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.
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