. Beautiful author craft, a captivating story and some really great characters.

I swear Axie Oh writes some of the best YA fantasies and I'm glad that she keeps writing in this genre.

There's just something about the way she crafts the worlds in her fantasies that enthralls me. The Floating World is definitely more darker than The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, but at the same time, there's still that dash of whimsical and magic that I also got from her previous book. I also loved the characters and the romance!!! Somehow this reminded me of Tangled even though the plot are completely different but Sunho and Ren reminded me so much of it.

I'm definitely at a phase where I feel like I'm no longer enjoying YA fantasy, but there are several authors that I still look forward to reading and one of them is definitely Axie. I will definitely be reading the sequel to this!

I really enjoyed this story. I love the way the plot developed because we see our main characters grow through their hardships and the challenges and the traumas they face and they become braver and braver but they remain true to their core.
But my favorite thing about this book was the dynamic between SunHo and Ren. I just love their scenes together. Their scenes together are tender and beautiful and full of Hope and promise and everything that's beautiful. There's a third chaeacter POV in the book and I feel like that character needs to have such a big redemption Arc if I am to fear any strong emotion towards that character.

If I'm being totally honest, I was not always fully able to visualize the world building, especially the geography of it, but that didn't really take anything away in terms of me enjoying the story and the storytelling.

I am really looking forward to book two and continuing their journey and hopefully I'll be blessed enough to get an arc for that one as well.

Thank you to the publisher for my eArc.

Thank to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic book from Axie Oh, her previous work The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea is a treasured edition on my bookshelf and this one will be too.

With great world building so you feel like you've climbed inside the book and three different perspectives it kept me page turning and I was sad when it ended.

Beautiful YA fantasy I think most would enjoy.

Objectively, this wasn’t a bad book. At all. It’s a reimagining of Korean legend “Celestial Maidens”, about a girl with secret identity hiding in plain sight, and a boy with unexplainable dark power that has no memory of his past. It’s fresh and interesting enough to keep me from DNF-ing it. I can’t really put my fingers on anything but it’s missing something for me… I was not captivated enough, I wasn’t attached to the characters at all even though—again—nothing’s wrong with them! I only started to care a bit after 50% mark but still I didn’t feel much overall. It was just okay.

Definitely one of the “It’s not the book, it’s me” cases. Will probably read the sequel tho if have the right mood.

I didn't get a chance to finish the book in time, however, this is another fantastic and excellently written YA fantasy with a fun magic system and great characters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is such an incredible opener to this duology, and had me hooked from the first page to the last!

It was great having three POVs and watching the story unfold into a mesmerising tale, one that I know other readers, like myself will fall in love with.

I cannot wait to read the next book and see what direction Axie Oh will take it in!

Axie Oh does it again! I fell in love with the world and characters! Sunho and Ren are my babies and need to be protected at all costs. The FInal Fantasy vibes were absolutely beautifully well done, I can't wait to see what happens in book 2!

Read this if you love:
-Final Fantasy
-YA Romantasy
-Hidden Identities
-Amnesia Trope
-Inspired by Korean Legend Celestial Maidens

Thank you Hodderscape for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was completely enamored by THE FLOATING WORLD. The writing was intriguing, so was the worldbuilding and characters. Ren and Sunho were different, but made things work. I liked the Korean mythology additions which made it even more special. As someone who’s read Axie’s books, this was my absolute favorite. Huge thanks for the eARC!

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me.
I like the writing style and the wolrd seems very interesting. I also really liked the premise.
However, the story seemed predictable and it didn't really make me want to continue reading it.

This is my new favourite Axie Oh book. I knew when I first heard about The Floating World that it was either going to be exceptionally good or fail to hit the mark but I'm so happy that I had such a good time reading this one.

The Floating Worlds is inspired by Korean mythology and culture which I loved, having spend a good few years of my life immersed in Korean culture I really appreciated all the little touches throughout the book.

There is something about the way Axie Oh writes that draws you in, she has such beautiful prose and execution.
It is full of wholesome moments between the characters. Both Ren and Sunho are drastically different, Sunho with his closed off behaviour and Ren the storyteller.

The pacing was perfectly done, there wasn't a moment where I wasn't ensnared by this book and the worldbuilding was otherworldly. It never ceases to amaze me just how wonderful it feels to be drawn into another Axie Oh universe.

Yet another beautiful book I can't wait to recommend to all of my friends.

In her previous novel, The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea, Axie Oh was inspired by the Korean tale of Simshong, here, her story is woven around a blacksmith and a doe. I like this idea, of tales, which allows the book to stand out from other novels inspired by Korean folklore and most often focus on creatures, like the gumiho. I also like this common thread in her fantasy work. The universe she imagines here, with this suspended world, really appealed to me. Of course, it takes a little time to set up all the parameters of this story, and to make us discover them, but it didn't bother me at all and I was never bored during my reading. I took the time to meet the characters, discover their secrets, and become attached to them. I enjoyed the romance that Axie Oh mastered, I know it, and I eagerly waited for the magic to unfold. But just like the previous one, I missed that little extra something to make it a favorite, and I sometimes rolled my eyes at some of the choices, a little bit to easy. Maybe I missed a touch of humor too.
The last chapters aren't necessarily my favorite ones, but I appreciated that the author offered us a conclusion to part of her plot while making us want to read on to discover the rest of her story.


Dans son roman précédent, la Fiancée du Dieu de la Mer, Axie Oh s'inspirait du conte coréen de Simshong, ici, c'est autour d'un forgeron et d'une biche que se tisse son histoire. J'aime cette idée, celle des contes, qui lui permet de se démarquer des autres romans qui s'inspirent du folklore coréen et se focalisent le plus souvent sur les créatures, comme le gumiho. J'aime aussi ce fil rouge dans son oeuvre fantastique. L'univers qu'elle imagine ici, avec ce monde suspendu, m'a beaucoup plu. Bien sûr, il faut un peu de temps pour mettre en place tous les paramètres de cette histoire, et nous les faire découvrir, mais ça ne m'a pas gênée du tout et je ne me suis jamais ennuyée au cours de ma lecture. J'ai pris le temps de rencontrer les personnages, de découvrir leurs secrets et de m'attacher eux, j'ai apprécié la romance qu'Axie Oh maîtrise, je le sais, et j'ai attendu que la magie se déploie avec plaisir. Après, tout comme pour le précédent, il m'a manqué le petit truc en plus pour que ce soit un coup de coeur et il m'est arrivé de lever les yeux au ciel face à certaines facilités. Et peut-être qu'il m'a manqué une pointe d'humour.
Les dernières chapitres ne sont pas forcément ceux que j'ai préféré mais j'ai apprécié que l'autrice nous offre une conclusion pour une partie de son intrigue tout en nous donnant plus qu'envie de lire la suite pour découvrir ce qu'il en est du reste de son histoire.

When I read Axie Oh’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea three years ago, I felt like the book resembled a lovely console game (e.g. Nintendo switch). Although Oh’s latest book, THE FLOATING WORLD, is completely different, it still left me with that feeling that this is a story I would love to see in game-format. It takes a bit longer to get into the swing of things, and the first 25% definitely had me re-reading parts of the world building to keep up. Speaking of which, once I understood it, this world was really cool, and vastly different from anything I’ve read before.
Recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy, some combat, secret royalty, and chosen family. Fans of Miyazaki films will likely enjoy this, too.