Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a proofed ARC of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. All opinions are my own.

It took a moment to read this book. I don't know if I picked it up at the wrong time or struggle with reading books on iPad/Kindle. Most likely the ladder - I have an entire Youtube video talking about this.

This is an enchanting story of gods, mythological beasts, the spirit realm, and following one's fate. There is a beautiful quality within the pages, and the story is woven with some exquisite descriptive passages and vivid poetic imagery.

If you have seen Spirited Away, there is almost a resemblance to how the story is told. The description of the dragons, the flow of prose, the whimsical, spiritual world reminded me greatly of Spirited Away. However, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is truly in its own right a beautiful story. 

A lot is going on within the first half of the book, and it felt overwhelming at times. I left the book with more questions at the beginning than answers, which isn't a great situation for a stand-alone novel. While there was culture immersed in the story, there was still a lack of cultural settings and history behind the pages. I wanted to know more about the time, the history, the environment, and the events, especially since this is a type of retelling of Shim Cheong but from another individual's POV. 

However, I did enjoy the second half of the book when the pacing picked up, and the story began to unfold. There were times I felt that the story would either speed or slow down unnecessarily, leaving it with a choppy feeling. There were plot holes and things that didn't need to be explained, and then there were things that did need to be defined yet weren't. Also, if you read closely, you can guess where the plot is going reasonably early on.

There is a unique and vivid cast of characters. More character development would have been welcome, and better background knowledge of the leading characters would have given them more depth. While I knew what many of the secondary characters looked like, I didn't grasp what Mina looked like. We are described her, yet she felt like any other YA female character. Also, I wish there was more diversity with the story's male characters since they all seemed to look alike. 

I felt like the Mina we were introduced at the beginning of the book was the same Mina at the end - with a few changes. Also, I found that the secondary characters, while helpful in some ways, were entirely pointless. If they were more dimensional and had more purpose, I would have felt more connected with them. 

The romance in the storyline is relatively weak. Almost unneeded. Yes, this is a retelling of Shim Cheong, and the original story is about a young woman falling for the Sea God. Yet, Mina was a very independent young woman, and she could have been fine without the romance. Also, it's interesting that Mina went from strong and independent to honor-bound and female duty at the end of the book. I feel like this book digressed the further the plot thickened when it came to love, choice, and development. 

In the end, the novel didn’t have the in-depth prose and high energy I enjoy in fantasy literature, but on the whole, it was an exciting read.

Just because I did not like this book, does not mean you should not pick it up yourself. There were things about this book that I think many other readers would enjoy such as if you enjoy Spirited Away this book has many elements of that whimsical story telling, the characters are interesting, there is a romance that is quite emotional, and Mina is an absolutely wonderful and strong female character to read about.