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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Well.
Desi was... something. She was somehow a Mary Sue but incredibly irritating at the same time. No one is able to juggle that many classes and extracurriculars. That was just plain unrealistic. She constantly does the. Stupidest. Things. In her quest for love. And it's all forgiven at the end. Because somehow Luca likes her for her. Which is stupid because all he knows about Desi is the stuff that she made up to make him like her. Scratch that. Desi doesn't even know who she is herself!!! So how can Luca like her for her? She had no discernible personality. I get that Desi felt this pressure after her mom's death to try her hardest and follow in her mom's footsteps, but that wouldn't stop her from still having her own interests.
The friends in this book were okay. I did like Fiona's personality. Wes was alright. But why were they all good looking, smart, and athletic? Variety please!
Pros? Luca was such a precious cinnamon roll. Though he irked me at times as well, I did like him for the most part. I could tell that the author had placed a considerably larger amount of time developing his character than Desi's.
Desi's father was precious. I loved his and Desi's relationship. Every time he had spotlight time, I couldn't help but smile.
And yay for interracial relationships!
Oh and I also liked that there was a guide to K-Dramas at the end.
Desi was... something. She was somehow a Mary Sue but incredibly irritating at the same time. No one is able to juggle that many classes and extracurriculars. That was just plain unrealistic. She constantly does the. Stupidest. Things. In her quest for love. And it's all forgiven at the end. Because somehow Luca likes her for her. Which is stupid because all he knows about Desi is the stuff that she made up to make him like her. Scratch that. Desi doesn't even know who she is herself!!! So how can Luca like her for her? She had no discernible personality. I get that Desi felt this pressure after her mom's death to try her hardest and follow in her mom's footsteps, but that wouldn't stop her from still having her own interests.
The friends in this book were okay. I did like Fiona's personality. Wes was alright. But why were they all good looking, smart, and athletic? Variety please!
Pros? Luca was such a precious cinnamon roll. Though he irked me at times as well, I did like him for the most part. I could tell that the author had placed a considerably larger amount of time developing his character than Desi's.
Desi's father was precious. I loved his and Desi's relationship. Every time he had spotlight time, I couldn't help but smile.
And yay for interracial relationships!
Oh and I also liked that there was a guide to K-Dramas at the end.
Al principio es entretenida además menciona doramas que he visto y me gustan. Sin embargo, siento que el libro es parecido a muchos otros de su género y que la protagonista hace cosas malas (y peligrosas) y termina siendo perdonada fácilmente por ello.
El final no tiene mucho sentido y algunas cosas son exageradas
El final no tiene mucho sentido y algunas cosas son exageradas
I had sooo much hope for this book, and it started of great. Loved the writting style. However... i have NEVER hated a character as much as i HATE Desi... what the hell has to go through your head to think that it’s a good idea to almost kill your crush TWICE, for attention, cause she just has to have everything she wants, I’m sorry but it’s not cute, it doesn’t make her quirky, it makes her a sociopath. Frankly i almost DNFed it, i had to drag myself to the end, which was absolute crap. The fact that she gets the guy validates all of the creepy stuff she did. I’m sorry but for a book that talks about sexism... i’m pretty sure if a guy tried to get a girl in a car accident ON PURPOSE and could have potentially hurt other drivers... it’s not romance... it’s a domesic thriller...
At least the spine and cover are nice, that’s the only reason why I give it one star.
At least the spine and cover are nice, that’s the only reason why I give it one star.
read on my blog
rep: Korean-American protagonist and side characters, lesbian Mexican-American side character; (Korean-American author)
cw: mentions of death of a parent (mother)
I've been waiting to read I Believe in a Thing Called Love since I first heard about it, and after (finally) reading it, I was not disappointed. This book was so cute and fun to read! It's definitely one of my favorites this year.
Desi Lee is a high school senior awaiting her acceptance from Stanford, the university where her deceased mother went to. Her dad is addicted to Korean dramas, but Desi finds them cliche and annoying. Desi is the girl who does everything: student body president, soccer team president, etc. However, she's never had a boyfriend, a fact that she decides to change when she meets Luca, a new (hot!) student who's a well-known artist. Desi enlists the formulaic plotlines of her dad's favorite, K-dramas, to help her win Luca over.
First off, I LOVE DESI, okay. She's hardworking and doesn't let anything get in her way, truly a girl after my own heart. Usually I'm not really about those Asian characters who are super smart overachievers, blah blah blah, because of the stereotypes surrounding Asians, but I think Maurene Goo writes Desi as a real person, not just a two dimensional, flat character. Goo also writes Luca as a real teenage boy too; he's not some perfect love interest who has no flaws. His actions are actually things a teenage boy would do. I loved Desi's friends, Fiona and Wes, and their willingness to help her with her K-drama plan. Also, Fiona is a latina lesbian and is never treated like, OH MY GOD A LESBIAN.
The book is so well written too; Desi writes a list of steps to follow for her plan, and the chapters follow these. In fact, even after Desi and Luca start dating, the chapters still follow the steps, which is a clear example of the well-thought-out structure of the whole book. I loved all the direct references to the K-dramas too. I always smiled whenever I saw one that I recognized (although I've only watched a couple; my ability to watch is pretty much limited to whatever's on Netflix :/). Another part that I really related to was when Desi sees Violet's (another Korean character) parents and thinks, now I have to act all Korean now. This is honestly me whenever I see Vietnamese parents, especially because I don't speak Vietnamese and don't really know how to greet people properly without my parents.
I was a little put off by some of Desi's drastic measures; some of them seemed to go way too far, but she recognized this at least. I was a little upset by her and Violet's relationship and the lack of actually really making up. So yeah, the book had a couple of :/ things, but I still love it so much.
I Believe in a Thing Called Love is one of the cutest books that I've read this year! I got to attend a panel earlier this year where Maurene Goo talked about the importance of writing books with people of color and not focusing the whole story on them being of color. She definitely wrote this book with that in mind, and I am so happy she did! If you're a fan of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, you should definitely check this book out.
"I believed, and still believe, that you can build your dreams brick by brick. That you can accomplish anything with persistence. Even falling in love."I’m so torn with this book, because while I had a really fun time with it and enjoyed the romance, I had a problem with the premise that kinda puts a baby negative cloud over my enjoyment that keeps it from becoming a favorite. I Believe in a Thing Called Love follows Desi Lee,the precocious and academic minded star student, as she navigates the trials and unforeseen circumstances of first love with advice from K-Dramas.
Things I Liked
Desi’s relationship with her father was so lovely, wholesome, and wonderful. The were just the sweetest and he was so nice and caring.
I did still like Desi quite a bit even thought I did have a lot of problems with her actions in the story. But she is self-aware and recognizes her she goes to far and that what she’s doing maybe isn’t the best way to act towards someone you like. And I liked seeing her accept that you can’t factor and plan for every variable and sometimes you just have to live your life in a way that makes you happy and respects those around you.
Things I Didn’t Like
The premise of the story just kinda bothered me. It was just manipulative and made me feel icky so while Desi and Luca definitely had a lot of cute moments, I didn’t really get all the cutesy butterfly feelings for them until near the end of the story. But I do thing that Luca was a little too forgiving at times.
This story has be completely torn - there were parts I really loved and parts that made me really frustrated. There was so many funny moments, amazing dialogue, and inspiring K-Drama moments that you can’t help but kinda love I Believe in a Thing Called Love even it you did have some problems with it.
This book was so cute, I love kdramas so it was really fun. Desi is cute and lovable, but sometimes she took it a little too far. Luca and Desi's friends were also very sweet. This was a fun romcom that I really enjoyed, even though sometimes it was a little too dramatic and unrealistic, but that's partly because of the kdramas.