I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - Freya, arc & monthly book box pick reviewer

The Floating World is aother exceptional YA fantasy inspired by Korean mythology and culture, written by the wonderful Axie Oh. As you may know, I love anything Korean, I am learning the language as well as reading about Korea's culture and history. And I absolutely loved the author's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. Not only does the author's work embrace and weave in Korean culture, but there is also something about the author's writing that sucks me right in. An emotional resonance, like she is speaking to my heart and soul. And The Floating World exceeded all my expectations.

We follow Ren's and Sunho's perspectives. Ren is a troupe performer as in she and her troupe tell stories through their performances. It's been a way to convey and express stories throughout Korean history. Dance, the use of fans and swords to tell a story speak to the heart of Korean storytelling, and the author's way to portray it was stunning! She was taken into the care of this troupe family, but a demon attack killed one of her family members and injured another. Ren decided to embark on a quest to find a cure so she travels alone and stumbles upon Sunho.

Sunho is a closed-off swordsman, who has no memories. He only knows he has had a brother, Junho, and he is desperate to find him. He takes on jobs here and there, but he hasn't taken a life. He is a swordman but not an assassin. He isn't keen on attachments and getting close to others because of the risk of been discovered. He may have a secret or two, you see, like his blood is blue, and he has superior strength and speed. What I loved about him was that he didn't want to use it, he wanted to win and do things using his skills. He is also obtuse and so endearing that he'll make your heart contrict.

I really loved the worldbuilding. It's truly complex. We have the floating city, we have the "regular human" part of the world where the story begins, and we have the underworld city that is divided into wards with the outer ring being where the poorest people live. Korean culture permeates every corner of the worldbuilding, from the teahouse to the mention of doenjang right off the bat. At some point, the author weaves in warfare and experimentation in warfare, which reminded me so much of brutal experimentation on Korean people during the Japanese invasion.

This book tells so much about Korean culture and history that I almost want to cry. It has so many scenes, elements, and tropes widely used in Korean storytelling that I feel like this would make an incredible k-drama. The plot was wonderful, and I loved how we had plot twists, suspense, mystery, action, but at the same time, character development was never hindered or sacrificed.

I loved that the author stayed true to Korean storytelling and didn't adhere to Western storytelling methods and characterization, and I hope you -the reader- also realize it and embrace it.

Axie Oh is an auto-buy author for me, and I am so grateful to her and her publishers for bringing Korean storytelling out to the world.

Mix the undercity & shimmer of Arcane, the world and characters of Final Fantasy and a dash of magic from Shadow & Bone and you'll get The Floating World.

I loved this one! This felt like it was for a bit of an older audience than The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea and closer to a traditional fantasy book but with Oh's knack for creating absolutely vivid worlds elevating this to amazing heights.

We follow three povs -

Ren
A troupe performer with a loveable family, hidden magic and a fantastic with a knack for improv. How she manages to defuse a situation with outlaws is hilarious.


Sunho -
A mysterious amnesiac, searching for his lost brother and a hidden secret.

Jaeil -
A member of the military who provides insight into what's happening behind the scenes....

These three are absolutely fantastic, well written characters. I adored Ren, she's up there as one of my favourite protagonists. Our main focus is on this trio, though there's a couple supporting characters who have a bit of an expanded role, I suspect we'll see more of them in the sequel.

The world though! So many locations and such a variety of sceneries. The city itself has a multitude within it (portions kept in the dark!) and we're not just situated in the city, we see different towns, rolling valleys, hidden caves and a whole lot more. Oh's descriptions make all of these places come alive and paint a wonderful picture of this world.

As we delve deeper into our protagonists pasts, we uncover the complexities in this world and how things aren't what they seem which propels us towards a rather painful finale as many questions are answered. Ren & Sunho are really put through the ringer!

I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel and see what happens next. Maybe more sealing of promises?

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton + Netgalley for this arc.

This did not disappoint at all !
I already loved The Girl that fell beneath the sea, now this art!
I am so very grateful for Axie and Netgalley, what a roller coaster what an adventure! I am so looking forward for the second book ! Please please read it.

I knew I’d love it the second I read that it would be for those who enjoyed Castle In The Sky. Which is my favorite Gibhli. This is a gem and definitely goes to my favorite 3 books

Ahh I wanted to love this one so badly 😭

The idea of this book, the premise, all sounded so good and I really did like the relationships created between our characters, but I was left feeling so lost throughout pretty much the whole book. It was like parts of the plot were missing, or skipping ahead, and I thought maybe it was me but I tried rereading multiple sections and I don’t think it was.

The characters felt very young, much younger than intended, which then made the book feel less high-stakes and less complex, which is a shame because the world and story could have been so vivid and intricate.

I enjoyed this author’s other book but didn’t love it, so maybe I should have known, but unfortunately this one just didn’t hit the mark for me.

An interesting start to the series. AO certainly has a lyrical writing style that helps the plot to flow along nicely. I did find my attention wandering in parts but it was soon pulled back by the next section of action

The Floating World is an amazing, emotional story that had me hooked from the start. Axie Oh creates a beautiful world that mixes Japanese culture, mythology, and futuristic technology in a way that feels both magical and real.

The characters are so well-developed, and I found myself really caring about them as they go through tough times. The connection between the main characters is deep and full of emotion, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The struggles they face made their story feel very real.

The writing is smooth and draws you in, making it easy to get lost in the book. The pacing is just right, keeping you interested but also giving moments to pause and reflect.

If you love stories about love, destiny, and finding yourself, The Floating World is a must-read. It’s a beautifully told story that stays with you after you finish. Highly recommend it!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 rounded up for goodreads and netgalley.
Though the first few chapters were a bit slow for me, I ended up having a really good time with this book. The plot is easy to follow, and the worldbuilding is ethereal and grim and the same time. I really liked that. The characters are charming even though they’re not the most developed characters ever. But they’re developed enough for me to appreciate some relationship dynamics. The romance is quite fluffy and cosy, again not my favorite but still fine. The writing kept me invested and I only put this book down once, it is very easy to read and compelling. I liked the ending and can definitely see myself reading the sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

firstly, I want to say thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

another five star from my fav axie oh!! this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint! I’m so grateful to have had the chance to read it early!

I loved being in a new whimsical fantasy world of axie oh’s! her writing style is just my favourite, everything is so beautifully written and is super immersive. it really adds to the magical atmosphere created and I could just read her writing forever!!!

the characters are always soooo well developed and ones that you learn to love (or not for the villains!!!) and care for along the way. this was no different! the found family that’s beginning to develop in this was so lovely and I can’t wait to see how that builds in the next book! also THE ROMANCE AHHHH, so so sweet and lovable, I really love these characters together and again can’t wait to see where it goes!

the plot as always was incredible! so gripping and interesting, with a fast-paced style. I flew through this as it was so engaging and I need the second one immediately AHHH! the twists and plot points throughout this were sooooo good and there was always something happening which I loved

I really enjoyed the three POVs we got and am intrigued to see what is going to happen in the next book with these characters and how their storylines will continue…

lastly I just want to say again…I love ren & sunho and cannot wait for the demon and the light!!!

this book wasn’t for me, I hadn’t read anything by Axie Oh before so I was curious to see if I’d like her writing (considering I had a couple of her books in my TBR to begin with). I feel a book slump coming on so that could be a factor too.

The characters had seemed pretty promising but the connection between them was too quick, when I had seen so many reviews saying that it would be a slow burn. The two characters meet (with the MMC not even knowing what the FMC really looks like) and they suddenly have a romantic connection? I’m really not a fan of the instalove trope so this pretty much ruined my experience.

The concept of a floating world, the underworld and a normal world had sounded cool, but it just stayed a concept as there wasn’t much world building for it to hold up as anymore than just a concept

I absolutely loved this! I was gripped the whole way through, fell in love with the characters and want to know what happens next!

Sci-Fi meets fantasy in this gorgeous Korean mythology retelling.

The story follows Ren, a troop performer with magical powers that she has to hide in case someone from her past finds her. But when she accidentally uses her magic to kill a demon that attacks her village, her life is changed forever, especially when she sets out on a mission to save her family. Then there is Sunho, a soldier who woke up without his memories and with only the knowledge that he has a brother somewhere. When Sunho is hired to find the source of the light, along with a hundred other mercenaries. If he can find her and bring her back alive, the person who hired him will tell him what happened to his brother. Ren and Sunho’s worlds collide. But as the two grow closer, their secrets threaten to wrench them apart.

If you liked The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea as much as I did (which is a lot), you will love this book. But don’t expect the same lyrical romance. Oh’s writing is gorgeous still, but this book is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that took me entirely by surprise — and I am here for it. I’m not normally a sci-fi fan, but Oh does some incredible things to create a world that is as dark as it is amazing. The story is full of hope, and it packs one hell of an emotional punch. I was absolutely devastated for Sunho when he learned what happened to his brother (I was not expecting it) and cheering on Ren as she reclaimed her destiny. These are two incredible characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.

This is the first part of a duology, but it does have a satisfying ending.

I really wanted to love this one. Oh's debut became a 5* read for me, unfortunately I DNF'd this at around 50%. There was way too much telling and not enough showing, like wayyyy too much. I also didn't love how the characters seemed like they fell in love 2.5 seconds after meeting. The world building was confusing in places, and I don't think certain parts were very well explained, especially when it came to the MC and where her power came from etc.

4.25 ⭐
Thank you to @Netgalley and @Hodderbooks for the chance of reading the e-arc.

Let me just start by saying that this was a beautiful read; I haven't read such a well-written YA book in quite some time.

It's told in multiple POV. We meet our main characters, Ren & Sunho, right from the start, their POVs mostly alternating from one chapter to the other.
We learn that they live in different regions of this world, but their paths cross when they each embark on a journey: Ren searches for a cure to save her uncle and a Sunho needs to find a girl (I wonder who? 🤭) in exchange for information about his lost brother.
After they agree to help each other, the adventure begins. It's full of perils and action, secrets that come to light, companions we meet along the way that grow on us and the cutest yearning. This book had it all!

I liked the writing: easy to read, with beautiful descriptions of the places that the author allows us to explore, making everything easy to visualize.
The world building was exceptional. I adore books built on myth or folklore or fairy tails. And Axie Oh shines in the department of reimagining legends.
The characters she created are unique and have voices of their own. And she managed to convey their feelings so clearly but showing and not telling.
The plot is fast paced. I like that everything comes to light very quickly and the bond between characters is thus strengthened. I suspected what the twist was, but not entirely. It was very well done and I have to say, what Axie Oh did at the 97%!!! mark of the book was a slap to face.

I absolutely recommend this book and I cannot wait to read the second installment that is scheduled to come out this Autumn. That fact that I don't have to wait years to see what happens next to my brave Ren and Sunho, my love, is highly respected and appreciated 😌

I haven't read any other axie oh books before but honestly I have almost all of them on my tbr. so I was very excited to start this book.

And then I kind of immediately was a bit disappointed - I found the first part of the book really slow and bit hard to get into. Especially Ren's povs were in my opinion boring, and I really didn't have any emotional connection to her uncles or auntie. But luckily, after a while the book really picked up!

The world was very interesting, with the floating island and the under city, and honestly I would have loved to hear more of the mechanics of it! All the places mentioned felt so alive, and honestly I felt like I was in a Ghibli movie sometimes.

After a rough start I also started to really like ren even though her motives and thought at points felt very childish. Sunho was definitely the better character with way more depth considering also that he doesn't remember anything. I would have also liked to see more of Jaeil in this book, but I'm hoping that it will happen in the next one.

All in all, I really enjoyed the last three parts of the book, and without the slow start I would have given this the whole 5 stars.

So I struggled to finish this. For some I think it could be amazing but for me personally this just wasn’t something I really enjoyed. Some of the ideas were original and I did enjoy parts of the characters, but I also think some of them lacked depth and were really inconsistent, which made it so much harder to become attached to the story.
There were a lot of moment I found myself completely confused as to what was happening to the point I kept skipping back to see if I had missed pages.

Overall not for me, but I can appreciate for others it would probably fill a little book hole 🫶

DNF at 35%

Both lead characters are bland and boring. Their only personality trait is their willingness to drop everything to help a total stranger in need, incidents which were already getting tiresome by the time I stopped reading.

The writing is very basic. Action scenes lack any sense of urgency, and there are some very unfitting word choices, like when a blade "severs" Sunho's armour.

The worldbuilding makes no sense. The Floating World (which we still had not seen a third of the way through, by the way) floats above a city called the Under World. This Under World is a terrible place to live becauase they get no light, and the smoke from processing the mithril they mine from the Floating World causes health problems. There's also crime and inequality due to a ruling class which doesn't care about the common citizens. So you would think everyone would want to leave, but we are only told that people are too poor to leave. The outside world is a day's journey away by train, which means it would be a few days journey on foot. Considering the lengths people go to in real life to reach a better place to live, it makes no sense that anyone still lives in this stupid city.

They also apparently grow their own food in greenhouses, instead of shipping in produce from outside the city, which is what real cities do, and they actually have sunlight. The author was clearly just throwing in ways to make the living conditions in the Under World awful so she could relate it to the themes of inequality and classism, without actually thinking anything through.

I think a lot of readers would be unbothered by most of the things I've mentioned, but I honestly don't see anything in this book to recommend. I was drawn in by the title and cover, but nothing I read in the first third of the book lived up to the premise, and I can't force myself to read any more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

First, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.
To me it was somewhat a mixed bag. However, I'd like to point out that I'm reading lots of romantasy these days and somewhat in a slump, so this is definitely a factor.
The world and the concept I found out to be very unique and the found family in the beginning when we meet Ren was truly great and heartwarming. There were a few nice surprises and twists as well.
I feel I am a bit over YA in general maybe because I felt like there was a general lack of tension and urgency. While the characters were pretty well developed, the connection between them was too swift for my taste and what I usually enjoy. Also, I found the action slowing down and becoming a bit stale and repetitive as time went on.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed going back to more fantasy plot and I feel people that are more into traditional fantasy would appreciate it more.

Oof. Nope.

I had a hard time with this. Actually, I think my problem is that I have a hard time with Axie Oh. I already hated The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, a novel that has met pretty much mostly universal acclaim. So I thought, let's give it another chance, maybe it was a fluke, or maybe I'm the weird one, but ... yeah, this one didn't work out, either.

Plot, right? Books usually have one? I'm sure this one did, too, but it was the barest impression of one. Like a teabag steeped for only ten seconds, it left behind almost no impact. Sure, there is some external motivation by having the protagonist look for a cure for her poisoned uncle, but it felt more like a gentle suggestion for the ultimate goal of ... getting the two main characters to travel together.

Travel novels can be tricky. Very rarely are they engaging, actually, in my unfortunate opinion. To complement that constantly changing background, with no place being stayed in long enough for world building to take place, you need strong characters. And Ren and Sunho are the opposite of strong characters.

Ren, introduced to us as a performer and later revealed to be <spoiler>the princess of the titular Floating World</spoiler>, is marked by having absolutely no personality. We are constantly told she IS something, she IS this super important person, but her soul is as about as pale and lifeless as a character in a novel can get. I can tell you nothing about her. She likes performing, I suppose? She doesn't want to think about her past? She likes her uncles and aunt????? That's what Ren is: absolutely nothing, in a pretty shell. BUT, of course, she is the most specialest and most wonderfullest person ever!!!11!1 She has light powers! And ... (looks at smudged writing on hand) ... has ... wings? But only if she needs them! Also she's mind-numbingly beautiful. It sure numbed my mind when I read about her.

Her male counterpart is Sunho, who has one personality trait: SWORD. That's it. I suppose he wants to find his brother, but even that is weird, because he has no memories of his childhood, and can only remember the last two years! Amazing.
I cannot stress this enough. Sunho is literally a blank space. A completely empty caricature of a character, made solely so you can project your dream book boyfriend onto him.

Of course, once the two meet up and team up in some sort of weird arrangement that clearly makes no real sense but has to happen for nondescript plot reasons, there commences the #instalove. They travel together for like two days before they start imagining their respective counterpart's lips and ... chests? ... in excrutiating detail. They don't know each other! Sunho doesn't even know what Ren looks like, 'cause she's wearing a mask! She even gave him a fake name! They are complete strangers! They are hopelessly and irrevocably in love with each other! AFTER TWO DAYS!

Another thing that irked me immensely is how deep-to-the-bone GOOD these characters are. They drop everything immediately to help someone, all the time. Even the "criminals" we meet have the strongest moral compass one could possibly have. There's honor among thieves, sure, but these thieves have NOTHING BUT honor. There's not a single bit of dicey motivation or even a flaw in their ridiculous personalities in sight! I'm sorry, but that makes for very boring characters.

The world building, too, was basically non-existent. Oh, there's a floating world, and an underworld, and ... the normal world?? No place was fleshed out deep enough to matter, or even ... described. Like, at all. What do the buildings look like? How does the government system work? What is the political situation like after the events of Ren's past? I need answers. Alas, I'm not gonna find them in this book.

Okay. TL-DR:
Hated it. I'm now convinced that I will never touch a book by Axie Oh again.

I absolutely loved this book. When I got sucked into it, I found it impossible to put down. I can't wait to read book 2 and find out what happens to Ren and Sunho! It was a great combination of action, adventure, romantic love, platonic love and familial relationships. Honestly, this book had it all. Highly recommend.

Hey Bookwyrms👋🏻🐉

First off I want to say a huge thank you to @netgalley and @hodderbooks / @hodderstoughton for approving my e-arc request, because oh boy I loved this!!😍

I was so excited to hear about this coming out after LOVING The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea!!🙌🏻

I loved the world in this one: it seemed familiar and yet unique, and, while the world felt huge, the plot and characters felt so close and detailed🫶🏻

I really enjoyed the multi-POV and the way both Ren and Sunho navigated learning to trust each other🥺🙌🏻 the plot kept me guessing and gave small ribbons of information that weaved together towards the end which was so satisfying!!🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ but at the same time that cliffhanger was 😭😭😭 (in a good way I promise!!🙏🏻)

I can’t wait to see where @axieoh takes the characters next!!🤩🌟

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️