Celestial | The Fox Wife: A Novel

The Fox Wife: A Novel

Yangsze Choo

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Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . ..

Manchuria, 1908. In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach—until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it? Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind.

Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur. New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

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Posts about this title from Celestial

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jul 21

which one convinced you the most? 😖

which one convinced you the most? 😖 part twenty-four of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

📚 books mentioned: - Spread Me by Sarah Gailey - Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler - The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson - Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle - Canon by Paige Lewis - The Children by Melissa Albert - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield - The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang

👗💄: - dress is from Free People, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is Sickly Sweet Palette from Blend Bunny Cosmetics and In A Trance Palette from Colourpop - eyeshadow shimmer is Paradise from Adriana Nichole Cosmetics - eyeliner is Creme Gel Liner (Amethyst Hour) from Colourpop - mascara is Highly Rated XL from Milani - lip combo is 360 Contour Lip Liner (Mauve) and Wonder Blading Top Gloss (Holographic) from Wonderskin - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Tor Nightfire, HarperVoyager, Viking Books, William Morrow, Saga Press, and Berkley Books for the gifted copies!

#onestarreviews #negativebookreview #goodreadsreviews #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @tornightfire @grandcentralpub @harpervoyagerus @vikingbooks @williammorrowbooks @henryholtbooks @sagapressbooks @berkleypub @freepeople @blendbunnycosmetics @colourpopcosmetics @adriananicholecosmetics @milanicosmetics @wonderskin

reading one star reviews of books i loved • recommending books using their negative goodreads reviews • 1 star book reviews • bookish humor • diverse books

9 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jun 6

what could be more fun than pairing some book covers with outfits? 💕

what could be more fun than pairing some book covers with outfits? 💕 here are some books and looks!

📚 books mentioned: - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo - Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White - Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino - Warm-Blooded by J Greene - The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez - Canon by Paige Lewis - A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

#fantasybooks #horrorbooks #scifibooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @henryholtbooks @readmirabooks @htp_hive @peachtreeteen @fsgbooks @ingramsparkbooks @delreybooks @vikingbooks @williammorrowbooks

8 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 29

CHOOSE YOUR BOOK CRISIS! (part 7!)

CHOOSE YOUR BOOK CRISIS! (part 7!) because everything i read involves terrible, terrible dangers.

📚 books mentioned: - Herculine by Grace Byron - The Obake Code by Makana Yamamoto - The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez - You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White - Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu - The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker - The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays by Andrea Hairston

👗💄: - dress is from Amy Jane London, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is a mix of palettes from Colourpop - mascara is 4 Real from Babe Original - lip combo is Suede Matte Lip Liner (Moonwalk) from NYX Cosmetics and PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze (Cocoa) from Haus Labs - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Saga Press, Harper Voyager, Tor Books, Pantheon, Get Underlined, Henry Holt & Co., and Hanover Square Press/HTP Hive for the gifted copies!

#fantasybooks #horrorbooks #scifibooks #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @sagapressbooks @harpervoyagerus @torbooks @pantheonbooks @getunderlined @henryholtbooks @hanoversquarepress @htp_hive @amyjanelondon

fantasy books • horror books • science fiction books • murder mystery books • literary fiction books • thriller books • choose your character (book edition) • unique books • diverse books

9 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 15

which one convinced you the most? 🫨

which one convinced you the most? 🫨 part twenty-three of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

📚 books mentioned: - On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield - No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Herculine by Grace Byron - The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas - Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

👗💄: - eyeshadow is The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite - eyeshadow shimmer is Lucid Dream from Ourbella Cosmetics - mascara is Highly Rated XL from Milani - lip combo is Lippie Pencil (Twisted) from Colourpop and Shine-On Milky Lip Oil Jelly (Pistachio) from Tower28 - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Saga Press and Little, Brown, and Co or the gifted copies!

#onestarreviews #negativebookreview #goodreadsreviews #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @sagapressbooks @blackstonepublishing @henryholtbooks @berkleypub @littlebrown @eccobooks @torbooks

reading one star reviews of books i loved • recommending books using their negative goodreads reviews • 1 star book reviews • bookish humor • diverse books • Blackstone Publishing • Henry Holt & Co • Berkley Books • Ecco • Tor Books

8 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 30 2025

💭 do you have any goals for 2026?

happy (almost) new year! here are some books about reconciliation, healing, or just generally fresh starts. three very different tones, too!

📚 books mentioned: - Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden

👗💄: - dress is from CeliaB Designer, rented from Nuuly - top eyeshadow is 3 Sparklestiks from Half Magic - bottom eyeshadow is You Make Me Happy Palette from KimChi Chic Beauty - lip combo is Lippie Pencil (Twisted) from Colourpop) and PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze (Fig) from Haus Labs - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thanks to Bindery Books for the gifted copy!

#fantasybooks #fantasybookrecs #bookrecs #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @clarionbooks @henryholtbooks @harperkids @bindery_books @celiabdesigner @nuuly @halfmagicbeauty @kimchichicbeauty @colourpopcosmetics @hauslabs

fantasy books • fantasy book recs • new years books • fresh start book recommendations • diverse books • Bindery Books • Clarion Books • Henry Holt and Co

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 4 2025

readathon TOMORROW!

1 book

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 22 2025

do you want a free copy of The Fox Wife?? keep on watching!!

my book club is called Celestial, and I may be biased, but it ROCKS. we’re hosted through Discord and Bindery Books, and read otherworldly backlisted books by marginalized authors.

📚 books mentioned: - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

👗💄: - dress is from Damson Madder, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is the Lord of the Rings palette from Glamlite - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Henry Holt for the gifted copies!

#bookclub #celestial #binderybooks #thefoxwife #henryholt #fantasybooks #historicalfictionbooks #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram @henryholtbooks @damsonmadder @nuuly @glamlite

1 book

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 22 2025

[](https://celestial.binderybooks.com/item/NPKDR8fBEoTlXxSshdbB/)

[CLOSED] GIVEAWAY! 5 copies of The Fox Wife!

1 book

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jul 21

which one convinced you the most? 😖

which one convinced you the most? 😖 part twenty-four of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

thank you to Tor Nightfire, HarperVoyager, Viking Books, William Morrow, Saga Press, and Berkley Books for the gifted copies!

reading one star reviews of books i loved • recommending books using their negative goodreads reviews • 1 star book reviews • bookish humor • diverse books

9 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jun 6

what could be more fun than pairing some book covers with outfits? 💕

what could be more fun than pairing some book covers with outfits? 💕 here are some books and looks!

8 books

Sarah Does Bookish Stuff\ \ Sarah\ \ • Jun 1

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[Dang, May was a decent month for reading. I ended up at 16 total books and I want to write a little bit about them! 16 is a lot so I won't go into too much detail. In the future, I'll be sharing longer-form reviews that give a lot more of my takeaways so be on the lookout for those!\ \ Toothsucker by Kaden Love\ \ I was fortunate to listen to the audiobook of this and I enjoyed it a lot. The narrator had the perfect cadence for the book. It surprised me! It wasn't what I expected and significantly more cyberpunk than I realized. The world is fun, weird, gross, and weaves in a lot of political themes. Kaden is clearly just having a blast writing this and I feel like authors who have fun always make something incredible.\ \ Headlights by C.J. Leede\ \ I could write a dissertation on the beauty of this book. Truly. I read the ARC, cried my eyes out, and preordered a signed copy. This book lives in me. It did something to my brain. Leede has a magnetic writing style I couldn't stop devouring. How she threaded in folk horror to her work was creative and considerate. Her characters and how they're connected, their pasts, and the way they find meaning in each other, however, was so beautiful. Also, I am having a hard time explaining why a woman eating a man's finger during sex is heart-achingly romantic.\ \ The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang\ \ I don't understand why people didn't adore this book. I mean, I do, but I don't. Kuang is incredibly good at making it less clear what it means to be a hero. This book showed the horror of genocide and the aftermath of Rin's destructive meltdown at the end of The Poppy War, plus the lingering ghost of Altan coloring her view of the world. Kuang is fantastic at showing Rin's imperfections and giving us depth and color to Nezah that made me fall in love with him - yes, even in the ending. Every character is their own ecosystem of motivation and an exploration of nature versus nurture. I LOVE her character work. \ \ The Burning God by R.F. Kuang\ \ This was my favorite in the series, just fantastic. It's bleak, but its raw and visceral and real. Rin isn't a moral paragon and I think people disliked that, but I absolutely loved it. Rin begins to realize she has no foresight and no plan, she struggles in the way a young person with too much power and no guidance would struggle. She has nobody left to turn to and has to figure it out, which makes her struggle and suffer in personal ways. It turns the war from abstract to overt and she has to contend with the different facets of having power. The power of a god, an army, a country... and she does not handle it well. I thought the ending was deft, Kuang tells you how it has to end the entire time and people just weren't paying attention. \ \ A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab\ \ Holland mt love. My absolute perfect book husband. This book was an extraordinary sequel and gave us such a fun experience. Schwab is a master of character work, it's impossible not to fall in love with all of them. I really enjoyed how she showed Holland's history and why he is the way he is. I think he is one of the most complex, beautiful characters I've read in a long time. I could write a treatise in his defense. He didn't have what Kell had and if he did, he would have been extremely similar. Holland knew only suffering in his world and still he only ever sought to change it for the better. \ \ A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab\ \ A phenomenal final entry into the first era. Just amazing. Deep characters, meaningful arcs, all knots tied with enough left to come back. I love how fantastical and whimsical this world is while feeling threatening and deep. I stand by all my previously sung praises for Holland, they could never make me hate him. It could only ever end one way, even if it broke my heart. Still, no matter what, I will always be delusionally hopeful Era 2 might change something about it.\ \ Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne\ \ This was a significant bar-raise from Malice and Valor. I know The Faithful and the Fallen is a crowd favorite, but I'm only finding it alright. Nothing about it sticks to me. I liked Shadow of the Gods, but I don't get the cinematic click everyone else seems to. It's fun, predictable, with distinct characters, but nothing about it really blew me away. I like Orka, but she isn't a favorite in my house. I'm not sure if Gwynne's writing style is just not for me? \ \ Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao\ \ I wanted to love this. I did. I loved Iron Widow so much, it was a neck-breaking fever dream that played out like a dramatic anime in my mind. Zhao just bogged this down in so much theory and interjected way too much modernism that it drowned the story for me. Eventually, hearing the fifth iterative explanation of communism versus socialism just turns to white noise in my head. Plus, the introduction of the Emperor and the disappearance of Yizhi and Shimin for most of the story made my interest in the three of them fade. \ \ The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling\ \ Okay this was exactly the kind of weird medieval cannibal lesbian nun book I was hoping for. Starling makes you work for it. People described it as "slow", but I disagree completely. Starling makes every sentence matter, she forces you to focus and pay attention to what she is saying. Her commentary on weak leadership, the fallibility of man, isolation, duty, honor, disconnection, community... all of it was perfectly captured in this claustrophobic horror novel. Plus, I would let Ser Voyne do unspeakable things to me, but she would never. Too much honor. \ \ The Starless Crown by James Rollins\ \ This book is AMAZING. Sci-fantasy peak. I can't believe more people aren't reading and loving it. This trilogy is incredibly inventive and creative, the world is realistic and strange. Rollins built characters who are insightful and a villain that truly shocked me to my core. I didn't expect a surprise villain because who does that?! Rollins is known for his sci-fi thrillers, so I think people expect this to be the same, but I assure you it's anything but. I can't wait to continue this series!\ \ The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten\ \ How I wanted to love this, but I only felt okay about it. I loved The Foxglove King and enjoyed The Hemlock Queen, but this one felt a bit messy and crowded. The added perspective for Alie was great, I wish it had been included starting in Book 2. I didn't love the ending, but I loved that we got to see so much change and see how Lore's enduring love for her men carried her through the worst losses of her life. I wish we had more explanation about why Lore's arc ended the way it did, the Fount's motivations felt dubious to me. However, I still read it in two days and Whitten has a beautifully addictive style of writing no matter what. \ \ The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman\ \ Galva dom Braga is my book wife and I will follow her to the ends of the earth. Buehlman wrote something so special that this book is basically family now. The tone is completely different from The Blacktongue Thief, first in the series, but it should be and it works wonders for this story. His world is so gritty and intense, it's creative and sharp and still funny in a different way. Galva's story is a harrowing, tragic explanation about who she is and how she came to be the Ispanthian warrior we know and love. I adored this book. This book was magical. It feels like listening to a story at a campfire and I urge people to try this series. \ \ The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo\ \ What a unique read this was! I love foxes and all the mythology around them, but Choo did something fantastical with it. This story was not just about Snow overcoming her grief and her thirst for revenge, it was about the subtle differences in fox mythology around East Asia and how the British occupation was slowly erasing the cultural identity of so many countries. Bao's tale wasn't just solving the crime of a peculiar death, it was teaching readers about cultural practices and regional differences and how women were oppressed in more ways than just foot binding in China. \ \ The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes\ \ This book was a miraculous work of weird fiction. I am so emotional about it it's bizarre. What masterful storytelling and unbelievable prose! Ennes is a stunning writer that manages to make stab wounds into poetry. This world wove art and politics together until they were not separate from one another. They showed you how tyrants are born in a slow drip, not a flood. So much more went into this. The ease around trans identity, control versus love, how sociopolitical rot destroys a society, our unresolved mistakes always come back to us, and so much more. I can't even speak about the characters because to do so is to reveal the story, which I would never want to do. I didn't expect a story about extermination to move me like this. \ \ House of Chains by Steven Erikson\ \ Erikson really flexed on his readers with this one. He proved he can hold a single character POV in his hands and simply chooses not to because that's not what the story demands. This book was a real open-faucet torrent of his background in archaeology and anthropology. He has so many poignant things to say about cultures formed on the bones of each other, changing worlds and ever-changing societies, etc. Plus he managed to pull off one of the greatest redemption arcs I've ever read. Lookin' at you, Karsa. \ \ A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett\ \ Convinced RJB isn't capable of writing anything short of fantastic. This mystery was wild and the world is so bizarre and fun, I never want to leave it. I love how Bennett's goal isn't to solve this world's ills or take out its Empire or change the leviathans, it's just to show you a glimpse of the bigger way the machine of it functions. We learn a bit more about Ana and who she is every book through these mysteries that feel like a fever dream. Dinios Kol remains my disaster bisexual son who misses the love of his life and just won't admit it to himself. The problem is that if he won't, Ana will. \ \ This was an amazing month for reading! I got through a lot of books and only didn't squeeze ONE from my original TBR into the mix. I am so fortunate to have walked away loving so many of them this month, too. I actually changed The Works of Vermin from a 4.5 to a 5 because it sat with me that much. I had TWO 5-star reads this month:\ \

Headlights by C.J. Leede\ \
The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes\ \ \ June will be a deviation from my regularly scheduled reading programming as I'm doing my very first read through and analysis of Throne of Glass! I'm calling it June of Glass! Which is ridiculous! \ \ I'm looking forward to analyzing what about this series speaks to people and trying to piece together how Sarah J. Maas was able to captivate a generation of woman readers from multiple ages and bring them into reading again. Be on the lookout for my analysis of the first book - Throne of Glass.](https://sarahdoesbookishstuff.binderybooks.com/item/KqlWx7tQrzNV0FlNt9ut/)

May Reading Recap!

15 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 29

CHOOSE YOUR BOOK CRISIS! (part 7!)

CHOOSE YOUR BOOK CRISIS! (part 7!) because everything i read involves terrible, terrible dangers.

thank you to Saga Press, Harper Voyager, Tor Books, Pantheon, Get Underlined, Henry Holt & Co., and Hanover Square Press/HTP Hive for the gifted copies!

9 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Apr 15

which one convinced you the most? 🫨

which one convinced you the most? 🫨 part twenty-three of one star goodreads reviews of books i enjoyed!

thank you to Saga Press and Little, Brown, and Co or the gifted copies!

8 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 30 2025

💭 do you have any goals for 2026?

happy (almost) new year! here are some books about reconciliation, healing, or just generally fresh starts. three very different tones, too!

📚 books mentioned: - Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden

thanks to Bindery Books for the gifted copy!

fantasy books • fantasy book recs • new years books • fresh start book recommendations • diverse books • Bindery Books • Clarion Books • Henry Holt and Co

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 4 2025

\ \ Join for free or login](https://celestial.binderybooks.com/item/PYXALkbjZaKGW5Y1M6Qq/)

readathon TOMORROW!

1 book

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 22 2025

do you want a free copy of The Fox Wife?? keep on watching!!

📚 books mentioned: - The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

thank you to Henry Holt for the gifted copies!

1 book

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Nov 22 2025

[\ \ Join for free or login](https://celestial.binderybooks.com/item/NPKDR8fBEoTlXxSshdbB/)

[CLOSED] GIVEAWAY! 5 copies of The Fox Wife!

1 book

Kirstyn's Bookshelf\ \ Kirstyn\ \ • Mar 31 2025

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winter book recommendations that slap ❄️

Hiiii! Glad you're back for another video. We have some amazing winter book recommendations you need to read like yesterday. Plus, I chat through my winter tbr. It's a decent amount of books, but honestly, I can never make a tbr without going overboard. Enjoy!

What books do you want to read this winter?

Thank you for being here:)

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10 books

Mood Reads\ \ Hannah\ \ • Jan 16 2025

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January Mood Check

Everything I've been reading, watching, and listening to so far!

19 books