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A review by crosswarrior7
XOXO by Axie Oh
4.0
This is such a cute book. I'm a sucker for famous person x 'normal' person stories, and I love that k-pop's craze has helped that pop off xD Even if I'm not personally a k-pop fan, still love these type of stories. I blame Camp Rock for that xD But I did appreciate here that they met while Jenny was oblivious to Jaewoo's identity. It's not never-before-seen, but it's always a nice touch. Especially because when the reveal happens, it's very dramatic and fun xD
I felt for Jenny's plight, primarily with her mom. It's very hard when someone else is trying to dictate the direction of your life, and I thought the resolution to that was heartwarming, if short. Also, it was nice that we got to see her have her own life outside of her relationship. This was actually made as a point in the novel in the later part, and I was very grateful to it. Because yes, please, more characters that have an evident life outside of their boyfriend/girlfriend T^T Especially in YA romances, where people want to act like obsession and love are the same thing.
Jaewoo was a very solid character, playing the role of the hardworking and serious idol (though Sun also took some of the usual traits also given to this character type), but he also managed to be a kid at the same time, and it was well balanced. I would have had fun seeing a bit more angst there, but I can also appreciate his stubbornness to his heart.
All of the other characters were really fun as well, and I'm glad to see there's a Sori and Nathaniel spin-off because I definitely want to dive into that. Speaking of, the female friendship between Sori and Jenny was *chefs kiss*
However, the book wasn't perfect. It's probably a bit my fault for reading this as an adult, but the pacing felt rushed occasionally, especially the end. I felt like it could have used one more chapter. Maybe an epilogue or something. I also wanted to see more expanded upon with Jenny and her mother. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed these things so much when I was, like, 15, but here, the abruptness stood out. Also, the writing sometimes felt stilted, mostly because of too-simple writing. It could kill the feelings for me sometimes. But, again, this is YA Romance, and it's written as such, so it may just be me being out of the target audience.
BUT this was an adorable story and I definitely want to read more from the author, so I'm gonna say it did a great job as a book :D
I felt for Jenny's plight, primarily with her mom. It's very hard when someone else is trying to dictate the direction of your life, and I thought the resolution to that was heartwarming, if short. Also, it was nice that we got to see her have her own life outside of her relationship. This was actually made as a point in the novel in the later part, and I was very grateful to it. Because yes, please, more characters that have an evident life outside of their boyfriend/girlfriend T^T Especially in YA romances, where people want to act like obsession and love are the same thing.
Jaewoo was a very solid character, playing the role of the hardworking and serious idol (though Sun also took some of the usual traits also given to this character type), but he also managed to be a kid at the same time, and it was well balanced. I would have had fun seeing a bit more angst there, but I can also appreciate his stubbornness to his heart.
All of the other characters were really fun as well, and I'm glad to see there's a Sori and Nathaniel spin-off because I definitely want to dive into that. Speaking of, the female friendship between Sori and Jenny was *chefs kiss*
However, the book wasn't perfect. It's probably a bit my fault for reading this as an adult, but the pacing felt rushed occasionally, especially the end. I felt like it could have used one more chapter. Maybe an epilogue or something. I also wanted to see more expanded upon with Jenny and her mother. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed these things so much when I was, like, 15, but here, the abruptness stood out. Also, the writing sometimes felt stilted, mostly because of too-simple writing. It could kill the feelings for me sometimes. But, again, this is YA Romance, and it's written as such, so it may just be me being out of the target audience.
BUT this was an adorable story and I definitely want to read more from the author, so I'm gonna say it did a great job as a book :D