averywindyday 's review for:

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

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Maurene Goo injects the pure-hearted charm of a romantic comedy Korean drama into her contemporary young adult novel I Believe in a Thing Called Love. In the novel, the reader meets Desi, whose defining characteristic is her persistence: "I believed, and I still believe, that you can accomplish anything with persistence. Even falling in love" (7). Desi's persistence appears to allow her to be successful in every aspect of her life with the sole exception of her romantic pursuits where she is plagued by repeated failures.

After a particularly embarrassing flirting faux pas, Desi decides to follow the "rules" of romance as outlined in her father's beloved K-dramas so that she will be able to win the affections of Luca, a brooding artist who ends up being as empathetic as he is attractive. Desi and Luca have good romantic chemistry; however, the novel contains moments where it is almost difficult to read due to Desi's commitment to her K-drama romantic method. To elaborate, there were unexpectedly high stakes for a YA novel in terms of the lengths Desi goes to. The novel is interesting because usually in YA stem from miscommunication, but in I Believe in a Thing Called Love Desi follows many steps that are quite manipulative. Despite Desi's troubling behavior, the chemistry between Desi and Luca is strong enough that the reader still roots for a happy ending for the pair.

I really enjoyed that Desi's greatest strength-- her persistence-- is also demonstrated as a potential flaw, as she stubbornly follows her steps and continuously expects perfection from herself without fully acknowledging possible consequences for her actions. I also really loved the depictions of different families within the novel. Desi's relationship with her father is extremely sweet and loving. They make dinner and binge shows together throughout the book. Their relationship is refreshing because often in the genre parents appear to be absent or simply are too unaware of inessential to the plot. It is a nice change of pace to see a father that is so present in YA. It was also a cute detail to include a guide to K-drama that briefly lists a few of the series that were mentioned throughout the novel.

I would recommend Maurene Goo's I Believe in a Thing Called Love to fans of romance k-dramas. At its core, the novel is a fun read that highlights sweet romantic, platonic, and familial relationships. I am excited to check out more works by the author.