ARC Review: Seoulmates by Susan Lee

Hello besties!!

Today I am extremely excited to share my review of SEOULMATES by Susan Lee!! 💚🫰🏼 I loved this book so much I can’t even explain it. I enjoyed everything soo much; from the childhood bffs-enemies-lovers, to the angst, and the K-Drama vibes!! All of it was perfect!! Let’s get on with the review.

Seoulmates by Susan Lee

SYNOPSIS:

Her ex-boyfriend wants her back. Her former best friend is in town. When did Hannah’s life become a K-drama?

Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out—the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends.

But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah’s life seems to do—he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that’s exactly what now has her on the outs.

But someone who does know K-dramas—so well that he’s actually starring in one—is Jacob Kim, Hannah’s former best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in years. He’s desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs…that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them.

Out September 20th 2022!

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t know how to begin but I shall begin with the fact that this book somehow, singlehandedly got me obsessed with BTS. So a little story time before I begin with the *actual* review. I was not into K-dramas or K-pop at all because I never really took much interest, but after reading SEOULMATES I decided to watch Our Beloved Summer. That was where I first heard Christmas Tree by V (Kim Taehyung), who’s also a part of BTS. I loved that song so much, so then I decided to see what the big deal was, how good could BTS be anyway? Spoiler alert: they were too good and now I am obsessed, so that’s that. Now onto the review 😭

When I first heard about SEOULMATES I immediately loved the premise, because let’s not kid ourselves EVERYONE loves childhood bffs turned enemies to then reunited lovers.

The plot was impeccable and it was really well paced. I loved how begrudgingly Hannah had to agree to Jacob’s demands of finishing his summer bucket list, and their adventures, if I can call it that were the most fun to read about!! I especially loved the part where Hannah went super mom friend mode when Jacob did not put sunscreen while on the beach 🫶

Needless to say I absolutely adored Hannah and Jacob, both as Individual characters, and also together. Hannah Cho was stubborn, strong, and knew what she wanted. She was an amazing character to read about and see grow throughout the book. Jacob Kim is my best boy that we need to protect at all times, because 🥹 He was such a nice character and cared so much about his sister and mom, it made me emo. Also him being a K-drama star is fun too hehe!!

Hannah and Jacob’s relationship developed beautifully throughout the book too. It was not rushed at all— it had a perfect mix of angst, love, “what if they don’t like me and like [redacted] instead”, and basically wholesomeness. Have I mentioned how much I love them?

Before I conclude I would like to say I HATE Nate. Yes that’s all.

To conclude SEOULMATES is a beautiful YA contemporary romance, all about second chances, finding love, drama, K-dramas??, and family!

enjoy this moodboard made by me!

RATING: Highly Recommended!

Is this book for you?

PERFECT FOR: Fans of K-Dramas, readers who love slow-burn contemporaries.

THINK TWICE IF: You do not like character driven stories.

GENRE: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of age.

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Amazon

If you enjoyed reading this post and wish to support the blog, please consider checking out my WISHLIST ! You’ll be helping me read and feature more books 🤍

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all enjoy SEOULMATES as much as I did !!!