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A review by nerdynatreads
So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
~Thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of So We Meet Again in exchange for an honest review. ~
After reading Park's last romance, which had all the girl power and empowering women feels, but not much romance, I was hoping she'd learned and lean more on the romance this time around. While she did do that! I was still disappointed in the results, however.
Although the title, summary, and marketing around this book calls it romance, this is more 50/50 with a contemporary about women in the entrepreneurial world. That's a fine space to be in, I'm all for shattering the glass ceiling, but don't promise me one thing and then not deliver it.
Not to be completely negative, I do enjoy Park's writing. This story did have me chuckling quite a bit. I loved the descriptions of food and watching Jessie create her own business (although, as someone with a business degree, I think it was a bit unrealistic, but that's a me problem). Watching Jessie stick it to her old company for underestimating her? Fantastic. Seeing her relationship with her mom improve was also so precious. I loved seeing the shift in Jessie's perception of her mom as the story went on. Also, the main romantic trope was enemies to lovers and we all know I love that.
While the enemies to friends shift was pretty smooth, the switch to lovers felt much more abrupt and caught me off guard. There was fantastic sexual tension between the two leads, but it was never followed through with, which annoyed me to no end. Every time it seemed like we were heading in that direction, something would interrupt them. The drama that took place between the two halfway through the book actually made sense, even if it was based on miscommunication, so I couldn't be too angry about that. Even once they come back together though, we were still left hanging, as there's only a fade to black scene. (I'm learning that I really don't like clean romance books, apparently)
The synopsis of this book, also! It literally details everything that happens! Maybe don't do that moving forward, because it made for a very predictable story!
In the end, my issue with this book was the same as Park's first Adult Romance, which is it shouldn't be marketed as a romance because it's totally misleading to what the main story is about. The main focus of this book isn't Jessie finding love, it's in her creating a career she enjoys and improving herself.
After reading Park's last romance, which had all the girl power and empowering women feels, but not much romance, I was hoping she'd learned and lean more on the romance this time around. While she did do that! I was still disappointed in the results, however.
Although the title, summary, and marketing around this book calls it romance, this is more 50/50 with a contemporary about women in the entrepreneurial world. That's a fine space to be in, I'm all for shattering the glass ceiling, but don't promise me one thing and then not deliver it.
Not to be completely negative, I do enjoy Park's writing. This story did have me chuckling quite a bit. I loved the descriptions of food and watching Jessie create her own business (although, as someone with a business degree, I think it was a bit unrealistic, but that's a me problem). Watching Jessie stick it to her old company for underestimating her? Fantastic. Seeing her relationship with her mom improve was also so precious. I loved seeing the shift in Jessie's perception of her mom as the story went on. Also, the main romantic trope was enemies to lovers and we all know I love that.
While the enemies to friends shift was pretty smooth, the switch to lovers felt much more abrupt and caught me off guard. There was fantastic sexual tension between the two leads, but it was never followed through with, which annoyed me to no end. Every time it seemed like we were heading in that direction, something would interrupt them. The drama that took place between the two halfway through the book actually made sense, even if it was based on miscommunication, so I couldn't be too angry about that. Even once they come back together though, we were still left hanging, as there's only a fade to black scene. (I'm learning that I really don't like clean romance books, apparently)
The synopsis of this book, also! It literally details everything that happens! Maybe don't do that moving forward, because it made for a very predictable story!
In the end, my issue with this book was the same as Park's first Adult Romance, which is it shouldn't be marketed as a romance because it's totally misleading to what the main story is about. The main focus of this book isn't Jessie finding love, it's in her creating a career she enjoys and improving herself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Racism