The Last Fallen Moon by Graci Kim || Portal Fantasy With Korean Mythology

The Last Fallen Moon (Gifted Clans, #2)

For Riley Oh, life as the Godrealm’s last fallen star is not all it’s cracked up to be. Her new divine heritage doesn’t even come with cool magical powers; half of her friends and family (including her parents) can’t remember her; and to top it all off, the entire Gom clan is mad at her for killing the Cave Bear Goddess and stripping away their healing abilities.
But when their anger boils over and a group of witches curse Riley’s home, she knows it’s up to her to restore magic back to her clan – even if it means sneaking into the Spiritrealm.

Luckily, Riley has some backup. Along with her sister, Hattie, Riley meets Dahl, a heaven-born boy with shockingly white hair and a fondness for toilets who might not be telling the whole truth about who he is. Together they’ll fight vicious monsters, discover dark underwater worlds, and race to save the land of the dead from a fate that no one could have foreseen.

And this time, Riley won’t let anything get in her way. Because she can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is coming their way – and the gifted community is going to need all the powers they can get.

Rating:

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Portal fantasy into an afterlife type world
• Lots of Korean mythology and culture
• Super sweet family bonds
• Fast-paced adventure quest
• Lots of character growth and learning

Many thanks to Rick Riordan Presents and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

While I didn’t absolutely love the first book in this series, I did enjoy it, and I was looking forward to picking up the next one! Kim has created a very unique world for her readers, and I was ready to dive back into it. Especially the mythology aspect. I do love me some good mythology-driven books! So, needless to say, I had been sort of waiting for this one to release . . . and here it is!

The Last Fallen Moon takes the readers on an adventure into the afterlife, filled with fast-paced adventure, exciting new places, family and friendship bonds, and lots of really cool Korean mythology.

I actually ended up enjoying this book more than the first one. It had more of a traditional portal fantasy feel, which I really like. Plus, the afterlife is just super cool. I’ve read quite a few “afterlife” books, but Kim has plenty of unique elements in hers that made the visit a real delight.

In a slight divergence from the first book, The Last Fallen Moon reads more like a portal fantasy, transporting the readers to the Spiritrealm, where souls go after they’ve died and are awaiting their next life.

Let me tell you, the Spiritrealm is so freaking cool. It’s part what you might expect of a Korean-based afterlife and part comedic subverted expectations. That’s really all I want to say about that, because I don’t want to color your expectations! Discovering it for yourself is part of the fun.

Very little of this book actually takes place in the real world. Kim takes the fantasy aspects from the first book, ratchets them up, and changes the venue. New place means new faces, right? This new crew is also composed of characters. The kind that are super fun to hang out with and always full of surprises!

Korean readers will likely appreciate all the aspects of Korean culture that Kim slips into the pages of this book, and those from other cultures will have fun learning more about this unique mythology and beliefs.

I know a little about Korean mythology, so reading it on the page is very exciting for me. I’m less familiar with aspects of the language and food, and I love the way Kim slips these in. Gives me something to look up and learn more about! (Plus, food in books is always yum, right?!)

What’s perhaps even more exciting are the stories and creatures that Kim includes. Being set in the Spiritrealm opens up some pretty unique opportunities, right? There were a couple of stories that I’d never heard, and I absolutely loved being introduced to them. I’m also a fan of new mythological creatures. The deadlier, the better, right?! Well, if that’s your motto, too, you won’t be disappointed!

While Riley may come off as a very annoying character for the first part of this book (and honestly, from an adult perspective, what pre-teen isn’t?!), it’s all part of the wonderful character arc she experiences in this book.

Trust me, Riley is very frustrating early on. It’s almost like she didn’t learn anything at all from the first book and keeps on making the same mistakes. Of course, Riley is also young, and still at a critical point in her character journey. I promise, she doesn’t stay this way forever (thank goodness!).

Despite my initial annoyance with her, Riley’s character arc in this book is *chef’s kiss*. I was willing to put up with her childishness because what comes out at the end is brilliant and gives me a lot of hope for the third book. Plus, she learns what it means to have a squad backing you, and I am all for this squad going into book three.

One of my favorite things about the first book was the superb family bonds, and that carries into this book. Despite Riley’s family not remembering her, they’re all doing their best to stay together, and it’s clear that Riley is still very loved and supported by her adoptive family.

It’s not very often that you get adventure books with an adopted protagonist where the main personal conflict isn’t finding their parents or getting back their “family”. Riley already has a family. She’s quite happy with them, and she lacks for nothing (well . . . except magic, but there’s really no helping that). I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love the fact that Kim doubles down on this family bond and the strength between Riley and her adoptive family, no matter what. It’s such an important thing to see in middle grade books, especially in my area, where we have a lot of middle grade readers who are being raised by someone other than their biologic parents!

I’m pretty sure I mentioned this in my review of the first book (and if not, I definitely meant to), but I absolutely hate that Riley refers to her penchant to cry at the drop of a hat as her “leaky-bladder eyes.”

Yes, I realize this is a silly criticism and something very small to be the only sticking point of this book. However, this is a hill I’m willing to die on. Why? Because for some irrational reason, it really freaking annoys the heck out of me every time I read it!

What I assume the author is alluding to is the things that hold liquid, also known as skins, pouches, water bottles, etc. I don’t believe the author is comparing Riley’s crybaby nature to incontinence. Unfortunately, that’s definitely how it reads. The first several times I read this description, I was very confused, because my mind immediately went to the organ bladder, and being weepy is definitely not the same as incontinence. It took me a while to remember the other type of bladder, which is a distinction I doubt most of the middle grade readers I know will be aware of. So it’s confusing.

What makes it worse is that it’s unnecessarily confusing. Leaky eyes does the job just fine. It doesn’t need a qualifier. You gain nothing by saying “leaky-bladder eyes” instead of just saying Riley has leaky eyes. Will middle grade readers care at all about what the author calls it? No, of course not. But darn it, this is my review. xD

About Graci Kim

Graci Kim is the bestselling author of The Last Fallen Star, book one in the Korean mythology-inspired middle grade adventure series. Called a “sparkling yarn” by Entertainment Weekly, the Gifted Clans trilogy has been optioned by the Disney Channel for a live-action television series, and was a 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for “Best Middle Grade & Children’s Book”.

Graci is also one of the authors of The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities short story collection, published by Rick Riordan Presents (Disney Hyperion), which became an instant New York Times bestseller.

In a previous life, Graci was a diplomat for the New Zealand foreign service, a cooking show host, and once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and daughter. You can find her sometimes on Twitter (@gracikim), more often on Instagram (@gracikimwrites), and always at her website (www.gracikim.com).

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

1 winner will win a finished copy of THE LAST FALLEN MOON, US Only.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Similar Books You Might Also Enjoy: