The Red Palace by June Hur
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟(4.5/5 stars)

I’ve been meaning to read one of June Hur’s books for years and I’m so glad I finally did! This was a buddy read with Morgan. You can check out her review here.

Characters

• Overall I thought the characters’ personalities and motives/goals were very distinct. I really liked Hyeon and Eojin. Their partnership to friendship to romance was developed and not rushed which I appreciated.
• The only issue I had was I never fully connected with the characters. Maybe it had something to do with the writing style, so more of a personal preference, but I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself in the character’s heads like other books I’ve read. This wasn’t a bad thing though, sometimes it’s nice to have distance between myself and a character.

Plot

• It took a few chapters for the plot to fully pick up but once it did it was difficult to put the book down, I was so invested in how the mystery resolved. I remember covering Prince Sado in my college East Asian history course so it was interesting to read a historical fiction set during his lifetime.
• The plot was cohesive and there weren’t any plot holes I noticed. The pacing was also great and none of the scenes felt abrupt or out of place, so 10/10 on that. It’s been a few books since I’ve read one with a solid plot. 😂

Writing

• I have mixed feelings about the writing style. On the one hand, it’s very descriptive and there’s no info dumping which is great and difficult to achieve, especially in a historical fiction book. On the other hand, it took me a few chapters to get into the flow of the writing and I never fully connected to it. However this is more of a personal preference, Hur is definitely an amazing writer!

Other Things

• Eojin giving his chunks of meat to Hyeon was so sweet!
• I could relate to Hyeon disliking her name because it’s usually a boy’s name. My full Chinese name sounds like a guy’s name.

Final Thoughts

• I’ll definitely read more of Hur’s books in the future!
• If you like historical fiction, a Joseon setting, mystery, and slow-burn romance subplot I definitely recommend this book!

You can find me on Goodreads to see more of what I’m reading.

~ Ming