SFF

The Rainfall Market

by You Yeong-Gwang
Ace: Berkley. Jan. 2025. 224p. tr. from Korean by Slin Jung. ISBN 9780593952665. pap. $19. FANTASY
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DEBUT Serin is lonely, depressed, and desperate. Her only chance at a fresh start is to win a ticket to the magical and remote Rainfall Market, where she can trade her predetermined misery for a fresh start. Winning that ticket takes Serin on a journey to a place where magical creatures buy misery and sell hope—or so it seems. With the help of a feline spirit guide, Serin samples all that the market has to offer and makes friends along the way, only to discover that what the market wants from her is not just her terrible past but also any possibility of a future. This mix of cozy fantasy and magical realism plays on all the tales of mysterious night markets and tricky fae creatures who promise fabulous things in return for a price that is much too high to pay.
VERDICT A delightful story of friendship, found family, and the knowledge that happiness may merely require a change in perspective. Fans of cozy magical realism, such as The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee and Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, will love this.
Reviewed by Marlene Harris , Nov 01, 2024
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