My Summer in Seoul

My Summer in Seoul #1

by Rachel Van Dyken

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes a standalone new adult romance set in the competitive world of K-pop.

It’s not all K-dramas and happily ever afters.

Intern with Korea’s number one record label? Yes, please.
Find out there’s a huge scandal I need to help “manage”… not so much.
Add in the fact that I don’t recognize the “superstars” of the label and think they’re interns…
And my dream job quickly becomes more of a nightmare.

But I’m in Seoul, the one place that is beginning to feel more and more like home...
Except it isn’t home, and the drama surrounding the biggest K-pop group in the world, SWT, is consuming my every moment.
Spoiler alert. They hate me.
Everything I do is wrong: wrong clothes, wrong honorifics, wrong manners.
Till the leader of SWT takes pity on me.
But pity is dangerous when it comes from someone as beautiful as him.

Every SWT member is gorgeous, perfect, and cultivated to be an idol… lethal to a girl’s heart.
And sanity.
But fame plus a perfect face and voice don’t equal an easy life. As their comeback nears, the stakes rise higher.
Suicide watch…
Angry fans…
Threats…

All I want to do is survive.
But the price for survival might mean losing my heart.
And like a character in a K-drama, I’m not sure if there will be an actual happily ever after…
Or simply a lesson learned.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Enemies To Lovers, Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, Music

482 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2021

About the author

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of mafia and contemporary romances.

Hey guys I'm rarely on Goodreads, if you need to reach me feel free to email!
EMAIL ME: rachelvandykenauthor@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachel-...

Reviews

[give me books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nie jestem w stanie podać logicznego argumentu dlaczego, ale zakochałam się totalnie w tej książce

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Kpop and Korean entertainment shows. I also love to read and there aren’t a lot of books in their genre so this would the best of both worlds, or at least I thought.

I did not like this book. Not even the romance scenes could save it for me. I felt the book had alot of internalised misogyny, glorified abuse and micro aggressions.


The main girl is, you guessed it, not like other girls. She doesn’t shriek after groups like the other girls. She’s ✨special✨.

“Ridiculous, how it used to annoy me, all the shrieks from girls” After reading this line in the first chapter I sighed inwardly. Please don’t be like this throughout the book I begged. Maybe she just doesn’t like noise and isn’t just being condescending to women/girls who are passionate about something. Maybe she also hates how rowdy fans get at football matches too. Wrong. Grace just really isn’t like other girls, apparently. Also every other female character in the book is pretty and therefore a bitch. Because god forbid two women can exist in the same setting and be normal people. No! There can only be one special one. One nice one. Every other women/girl is competition, or cruel, or out to get something with a secret agenda.

So our special girl Grace goes to South Korea to start as an intern for her uncles company. She is passionate about music we’re told at the start of the book. Though she never really mentions it again (besides listening to Lucas play the piano and crying) When she arrives she is taken to the dorms of SWT (the Kpop group) and is left there to be at their beck and call - oh and to make sure one of the members doesn’t kill himself. You know, the usual. What makes matters worse is she can’t speak the language, she was wasn’t told this would be her job, she knows nothing about the industry (and I mean nothing!) or the group and sure as hell shouldn’t be left to deal with the fallout of an attempted suicide.

Every member of the group is immediately mean and rude to her. And we’re supposed to like these people? Okay. One calls her ugly. Another asks if she’s homeless. Just your casual everyday greetings the first time you meet someone. Anyway, Grace is left to literally guard the door so Lucas doesn’t try to leave and kill himself. Because that’s how we solve these issues. She also lives with them now and basically acts as their manager. With her zero experience, knowledge or Korean language skills.

So accepting this extremely strange scenario, Grace starts taking the members to their schedules, getting them coffee, guarding Lucas’s door so he doesn’t leave to kill himself. Normal manager things. During this she tries to befriend the members but it’s difficult with the language barrier. She doesn’t understand them. None of them understand her - but wait! Over the course of the book it is revealed that they all speak English and are just pretending not to (for some reason). One of the members is even Australian (she read the members bio’s on her first night and mentioned that it said where each member is from but is still apparently shocked to learn that Jay speaks English with a “slight Australian accent”).

Side note: I’m Australian and if Grace didn’t mention Jay’s “cute Aussie accent” I wouldn’t know he is Australian at all. He doesn’t really use any of our terminology, slang or references. He speaks like an American. When Grace trips over her ‘flip flops’ he calls them “slides” instead of “thongs”. But I digress.

Grace is shocked and hurt that they lied to her for weeks for about 2 seconds and then forgets about it. During this entire time most of the members decide they might be at least civil to Grace. All except Lucas. Lucas, is the ‘leading man’ of the story. I have never disliked a main character more. He isn’t just distant and grumpy, oh no, he’s full on cruel, selfish, rude, and abusive. But we’re supposed to forgive that I suppose because he’s attractive? Not in this life time. Let me share some Lucas gems with you:

💎‘Lucas was in another mood throwing things around the apartment’

💎“It made zero sense that he had such an effect on me when he was such a bully!”

💎Worried, I grabbed some random takeout container and walked toward him only to getblocked by Lucas. He hit it right out of my hands and shook his head, then jerked his chin toward the place I'd been sitting for two hours as if telling me to go sit the hell down before I caused more trouble. Food scattered around the floor.

💎‘His smile was cruel. Angry.’
(Note: he did this while standing over her to be intimidating)

💎Lucas jerked open the van door, jumped in, then started violently punching the back of Rae's chair. It took both Jay and Kai holding him back to keep him from either breaking the seat or his hands
(Note: rage issues)

💎And while I'd been born in Seoul, I lived in the States until my freshman year of high school, before moving permanently back to Seoul and becoming a trainee…… I found that I liked quieter girls, cute girls, girls who didn't have attitude or were at least afraid to show it right away (note: the misogyny and racism in this sentence!!!!!)

💎She looked so peaceful, and honestly, a lot prettier when she wasn't talking twenty-four seven. Huh, imagine that! Just tape her mouth shut, and she becomes attractive. (Note: this line absolutely sealed the deal for me that this character is an absolute pos.I had to take a break from reading it made me so angry!)

So this walking void, Lucas, bullies Grace for weeks, is abusive, throws things around, punches objects and has no redeeming qualities. But he’s attractive. So we’re meant to like him? Grace and him hook up with ZERO lead up after all he’s done is be awful and we’re now supposed to believe he’s nice? He proceeds to be nice to Grace for around a week or so and until she says something he doesn’t like. He then returns to his abusive, bullying ways.

I basically just angrily read the last last quarter of the book waiting for it to end and put me out of my misery. Lucas anger issues were not resolved. He’s still an awful person. If you’re only nice to women when they give you sex then your a pos. Grace doesn’t care about her dreams and mopes after that walking void for a while and then they get back together. Because why not? The other members are kind of there. And it ends with a ridiculous live confession.

The end, thank goodness.

[Sentranced Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a first for me. A k-pop inspired rock star romance.
My short lived obsession with k-pop ended right about the time I left for college. Let’s just admit that it’s been more than a decade and since then, I have zero interest but when you have a 9 year old niece who is a die hard k-pop fan, it’s hard not to be ‘up to date’ with all things k-pop.
My Summer in Seoul by Rachel Van Dyken was refreshing and It was definitely a fun read.
It was uncomplicated in the sense that, I enjoyed the roller coster of all things Grace and Lucas’s story, without feeling overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Plus the rest of the members of SWT are so entertaining!

Another smashing new adult romance by Rachel Van Dyken 👍🏼

[steph · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish there was a single redeeming quality about this book but alas, that did not happen. The writing is average, the characters didn't do anything for me and some part of me wishes I could have the time I spent on this book back. Big sigh. Onto the next then.

[Sahar Ayachi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know. I am very conflicted about writing a review or not because honestly, I had quite some expectations for this book and I even pre-ordered and requested to be one of the ARC readers then.... yeah...
Before I get into my review, I would like to specify here that this opinion represents me and me ONLY. I did not get an ARC, but I am not a petty person who would write a bad review because of such a thing. I was still looking forward to reading the book as I paid for it myself.

Now let's start... ***My review will have spoilers, so if you want to still read and not get spoiled, jump all the way to "IN SHORT"***

I have been a K-Pop fan for over 10 years, and I've been an avid reader my whole life. So when I heard about another K-Pop book coming to life, I was kinda excited... Until I wasn't anymore.
K-Pop-wise, this book has A LOT of things that don't make sense. Sure, I get it, this is a fictional book and so one can be creative and have some unrealistic stuff. I get it that sometimes things need to be written in a certain way for the story to work. As a writer and an editor, I get it! BIG TIME.
HOWEVER............ You can't give me THE K-Pop boy group of the decade without a manager. I am very extremely sorry. This is something I could NOT get past. Grace was hired as an intern for SWT. This is an amazing idea actually. I can also get over the fact that THE Korean entertainment company that has THE BTS of fictional K-Pop groups hired a foreigner who knows nothing about the country and the culture to handle a scandal in the Korean society. Weird, but I accept it for the fiction. But then I'm reading and I realize Grace is basically the one and only manager of SWT??? What? And SWT has a member that needs to be kept in check 24/7 so she is babysitting that member AND tending to every single aspect of the other members' lives AS AN INTERN WHO KNOWS NOTHING? This is just one example. There are many other points, but ain't nobody got time for listing such things.

Which brings me to my next point. Grace, my friend! I get it, you got this internship "bombarda" on you and you had 24 hours to prepare, sure. But how long does it take a woman who wants to thrive in a job to learn basic information?

Which brings me to... is Jay being Australian the best hidden secret of SWT? Grace read their profiles, right? How did she not know that one of the members is Australian, or that this or that member spent some time in the US? which profiles did she read? Ok Sure... let's assume she read the profiles given by the company that LIVES to hide the fact that almost all the members speak English. But then, Grace, my friend... didn't you say you watched Youtube videos about the group? And you NEVER came across a video of any of them speaking English? Which K-Pop Youtube is this? Have you seen K-Pop Youtube? The foreign fans live for their idols speaking languages...

which bring me to... her uncle that got her the interview and who is the CEO of the company was basically in the whole book like 3 times. Yes, he's busy. I know. But you know what I also know, and very well? CEOs of big fat Korean corporates. How did he leave her like that struggling by herself? how didn't even care to mention "oh btw, you don't need to worry much about the language, they all speak English"? How didn't he check up on her? If anything, the BARE minimum that these CEOs would do is invite you for lunch or dinner somewhere, make sure you're settled well, that everything is going well with the guys (at least if they care about you, and especially if your dad saved his life).

Which brings me to... What in the world are these guys? How horrible can one human being be to blast "is she homeless" or "she looks ugly" to someone they barely met and have ABSOLUTELY NO reason to dislike? I am sorry but to me this screams "not very nice human being" (to keep my language clean). Don't even get me started at them seeing the new foreign girl struggle with this and that and not even care, or even just watch her and giggle or whatever they did. What? What am I reading? Grace was really struggling in the beginning and it was very sucky of ALL SWT to behave like that with her. Especially that, guess what... ALL OF THEM CAN SPEAK ENGLISH! Ok Sookie not so much, but even he can manage a basic conversation.

*let me take a moment and thank Rachel for something: Sookie. He is the closest thing to decent and nice.*

My review is all over the place, I am sure but I'm just writing whatever stayed in my mind after FINALLY finishing the book a week ago.

Oh yeah... GRACE! GIRL!!! You went all the way to Korea to set a foot in the music industry and WORK AND LEARN AND BUILD EXPERIENCE.... Why is every brain cell of yours drooling over this guy or that guy? Actually more like this SWT member AND that SWT member. I get it, they are super handsome. I am also sometimes drooling about this K-Pop dude and that K-Pop dude. But I ain't working with and for them! This was really offensive to every woman in business out there struggling to make a name for herself in whatever field and trying to be taken seriously. And then we have Grace coming to do a job and leaving with a whatever love story. that I don't even want to talk about.

Horrible, horrible love story in my opinion, but that's me. I may just be one of these weird women that like their men nice, respectful and not violent. And NO! A horrible past does NOT excuse asshole behavior (argh there goes the language). Also NO. Struggling with mental issues does NOT give you the right to be an ass to others. Don't try to come at me I AM these people who struggle with mental issues. I've had mine with me for years, and I've helped and followed people with their own also for years.

Which brings me to... how the whole topic was handled in the book was just... amazing. Dude wants to end his life by jumping from the rooftop and you can literally make a drinking game out of how many times a joke about jumping off a cliff is mentioned in the book.

One last thing before I completely finally move on, Grace is the only angel of this book. Every other woman she met is apparently bitchy and poor poor good-hearted Grace had to suffer from them. Thankfully SWT's very amazing leader PITIES her each time and saves her.

IN SHORT:
in MY PERSONAL opinion, this book made me very angry. As a woman, Grace annoyed me and I wanted to hit her more than once. SWT were annoying and I really don't get the Grace and Lucas pairing whatsoever. The guys are not nice people and call me delulu but I like my reads to be about nice people if you want me to support the main couple. The K-Pop topic was sometimes completely off and sometimes ok. Random things were randomly dropped here and there, like suddenly Kai, who was a ghost for the first half of the book, is suddenly talking to Grace. There were several contradictions within the story. The mental health topic was handled very poorly. I am very happy I finished the book, but if it wouldn't have been for the friend I read the book with and who wanted to read until the end, I would have dropped it after chapter 3 or something.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I've read plenty of rock star romances, but this K-Pop story is a first, and opened my eyes to a world I only know casually through my daughter and Twitter.

While a K Pop idol has some similarities to the traditional rockstar - crazy schedules, obsessive fans - there is a lot of grooming that goes into the role, where every aspect of their life is controlled.
When Grace Lee stumbles upon an opportunity as an intern for her uncle in South Korea, she falls headfirst into a world where nothing but perfection will do.

Coming fresh off an international flight, Grace is truly a fish out of water.
Sloppy dressing (hello, international flight people!!).
Doesn't speak Korean - oops!
And doesn't know a thing about K Pop.
So, to say things start poorly with her introduction to these 5 superstars, would be an understatement.

With time, and a little sleep, some members of the group warm up to her. Lucas is the exception. He treats her like trash, and while I get that he is going through some major issues, having someone in his corner would be a plus. Eventually showing some tough love, Grace manages to break through Lucas' walls, and the two quickly grow closer.

I felt sorry for Grace through a good portion of the book given how clueless she is and how much she struggled at first. But she didn't back down or run away, she found a way to adjust, and eventually, gain the group's trust.

As for the group, while Lucas and Rae seem to have the most interactions with Grace, I love Sookie the most, and really hope the author makes this into a series. Every one of these young men deserve a HEA.

The author did a great job researching this book and I could tell part of that was her love for the music, which came shining through. A must read for any K Pop fan!

*An ARC was received for an honest review.

For more reviews, visit

[Nicki ⍣ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could've gone back in time to when I didn't know this book existed. I am not the intended audience for this piece of work, and I don't think it is for anyone like me either. I think this book is for a very specific demographic of people.

With the rise of KPOP and Korean entertainment over here in America, it was only a matter of time before more people would try to capitalize off this. This book is exactly what I thought it would be and so much less. Let me start this off by saying that I would've genuinely never picked this book up to read if I hadn't seen the news that it was slated to be adapted into a series before it was even released. Still, I tried to keep an open mind going into this book even if I was uncomfortable with the fact that a white woman is writing about the perspective of a Korean-American woman. I should've heeded my gut feeling when I got to the Author's Note and she stated that it was a passion project and several people told her it wouldn't sell, which is obviously bullshit because this was 2019 and at this point KPOP groups like Blackpink were slated to perform at Coachella and BTS had broken many records as million dollar sellers. Somehow, I still persevered and managed to finish all FORTY chapters of this book.

From a KPOP perspective and as someone who has been a KPOP fan for many years, who has a blog and guests on podcast discussing KPOP/Korean Entertainment. Someone who can very diligently tell you how idol culture has shifted throughout the years. Someone who has witness the loss of an idol she loved deeply. This book was a slap in the face. I understand the intent was to give people a glimpse into what goes on in Korean Entertainment industry, but in what way is RVD qualified to tell this story? There is nothing new that is being said here, tons of times we have read about the dark side of KPOP and while I agree that there is more scrutiny in the way idols have to live, there is a lot of similarities with the western music industry as well. I am also very perturbed by the way the idols were written simply because it reeked of the type of naivety that I see newer KPOP fans say when it comes to idols and this is not me bashing on newer fans by the way, I'm just saying that no matter how 'innocent' you think your oppa or unnie are, they most definitely are not. As I was reading this book, you can clearly see which groups she drew inspiration from. This book felt like a fetiziation of Asian people made worse by the fact that the author is a WHITE woman. I know there was allegedly research done for this book, but it felt like it was all surface level and KPOP 101. At this point, I am inclined to offer Jessica an apology for Shine because even though I didn't finish it cause it was hella boring, at least she brought her 'fictional' story to life and gave insight to contract situations.

Author states in author's note that she has written rockstar romances before and that she didn't think this one would be so hard. As far as the story itself goes, I just want everyone to know I will never read a RVD book again ever in my life. Grace was very clearly just a self insert for this fanfiction and I don't really understand why the author didn't just make her American and get it over with because she was still benefiting off her privilege. Fiction is supposed to be fake and you have to suspend disbelief often, but honestly you should probably just throw your own brain out when reading this because logic will not be your friend. Grace was a pickme. Lucas was an asshole. The romance was shit. It sucked. Made no sense. And the ending had me laughing for like thirty minutes straight.

We will be having an in depth discussion of this book with spoilers on our podcast. I will update this review with the link once it is posted.

Updated w/ podcast link: https://anchor.fm/soju-chronicles/epi...

[Resch Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*

I don't think I can start this book review without giving praise to the cover, which I absolutely adore. The bold colors are refreshing take on illustrated book covers trend. Secondly, I don't think it would be fair to review without the following disclaimer...I am deep into the k-pop world; like I eat, sleep, breathe k-pop so I will be taking that into consideration in my review.

Now, one thing that Rachel Van Dyken excels at is writing groups of guys. She can write so much charm and charisma into guys just 'being bros' and that is definitely the case with SWT. I adored their contrasting personalities and how they all came together so seamlessly with endless support for one another. I also think Rachel flawlessly captures the true challenges that idols face, from the restrictive diets to the endless pressure, it's truly heartbreaking. I think about this every time I see a comeback stage and I am so happy that someone is finally bringing it to center stage.

And while I enjoyed getting to know the rag-tag team of SWT, I wanted more of all of them. With the exception of Lucas, they all had me laughing out loud at some point. But I wished we could have seen perspectives other than Lucas and Grace; from Sookie's struggles with dieting to Jay's sexuality, I wanted to be in their heads and hear from them. Especially Jay, the potential that Rachel might someday write and LGBTQ+ couple has me extremely excited!

And in this case, the romance kind of fell to the backburner for me. I was so enamored by the group that the romance was more of an afterthought for me. I think this is because it took me a while to warm up to Grace. I found her to be clumsy, self-centered, and rude. Initially she kept on spying on Lucas while he was playing the piano and this rubbed me the wrong way...respect their boundaries and space. But also she seemed to cry and tear up over anything and I just wanted to yell this is about SWT, not you.

Eventually I did warm up to her and while the romance progressed I found myself conflicted. While there was definitely physical attraction, I thought on an emotional scale, that Grace and Lucas were strangers. There were no tender conversations or casual flirting so I would have liked a little more emotional progression to their relationship aside from bullying. And what I would have loved was if Lucas actually matured some over the course of the story. 

The ending was cute and playful and definitely leaves room for the potential to expand the series further to other members of SWT, which I hope Rachel ultimately does because they were the real stars of this story.

[queen_of_the_books_18 · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you follow my reviews you know that I normally only give 5 stars to Rachel’s mafia books because I believe that’s her best writing but as you can see she’s just slayed with My Summer In Seoul!

I binged this book all day, not stopping to come up for air. These characters had me in the palm of their hands and were not letting go. I’m not ashamed to say I even teared up at several points because my heart was hurting for them.

I’m so happy that Rachel chose to write this passion project because I truly believe this is some of her best writing yet!

Also, Rachel please tell me we are getting other books for the other band members because I need more!

[BookSmackedMel · Rating 5 out of 5]

DAEBAK !!!!

My Summer In Seoul by Rachel Van Dyken is Daebak !!!!!

Rachel Van Dyken dives into the world of Kpop and gives us a romance that will have you engrossed and thinking about the book even after you've read the last word. My Summer In Seoul is a must reads of 2021.

Whether you are a Kpop fan or not or even a fan of books that feature a musician as the Hero/Antihero this book is definitely one you want on your radar, like I said must read and let’s get into all the reasons why.


Let’s start with our Heroine. Grace, a young Korean American who travels to South Korea to intern at one of the biggest music labels. Through Grace’s eyes we learn about the world of Kpop. The glamour, the chaos and the dark side of the industry. All the while trying to navigate with foreign customs and language. Grace’s resilience is admirable, and she shows us that language barriers can be overcome. I absolutely adored her, and RVD definitely had me living out my dream of being in close proximity with a Kpop group through Grace. 


Then there are the band members, each one was unique with their own style. They all contributed in one way to the overall story. I found myself quickly picking a bias, only to change my bias over and over again. Bias wreckers to the extreme here peeps. And for those Kpop fans that might be reading this review, you know when you picture real life people as those characters that you read about. You know who could play them if this was made into a TV show or movie. Well I’m just gonna throw out some names. Jk Hyunjin Kai. In fact knowing that Rachel is a fan of Kpop herself I couldn’t help but imagine who she might have pictured herself for these characters.

I mean I could keep going on and on about this book and all the reasons that you need to read this. It’s one of those reads that will absolutely take over from the very first page to the ver last one.

The story telling is just fantastic.

For those of my non kdrama/kpop fans Daebak is a Korean term meaning "Awesome/Amazing"

[Jen (jenslostinthepages) ♥Star-Crossed Book Blog♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

***4.5/5 Stars***

I went to Seoul searching for my heart— and found my destiny instead.

My Summer in Seoul was brimming with emotion and swept me away. I had absolutely no clue what I was getting into, since I don’t know anything about K-pop. But that didn’t even matter. At the heart of this story was friendship, love, trials and trust. And each aspect was so emotional and powerful. So if you’re a fan of enemies to lovers or romance stories with someone famous, then you definitely need this book in your life!

It was always the pretty ones that were the most complicated.
And mean.

Rachel Van Dyken always has the amazing talent of putting me directly into someone else’s shoes and feeling every single thing they do. So of course I loved Grace! She wanted to get into the music industry and her Uncle offered her a job to intern at his number one record label. In Korea. Grace jumped at the chance, but it definitely wasn’t what she thought it would be. Yes it involved coffee runs and other similar tasks. But she had to help oversee the largest K-pop group in the world. And she started her first moment with them, thinking they were interns. Whoops.

Well, if he wanted war.
He’d get it.
Because I wasn’t quitting.
I wasn’t leaving.
And I would stay even if it killed me.

Lucas, Rae, Sookie, Jay and Kai were a formable team in SWT. But they hated Grace. She was loud, bubbly, wouldn’t stop talking, and had no clue what she was doing. Especially when it came to customs. Thankfully Rae, the leader, took pity on her. But it still wasn’t easy, especially with Lucas hating her the most. And while Grace tried her hardest again and again, it still was never enough.

I didn’t look over my shoulder, even though I wanted to.
And I didn’t check on her again.
It wasn’t my place.
And she wasn’t mine to begin with.
Plus, she was the last girl in the world I would go for.
Dead. Last.

Grace was motivated, persevered when others wouldn’t and had the hugest heart ever. And while she started figuring out how to handle the guys in SWT, Lucas still gave her all the hatred. It didn’t matter what she would do or how kind she was to him. He still hated her with a passion. And as someone who loves enemies to lovers, Grace and Lucas’ story was fabulous! It was a roller-coaster of emotions with the most fabulous angst! And while my heart broke for Grace countless times, it also started to break for Lucas too. Once we started to have chapters in his head too.

It was wrong, sneaking around, making her lie to everyone, bringing her down with me, but I couldn’t stop it any more than I could stop breathing.

Lucas was struggling. The music industry of K-pop was beyond intense and brutal. Fans controlled how high they climbed and how low they crashed with a scandal. So as we started to learn more about Lucas, he earned my empathy. Even if he could be a total asshole lol. That’s because I loved how Lucas felt deeply. I loved how passionate he was about music. And I even loved how he messed with Grace at times. But most of all, I loved when Lucas did something that allowed Grace to see more of him. Lucas was drowning at times, and I kept hoping Grace could help him. Somehow.

I still tasted her mouth; I still felt her skin on mine.
I still wanted her so much it hurt.

The way Grace and Lucas developed eeps, I loved it! They made my heart pound faster! And I’m not saying any more about them besides read this book! On top of Grace and Lucas was an industry that was all consuming. Intense isn’t even a strong enough word for it. And we also got to know Rae, Sookie, Jay and Kai. Oh you guys. They slowly found a way into my heart and I didn’t ever want to say goodbye to them. I’d be sooo happy if each of them got their own story! Please ♥.

She had saved me. It was my turn. To save her.

My Summer in Seoul was an enemy to lovers tale that romances lovers will passionately fall in love with! This story played out like I was watching a tv show unfold on Netflix, it was impossible to put down! And while there was a lot of drama and emotion throughout this story, I laughed a ton too. The bears?! Oh I can’t even! So yes, I loved this book and can’t recommend it enough!

Son of a bitch! I was killing them all! ALL OF THEM!

PS What I gasped over? I was just as mad, right along with Grace! Even though I guessed it. Still. Poor Grace ♥.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[Vanessa Booked Up · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS!

"My summer in Seoul..." I said lamely. "Learning about reading others' souls and still having a hard time rescuing my own."

This was SUCH a fun read! Going into this, I really had no idea what K-pop is, except for the rare mention of it from my fourteen-year-old daughter. Now I know that it is basically the boy band phenomenon that swept through the U.S. years ago with groups like The Backstreet Boys and *NSync, but like, on MAJOR steroids!!!

Grace's uncle in Korea offers her a summer intern position assisting with one of the K-pop groups who are working on making a comeback. Even though she is half Korean, she was born and raised in Seattle, she barely speaks the language nor does she understand the culture. She'll be their third intern in a very short amount of time so the guys make little to no effort in welcoming her at first. Especially Lucas.

This was a forbidden romance/ enemies-to-lovers. Lucas was caught up in some major controversy not long ago which is why the band is working on making a comeback. He's in a difficult place, and he's battling some major emotional issues.

I used to LOVE the bully trope, but as my two daughters have begun growing up, I now picture them as the recipients of this bully type behaviors from heroes, and it is no longer cute to me. I have little to no tolerance for it. With that being said, this particular bully trope did not bother me. There was really only one scene where Lucas was straight up mean to Grace, but it was between them. He didn't publicly humiliate her or embarrass her. So I was ok with it.

I haven't read much new adult lately at all and I really had been missing the nuances of young love.

“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Maybe.” He didn’t open his eyes. “Yes, sometimes. Hey, why aren’t we moving?”
“Oh my gosh!” I couldn’t stop laughing. “Then why are you here?”
“Because”—he finally opened his eyes and met my gaze—“you’re here. Where else would I be?”

Basically, here's what you can expect with this book:

- Virgin hero
- Love triangle
- Stuffed bear porn
- K-drama goodness
-Some very funny and adorable side characters in Lucas's band mates

I really loved the last half of this book. Watching Lucas thaw to Grace was so sweet and I could've seriously read like another 300 pages of it.

“Does this mean we can be friends again?” she asked, pressing her body against mine. I stirred despite every effort to calm my body down.
“No.” She exhaled, and her body seemed to deflate. She looked away. “Because we were never friends, Grace.”

Trigger warnings for suicide and suicidal ideations. Which, the story was more authentic because of it. Apparently this is a major issue in the K-Pop world with the massive pressure placed on these groups.

I do wish the ending would've been a little longer. Everything seemed to get wrapped up very fast. And I REALLY wish there would've been an epilogue. However, if this is the beginning of a series, which I'm hoping it is, then I get not having an epilogue.

This would make an AMAZING series. I want to know more about Rae, Jay, Kai, and Sookie. (Sookie was so my fave.) Instant SWT fan over here!

"I had fallen.
For Lucas.
For the boy who'd hated me.
Who now said he loved me."

I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[BG · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read the blurb, I was so excited even though I'm not into kpop that much but I absolutely adore kdramas.

Firstly, I really liked how Grace was portrayed completely lost and baffled when she was thrust into this kpop world and experienced major culture shocks.

I really liked how she gradually won every person from the group and how they all became close but what I didn't like was the hero. Gosh he sucked. Lucas was awful and um a bit boring.
I felt more of a connection between Grace and Rae than Grace and Lucas. Their romance just started so abruptly. There wasn't even any inclination that they liked or were attracted to each other before they kissed.

Personally, I just wanted all or at least Lucas to walk away in the end to leave that toxic environment. It needs to be changed so badly.

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Van Dyken continues to prove she can write just about anything, as she tackles the big, sparkly world of K-Pop in the entertaining and engrossing My Summer in Seoul. Part K-pop celebration, part coming of age story, part unflinching looks at the demands on an industry, and part romance- this story is fresh, fun, full of feels, and full of wonder.

Our heroine Grace has the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to her Korean music mogul uncle who lands her an internship in Korea for their top music label. She ultimately learns she’ll be working with K-Pop sensation SWT- a band she comically mistakes for other interns instead of the epic superstars they are. As Grace starts to settle into Seoul and figure out both the culture and the ins and outs of her new job, she soon realizes working with SWT will be no walk in the park- they are surrounded by chaos, are needy, and bring all sorts of drama.

Truth be told, I know very little about the dazzling work of K-Pop, other than its epic popularity and ravenous fans. It’s a pop culture phenomenon that I’ve always felt a bit on the outside of, and that I’ve not spent a lot of time trying to fall into. So given my own limited knowledge, I wasn’t sure how this story would land with me. But, I quite enjoyed it. It’s clear RVD, an author with an identity and culture different of that than our story, has taken time to do thoughtful cultural research, not just about K-Pop itself but about the culture that created it, and her love and respect for this world sparkles off the page. Grace herself, while Korean American, isn’t super familiar with this world either, and so get to learn alongside her as she discovers the big, beautiful magic of the K-POp sensation. RVD made a world I knew little about accessible and vivid- but I shouldn’t be surprised, she’s masterful at this in any story.

I really loved Grace as our heroine. She’s sweet, affable, thoughtful, and a bit adorable. Watching her stumble through this dynamic, cutthroat, and unusual industry was a treat, and I loved watching her connect with the wayward members of SWT. Each had their own charms and personality (and I’m hoping we get future books in this world featuring them all). Grace connects with them all in her own way, especially kind hearted band leader Rae, but it's Lucas that needs her kindness and support most of all- but, of course, he’ll not easily take it.

The romance is a slower burn, and I did spend much of the early part of the story trying to figure out just who the love interest may be. But, I loved that Grace had affinity and connection with so many of them. The actual love interest definitely wasn’t who I anticipated (or perhaps at first wanted), but as things unfold, it all clicks in place. The Story starts off fast and furious- I was mesmerized, but it is the last 40% or so of this story that stole the show. So much chemistry, so much emotion, so much heart.

Yet again RVD creates a new world and enchanting characters that captured my heart. I loved the romance, but even more so, I loved learning about a cultural phenomenon I know little about, and even more so, watching a heroine find herself, figuring out who she is and where she fits, while lost in a world that wasn’t her own. I can’t wait to see this come to life on screen- kudos yet again to RVD for writing what’s in her heart, for defying the “box” to give us something far more novel and interesting. Kpop lover or not, you’ll love this story.

[Dominik · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF and just… no

[BernLuvsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got totally sucked in to this K-Pop romance & have zero regrets.

[~ bri ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

kurde, a zapowiadało się lepiej

nie wiem, może gdyby to zakończenie było inne i opisy czasem krótsze, byłoby 5, ale główna bohaterka bardzo mnie irytowała. niemniej bawiłam się super i chciałabym przeczytać coś jeszcze ze świata k-popu

[Jen Isherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I'm not sure how many times Rachel can make my heart break and then so carefully put it back together....but I always keep coming back for more anyways... knowing she's, at some point, going to tear it out, throw it on the ground and stomp on it. Then be like... Oh, i'm sorry, here's some tape....it's going to take a little while until it's all better again. lol

Anyways, My Summer in Seoul was literally EVERYTHING! Any I mean everything! I know she did a lot of research for this book and omg, the k-pop industry is freaking insane! I mean, the fans... the fans! And all the work these Idols put into it. It's their life. They eat, sleep and dream this industry and love their fans to no end. And that's exactly what SWT is like. The guys give everything for their fans.... even when a scandal hits and the new intern not only has to make sure things run smoothly, but she also has to be on suicide watch!
Grace is Korean American and has never fit in while growing up in the states. She also never learned the Korean language and never was taught anything about the different culture. Being a student majoring in Music Production, it seemed almost like fate when her uncle from Korean, who just so happened to be in the Record Industry, called and asked if she wanted to intern for the summer. It was the perfect chance to get her foot in the door!
What's the worst that could happen? Well - for starters, when she got there, there seemed to be a language barrier problem that her trusty translating app on her phone wasn't going to cut it with. The culture shock was hitting hard as she seemed to be disrespecting the SWT members at every turn and the Assistant seemed to make sure every chance she got that Grace was not cut out for the job and doing everything wrong.
How could this dream job turn bad so fast? The stress was insane. The schedules were constant and intense. The group seemed to hate her, all except one that is. Rae, the lead singer and "dad" of the group, who seemed to take pity on her. He soon became her only friend in this whole mess. And "friend" at times was even a stretch. But she would not quit. These beautiful Idols were just going to have to deal with her until the internship was over. But living with the guys, getting to know them, trying her damnest to get them on her side and maybe she not only risked losing her job at times, but losing her heart too. It almost seemed at times like she was in her own reality k-drama. And the ending, might not be the happily ever after that she was hoping for.

I cannot tell you guys how many times my emotions went through the ringer with this story. The guys and Grace are so entertaining! Even when some of them are being assholes! Grace is freaking hilarious when she first thinks none of them can speak english. She is so loud and so... well, american lol The culture shock was crazy to read and I think Rachel did a beautiful job in telling the story and keeping true to everything. I'm so glad though that she put in a little info session at the beginning so i knew what some of these terms were though lol I'd be so lost without it. I loved everything about this book. I loved the industry. I loved how hard it pushed Grace and her never give up attitude. I loved the raw emotions you got with each and every band member and i really hope they each get their own stories! The heartbreak and the pressure the guys go under tore me apart at times. And I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone that wants a good emotional read! I definitely have a new book boyfriend. I will not say here and spoil anything for you guys. But trust me when i say you will not want to put this book down once you start it.

Also, thank you Rachel for never allowing me to look at a stuffed bear the same way ever again! LOL #bearporn That's it. You've ruined those innocent little stuffed bears now.

[Amour.Rebelle.Reads (Bran.d) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely identified with Grace from the start. I’ll be honest & say I don’t know very much about k-pop but the last couple of years have been a total eye opener just learning from Rachel & the Rockin Readers lol. She is a fountain of k-pop knowledge & I adore her passion and it absolutely shows in My Summer in Seoul.

Meeting the guys through Grace we get to see all of their personas. We get to witness how toxic their fandom can be along with how they are allowed to deal with life. Their lives are beyond stressful and its truly endearing that Grace never stops trying to make them happy or figure out ways to ease their stress.

Fave quotes:
“Grace, your worth isn’t in what you do. That’s too big, right? Your worth happens every second of every day… when you help someone who needs help, when you love someone who needs love; it takes place in the small moments, not the big ones.”—-I LOVE Grace’s Dad! Love & appreciate all of the small moments 💕

Bear porn…Um no words🤣 #iykyk

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to DNF this book even though I was more than half way through. This book just felt too long, repetitive, and maybe even boring? I feel awful for saying this because I really wanted to like this book! I love Kpop and I love Korea so i was excited going into it. The romance was just so bland and I don’t understand how anyone can tolerate Lucas. The story just fell flat. Also some of the Korean terms used in this book by Grace just made me cringe the whole time, and I’m not just talking about her saying “hi” in the impolite form but literally speaking in English while calling one of the guys oppa. It was all just too much for me.

[Roomies' Digest · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading anything by Ms. Rachel and it was such a cute time! I'm telling y'all it's like reading a k drama but make it spicy. WHEN I SAY I WAS SQUEAMMMING 😝

It's like Boys Over Flowers but make it kpop. The love triangle was giving me life and the ending was just as sweet.

Also it got picked for a tv adaption so I'm already preparing my mind a body lol

[✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received for an honest review

Now, I am the first to say that I am not one to understand the K-pop phenomenon, and the obsession some of my friends have with it, and if this had been a book by anyone other than Rachel Van Dyken, I probably would have given it a wide berth

And I shouldn't have been surprised that I really enjoyed it,

All I really knew about k-pop was that the stans over in South Korea can be a little bit psycho, and that there has been a lot of deaths of idols due to the pressure they have put on them.

I was completely Grace coming into this story, I knew about as much as she did when she got this job. My heart hurt for her as she is thrown in the deep end with the wolves of SWT.

I adored her backbone and how she stood up to them. And won them over,

I don't want to give anything away as I feel that you need to dive in blind to get the full effect of Grace's tale, but I will say that you can tell there has been a lot of research by RVD into the lives of k-pop idols. I say that if I was a fan of the genre, I would have a serious look at the way the fans and record companies treat their people.

There's some twists and turns that I was not expecting along the way.

I hope we get stories on more of the guys - especially Sookie!

I look forward to the TV show that is in the works.


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[Lisa (Two Bookish Brits) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can honestly say I have never, ever read a book quite like this. I know next to nothing about the world surrounding K-pop but it’s always been insane to me, the fan base, their fame, everything. It’s feels so out of this world compared to the usual non extremely famous fanbases. So this book left me shook.

I’ve never understood the phenomenon behind K-pop music and why everyone seems to be obsessed and most likely wouldn’t have picked this book up but something in the description captured my attention and left me intrigued so now here we are, me sat here left with my mind blown over an incredible read.

You can tell this author has gone into depth with her research, everything is explained in a way that you understand and has you feeling like you’re a part of it all. It completely blows my mind how intense some fans can be towards the idols and how many deaths are surrounded by fans and the depth they are willing to go to.

I came into the K-pop world exactly like Grace did, knowing absolutely nothing and came out knowing a little something. Not only has this book been amazing to read but also educational and damn, I absolutely love learning new things about different countries.

The storyline surrounding My Summer In Seoul is crazy. We get to see what it’s like being surrounded by one of the most famous K-pop groups and how it effects each and every member and even their families and friends. We’re shown just how hard relationships can be and honestly, I found myself tearing up a few times during this story.

Grace is the lightness in this book, she’s absolute happiness and her light shines bright even in a world she’s not welcome in. She’s funny, quirky and an absolute joy to read about.

I won’t go much into detail about this book or the storyline because I do believe one should go into this completely blind to experience this book fully but I will guarantee it’s a book you won’t want to put down.

I have no doubt I’ll be thinking about this book well into next year.

I simply can NOT wait for this book to be made into the tv series, I’m so intrigued as to how that will turn out. I’m so excited for it!

My Summer In Seoul is an educative, addictive and well wrote story. It’s fun and heartbreaking all wrapped up into a ball of K-pop cuteness.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review

[Nicole (the library of n) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Time for an adventure. And the chance of a lifetime."

On a whim, Grace Lee's uncle calls her and offers her the internship of a lifetime with his recording company in South Korea. When she arrives, she has no idea the intricacies of the culture, language, music industry, and K-pop in particular. Will she be able to figure out how to co-exist with SWT, the K-pop group she's been assigned to? And will she be able to figure out how to keep her heart out of it?

This was so good and so fun! I have fallen victim to becoming obsessed with another place I read about and am currently looking up ticket prices to Seoul!!

The characters were amazingly created with so much depth and personality. Grace was an amazing heroine. But even better, SWT, I LOVED EVERY SINGLE ONE BUT ESPECIALLY SOOKIE. I'm obsessed with every single character that Rachel Van Dyken created in My Summer in Seoul.

The way that Rachel Van Dyken took this book as an opportunity to write about something so impactful as mental health is incredible. I know nothing about K-pop so I don't know the validity of every single statement, but having a conversation about mental health is always important. By creating these amazing characters and using them as the introduction into a deep conversation about mental health was amazing.

The romance was fantastic and I was cheering along with every single scene!! Sneaking into rooms! Stolen kisses! Obsessed!!

Um and if you need me now, I'll be obsessively looking up K-pop groups on Youtube and looking up plane tickets! K bye!!!

"I went to Seoul searching for my heart—and found my destiny instead."

*Thank you to Valentine PR and Rachel Van Dyken for my e-ARC, this copy in no way influences my rating or review.

[Lindsey Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was amazing! Being a K-pop junkie, I was curious if the book would hold up to my expectations. I'm so glad it exceeded those expectations. I can't wait for the rest of the band's stories.

[Patricia (Spellbound Stories Trish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am laughing, crying and feeling all the feels after finishing this remarkable novel!

My summer in Seoul does a fantastic job of highlighting the world of k pop! I didn’t know how intense it was!

I have recently started listening to kpop and really love the music and getting a sort of “behind the scenes” look at this world really opened up my eyes to just how truly talented and dedicated the artists are!

I feel that Van Dyken did an amazing job of weaving in information into a storyline that just captured your heart from the very first page! I didn’t want the story to end and I hope we get more of SWT! I fell so in love with these guys and want all of their stories!

[Andrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars but rounding to 5 because K-pop.
Some words about me: I love Korean dramas and music. It's been a while now I was searching for a good romance book that the H was a K-pop idol or an actor and I got super excited when I heard RVD was writing one. I preordered the book in August and anxiously waited for December. That fact that I was given this book as an ARC (first one from RVD) changes nothing and this review is as honest as it would have been if I wasn't given the book.
I've been in a book funk for....get ready.... maybe 2 years now. I have trouble finishing a book. In this 2 years I started maybe 20 books and left almost all of them unfinished. Well, I finished this one. It kept me interested, it had funny moments and before I knew it I was hitting the 90% mark.
The reason why I didn't give it a solid 5 was because I felt it rushed at the end. Also, we saw the couple together, but we didn't see them apart after the "breakup". You know! When you wanna see the H being at his worst without the h, see him struggle and although the H is suffering you get the fuzzy feeling because it means he really loves her..... well I didn't feel it in this book. Mind you, having said that, they never realllyyyy break up so I guess it was OK!!
To sum up, I loved My summer in Seoul and I'm hoping more ones will come with the rest of the band members (I can't wait).

[MariON · Rating 1 out of 5]

Przeczytałam byście wy nie musieli czytać.
Ta książka to porażka. Nawet nie wiem od czego zacząć. Główna bohaterka jest irytująco infaltywna, a przynajmniej jedna z postaci ma chorobę dwubiegunową. Jest w tej książce tyle sprzecznych wypowiedzi, opisów, myśli, że aż mną trzęsło z irytacji. Dodatkowo błędy kulturowe, chyba popełnione przez tłumacza, bo wątpię by Amerykanski autor przywołał w swojej treści "kopytka" gdy żaden z bohaterów nie ma powiazania z naszą kultura- ba! Pewnie sam autor dopiero niedawno dowiedział się o istnieniu polski. Zatem słaby zabieg utożsamienia czytelnika z treścią.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book with a timely storyline. I think stories from the other characters would be interesting.

[Agnieszka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Czy ja chcę o tym zrobić filmik? 🙈🙈🙈 moooże?

To najgorsza książka tego typu (jaką czytałam) od 6 lat, gratuluję