⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
The Red Palace is a historical fiction set place in 1758 Joseon (Korea), where Baek-hyeon and Eojin are swept up in an investigation about nurses who’ve been brutally murdered and the crown prince who is the said to be the one who've committed these murders.

"There is a saying among us who work there: Palace secrets must never get out, or else inevitably there will be blood."

I am an absolute sucker for k-drama’s, have been since 2014 and haven’t stopped enjoying them for one moment. The sageuk or historical dramas have always been my favourite by a mile. When I found out a sageuk would be written as a novel, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy! When Faecrate announced their January book I couldn’t be more excited for this book to come my way.

When reading the author’s note about the Crown Prince being based on Crown Prince Sado, I was even more excited, as I’ve known his story and read parts of The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyoung about what happened then and was curious to see how parts of history would be woven into this tale of fiction. I have to say, seamlessly!

Every minute I spent reading this story, I was sucked into that historical world from than. The terms used, the description of details and characters were each written beautifully and big. Everything was so easy to picture and to follow along with. It was almost as if I was watching a sageuk play out instead of reading it. Honestly, I would love if they ever made this book into a real drama! The storyline and plot are absolutely perfect for it, with interesting characters, political scheming and a mystery to solve!

The characters were all so likeable I was rooting for both of them. Hyeon struggling with wanting to be enough for others was sometimes painful to read about, because she is and has always been enough! Seeing her grow in character, her growing confidence and self-awareness were inspiring. Eojin, is just such a sweetheart as well and very different from what I expected at first. I kind off though it would be a bit of enemies-to-lovers, but his kind nature and his drive for justice made him such a full character who knew what he wanted.

The romance is exactly what I expected it to be. Very similar to sageuk and very believable for that time as well. The way it gradually grew and how it grew felt so genuine and appropriate for that time period as well. Had it been written differently; it wouldn’t have fitted into this story as beautifully as it did. It was heartwarming to read about the little moments between the two! The bold way they spoke to each other, heart flustering!

“You didn’t let go of me then. Don’t let go of me now.”

The reveal and ending were so cleverly done! Bit by bit a more would be revealed, but never did I expect the story to unfold how it did. It was totally unexpected in the best way and I loved how it all played out in the end. The epilogue written to accompany the ending also were a perfect close to this amazing story. I would’ve love to keep on reading and learn more and wasn’t really ready to say goodbye, but the conclusion it had was a perfect one. It left me feeling complete and content at having finished this story.

Overall, it was a very easy, fun and engaging read which I didn’t want to end! I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book!