I have been patiently waiting for Behind Five Willows by June Hur for a while and when I got this story, I dived in and finished it in one go! If you love Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice, this book is inspired by it but set in Joseon. If you are following my instagram page, you know I am a huge fan of Korean dramas and this book was perfect for me!
Haewon is the second daughter of a poor family and she loves books. She works as a book transcriber and working with her favorite author, Black Lotus.
Seojun is the perfect son of a wealthy family. He follows duty, he is obedient to his father, but he has a secret passion; writing.
When the king bans books, they both get into a difficult position. Are books worth to get punished?
Although, their different status, Haewon and Seojun start spending time together and they soon realize that they have more in common that they think. Society cannot accept their relationship but their hearts say otherwise.
I loved this story. I am such a huge fan of pining, small touches and yearning and this book has it all. These two characters are completely different but you can see their connection. I loved the letters they exchanged and the romance is spot on!
The secondary characters are so interesting and June if you are seeing my review, I would love to read a forbidden romantic story about the bookseller!
I have always been a fan of June Hur and her mysteries but I hope she doesn’t stop writing Korean historical romance stories! Behind Five Willows could be perfectly made as a K-drama!
