“I love you. Wait for me, where the land meets the sea.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: spirits, sleeping curses, traps, young brides, lords, goddesses, Korean mythology and storms.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

I was hoping I would find a really nice book to lose myself in, and fortunately I found this one! I can honestly say I loved this book with all my heart – spoiler alert, it’s not perfect though!
This book follows a girl named Mina, and her village has sacrificed a girl every year for over 100 years by throwing her to the sea, hoping to calm down the sea storms. The chosen girl is picked to be the new bride of the Sea God, and she has to be very beautiful or very talented. But to save her brother and his lover, she sacrifices herself by throwing herself into the sea. After entering a city she never knew existed under the sea, Mina has to help the Sea God wake up from his sleeping curse to save her village and the people she loves. In case you’re wondering, this story is based on Korean mythology.
I thought this story was familiar while I was reading it, so when I read somewhere this had Spirited Away vibes, it finally clicked! Spirited Away is probably one of my favorite Ghibli movies of all time, so it makes sense why I loved this story so much.
It was soooo close to being a 5 star read, but there was something about this book that felt lacking and I can’t point exactly what it is. After some thought, I think I struggled a little with the setting and world building. Sometimes it was hard to visualize the surroundings and to create the world in my head. I have to say it felt very… dreamy? And I say ‘dreamy’ in a good way, but I still felt like some more details would make this story shine even more.
I personally loved all the characters in this. The main characters, the supporting characters, the villains, the lost relatives – everyone! But again, I wish we knew more about them and their backstories. The romance was very slow paced and sometimes I even questioned if it was ever going to happen, but I ended up loving it! I loved their chemistry and how well they fit together.
Another thing that felt a little weird was the pacing/flow. Some parts felt a little rushed, so I wish this was a longer book so there was room to explore those parts a little more. I wanted more and it wasn’t enough.
I’m really sad because this was so close to being a 5 star read for me. I loved the story and the characters, but the execution was the reason why I couldn’t give this 5 stars. So close though!