The Witch of Wol Sin Lake by Lena Jeong

Book Review

Mikaela Silk

As long as the Netherking inhabits her brother’s body, Mirae cannot strike the final blow against him. But whilst Mirae works to save her brother, the Netherking works to save himself. If he succeeds, he will be more powerful than ever before, a threat to even the gods themselves. Mirae faces her biggest sacrifice yet and she can only hope that she makes the right decision when the time comes.

This book follows a complex narrative of time travel, body switching, possession, deception, and betrayal. Taking it up a notch from the first book, we now see Mirae body switching with her past-selves as well as her future-selves. This means that, when she switches with her past-self, the reader has to stretch their mind back to the scenes of the first book to remember what was happening when the switch took place the first time. And the mysteries when she switches with her future-self continue to grow more and more confounding. Kimoon’s future seems especially indecipherable, something which causes Mirae a lot of inner turmoil.

Another large source of Mirae’s turmoil is the truth about her ancestors and her magic. The more she uncovers, the more certain she is that her own history is a lie. Yet she cannot fully trust the dark stories of her enemies and so the real truth continues to elude her. As a reader, I felt I barely understood this history before it began to be questioned, which made the tangled web seem even more confusing. Furthermore, I am not sure how the truth will be of much help to Mirae in her fight against the Netherking.

The relationships between characters has a minor role to play in how the narrative unfolds. There is a hint of a love interest for Mirae which heightens her personal stakes a little and adds a bit more human depth to her character. But the main role this relationship building has seems to be to emphasise the impact of betrayals. Mirae’s love for the people around her makes it difficult for her to make decisions purely for the benefit of her people. It also makes the betrayal of others a much more emotionally devastating experience for her. Her body-switching adds a greater intensity to these betrayals as Mirae can see the betrayals that await in her future, but does not know how or when they happen.

A dramatic twist ending serves as the perfect finale for this complex and intense book. Such a twist is not for the faint-hearted reader, but it does set a startling backdrop for a third book in this series.