The Bully - A Paranormal Thriller

by K.J. Kwon

Since the day I declined my boss' sexual advance, all hell has broken loose.She haunts me as a vicious spirit at night and abuses me with impossible assignments during our work day.I am losing my mind. I am constantly seeing my boss transforming into a vicious spirit.Desperate to set myself free, I pay her a visit with a final plan...but even my extreme measure doesn’t provide a way out..Maybe there is a world of demons hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life.------------------------------------REVIEWS"...I defiantly needed to continue reading to know what was happening and going to happen. This book takes you on a ride that makes you dizzy.""A very strange book, pulls you in, chews up you up and spits you out. Very quick to read, mixture of working for a nightmare boss and some shaman action thrown in for good measure...""A quick read about the boss you never want to have and just can't get away from...This was a fun read, definitely recommended...""A mystery thriller that will leave you questioning everything you think you knew. Dark and sinister. This is a thriller at it's most thrilling.."------------------------------------

Genres: Horror

66 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2021

Reviews

[Dana Cristiana]

2 ✨

[Amy]

RTC

[Pegboard]

The Bully: A Paranormal Thriller by K.J. Kwon places you in the nightmare of one young man from Korea. At one point he thinks he has reached his dreams as he escapes the hard, fruitless melon farm he grew up in, and now has a job that can help support his parents. But his vision becomes terrifying when he rejects his boss's advances. She makes work horrendous and his nights haunted with terrors unspeakable. He is unsure if he should get a shaman as his father suggests or just find a different job. Will he find her manipulative powers too strong for him to break free?

[Darryl Terry]

Chilling supernatural horror in the corporate environment of the Far East.



Set in South Korea, this novel highlights the intensely competitive corporate world against the simple country life. Both are worlds apart in terms of wealth and also setting, however, the cultural norms are still present in the city and are also entrenched within corporate life. A young man who has managed to work himself into corporate life from his humble rural origins, and keen to succeed and to make his mark is faced with a female boss whose wrath he incurs after refusing her sexual advances. His life at work becomes a nightmare, but when the nightmare progresses to his private life he realizes that she is also using paranormal powers against him. In desperation, after attempting to defend himself using normal measures, he makes the decision to also resort to the supernatural. His life and his career are changed forever in a final unexpected twist to the plot. This short novel manages to capture the spirit of the Far East, both from a rural as well as an ultra-modern corporate point of view and threads these together in a chilling combination of supernatural and psychological horror.

[Pearl]

Thinking his life will be able to take a turn for a better, a young man from Seoul, Korea, believed that his new job will take a smooth journey. Finally he can now escape his difficult life in his family's town where they work in a farm. However, his expectations were far from reality, because his boss make his life extremely miserable with her difficult tasks at work. At night it was even worse because she visits him as a ghost.

I am usually someone that is not comfortable reading horror and paranormal books. I am very faint hearted when it comes to this genre. But this book, The Bully, by K.J. Kwon completely compelled me to read because it was simply intriguing and I haven't encounter a story like this before, not even in movies or TV series. This book was indeed scary that it didn't leave my mind after reading it. I had goosebumps with all the events. The scary factor is indeed there and for that reason, I believe that this book is a good horror book. If you are a fan of this genre, I recommend you to delve into it!

[Rebecca]

Chilling

The author has constructed an intense environment that pulls you in to this story. Wow. I was incredibly enthralled by this book. Please do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It is straight to the point and gave me chills. I was completely spooked out because the way it’s written makes me be able to visualize it so vividly. The comparisons written in the book makes it easy to have those pictures you usually get with reading a good book. I found that the paranormal elements were written as a metaphor for the dangers of materialism but that’s just my take. I think the book can be interpreted in many ways but I would hate to spoil the book for anyone-it needs to be read without knowing what’s going to happen just like a good scary book should be read. Pick it up! Highly recommended!

[Farida]

I really enjoyed this novella, the writing style was so breezy and easy to follow, also as someone who knows a little bit about Korean culture, I truly loved the few glimpses of the MC's upbringing and how he saw the negative side in every single aspect.
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For me, I count a book a success when the author can make me feel the characters feelings, in this book, you could feel the crippling despair of the young man, I was so engrossed with everything happening, also it takes some skill to make the scenes so vivid in the reader's mind and I salute this.
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Again, I feel like if you're familiar with the culture and the hierarchy fixation in the Korean society, you'd view some reactions and scenes in the book in a completely different light.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

[Jimmy Jefferson]

Supernatural thriller from the dark side

This story is about a boss from the darkest reaches of hell who does everything in her power to make life miserable for her victims. Imagine getting your dream job only to find out your female boss wants you in other ways. Upon declining her advances, your life becomes miserable with unrealistic expectations and bullying from a rejected boss. You then discover she is some sort of paranormal demon eager to feed on fear and souls. This story is well written with developed characters and a good plot. An enjoyable read for those who like paranormal and suspenseful thrillers. Check it out folks it is a good story.

[Jessica]

We’ve all had those bosses that we didn’t like, and if you are a woman, maybe you were even harassed, but in this book, the roles are twisted, the boss is a demanding and unpleasant woman. The victim is a young man, fresh to the city and simply wanting to start his career by doing a good job. Declining her advances do not work and when she sets her sights upon him in more ways than work, his life becomes a hell of her making. Gripping story and I am grateful to see the tables turned, not many books will approach the topic of female abusers. There is a satisfying ending and I liked the pacing; it was a very good book.

[Nela]

“The Bully” by South Korean author K.J. Kwon is a horror novel, where its main character lives in a fuzzy boundary between the reality and his dreams, or to be more accurate, his nightmares. These scary experiences are well described in the first person, which make readers empathized with this young man who suffers from his boss´ abuse, after he rejected her sexual advance.

This is an intense but engaging reading, where paranormal takes place as demons and devil appears in the story.

Overall, it's a horror book with an amazing and in-depth plot that will leave readers on the edge of their seat with every turn of the page.

[Susel]

The Bully is an original novel, and the first written piece by Korean author K.J Kwon. This well-written book tells the story of a man who comes with hopes and dreams to work to the city, but is forced to deal with a horrible female boss, who not only makes unsolicited sexual advances on him, but also makes his life a living nightmare.
I found this to be a good read. It was slow at times, but the author has taken time to add immense details to the description of the characters and to the setting.
Though it was written for the young adult reader, I think readers of all ages who enjoy horror thrillers will appreciate the book and the author's adeptness at creating an interesting story!

[CarlitasFox]

An unputdownable novel
This is definitely an unputdownable novel. “The Bully” is a dreadful but absorbing story written by K.J. Kwon. The most unexpected things happen here.

The plot revolves around a man who starts a new life in his new job when suddenly, his plans turned out to be totally different from what he's imagined. While I was reading, I was at the edge of my seat all the time. What an unpredictable change!

There are so many turns and twists in the plot that make the novel truly enthralling. Apart from this, I liked the author´s writing style since it is simple to follow the events. In short, I highly recommend it.

[JSB (Toastx2)]

Ehrm…. Huh..
Nope. It wasnt a bad book, it was just a bit meh..

The only reason I finished reading The Bully by KJ Kwon was that it was suuuper short. Clocking in at 66 pages, I buckled down and just finished it since it was in my hand.

Guy (I do not believe a name was ever used) works in an AD agency. His boss, Director Dabin Huh, is overbearing, emotionally abusive, and good at hiding it to her own bosses. After avoiding Dabin’s sexual advances, Guy feels like he is haunted by a terribly abrasive and unreasonable boss as well as after hours by a devil.

Story has paranormal elements for sure, but it felt crazy rushed and difficult to justify the pace.

Based in a review copy

[Mary]

He left a childhood in a poor village for the big city and a dream job. The office building is tall, shiny and impressive. His boss is a beautiful woman....tall, shiny and impressive. She constantly has him on edge. He's wonderful...he's stupid....she wants knows he'll do well here....he's a lost cause....he's so strong....he smells bad. She's the bully of bullies and maybe even worse.
If a guy says "my boss is the devil" you think he's joking. What if it's not a joke?
Great lore-based story set in Korea. Thank you #netgalley for the opportunity to read and review #TheBully

[Guy Wheatley]

I was concerned that being completely unfamiliar with South Korea and SK culture, I might not be able identify with the protagonists or story line. I needn’t have feared. The story was written at such a basic human level, that culture wasn’t an issue.
The story moves fast. I finished it in a single sitting. There is a good bit of foreshadowing, so the ending isn’t really much of a surprise. But this is one of those stories where the gold is in the journey. I enjoyed watching how the main character resolved and survived the evil.
This is certainly worth the time and effort to read.

[Brenda]

What a ride this has been! “The Bully” will grab all readers since page one. I was looking for a read like this, and when I finished this book, it totally exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed it.

The story touched many interesting topics, and some can easily relate to a lot of readers. That gives the story a plus. What I also liked was how author K.J. Kwon created this mystic and suspenseful climate giving the story much more intrigue.

To conclude, I think this book is a very unique experience. I'll definitely be on the look for more work by this author.

[Mia C.]

The bully is a book that reads fast but that is kept in the reader’s mind for later thoughts. This describes a boss that nobody would want to have, one that is abusive and doesn’t know when to stop. I was surprised by the story and by the many feelings it conveys. I liked how the characters were constructed but I felt there was something missing such as taking more care on the abused one, or paying more attention to that one. I recommend reading this book especially to adults. It is intense, thought provoking and has a fast paced that surprised me.

[Irene]

A young man in Seoul thinks he’s got the job of his dreams but he couldn’t be more wrong as it turns into his worst nightmare. I’m glad it was as short as it was as it was rather peculiar and not very enjoyable especially the way it started. Also disjointed - is it a translation? If so maybe this is the reason. I liked the description but was expecting something else. Sorry but not my cup of tea on this occasion. It might make a scary film/tv programme! I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[James Doyle]

The Bully is a short book, following a young Korean man's struggle in a workplace. He's come from a small village to a big city to make money to support his family.

The only problem? His boss is evil. She treats him horrendously, and we begin to wonder if she's even of this earth.

The Bully is weird. At its heart, it's a book about a nice man being taken advantage of time after time. It's infuriating. Alongside the nastiness, there is also an element of the supernatural, which for me, is slightly underdone.

I liked the story, and it is really well written, but I personally feel it is a little too short. I read it in one sitting, which is both a testament to Kwon's abilities, while also being evidence of its size.

I just feel that if the book was longer, Kwon could have given more. I would have liked further chapters on the supernatural things that happened.

I'd definitely recommend this, and I hope the author writes more!

Thanks to K.J. Kwon, NetGalley, and KJ Books for this advanced copy.

[Sarah]

This book held no appeal for me. It may be that I am unfamiliar with South Korea and its culture but I didn't like the characters and I felt lost reading much of this. Much of the time the book felt like it muddled reality with nightmare and you weren't sure what was real and what wasn't, even if it was all real it didn't feel that way. The combination of horror, paranormal, and social issues were all thrown together and the book was too short to really figure out what was going on.

[Teresa]

Very strange

One of the strangest books I have ever read. It appears to have a sort of happy ending, but left a lot of room for later problems in a second book. Witch or succubus, this guy's boss is something else.

[Julia Lewis]

The book fell flat for me. I didn't like any characters in it, and the story seemed muddled. I realize there was some hints of horror elements, but overall not for me.

[Adrienne]

2.5 stars! Full review coming soon.

[Michelle]

Strange and creepy Korean horror novel. I liked it although the timeline in the story seemed to jump a bit with him first getting this job and his boss hitting on him and him turning her down to suddenly it seems like significant time has passed and he is still there but alternates between being her errand boy as a form of punishment for turning her down, and getting important projects to work on that could elevate his career. I still enjoyed the story overall and wanted to see him succeed.

[Debbie Loader]

A strange little tale that is not what I would call a thriller nor a horror. What it would do is make a good little black and white anime where the visuals would tell the tale. I think there is a moral to this
but is it his or his handsy boss?
With thanks to #NetGalley and #KJBooks

[Jennifer Ricketts (Donnie Darko Girl)]

The Bully immediately lured me in with its synopsis. My favorite kind of horror involves demons, so if a novel, movie, or TV show has them in it, I'm there in a flash. They are by far the scariest supernatural beings to me.

This story takes us to South Korea where the main character has just found a new job in the city and thinks he's landed the job of his dreams. But his life quickly becomes a nightmare when his female boss begins making unwanted sexual advances toward him.

After rejecting her, his boss sets out to destroy his life, and I wondered if there would be anything left of him to continue working. She's so successful in her quest to torture him, it leaves him wondering if she's literally from hell. I know I got whiplash from how she'd praise him one minute, then tear him down the next, psychologically tormenting him.

The Bully has an intriguing idea at its core. I liked being unsure of what was real and what wasn't. The ability to write that way is something I've always envied because it takes skill to be subtle. This is a short read, and I recommend reading it in one sitting if you can because then you get the full effect of the situation escalating out-of-control and the desperation, panic, and terror of the main character.

When I finished reading, I became torn on what to rate this. While the idea was a good one, I wanted more of the supernatural but not necessarily a longer book. I'm having a hard time articulating exactly what it was that led to my three-star rating. I'm trusting the gut feeling I have on this one.

I received a copy of this novelette in exchange for an honest review from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more of my reviews, please visit Donnie Darko Girl.

[Valery]

The Bully: A Paranormal Thriller by K.J. Kwon is a great attention-grabbing short read right from the beginning pages. If you've ever been bullied at work, you will be able to relate to this book. If you've been bullied elsewhere, again, you will like this book. Taut writing, a fast pace, and unpredictable action keep your attention throughout. When your everyday life at work becomes a nightmare, you must figure out a way to escape. This book captures that issue and explores a touchy subject. Mesmerizing and compelling, this one is recommended for a quick read that is both nuanced and treacherous.