The Red Palace

Like the stories I've read before by June Hur, The Red Palace is a gripping mystery that takes place in historical Korea with wonderful characters. She drew me quickly into the story, and weaved me through many twists and turns until the guilty party was revealed. Though, even then, Hyeon had to go through so much more before the end of the story. Looking forward to June Hur's next release!

This story had me hooked from beginning to end! I would of rated it 5 stars but my romantic heart wanted more for our couple in the end If only there was a second book that is how much I loved it. Though I feel it was perfect the way it ended but still I want more.

The Red Palace is the second of June Hur’s historical fiction young adult mystery novels set in Korea that I have read and enjoyed. This book, set in the mid-eighteenth century, again features wonderful characters and a great mystery. And while you might guess the culprit earlier in this book than in The Silence of Bones, the “why” of the mystery may still come as a surprise.Hyeon, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and one of his concubines, has worked hard to train as a nurse and has seen her studies prove fruitful with a position as a palace nurse. But when she and another nurse are called to assist a physician with the Crown Prince, they find that not everything is as it seems, and that their work in the palace may prove dangerous to them both, especially after some of their fellow nurses are murdered and their former teacher blamed. There are levels of palace intrigue, an investigator who prefers what is expeditious over what is true, and a burgeoning romance between Hyeon and a young police inspector.Again, I really loved the main character Hyeon and her personal and professional struggles, but the entire cast is a delight. Where The Red Palace differs from The Silence of Bones is that it brings in actual members of the royal family as characters in the story. Most of them are kept at a bit of a remove from the main action, but Hur also did significant research so as to bring these characters to life faithfully and carefully.If you read and liked The Silence of Bones on my recommendation, you’ll likely enjoy The Red Palace just as much, if not moreso! I still need to read Hur’s other book, The Forest of Stolen Girls, which has similar elements to these two books but is set in the fifteenth century. I can’t get enough of these interesting mysteries in historical settings!

This book was very good! It felt like I was watching a kdrama, it was the right amount of romance and mystery! 😀 I recommend reading more books by June Hur! 10/10

Very good read! I the historical aspects of the book and the characters were well written. Nice job June! Look forward to reading another book of yours!

YA historical mystery that makes you feel like you've been dropped right into a sageuk kdrama.

Enter the world of the Royal Palace where everyone is a spy and motives are always suspect. Add in a solid murder mystery with lots of suspects and motives.

Our two protagonists make an unlikely team that leaves you hopeful for their safety while they secretly take on the seemingly impossible task of finding the murderer in such a treacherous place, Korean Royal Palace, in the 17th century.Whether you are a fan of historic k dramas or well written historic mysteries, you won't be disappointed. The push/pull of the two leads is scrumptious, and the mystery they solve together is cherry on top.

Todo llego en perfecto estado, increíble libro

4.5I read June Hur’s Silence of the Bones last year and liked it a lot. I returned for Red Palace for a few reasons, the biggest one was the setting- you don’t find a huge amount of crime stories that take place in Joseon Korea, and in this case, I knew a little about the prince. The other reason was because I saw there was supposed to be a little romance in Red Palace and I am always up for some romance mixed in with my crime.*I enjoyed this. It was a quick, easy read, and by that, I mean easy to relax into the story and let it do its thing. (People always assume easy=young). The writing is capable and there is a sparseness to the style, that feels more modern, but it’s a style I appreciate for the ease in which it lets you fall into the story, without being distracted by the text.(Three books has taken that careful feeling that comes with new writers and replaced with a much more confident and assured writing style.)*Baek Hyeon is a young nurse. She spent six years studying, working her way to get to this important position in the palace. Hyeon is driven by the need to be acknowledged by society, and especially her father, lord Shin, who is a noble- and a typical high-born man of his time, with all the views of women and commoners that come with it. Her mother- a concubine, is the lowest in his eyes, and because of this, he looks down on Hyeon, and is just a big jerk, in my opinion.Hyeon is young (hey I’m old, 18 is young to me these days) but is relatable on that level where we can say we have experienced similar…ok, maybe not circumstances (goodness, I hope not anyway) but definitely emotions. No matter your age, that need to belong somewhere- whether it be with friends, work, or family, and to have your worth be recognized by your peers, is something I would think everyone has experienced at some point.Anyway, Hyeon, grows a lot as character- learning what it means to be strong and that loving someone, doesn’t always look like what you think it should. As the story unfolds, that growth, comes with realisations that there is a one-sidedness to some of her viewpoints- allowing her to come to terms with herself and mend some relationships with others.She is a fully-realized character which is good because she is our window into this time, but her fullness makes some of the peripheral characters feel a little blurry and faceless in comparison.(Oddly the prince, was very clear to me but I had a little knowledge of the real prince Sado, with whom he was somewhat modelled after and that probably filled in some of the edges. There is a great write-up at the end of the book about him and his history, that is well-worth reading after you have finished the story, so don’t miss it.)*The romance with Seo Eojin and Hyeon, was as sweet and as chaste as a kdrama romance. I like that he admired her strength, and I was grateful for a non-open ending to their relationship because I don’t want to guess if they got together or not. I wanted more of them, but I didn’t expect it either. This is first and foremost a crime story.The scene setting- was beautiful, again the sparseness in style lets our minds do the heavy lifting. As someone who tries to paint occasionally, the biggest lesson is knowing when to stop, and I find that just as true in writing.There are some nice tidbits of history, that were interesting without being too much. The setting and customs are more familiar, since I read the first book of June Hurs’ but I also think they’re easier to digest this time around, because the writing is clearer, and not so weighed down in making sure we understand.The mystery is just complicated enough that the obvious suspect/s, aren’t that obvious, and the pacing was good and quick. Although occasionally information and clues felt quite easy- it’s the trade-off for keeping things moving along. And it definitely does that, it’s a real page-turner. I blew through it in just a few days.*After reading the author’s notes, I regretted not watching The Throne while it was still on Netflix but at the time, I knew how Sado died, and I didn’t want to cry (this was before I knew all the other stuff which I found out later but it’s still the saddest history ever).

Great plot

Behind this book there is an accurate historical research. June Hur tried to remain faithful to the places, objects, uses, customs and characters of the time, creating a rich and exciting story.I'm totally fascinated, I really reccomand you this book, especially if you love history, crimes, court intrigues. And kdrama too😉For a full review, visit my profile on Instagram ☺️

This was our first monthly pick for the 'Our Violent Reads' book club, and it's safe to say that we've started with a bang.Within a few pages of The Red Palace, I was completely hooked. Hur's ability to immerse the reader through both her astounding historical knowledge and immeasurable writing abilities fully transports you to 1750s Joseon (Korea), and let's just say: it was a wild ride. Baek-Hyeon is a testament to female strength, and I wish that when I was younger, I'd had more access to books with strong female protagonists like Hyeon because she truly is incredible.Though I do consider myself to be passionate about history and endeavour to teach myself all I was not taught at school, I'm ashamed to say that my knowledge of Korean history was embarrassingly sparse prior to reading this book. The way that Hur has interwoven so much history, along with keeping up the thrilling murder mystery plotline (and a certain romance plotline... It was too cute so I decided it needs its own paragraph), was amazing, and I look forward to learning about more Korean history and culture, as the amount of effort that June Hur has put into educating the reader on 1750s Korea has made me realise how much more I need to learn about Korean history.I loved learning about Hyeon's role as a palace nurse, and all of the other roles within the palace. I think what was so lovable about Hyeon as a character is her perseverance and genius; though she was often put down as a 'vulgar commoner', she never once allowed societal expectations to stop her from achieving her goal.As an avid crime fan, the murder mystery had me on tenterhooks the entire time. There isn't a moment where the plot slows or meanders, and this was the definition of a 'just one more chapter' sort of book. There was never a chapter where I felt like I'd be happy closing the book and going to bed, I needed to know what was going to happen next, and the way the plot unravelled piece by piece was so interesting. Also (trying to keep this pretty spoiler-free, but this part is a bit spoilery so just skip to the next paragraph if you don't want spoilers), I really admired the way Nurse Inyeong's character arc was written. Following the big reveal at the end, I was shocked and disappointed in her character, but after the revelation that she was really, at the end of the day, seeking justice for her mother, softened her in my eyes. I'm obviously not saying that what happened excused her actions in any way, but I understood her a bit more, and it made her more real.Before I get onto the absolute CUTENESS that is Hyeon and Eojin, I just wanted to take a second to praise the exploration of mother-daughter relationships in this book (again, a bit spoilery so just skip to the next para!!). From Hyeon and her mother to Inyeong and Hyo-ok, I just really loved the way those relationships were explored, and Hur questioned what a mother-daughter bond really was.Okay, Hyeon and Eojin. They are perfect. They're literally my everything, to be honest. I loved the way their bond strengthened and grew over the course of the book, and I can't wait to go and read the bonus epilogue after finishing this review, because I am craving Hyeon and Eojin content right now. They were just absolutely perfect in every way, and I love the way that their love transcends their positions in society, and that to each other, they're just two people that love each other very much. (Brb crying)To conclude, I would really urge anyone reading this that hasn't read the book to do yourself a favour and read it. Without question, this has been one of my most standout reads of the year so far, and I can't wait to go and read the rest of June Hur's works!