What do you think?
Secrets in Seoul: A Forbidden K-pop Idol Romance with Slow Burn, Multi-POV Drama, and a hard-earned Happily Ever After.
318 pages, Paperback
Published March 18, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 11, 2026
Well... Bring On Book Two!
Besties... this slow burn tested my patience in the best way! 🤭 Sofía and Lynx took their sweet time getting anywhere, but watching that trust gradually develop made the payoff so much better. And once Lynx started falling? Sirrrr... there you are! 😂
The suspense was another highlight for me. That tension slowly crept in until my anxiety was officially involved, and by the end, I was READY for Book 2!
I also loved the multicultural representation and how vividly Seoul came across. Having visited years ago, the setting brought back memories and made me want to return!
My hurdle was the third-person POV... you know that's not my cup of tea... but the characters, diversity, suspense, and relationship dynamics kept me invested. And THAT ending?! Besties... I'm downloading Book 2 now! 🤭
🥀 My ratings and review are my own 🖤
Besties... this slow burn tested my patience in the best way! 🤭 Sofía and Lynx took their sweet time getting anywhere, but watching that trust gradually develop made the payoff so much better. And once Lynx started falling? Sirrrr... there you are! 😂
The suspense was another highlight for me. That tension slowly crept in until my anxiety was officially involved, and by the end, I was READY for Book 2!
I also loved the multicultural representation and how vividly Seoul came across. Having visited years ago, the setting brought back memories and made me want to return!
My hurdle was the third-person POV... you know that's not my cup of tea... but the characters, diversity, suspense, and relationship dynamics kept me invested. And THAT ending?! Besties... I'm downloading Book 2 now! 🤭
🥀 My ratings and review are my own 🖤
July 11, 2026
This was a fast read. Not sure if I believe the attraction between the leads, however, what this book does very well is give us a solid context for what’s to come next. It establishes the kind of world Sofia is navigating in Seoul. Was going to give it a lower rating BUT the last three or four chapters made me understand that this was setting things up for the leads to eventually come together. I thought it would happen during this book… nope. However, that’s ok. I’m intrigued enough to wait for the next book.
April 7, 2026
I loved this story. Lol I’m offended by the cliffhanger and I wanna see what happens with Sena cause she’s on something else. The development between Sofía and Lynx gahhhhh.. can’t wait for the next one
April 23, 2026
I went into Secrets in Seoul really wanting to like it. The idea is great, the setting is fun, and I read K-pop. But this just didn’t work for me. The author name too I thought it was someone else who has the same name.
Instead of feeling like a story, it reads more like a manual. There’s way too much explaining — makeup details, facts about the industry, repeated information I didn’t need — and not enough actual plot or emotion. I felt like I was being lectured instead of pulled into the character’s life. It needed to be show not tell I wanted to feel the story.
The biggest problem is that nothing really happens in an exciting way. The pacing is flat, the tension never builds, the same points get repeated over and over. After a while it feels more like a list of facts than a romance. The antagonist also comes across really one-note, almost like they were added just to create forced drama.
It’s frustrating, because the idea itself could have been something special. With better character development and less info-dumping, this might have been a really enjoyable read. But as it is, I just wanted a story — not a guidebook pretending to be one. It just brought nothing new to the table and that disappointed me. However sure K pop fans will like it.
Instead of feeling like a story, it reads more like a manual. There’s way too much explaining — makeup details, facts about the industry, repeated information I didn’t need — and not enough actual plot or emotion. I felt like I was being lectured instead of pulled into the character’s life. It needed to be show not tell I wanted to feel the story.
The biggest problem is that nothing really happens in an exciting way. The pacing is flat, the tension never builds, the same points get repeated over and over. After a while it feels more like a list of facts than a romance. The antagonist also comes across really one-note, almost like they were added just to create forced drama.
It’s frustrating, because the idea itself could have been something special. With better character development and less info-dumping, this might have been a really enjoyable read. But as it is, I just wanted a story — not a guidebook pretending to be one. It just brought nothing new to the table and that disappointed me. However sure K pop fans will like it.
July 3, 2026
I was in the mood for something light and this novel delivered. We have Sofia making her way as a makeup artist in Seoul, a resentful competitor, a 7 piece male boyband including the love interest for Sofia and a truly crazy ex girlfriend.
The choice by the author to include the antagonists' POVs means that the reader knows who the villains are but Sofia does not - the question we're asking is not who's behind things but will Sofia catch them, which makes for a different novel with less tension.
As noted by another reviewer, this is a dialogue heavy novel i was sometimes confused as to who was speaking. There are also some timejumps which arent clearly signposted to the reader (e.g. 3 months later).
I will be interested to read the next one to see if the hero/heroine get together or whether they're still at odds with each other.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The choice by the author to include the antagonists' POVs means that the reader knows who the villains are but Sofia does not - the question we're asking is not who's behind things but will Sofia catch them, which makes for a different novel with less tension.
As noted by another reviewer, this is a dialogue heavy novel i was sometimes confused as to who was speaking. There are also some timejumps which arent clearly signposted to the reader (e.g. 3 months later).
I will be interested to read the next one to see if the hero/heroine get together or whether they're still at odds with each other.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 26, 2026
Disappointed. Whole book was written in very short fragmented sentences. Too much diologue without tags. Not easy to read.
September 12, 2026
I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this, but I ended up getting completely sucked into Sofia’s story. There’s drama to spare and enough secrets and twists to keep you wondering all the time. And now I definitely need to know what happens between these two 😂🤦🏽♂️
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews