★ Kim, Sophie. The God and the Gumiho. Del Rey: Ballantine. Jun. 2024. 416p. ISBN 9780593599662. pap. $18. FANTASY

Kim Hani leads a relatively quiet life in New Sinsi, working part-time in a coffee shop that serves all sorts of supernatural creatures. No one knows that she was once the renowned Scarlet Fox, a gumiho (a nine-tailed fox) who disappeared after a long, deadly binge of devouring livers and souls. She cannot deny that she wishes she had room for one more—the annoying trickster god Seokga. Banished to the mortal realm after a failed takeover of the heavenly kingdom ruled by his brother, Seokga now works as a detective for the local precinct. When presented with an opportunity to be reinstated by killing an escaped rogue demon and the evasive Scarlet Fox, Seokga is sure he can do it. But Hani refuses to let this annoying god win and decides to disrupt his pursuit by becoming his partner in the search. When the crafty gumiho takes on the taciturn god, sparks fly, but can the pair deal with their secrets? Or will they set fire to the mortal world and destroy everything? VERDICT YA author Kim’s (Last of the Talons) adult debut is an action-filled contemporary fantasy based in Korean mythology, featuring morally gray characters and a little heat.