The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh * * *
The story follows Mina, who is fifteen or sixteen. Her exact age matters because she is deliberately not yet eighteen. Every year a girl is sacrificed as the Sea God’s bride in the hope that he will calm the deadly storms ravaging their homeland. When her brother’s beloved is chosen, Mina throws herself into the sea instead. She wakes in a hidden spirit realm and has thirty days to wake the Sea God, uncover the truth behind a curse, and save both the human world and the spirit world.
There is a clear ticking clock. You would expect urgency. And yet part of this novel is surprisingly domestic. Mina cleans the house she is placed in. She tidies and restores and puts things in order. These scenes are not badly written, but when a curse is destroying the world, watching the protagonist sweep floors can feel strangely low stakes. The tension softens when it should tighten.
The world building, however, is genuinely intriguing. At first I was confused about the underwater city. People walk and breathe normally. They look up at what feels like a sky. Gradually it becomes clear that the city exists under a kind of dome. The sea is above them, like a ceiling of shifting blue. It is not water all around them. It is more like living inside a glass globe with the ocean suspended overhead. Once that image clicked for me, everything fell into place.
The mythology draws on Korean folklore, which I know very little about beyond what occasionally filters through Kdramas. There are spirits with distinct roles, gods bound by rules, spirits wear masks though I don't know why. I don't know if reading this book extended my meager knowledge of folklore though, since I don't know where folklore ends and the author begins.
Mina herself is very much a teenager. At times she felt naïve and impulsive. At other times she carried herself with a maturity that seemed older than fifteen. That contradiction does ring true to adolescence. She occasionally irritated me, but I also appreciated her loyalty and her willingness to sacrifice herself for others. Most people she meets end up liking her, which smooths her path through the spirit realm.
There are mysteries woven through the story. I did guess some of the reveals early on, particularly regarding the Sea God and the emperor. The clues are present, and the twists are satisfying even if they are not shocking. The ending did move me. It lands softly but with emotional clarity.
There is a romance, but it feels underdeveloped. It is not overly dominant, which I normally prefer. I am not a romance focused reader. Still, if a love story is present, I want to see it grow. I want moments that show why two people fall for each other. Here, it feels closer to insta-love. They are simply in love because the narrative requires it. I wanted more small gestures, more emotional build up.
One thing I appreciated is that this is a standalone. There is a complete arc. In a time of endless sequels and sprawling romantasy series, it was refreshing to have a contained story with a clear beginning and end.
The audiobook is narrated by Rosa Escoda. I liked that the narrator handled the Korean names confidently and naturally. There is a light British inflection to her voice and a fairly high register. I could also hear a slight lisp. Personally, I struggled with her voice. It sometimes felt slightly sharp to my ears. This is entirely subjective. Sometimes a voice simply does not click for you, and that colours the experience.
In the end, I am giving this three stars. The mythology and the atmosphere are strong. The romance is weaker. Mina’s youth occasionally grated on me, though that may simply mean I am aging out of certain YA perspectives.
Would I recommend it. Yes, especially to readers who enjoy myth inspired fantasy, spirit realms, and stories that feel more dreamlike than brutal. The image that stays with me is that city beneath the sea, blue light filtering down from above like a second sky, fish swimming above.
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