Brazen is the final book in the Gilded series. It combines Korean mythology, fantasy, and thriller. I thought the third book had some horror thrown in too. The heroine, Jae Hwa, does some really smart things, does some really stupid things, and in general handles her very difficult circumstances very well. At the start of the story, she has placed herself in the hands of Kud, the god of darkness, in order to protect her loved ones. Her situation looks pretty bleak, and she needs help. There is a group of warriors known as the Guardian and Shinshi who work to protect Korea and are trying to stop Jae, believing her soul belongs to Kud. One of them is her former boyfriend, Marc.
The Guardians don’t trust her, and rightly so. There are repeated indications Kud’s hold on her makes her untrustworthy. She is sent by him to China to steak the Black Turtle Orb, an object Kud intends to use to control all of Korea. Kud is much more powerful in the Spirit World, so Jae is hopeful she can break free long enough to get the Guardians on her side, and tell her father and grandfather she is alive.
While Jae does have some moments of self-pity, they are understandable. She is dealing with a lot of loss. She needs help, but she also needs to regain confidence in herself at the start of the story. I thought the elements of mythology and the Spirit World were very cool. Jae herself is not an ordinary 16 year old with her connection with the Spirit World, but she has limits too. And while Jae needs help to defeat a god from both March and the other Guardians, she does a lot of rescuing herself too. The story is very fast-paced an exciting. I highly recommend this trilogy, and look forward to the next book Christina Farley publishes, which sounds like it will be a fairy tale.
