If You Like This K-Drama, Try These Books
The King: Eternal Monarch
The King Eternal Monarch is a newish K-Drama, from this year, and it’s on Netflix. It’s about a modern-day Emperor of the Kingdom of Corea, Lee Gon, who crosses into an alternate reality. There he meets a detective, Jung Tae-eul, who is somehow mysteriously linked to his past, and the assassination of his father.
This drama has EVERYTHING. Sci-fy, fantasy, romance, bromance, comedy, mystery, it’s just so good. And because there is so much to it, I was able to come up with five book recommendations for it.
1. First up is the first book in my favorite series about parallel or alternate universes, A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray.
Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents most astonishing invention is called the Firebird. It allows users to jump into multiple universes. When Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension Marguerite decides to chase after him. She races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.
2. Next Let’s tackle the Time Travel element. Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone.
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.
3. Now for the detective/mystery element, I decided on one of my favorite mystery series. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.
4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is made reference to quite a few times so here is my favorite YA adaptation. Splintered by A.G. Howard.
Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—a family curse that stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together…until Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on.
5. King Arthur is also referenced a few times, so here is my favorite Arthurian YA. Avalon High by Meg Cabot.
To newcomer Ellie, Avalon High seems like a typical American high school, complete with jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and even the obligatory senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy. But it doesn't take Ellie long to suspect that something weird is going on beneath the glossy surface of this tranquil hall of learning. As she pieces together the meaning of this unfolding drama, she begins to recognize some haunting Arthurian echoes, causing her to worry that she has become just a pawn in mythic history.
(There is even a movie adaptation of this one.)
For more info and comparisons check out my new video!
