Review: The Man Who Won the World by O.E. Boroni

Title: The Man Who Won the World
Author: O.E. Boroni
Series: The Man Who Won the World, book 1
Genre: Historical, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 295 pages, Ebook
Source: I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

When you refuse to conform to the world you were born into, do you then create your own?

This is a story about a man who founded his own kingdom.

All Choi Jiyong knows is his carefree days hawking vegetables at the Namdong market and his service as a jolly hand at a riverside tavern.

But one day, it all changes when he saves the life of a mysterious girl.

Suddenly, he is plunged into a world of political rivalry, deadly turmoil, and incomprehensible tragedy. However, what he thinks is just an end to life as he has known it, becomes the start of his journey towards a destiny that has been ordained in his name: his hand will bring to its knees, dynasties that have been since the beginning of time.

This is a tale of supernatural forces, of love and of guilt, of revenge and of truth. Wars will arise and kingdoms will fall, kings will become victims, and slaves will become gods.

Author’s note: This is a historical/period romance novel set in Korea in the 900’s.

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My first thought after I finished this book was “HOW COULD IT END LIKE THIS??!” I so want more! I couldn’t believe it just ended, I was desperately trying to scroll through to see if there were any more pages but in vain. Nonetheless, it was a unique and powerful read and I loved every second of this book.

Choi Jiyong is happy working as a simple farmer whereas his brothers have the opportunity to go to school. One day when he saves a mysterious girl, his whole world turns upside down. He is thrown into a completely different world from his. Will he be able to wade through the difficulties or will his world get destroyed before he even realizes?

The plot was really good. I enjoyed the story so much from the very start. The story is set in Korea and is told in multiple POVs, it was a little confusing at first but as I read on it became easy to understand. Jiyong leads a simple life who is satisfied being only a farmer. But everything changes when he saves a mysterious girl from the market. I enjoyed Haekang’s character, she was smart and caring.

All the characters were layered and I enjoyed how each of them was depicted. The dynamics of the story constantly changed which kept me on edge. I really hated what Emperor did though he was warned by his own people. As a result of this consequence, he faced what he had coming. But in the midst of all these, it really broke my heart what some of the people had to go through. King Taejin was pretty diplomatic but no better.

One thing which sometimes threw me off were the Korean terminology, it was sometimes confusing but I loved the way how the words were attached to the glossary at the end. Despite this, the writing flowed so smoothly, my attention never wavered throughout the book. There’s something about Boroni’s writing which draws me in. It felt very real like everything was happening in front of my eyes.

Overall, The Man Who Won the World was a fantastic read! I really enjoyed how the story was executed and the characters were pretty interesting to read about. The writing was beautiful and the pace was even throughout the book. I seriously can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Recommend it?

Yes.

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So guys what did you think about this book? Are you interested in reading this one? Have you read any other books by this author? If so, how was your experience so far?

• 4 stars
• 4 stars out 5
• book 1
• eARC
• Historical
• January release
• O.E. Boroni
• review copy
• romance
• The Man Who Won the World
• The Man Who Won the World series
• YA
• Young-Adult