Gilded (Gilded #1) by @ChristinaFarley #Review @NightOwlReviews

Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself. When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting in to a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather. Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god, Haemosu, has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she's next.

But that’s not Jae’s only problem.

There's also Marc. Irresistible and charming, Marc threatens to break the barriers around Jae's heart. As the two grow closer, Jae must decide if she can trust him. But Marc has a secret of his own—one that could help Jae overturn the curse on her family for good. It turns out that Jae's been wrong about a lot of things: her grandfather is her greatest ally, even the tough girl can fall in love, and Korea might just be the home she's always been looking for.

About the Author

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CHRISTINA FARLEY was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. She taught at international schools in Asia for ten years, eight of which were in the mysterious and beautiful city of Seoul, Korea that became the setting of GILDED.

Currently she lives in Clermont, FL with her husband and two sons--that is until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown. GILDED is her first novel.

This one was yummy! Ignoring the few typo mistakes in the finished copy this book was wonderful to read. To me it felt like another retelling of Persephone which I'm sure that each culture had their own version of the myth.  I found via the author that its interesting that these two cultures would have a myth that was similar to each other as they would have not interacted. 

The setting of this book is South Korea which was great to learn about.  It had a great blend of both myth and real setting. There wasn't a love triangle and the book didn't end on a cliff hanger.  I really want to see what the author has in store for the next book coming out in Sept. as this story was pretty much wrapped up.  I loved all of the descriptions of the Spirit World as well as the real world around  Jae. I do wish that the book would have had a pronunciation guide but there is a nice little glossary about what each word means. 

The characters in this story have to be some of the best that I've read about.  I think each one was fully developed, sneaky, and kick butt awesome! I do think that Jae could have used the tiger creature early on. As he was supposed to be her protector. (sorry forgot his name) That is really the only other issue I had with this book.  But, of course in the heat of a fight remembering to call out a name could slip your mind as you are dealing with staying alive.  Jae starts out as a great kick butt girl and ends the book a hero that every Teen Ya girl can look up to. 

This book and story was a great blend of contemporary and fantasy it will keep you reading until the last page. And it shouldn't be missed! 

"All opinions are 100% honest and my own."

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Study Guides 
Common Core Education Guide Grades 7-10
Classroom Unit Study Guide Grades 7-12

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information. Covers link to Amazon for purchase. 
Nope no giveaway for this one.  This copy will be up for grabs via #ReadOn on Sept. 13th when the author comes on the show for book two due out Sept. 23! 

Posted in: 5 Stars, Review, Young Adult