Book Review: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Book title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (* Amazon affiliate link)
Author: Axie Oh
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Published: February 22, 2022
321 pages
My rating: 4/5

“The myths of my people say only a true bride of the Sea God can bring an end to his insatiable wrath. When the otherworldly storms rise from the East Sea, lightning breaking the sky and water ripping up the shore, a bride is chosen and given to the Sea God. Or sacrificed, depending on the measure of your faith.”

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for a century. People believe that they are cursed by the Sea God, their former protector, and to appease his wrath, they sacrifice a young maiden to him every year. To save her brother’s beloved Shim Cheong from being sacrificed, Mina throws herself in the sea and ends up in the spirit realm. She meets the Sea God, who is sleeping an enchanted sleep, and a mysterious young man Shin, who promises to help her break the curse. But her time is running out, as a human cannot live long in the land of the spirits.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enthralling young adult fantasy set in an underwater world with dragons and gods, spirits and demons. The book is a retelling of the Korean myth of Shim Cheong, which was new to me, so I didn’t know the story in advance, and I can’t compare it to the original. The worldbuilding inspired by Korean folklore is rich and detailed, and I loved the cast of characters and their dynamics. Mina is kind, determined and fiercely devoted to her family, and the spirits and demons helping her to break the curse are all endearing.

The romance between Mina and Shin is wholesome, and Shin is mostly a green flags love interest (if you don't think too hard about the fact that Mina is sixteen and Shin is thousands of years old). Shin is loyal and protective without being too controlling or jealous. The idea that Mina is helpless and needs to be locked up for her own safety does unfortunately crop up, but for the most part Shin lets Mina do what she wants.

Mina and Shin have a bit of an enemies-to-lovers beginning, but it’s forgotten soon, and it doesn’t quite make sense why the characters fall in love with each other. There’s also a hint of a potential love triangle between Mina, Shin, and the Sea God, but since Sea God is not an active player for the majority of the book, the love triangle never matures into reality—which I really liked, since love triangle is my least favorite trope.

The plot is rather convenient at points. The main character does things without a clear reason and her serendipitous discoveries conveniently advance the plot. To give just one example, it is not explained how Mina is able to find a secret door in the palace that leads her straight to the Sea God. These coincidences make the writing a bit lazy when they could have been explained by giving her a clear reason for her actions (for example, Mina could have noticed some detail that indicates the presence of a hidden door in the scene mentioned above).

Despite this minor criticism, I really enjoyed this book and I'm giving it four stars. I definitely recommend it to lovers of young adult fantasy and people who want to read books based on Korean folklore.

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