Bride of the Water God: Vol. 2

by Mi-Kyung Yun

Synopsis
Habaek, the mysterious Water God, is cursed to live in the form of a little boy during the day -- while he turns back to his true adult self at night. His new human bride, Soah, thinks that she's been married to a child and has no idea that the attractive "Mui" is actually the indecisive adult Habaek. Surrounded by a cast of colorful elemental gods and their servants, Soah is tempted by flirtations from both "Mui" and the rascal Huye. Things get even more complicated after Tae-eul-jin-in spills a surprising secret, and Soah audaciously plots to uncover the truth for herself. She has to be careful, though, so she doesn't anger the moody gods -- including her powerful and unpredictable husband!

Review
I felt ... empty after I read this book. It's so slow and dreamy, and hard to follow. I'm wondering why I'm supposed to care about these characters. More and more, it's starting to feel like the whole "secret" about Habaek is some kind of contrivance to keep interesting things from happening. I guess I'm supposed to think that Soah being confused about Habaek and Mui is supposed to be interesting, but since I already know that they're the same person, I'm just sitting here waiting for her to catch up! I mean, the story hints several times that they're the same person, but what, is Soah too stupid to figure it out?

I still don't know Habaek's motivations for anything, nor do I even know why I should care at this point. The author's narrative is so loose, I feel like the story just wanders without really ever going anywhere. There's not much development, there's not much in the way of conflict, so what is supposed to keep me interested? I don't know if it's going to get better. I might give the next book another chance (if it ever comes out).

Final thought: Not much hope, but will read the next book.

Bride of the Water God: Vol. 1

by Mi-Kyung Yun

Synopsis(from the back of the book)
When Soah's impoverished, desperate village decides to sacrifice her to the Water God Habaek to end a long drought, they believe that drowning one beautiful girl will save their entire community and bring much-needed rain. Not only is Soah surprised to be rescued by the Water God -- instead of killed -- she never imagined she'd be a welcomed guest in Habaek's magical kingdom, where an exciting new life awaits her! Most surprising, however, is the Water God himself ... and how very different he is from the monster Soah imagined.

Review
I picked this up because I love stories like this. However, it's not how I would have done it.

It begins with Soah being sacrificed, and yet she shows little emotion. It's clear what she thinks of the other villagers, but as for herself, she doesn't seem too worried. When she comes to Suguk (where Habaek lives) and meets the god and others who live there, she is likewise emotionless. In fact this girl has so few emotions, I really have no idea what she thinks about anything.

The water god has a huge secret -- he's a child by day, but an adult by night. Soah, unfortunately doesn't know this. He gives no reason for why he keeps this from her. He's pretty cold and stand-offish, and not much screentime is given to him, to develop his character. He's got another secret too -- this is not the first human bride he's been given, and no one knows where the others are. I expect some revelation about this, and probably his motivations too, but for now, the author wishes to keep it a secret. It probably won't be nearly as interesting as it's built up to be, though.

I don't really know what to think here. The artwork is gorgeous (though I have some quibbles with it, but that's not really my place to talk about it.), but for some reason, she decides to make the characters Super Deformed at times, and I think it really clashes with the seriousness of the story. The pacing has a quite languid, almost dreamy quality. Unfortunately, this leads to a confusing quality, as I'm not always sure who's talking, or what exactly is going on at what time, and I find myself stopping and re-reading just to make sure.

Personally, I don't like mysteries, but if they are used well, I can like the suspense they give a story. But mysteries for no reason, especially when the main character can just come straight out and demand answers? I hate that. Sure, that's not "in her character" to do that. The problem with that defense is I think that most people wouldn't just sit around and not wonder about: the god they've been married to, who this weird guy who shows up at night is, why nothing is explained to her, and why he treats her so callously. I don't think they would tolerate that kind of treatment without explanation. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they would. Maybe we're supposed to identify with Soah by being just as confused as she is. Okay, I can buy that, except, I have questions that she's not asking. And that bothers me.

It's not bad, despite what I've said. I really am curious about what's going to happen. Maybe things will get resolved and questions will be answered. If that's true, this series has some potential. If not, it fails.

Final thought: I'll pick up the next book to see what happens.