(ARC) The Red Palace by June Hur – Book Review

Hello friends!

Today I am so excited to share my review of The Red Palace by June Hur. I read an ARC of this last year and it was one of my favourite reads of last year. I pulled out my notebook and finally wrote a review as to why you need to pick this up!

Disclaimer: This review is based on an advanced copy of the book. Things may differ in the final version.

SYNOPSIS

June Hur, critically acclaimed author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, returns with The Red Palace—a third evocative, atmospheric, & romantic historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco.

To enter the palace means to walk a path stained in blood…

Joseon (Korea), 1758. There are few options available to illegitimate daughters in the capital city, but through hard work and study, seventeen-year-old Hyeon has earned a position as a palace nurse. All she wants is to keep her head down, do a good job, and perhaps finally win her estranged father’s approval.

But Hyeon is suddenly thrust into the dark and dangerous world of court politics when someone murders four women in a single night, and the prime suspect is Hyeon’s closest friend and mentor. Determined to prove her beloved teacher’s innocence, Hyeon launches her own secret investigation.

In her hunt for the truth, she encounters Eojin, a young police inspector also searching for the killer. When evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, Hyeon and Eojin must work together to search the darkest corners of the palace to uncover the deadly secrets behind the bloodshed.

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DETAILS

TITLE: The Red Palace
AUTHOR: June Hur
PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends
RELEASE DATE: January 25, 2022
GENRE: Young Adult Historical Mystery

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

June Hur is the author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, both finalists for an Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel, as well as The Red Palace and A Crane Among Wolves. Born in South Korea and raised in Canada, she studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto. She currently lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

Author website: https://junehur.com/
Goodreads: June Hur
Instagram: junehwrites
Twitter: WriterJuneHur

my rating: 5⭐

I read The Red Palace last year and I have not stopped thinking about since then. Writing this review took me a lot of time because I had to gather my thoughts about how much I loved this. I am not usually someone who reads historical fiction, but this made me want to try more of the genre. To put it simply, The Red Palace is incredible and unputdownable. This book was instantly on TBR when I heard about it and I felt so honored to have read an ARC of this amazing story. June Hur’s writing is stunning and she succeeded in creating an atmosphere of immense suspense and mystery. I was practically on the edge of my seat throughout the reading process.

Baek-hyeon works in the palace as a nurse. When her mentor and fellow Nurse is accused of murder, Hyeon teams up with inspector Eojin to prove that she is innocent. As they slowly work to solve this mystery, they find themselves stumbling upon devastating secrets, including evidence that points to the Crown Prince being behind the murder. The mystery at the heart of the plot was done so well. I actually thought I had guessed who was the culprit, but it turned out to be a different person altogether. That made me love the book so much more; it subverted my expectations in ways that I didn’t think possible.

Hyeon was a wonderful character who I fell in love with, within the first few pages. The entire book is in her perspective and you get to see how determined she is to become a nurse in the palace, even though there are many barriers in her way. Her need to please her father and to prove herself worthy enough to him felt so relatable. The way Hyeon develops as a character throughout the story was so incredibly well-done and was one of my favourite things about reading The Red Palace.

Of course, this review would be empty if I didn’t mention Eojin. I adore him so much. He’s a boy with a trouble past, but like Hyeon he is determined in his own way. Hyeon and Eojin’s partnership is a pairing of equals, where both of them play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses as they work on finding the culprit behind the murders. The subtlety of their romance and how slowly they both grew to care for each other as something more than mere partners…yeah, let me tell you how loud I squealed because of it.

The Red Palace is the perfect book to start off with if you’re looking to get into historical mysteries. It pulls you into 1758 Joseon Korea and keeps you there. When the book finished, I wanted to stay there forever and continue watching these characters grow. The Red Palace deals with grief, familial bonds and the love people have for each other. It is one book that everyone needs to read; so I highly recommend preordering this so that you too can fall into the world of June Hur’s amazing writing.

If you need more reasons to preorder this, check out these incredible reviews from some of my favourite book bloggers <
Prutha (@Moonchild Lexicon)’s review of The Red Palace | TRP spotify playlist
Gauri (@A Book and Chai)’s review of The Red Palace
Lia (@An Ode to Fiction)’s review of The Red Palace