A love letter to Korean Americans who didn’t always know being Korean was cool — now you know
—Amanda Khong, Bookish Brews
Bookish Brews Snapshot
Seoulmates by Susan Lee
When Hannah Cho’s ex-best-friend-turned-famous-Korean-actor, Jacob, comes back into town at the worst possible time, Hannah is in for a K-drama worthy summer full of meddling mothers, bucket lists, and blackmail.
💞 Young Love 🎨 Contemporary Fiction 🇰🇷 K-drama Worthy 👯 Friends to Lovers
- Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Book Review
Relatable, fun, exciting, cute, delightful, validating, sweet
Seoulmates is exactly as comforting as I thought it would be when I opened it up and read Susan Lee’s author note. I read nearly the entire thing in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. Susan Lee builds such a sweet romance and a main character that truly speaks to my heart. I’m so honored and validated to have a character like Hannah in the world. The story itself hits all the right beats that I hope for in a romance and I can’t recommend it enough.
Life is going all according to plan for Hannah Cho until her boyfriend Nate breaks up with her at a party. In her crumbling life, the last person she wants to see if her ex-best friend, Jacob Kim. But at the worst time possible, Jacob’s coming back to town. And because their moms are best friends, they are all staying in the same house. When blackmail, a bucket list, and two meddling mothers come into play, it seems Hannah and Jacob are in for a K-drama worthy summer
Seoulmates managed to tackle something I’ve never seen in literature before and it resonated with me so deeply. Hannah has built up this disconnection with her Korean heritage so she can fit in at school. She’s dissociated from who she is at school or with friends from who she is with her family. Though Hannah’s situation isn’t exactly the same as mine, it’s something that I resonated with so deeply. I never grew up knowing my Vietnamese side so it was easier to just dissociate it from who I was. It makes it easier to fit in when everyone else around you is white. It’s incredibly hard and it’s not something I wish anyone to experience. The coolest piece, though, is that Korean culture becomes cool right before her eyes so Hannah is able to reconcile the dissociation. It’s delightful and comforting to see.
Susan Lee wrote a wonderfully relatable romance worthy of a K-drama in Seoulmates. I love how many Korean elements are thrown in here out of pure love for being Korean. It’s a wonderous show of Korean joy and I was delighted the entire time I was reading it.
