A review by bookishlyem
Seoulmates by Susan Lee

5.0

I literally devoured this ARC. Thank you to InkYard Press and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC! Such a wonderful story to envelop myself in. From the friends-to-Strangers-to-Lovers trope, to the bucket list/"blackmail," to Mama Kim and Mama Cho meddling, to the K-Pop references, this was such a delight. At first glance, the plot is fairly simple. But when I read it, everything became more complex than the summary made it out to be. The discussions about strict Korean talent culture, accepting and being proud of your culture, and so on...these themes really hit home for me. I didn't know anything about Korean culture going into this, and I didn't quite understand some of the K-Pop references like so many other people might have understood, but I got the gist and was pleasantly surprised as to how invested I got into this book. I am definitely going to recommend this book to my friends, especially those who would understand these references more than me, and I feel like they would enjoy just as much as I did. Other than the two spelling errors I found in Ch. 18 & 23, I really enjoyed the writing. I am trying to be less critical of writing (unless it's unbearable), and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the writing. Hannah's inner dialogue was so funny--normally I would cringe at some things she said, but I ended up laughing to myself. I really feel for Jacob. His job is so difficult and to take on such a large role as the breadwinner and a "prestigious" actor at such a young age must have been so difficult. To be honest, I feel more for Jacob than I do for Hannah. Of course, I feel bad for her because she lost her best friends and she thought when he said he hated his life in SD, he was saying that he hated her, but still. The loss of his dad was the first of many stressful and miserable events of Jacob's young adult life. Like Hannah, I, too, can hold a grudge for a long time--maybe not 3 years, but sill. The amount of drama in this book was basically just enough for me to feel satisfied and complete. As Hannah mentions in the book, her life that summer is almost akin to a K-Drama. I also felt like Jacob had more development than Hannah. Technically speaking, Hannah still ended up in a place where she ran away from her troubles and shut everyone out. Jacob made a huge sacrifice, but it felt really good knowing that even if it didn't work out, Hannah would still be his friend and support him. Hannah and Jacob are first and foremost best friends, and I feel like that foundation in a romantic relationship is so special. All in all, I love this book and will defiantly be rereading this book when it comes out in physical form. Such a fun, light hearted yet heavy read.