"Honey in the Wound" by Jiyoung Han. Publication date April 2026.

I liked this book as I always enjoy books set in Asia. This book is set in the context of the rise of the Japanese empire and with the invasion and subsequent occupation of Korea and Manchuria in China by Japan. It also deals with the "comfort stations" established by the Japanese Army using girls from other countries who are forced into sex work. This book has multiple layers which are reflected in the family tree at the start of the book. However the stories often seem disparate and not connected; other than by family. The themes of discrimination and exploitation are clear throughout though. There are elements of mystery and magic which I found hard to understand other than that these also appeared at several points in the stories. I liked these and they added a sense of magic to an otherwise brutal and dark book however I wasn't sure what the intent was. When I finished the book, I was left with a sense of confusion and not entirely sure how I would begin articulating the book to others. You may get a sense of this from my review. However I do feel that the author was brave to deal with many of the issues (the Japanese/Korean relationship as an example) which are still relatively sensitive. She is also brave enough to write some really terrifying and explicit scenes which made me reflect more on the terrors of conflicts and their wider impact. I enjoyed the book as I read but there are some characters and stories who I felt could have benefited from further development and more space for their stories. I was gifted a copy of this book in advance for free in return for an objective review. I rated it *** out of 5. You can read the synopsis and other reviews on goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235992600-honey-in-the-wound?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=TEGVoENx35&rank=1