BEHIND FIVE WILLOWS

During a time of censorship, two young people who are flouting the law find one another.

Joseon Dynasty Korea, 1792: King Jeongjo just reinforced a ban on fiction, but not everyone follows the rules. Eighteen-year-old Shin Haewon, a cunning young commoner, transcribes novels under the pseudonym “Magpie” for Five Willows, a secret bookshop that lends out forbidden texts for “a small fortune.” Nineteen-year-old Yu Seojun is torn between pleasing his traditional father, an important government official, and doing what he loves most: writing fiction. After the reinstatement of the Munchebanjeong edict, Seojun, or “Black Lotus,” stopped writing his novel—or responding to letters from his transcriber and pen pal, Magpie. When their paths finally cross in person, they meet as strangers. Seojun dismisses Haewon because of her social status, while Haewon sees Seojun as arrogant “Lord Perfect.” But over time, Seojun develops a fondness for Haewon and realizes her identity; Haewon takes longer to recognize who Seojun is, let alone her feelings for him. In this heartwarmingly beautiful yet frustratingly slow romance that riffs on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, layers of secrecy, mystery, and sociopolitical risk weave tension into a charming love story.

A slow-burn, book-themed romance with appeal for patient readers of character-driven stories.