Square Fish The Red Palace

The Red Palace is an exciting mix of mystery and historical fiction. During the Joseon period in 1758 nurse Hyeon sets out to investigate several brutal murders while trying to exonerate her mentor, nurse Jeongsu.During her investigation Hyeon meets the young prodigy police inspector Eojin Seo. together they embark on a dangerous and traitorous journey to uncover the truth about the murders. Hyeon is a character I could easily empathize with. she's levelheaded, just, loyal, and determined. I found myself always rooting for her. Eojin was just as earnest and moral. The characters had such great chemistry, watching them fall in love while investigating brutal murders made for a compelling story. I found myself as invested in the two as a duo as I was in their separate stories.

Todo llego en perfecto estado, increíble libro

Great plot

Behind this book there is an accurate historical research. June Hur tried to remain faithful to the places, objects, uses, customs and characters of the time, creating a rich and exciting story.I'm totally fascinated, I really reccomand you this book, especially if you love history, crimes, court intrigues. And kdrama too😉For a full review, visit my profile on Instagram ☺️

This was our first monthly pick for the 'Our Violent Reads' book club, and it's safe to say that we've started with a bang.Within a few pages of The Red Palace, I was completely hooked. Hur's ability to immerse the reader through both her astounding historical knowledge and immeasurable writing abilities fully transports you to 1750s Joseon (Korea), and let's just say: it was a wild ride. Baek-Hyeon is a testament to female strength, and I wish that when I was younger, I'd had more access to books with strong female protagonists like Hyeon because she truly is incredible.Though I do consider myself to be passionate about history and endeavour to teach myself all I was not taught at school, I'm ashamed to say that my knowledge of Korean history was embarrassingly sparse prior to reading this book. The way that Hur has interwoven so much history, along with keeping up the thrilling murder mystery plotline (and a certain romance plotline... It was too cute so I decided it needs its own paragraph), was amazing, and I look forward to learning about more Korean history and culture, as the amount of effort that June Hur has put into educating the reader on 1750s Korea has made me realise how much more I need to learn about Korean history.I loved learning about Hyeon's role as a palace nurse, and all of the other roles within the palace. I think what was so lovable about Hyeon as a character is her perseverance and genius; though she was often put down as a 'vulgar commoner', she never once allowed societal expectations to stop her from achieving her goal.As an avid crime fan, the murder mystery had me on tenterhooks the entire time. There isn't a moment where the plot slows or meanders, and this was the definition of a 'just one more chapter' sort of book. There was never a chapter where I felt like I'd be happy closing the book and going to bed, I needed to know what was going to happen next, and the way the plot unravelled piece by piece was so interesting. Also (trying to keep this pretty spoiler-free, but this part is a bit spoilery so just skip to the next paragraph if you don't want spoilers), I really admired the way Nurse Inyeong's character arc was written. Following the big reveal at the end, I was shocked and disappointed in her character, but after the revelation that she was really, at the end of the day, seeking justice for her mother, softened her in my eyes. I'm obviously not saying that what happened excused her actions in any way, but I understood her a bit more, and it made her more real.Before I get onto the absolute CUTENESS that is Hyeon and Eojin, I just wanted to take a second to praise the exploration of mother-daughter relationships in this book (again, a bit spoilery so just skip to the next para!!). From Hyeon and her mother to Inyeong and Hyo-ok, I just really loved the way those relationships were explored, and Hur questioned what a mother-daughter bond really was.Okay, Hyeon and Eojin. They are perfect. They're literally my everything, to be honest. I loved the way their bond strengthened and grew over the course of the book, and I can't wait to go and read the bonus epilogue after finishing this review, because I am craving Hyeon and Eojin content right now. They were just absolutely perfect in every way, and I love the way that their love transcends their positions in society, and that to each other, they're just two people that love each other very much. (Brb crying)To conclude, I would really urge anyone reading this that hasn't read the book to do yourself a favour and read it. Without question, this has been one of my most standout reads of the year so far, and I can't wait to go and read the rest of June Hur's works!