The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)
Axie Oh
From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens. Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light. Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded. Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn't realize she's the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined...
The story has been really interesting, it's keeping me moving through the pages, but I also can't overlook some frustrations. There is a good amount of character development, but some things seem so "for the plot" that it breaks the immersion a tiny bit for me. This isn't enough for me to be taken out of it completely, but I catch myself thinking about a decision or introduction and can't help but feel it convinent. Some plot points in act 3 are big reveals, and feel a bit rushed but still satisfying as well. I'm interested to see how this all wraps up, keeping in mind this is book 1 of a series, so I'm hoping for a really good hook and/or cliffhanger at the end.
0The pacing has been consistent and the world building doesn't feel like too much. The prose is interesting in how it introduces more about the characters, their motivations, and desires. The plot is good so far and I know it's a shorter book but I'm constantly pressing forward wanting to know more about everything and feel like I'm flying through it. So far it's been good, the one thing not clear, even half way through is the magic system. It feels intentionally vague the way the story is unfolding. Big reveals happen right around this point too which is only compounding my want to keep reading and figuring everything out.
0Ok 3rd POV now. It's easy enough to follow and so far has fit and made sense, but idk if would feel the same if I didn't just finish a throne of glass book 😅
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ARC Disclosure: This book was received free of charge from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. "The Floating World" serves as an impressive start to a fantasy series where Axie Oh builds a universe reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII's greatest qualities. The clear division between the luxurious Floating World above and the relentlessly dark Under World below reflects FFVII's Midgar city and the mithril mining system functions similarly to the game's Mako energy extraction by offering parallel commentary on themes of exploitation and corruption. A narrative emerges through Ren's silver light and Sunho's battle with amnesia and inner "Demon" which mirrors Cloud Strife's journey to create powerful revelations and conflicts that FFVII fans will instantly recognize and enjoy. The book excels because Oh skillfully mixes fantasy with real emotions while exploring identity, power, and connection with nuanced depth and heartfelt storytelling. The magic system starts with deliberate vagueness which could provoke reader frustration but develops through storytelling instead of direct exposition to match the protagonists' process of understanding. With that, at times the plot can feel a tiny bit forced, and the ending of the book does feel a bit rushed, but overall ties together well. Readers who love character-focused tales and Final Fantasy fans will find themselves drawn to "The Floating World" which features a Korean mythology-based setting and concludes with a rewarding ending while setting up the next chapter. Full review can be found on bromantasy.com
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