It was great to see a book based on Korean mythology as opposed to it's more popular Chinese and Japanese cousins. Fantastic writing and characters. ( )

Farley's Gilded series follows Jae Hwa Lee, a young Korean-American girl recently moved to Korea, despite warnings from her strict, traditional grandfather. Jae's father doesn't listen. He isn't interested in the rantings of an old man, spouting fantastical tales. But there's more truth to Grandfather's warnings than Jae could ever imagine.

In Gilded, Jae must confront the curse on the women of her family. For generations, the demi-god Haemosu has stolen the souls of the eldest daughters of Jae's family, and Jae's next. With the help of her grandfather, her aunt, and a secret group-- the Guardians of Shinshi-- dedicated to protecting Korea from spiritual assault, Jae must confront Haemosu and break the curse once and for all.
I adored this series! I read Gilded several years ago, and finally got the chance to read the whole series together. The first time I read Gilded was, I believe, my first exposure to fiction inspired by Korean myth and I loved it. The mythology behind the orbs, and all the unique creatures prompted me to research more into the actual mythology for myself. ( )

Meh. Mediocre. Not sure if I'll bother with the second one. ( )

As a deep lover of mythology I have always been drawn to books based in it. Sadly what I mostly come across are books with Greek/Roman mythology settings. Reading Farley's take on South Korean mythology was a breath of fresh air for me an I adored every single word.

Jae Hwa is a strong courageous girl who is willing to do what ever it takes to protect the people she loves, even if it means risking her own life. I developed a lot of respect for Jae while reading this book. She has recently lost her mother, moved to a new country, has to start at a new school as well, but when she learns about Haemosu and his plans she is ready to fight back (all while still trying to keep her grades up and hang out with friends).

It has been a long time since I have felt this way about a book! I cannot wait to see what Farley has in store for her readers. Gilded is simply a work of art and a highly recommended must read! ( )

This is the first book in the Gilded series. I enjoyed the Korean setting and mythology but the writing itself was technically lacking and the story was predictable and boring.

I listened to this on audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job with different characters voices and accents. The narration was probably the best part of this book for me.

Some of the technical issues with this book were that the dialogue between characters was very simple and awkward sounding. Additionally, there were places where the wrong tense (past and present) are used interchangeably. This book could have benefited from better editing.

The story was also lacking. Our heroine makes the same mistakes over and over again and never seems to grow or change as a character despite, her experiences. The ending was predictable and the at times just plain boring.

Overall this was a poorly written book and I was happy when it was over. If I hadn't been listening to it on audiobook I probably would have stopped reading it. I won't be continuing with the series which is too bad because the Korean setting and mythology were intriguing. ( )