The Floating World - ARC Review

The Floating World

ARC Review by All Things Book Wise

Rating: ✨4.5 stars ✨

Review Updated: 05/18/2025

The Floating World is a beautifully written whirlwind of adventure and magic, or in other words, a YA fantasy romance that brings the legend of the Celestial Maidens to life!

The setting gives steampunk fantasy vibes and it was really interesting exploring this world through all the great worldbuilding in the story.

It took me a little while to actually get into it, but once I did, the book was unputdownable! There were a lot of plot twists and we kept learning more and more about the characters, their backstories, and how their paths were all connected to each others.

The book follows three POVS (but mostly two main characters):

➺Sunho is a mysterious ex-soldier and current sword-for-hire residing in the Underworld, with hardly any memories from his past or about how he came to having some strange abilities.

➺Ren is lively, free-spirited, and part of a troupe of traveling acrobats formed by her adopted family and friends. She has the power to wield silver light, an ability linked to her emotions that she's forced to keep hidden. It's one disastrous day, in the fear and anger during a demon attack on her family, that she releases a blast of light, alerting the world to her power.

➺Jaeil is a military captain and son of the general. He doesn't get much page-time, but wow is he complicated! He gives a lot of the background about the political landscape in this world, and he's also the one who hires Sunho to find a girl who wields silver light, in exchange for money and information about the past Sunho can't remember.

The characters are definitely my favorite part! Ren & Sunho are so well written and loveable! There's something about the way they are just inexplicably drawn together, and there's so much mystery around their pasts, their magic, and how much their paths are entwined more than they can imagine. The romance is slow-burn, but its also really tender and sweet, in a story that can be rather action-packed and serious at times. I was so worried there would be a major conflict between them over how Sunho was tasked with finding her, but there wasn't and that was perfection! I think some part of him already knew who she really was, but I absolutely adored the way Sunho came to love Ren, became fiercely protective of her and fought for her and alongside her❤️

Final Thoughts: I loved this book! There's so much potential to explore where the story goes in the sequel and I can't wait for it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC. All thoughts are my own.