Review: Seoulmates, Susan Lee

You know me: I see a book with the friends to lovers trope and I don’t walk: I run. Seoulmates sounded like such a lovely YA contemporary with my favorite trope of all times, I was so eager to read it. Let’s see if it met all of my expectations, shall we?

Seoulmates by Susan Lee
Published by Inkyard Press on September 20, 2022
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Harper360UK
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Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out—the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends.
But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah’s life seems to do—he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that’s exactly what now has her on the outs.
But someone who does know K-dramas—so well that he’s actually starring in one—is Jacob Kim, Hannah’s former best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in years. He’s desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs… that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them.
Her ex-boyfriend wants her back. Her former best friend is in town. When did Hannah’s life become a K-drama?

I received this book for free from Harper360UK in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

mentions of past bullying, racism, mentions of underage drinking, vomiting, ankle sprain, discussions of weight, sexual content.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• Told from 2 different POV, we meet Hannah, a teenager living in San Diego with her mother. She’s struggling with maintaining relationships, always afraid of people leaving. She’s also struggling with her identity as a Korean-American… even more when she realizes everyone around her is suddenly obsessed with k-pop and k-drama and she knows nothing about it, at all.
  • I really enjoyed Hannah’s point of view. She’s caring, she’s determined, yet she’s also a little bit lost with herself and others, at times. While she doesn’t always make the best decisions, I just loved how real she felt and I found myself easily caring for her, from the start until the end of the story.
• We also get to meet Jacob: Hannah’s ex childhood best friend, he had to move to Korea and ended up being one of the main characters in one of the most popular k-dramas at that time. He’s a bit thrown into a world he doesn’t understand (and doesn’t really like), out of necessity to provide for his family. I always love a little behind-the-scenes into celebrities lives, the schemes, the fake-dating, the messy contracts and so on, so I found Jacob’s point of view particularily fun to read!
• I think it’s time I should maybe admit it: I don’t know much about k-pop or k-drama, yet it didn’t prevent me from enjoying this book, at all. I found that the author explains the references here and there well and it didn’t bother me to read at all. On the contrary, it made me all the more curious about it.

• While the plot and especially the romance was a little bit predictable, I still found myself enjoying the ride. I loved seeing them reconnect, getting to know each other again and so on. I didn’t find the romance particularily rushed, either, something I really appreciated!

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I really enjoyed the family’s presence in this story and, to be honest: I would have enjoyed it more if I got even MORE of it. No spoilers, but for instance towards the end of the book, there’s such a lovely scene between Hannah and her mother, I loved it so much. Same goes for Jacob and his fierce, awesome mother!

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a fun, quick YA contemporary romance, I definitely recommend Seoulmates. I was entertained from page one and am curious to read more from this author, next!

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

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📚 Books similar to Seoulmates that I’d recommend:

• More YA books with the friends to lovers trope,
• XOXO, by Axie Oh

Did you read Seoulmates, or do you want to? What’s your favorite friends to lovers book? Let me know in comments!

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