Book Review: Seoulmates by Susan Lee

Hannah Cho had life all figured out. She was going to have the best summer with her boyfriend Nate, for a start—something that quickly becomes apparent is not going to happen when he randomly breaks up with her, claiming they have nothing in common. He loves K-Pop, K-Dramas and is obsessed with finding out who his idol is from newfound favourites, whereas Hannah isn’t even remotely interested about exploring it. She’s neglected the Korean part of her Korean-American identity in a better guise to fit in, which she’s now sort of seeing was redundant, especially when Jacob returns. 

Jacob Kim was once Hannah’s best friend in the world. They had been close all their lives, right up until he left for a life as a K-drama actor three years ago. But when the Kim’s come to stay with the Cho’s for the summer—Jacob desperate for a break from the constant stress of fame and carrying the weight of supporting his family—things between Hannah and Jacob are resurfaced. It’s frosty at the start. Hannah feels like everyone always leaves her, like Jacob once did—and her father, and even Nate—so warming back up to him is hard. But when they shift into a new direction altogether in the summer heat of San Diego, Jacob and Hannah are figuring out just how meant to be they are—and exactly how to make themselves, and families, truly happy. 

Overall, Seoulmates came into my life in a cute sweep of warmth and heart, quickly becoming a turning-pages-all-day kind of read. Hannah was a character that wasn’t your stereotypical, overdone soft girl that forgives and forgets easily—she held her own and was a true bad-ass. I loved that we saw a soft side to Jacob, though, and how genuinely sweet he was to Hannah and his family. The POVs were really well done and I could easily distinguish the difference in tone and motivation, which is really hard to achieve. I’d say the beginning 40% was quite slow and then got exciting and moved very fast, very quickly, but that didn’t really stop me from wholeheartedly loving it. I would’ve also loved to see Hannah’s relationship with her other friends explored more. This beautiful book was, at it’s core, a wholesome friends-to-lovers romance with K-drama theatrics and a strong message about finding your identity in a world that tells you the opposite. Four stars!