Thanks NetGalley for an advance copy! Rating: 3.5 stars

I love Kat Cho as an author so I was so stoked when I got approved for this book. I really enjoyed the book and they way the story was presented. The idea that the gods were no longer around and basically in purgatory because people stopped believing in them was such a fascinating take. By writing the webcomic about Haemosu and Yuhwa, Grace got thousands of people to believe in them again, thus bringing them back into their world.

This book handles grief so well. Grace learning how to push down her feelings because she feels she has to be perfect all the time and unable to process her grief the way she needs to is so real and raw. I wish we had gotten more into that.

I also loved the borderline horror aspect with the sonnimne. The picture Cho paints of what they look like and how they can infect people with disease is absolutely terrifying. I would have loved for her to lean into that a bit more. It had a great base for being a horror book on that alone.

What didn't work for me was how basic the story ended up being. There was so much that she could have gone in depth with more than she did, so it felt a bit lack luster. If we had gotten more detail on how the mortal belief in the gods worked, more time with Habaek, and more with the ending.

Not my favorite of Cho's books but still a fun read.