Brazen

Written by Christina Farley

Narrated by Greta Jung

Jae Hwa Lee spent her sixteenth year in Seoul, trying to destroy the evil immortals who had been torturing her family for centuries. The last thing she expected was to be forced to become their assassin. Trapped in the darkest part of the Spirit World as a servant to the Korean god Kud, fighting to keep her humanity, and unable to contact her loved ones, Jae Hwa is slowly losing hope. Kud, god of darkness, will do anything to keep her as a pawn in his quest for power over all of Korea, her entire family thinks she’s dead, and Jae’s true love, Marc, believes she is lost to him forever.

When Kud sends Jae to find and steal the powerful Black Turtle orb, Jae sees an opportunity to break free and defeat Kud once and for all…but first she needs to regain Marc’s trust and work with him to vanquish the darkness that threatens to overwhelm Korea. There’s much to lose as Jae struggles to save the land she’s come to call home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Sep 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781501277993

Christina Farley

Christina Farley was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she loved to explore, which later inspired her to jump on a plane and travel the world. She taught at international schools in Asia for ten years, eight of which were spent in the mysterious and beautiful city of Seoul, Korea—the setting for the Gilded series. Currently she lives in Clermont, Florida, with her husband and two sons—that is, until the travel itch whisks her off to a new unknown.

Reviews for Brazen

[pardamustang · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Farley's Gilded series follows Jae Hwa Lee, a young Korean-American girl recently moved to Korea, despite warnings from her strict, traditional grandfather. Jae's father doesn't listen. He isn't interested in the rantings of an old man, spouting fantastical tales. But there's more truth to Grandfather's warnings than Jae could ever imagine.

Brazen finds Jae dealing with those consequences. Her friends have turned against her, and she's forced to carry out work she dislikes. She still hopes to set things to rights, and protect the land she's come to cherish. Jae must also come to terms with the ramifications of defeating Haemosu, both because the Otherworldly lands he ruled are falling to ruin, and because her repeated forays into the spirit realms is affecting her ability to exist in the physical realm.

Go figure, but one of my favourite characters was recurring antagonist Kud. I'm a sucker for darker deities, and through the series you really get to know Kud and his motivations. Sometimes it's easy to see why villains do the things they do. I'd love to see a story of his past, from his perspective! Highly recommended, especially if you enjoy stories inspired by myth, or set in Korea.