Whether you’re an avid webtoon reader or dabble in a few trusted favorites, we’ve found the perfect book for you! (Even if you don’t read webtoons, we still think you should stick around.) Kat Cho’s contemporary fantasy romance, Gods & Comics, comes out today. And we can finally share all that we love about this book.
Gods & Comics follows 17-year-old Grace Bak, a school social outcast by day and a secret webtoon author by night. Grace created her webtoon Sun God to cope with the loss of her halmeoni, or grandmother. The webtoon has grown more popular, though Grace would never pursue it full time. One day, the main character Haemosu shows up in front of her very eyes.
As they look for a way for Haemosu to return home, Grace starts to fall for him. Her situation complicates further when another god comes to life, determined to destroy Haemosu no matter the collateral damage. We adore this new fantasy romance and have a feeling that you will, too. Here are three of many reasons why you’ll love Gods & Comics as much as we do!
Book Overview: Gods & Comics
Content warnings: mentions of family deaths & terminal illness, blood, violence, panic attacks, bullying, vomiting, hospitalization, weapons
Summary: Seventeen-year-old junior class vice president Grace Bak has her entire future all mapped out with plans to become a doctor like her parents. But the weight of Grace’s own daunting expectations leads to debilitating panic attacks that have made her a virtual outcast at school, even to her longtime friend and crush. To make matters worse, her grandmother and only real support system has just died. Halmeoni was the glue that kept Grace’s little family together, especially after she and her dad lost her mother to cancer when Grace was too little to have many memories of her. To cope with the grief of another loss, Grace starts a webcomic inspired by the Korean myths her halmeoni used to tell her as a child.
In Sun God, Grace spins the tale of Korean god Haemosu and his love Yuhwa, but with a twist—the two gods are trapped in the bodies of teenagers and, worst of all, cursed to attend high school. Grace never expected her comic to go viral, but it has, and the new fandom has somehow conjured the real Haemosu. Now it’s up to Grace to get him back home. But when she starts to fall for Hae, sending him home is the last thing she wants to do. More troubling, Hae isn’t the only god to suddenly reappear. Hae’s sworn enemy—also brought back to the mortal realm by Grace’s comic—is set on destroying Hae, all while infecting humanity with a deadly disease.
As an epic battle between gods looms, Hae is without his powers, so it may fall to Grace to fight back against a vengeful god hell-bent on punishing anyone who gets in his way.
The Korean Mythology
We’ve been loving the abundance of diverse fantasies this year! In Gods & Comics, Grace’s webtoon draws on the tale of Haemosu, the Korean god of the sun, and Yuhwa, his fabled love and the daughter of the river god. Most people don’t believe in these gods anymore, yet Grace’s webtoon somehow makes them believers again. When Haemosu drops into Grace’s life, she tries to deny his uncanny resemblance to her main character. But his supernatural abilities, memories, and personality traits prove his identity. We love this modern twist on Korean myths and legends!
Grace’s Character Development
At first, Grace struggles a lot with not having a place where she feels safe. She finds comfort in drawing webtoons, not to mention feeling close to her late halmeoni in these moments. In the real world, Grace doesn’t feel like she belongs. She takes on so many advanced classes and extracurricular activities to show that she can bounce back to normal. But that doesn’t help her anxiety and occasional panic attacks. Her personal journey in Gods & Comics teaches her not only how to reach out for help, but also how to believe in herself. And we can’t get enough.
A Webtoon-Worthy Love Interest
Trust, Gods & Comics will have you obsessing over yet another fictional love interest. Grace’s version of Haemosu in her webtoon gives him very humanlike qualities. Haemosu cares for Grace in many ways, the biggest one being how he always shows up at the right time. He vows to protect her from danger, even when using his powers ends up hurting himself. He also helps Grace open up about losing her grandmother and mom and find the confidence to exist as she is, rather than aiming for perfection all the time. Their romance does a great job balancing sweetness with some angst.
Kat Cho’s Gods & Comics combines so many of our favorite book qualities into one: diversity, development, and a dreamy love interest! We loved following Grace and Haemosu on their journey toward home and each other.
Gods & Comics by Kat Cho comes out April 21st, and you can order a copy of it here!
What do you think of Kat Cho’s new contemporary fantasy romance? Are you as excited about Gods & Comics as we are? Let us know on Twitter! You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KAT CHO:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE
