Review by Booklist Review
A grumpy trickster god, his reincarnated soulmate, and a murder on a cruise ship in the afterlife--this is the irresistible setup for the second book in Kim's Fate's Thread series (after The God and the Gumiho, 2024). After centuries of searching, Seokga is still tethered to the red string of fate connecting him to Hani, the love he lost. Tired of his brooding, his divine peers send him on an underworld cruise for a forced vacation. There, the string pulls him to Yoo Kisa, a no-nonsense Gwisin working off karmic debt with no memory of her past life. When Seokga's brother turns up dead, the reluctant pair must solve the murder while navigating their tangled history and undeniable chemistry. Kim deepens her exploration of reincarnation and fate by cleverly using the Ship of Theseus paradox, asking whether love transcends identity. The witty banter and emotional depth between Seokga and Kisa strike a perfect balance of humor and yearning. Fans of mythological retellings and slow-burn romance will find this a compelling, heart-tugging sequel that refuses to let destiny have the final word.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A god reunites with the reincarnation of his past lover in this spellbinding standalone sequel to Kim's The God and the Gumiho. God of deceit Seokga has been fruitlessly following the Red Thread of Fate on his finger in search of the most recent reincarnation of his lost love, Hani, for the past seven years. His ensuing depression prompts his brother, Hwanin, to force him to take a vacation aboard a river cruise that gives deceased guests one last cheery journey before they join the reincarnation queue. Upon their arrival, Seokga is equally thrilled and devastated to discover that the Red Thread leads him to beautiful and intelligent but very dead Yoo Kisa, who, rather than being reincarnated, is stuck working in the cruise ship's sick bay. Now, Seokga must reconcile Hani with Kisa, who is "his lover and a stranger all at once." Kisa, meanwhile, has no memories of the trickster god, but can't help her attraction to him. When Hwanin turns up murdered, the pair strike a deal with the god of death that will allow Kisa to join the reincarnation queue if they can find the culprit. Combining an epic romance with a quirky whodunit, Kim invites readers on a whimsical journey filled with unexpected humor and undeniable love. Fans of K-dramas and romantic fantasies alike will be enthralled. (June)
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