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A review by charmel
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
3.0
Hmm… this was an interesting read. Confusing for a lot of times but interesting. The last part was enough to carry the whole book though.
✨ buddy read with Mash, Lucy, Erin, Lacey, and Devie ✨
June Hur's debut novel, The Silence of Bones, is a YA historical mystery set in Joseon, Korea in the 1800s. It follows a curious young orphaned young woman named Seol, working as a damo (an assistant) at the police bureau.
When a murder of a noblewoman happened, Seol has been tasked to assist inspector Han. Later on, Seol forms a bond of friendship with the inspector. But then things get suspicious, that may possibly affect her loyalty to inspector Han.
Not only that Seol is capable of discovering the true events on the night of the noblewoman's murder, she is also near to end for the search of her missing brother.
Who was the murderer? Who is Seol's older brother??
I went into this book with zero knowledge. I didn't know that this was set in history in Korea. Honestly, I impulsively started this and joined the buddy read.
I loved the vibes and the atmosphere I was getting from the book. It was kind of easy for me to imagine since I was obsessed with kdramas. There were also a lot of unfamiliar terms and references from the past which felt like I was having a history lesson. But I just ignore most of them that seem unnecessary and google some if I'm really getting confused.
The first half of this book was downright boring. Even though the mystery aspect was intriguing, I couldn't get hooked into it. In the first half, the characters were lacking and they weren't truly fleshed out so I wasn't invested in them. Plus, I kept forgetting some characters since they had confusing names and they had similar bland personalities.
Then came the last half of the book. Everything improved. The murder mystery picked up, fascinating things were happening and I suddenly was rooting for the main character.
At first, Seol was somewhat intolerable because of her curiosity and impulsive, bad decisions but then she went into a character development. Inspector Han originally had no personality but then when I knew more things about him, he became okay. I couldn't remember more characters, I didn't even know the ~real~ antagonist existed until the very end.
I had a theory on who was the real killer but sadly, I was wrong. On the bright side, my guess on who's Seol's missing older brother was thankfully, correct.
Overall, (i think) this was the first Korean Historical book I read. I liked the atmosphere and the mystery. I wasn't a fan of Hur's writing style, so I didn't enjoy it much. And most of the characters were lacking. This book was all right, yet forgettable. 2.75 stars.
TW: violence, murder, misogyny, physical abuse, mention of animal abuse, & mention of suicide.
—
this book had improved a lot in the last six chapters. so because of that, it deserved an extra star.
Review to come
✨ buddy read with Mash, Lucy, Erin, Lacey, and Devie ✨
June Hur's debut novel, The Silence of Bones, is a YA historical mystery set in Joseon, Korea in the 1800s. It follows a curious young orphaned young woman named Seol, working as a damo (an assistant) at the police bureau.
When a murder of a noblewoman happened, Seol has been tasked to assist inspector Han. Later on, Seol forms a bond of friendship with the inspector. But then things get suspicious, that may possibly affect her loyalty to inspector Han.
Not only that Seol is capable of discovering the true events on the night of the noblewoman's murder, she is also near to end for the search of her missing brother.
Who was the murderer? Who is Seol's older brother??
"It struck me how transient life was—one night a woman was brushing her hair, the next night she was dead."
I went into this book with zero knowledge. I didn't know that this was set in history in Korea. Honestly, I impulsively started this and joined the buddy read.
I loved the vibes and the atmosphere I was getting from the book. It was kind of easy for me to imagine since I was obsessed with kdramas. There were also a lot of unfamiliar terms and references from the past which felt like I was having a history lesson. But I just ignore most of them that seem unnecessary and google some if I'm really getting confused.
The first half of this book was downright boring. Even though the mystery aspect was intriguing, I couldn't get hooked into it. In the first half, the characters were lacking and they weren't truly fleshed out so I wasn't invested in them. Plus, I kept forgetting some characters since they had confusing names and they had similar bland personalities.
Then came the last half of the book. Everything improved. The murder mystery picked up, fascinating things were happening and I suddenly was rooting for the main character.
At first, Seol was somewhat intolerable because of her curiosity and impulsive, bad decisions but then she went into a character development. Inspector Han originally had no personality but then when I knew more things about him, he became okay. I couldn't remember more characters, I didn't even know the ~real~ antagonist existed until the very end.
I had a theory on who was the real killer but sadly, I was wrong. On the bright side, my guess on who's Seol's missing older brother was thankfully, correct.
Overall, (i think) this was the first Korean Historical book I read. I liked the atmosphere and the mystery. I wasn't a fan of Hur's writing style, so I didn't enjoy it much. And most of the characters were lacking. This book was all right, yet forgettable. 2.75 stars.
"We must learn to embrace the new seasons in our lives. There is a season to gain, a season to lose; a season for peace, a season for war; a season to laugh, a season to mourn, and to betray."
TW: violence, murder, misogyny, physical abuse, mention of animal abuse, & mention of suicide.
—
this book had improved a lot in the last six chapters. so because of that, it deserved an extra star.
Review to come