The Practice Kiss

My K-Drama Life #1

by Sara Martin

When Chloe Gibson said she was ready for adventure, she never dreamed she’d end up robbed, humiliated, and dumped on the streets of Seoul. It’s a brutal shift from when she fell in love with South Korea as a wide-eyed teen on a school exchange programme. Just as she’s about to give up and fly home, a twist of fate lands her a small role on Hidden History, a new K-drama starring Shin Jinseung. Known for his heart-melting crooked smile, godlike body, and half-crazed fans, the young actor is on track to becoming Korea’s next megastar. Chloe turns up on set poised, professional, and determined to remain unaffected by Jinseung’s magnetic persona. As hard as she tries, however, their impending onscreen kiss fills her with simmering anticipation. Jinseung agrees to help her perfect her technique before the cameras roll—and gently reminds her that there is no space for real feelings in their line of work. Even so, the sparks firing between them feel like more than just acting. But can Jinseung feel them too, or is Chloe just another obsessive fan in the making? Korean drama fans will adore this celebrity romance novel set in Seoul, South Korea. My K-Drama Life Book 1: The Practice Kiss
Book 2: The Dating Drama

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary

280 pages, Hardcover

Published August 9, 2021

Reviews

[Chris]

OMG! This book is amazing! If you are a fan of K-Drama and spend time on Netflix binge-watching romantic series, this book is for you! It was a sweet and romantic story. I loved the chemistry between the protagonists and how their story unraveled!

[Jillian Moan]

I liked it, and it was really cute, but it was a little fast paced for me. I just felt some things were too rushed and other things weren’t drawn out long enough.

[Sara]

DNF at probably like 30%

I thought about just "taking a break" from this book and then giving it another chance, but every time I thought about this book I wanted to not read it, so I decided to just DNF. I don't want to say it was bad...but it wasn't good either. The author/MC seems to romanticize Korean culture in a way that screams "this book was written by someone who isn't Asian" and doesn't fully appreciate Korean culture. What I mean by this is that the aspects of Korean culture that were presented were the ones that are all over social media or that one could pick up by watching a lot of K-dramas. The plot seemed very idealized (not to mention white-savior-ish). If you want a better story about an American going to live in Korea, I recommend XOXO (plus, the MC is actually Korean!). However, I'm not going to yuck your yum (for this book at least), so if you liked this book, you do you boo.

[seoulNreading]

Ich nehme alles zurück, dies hier ist das schlechteste Buch was ich je gelesen haben 🤣🤣 und wäre ich nicht schon so weit gewesen und der anspurn da, mich im englischen zu verbessern, hätte ich das Buch schon längst aufgegeben... Die ganze Geschichte ist einfach nur flach, platt, 0815,vorhersehbar und unangenehm kitschig 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ zudem hat mich der schreibstil etwas genervt, da es mir so vorkam als wäre die Autorin selber nicht zu 100% der englischen Sprache mächtig und hätte versucht manche Worte eins zu eins ins englische zu übersetzten, was einfach unnatürlich und falsch rüberkam 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄 ich weiss das Geschmäcker unterschiedlich sind und sicherlich der ein oder andere kdrama Fan schneller zu begeistern ist, aber mal ganz ehrlich, alle die mehr als 2 Sterne gegeben haben, haben doch irgendwas geraucht 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[dove🤎]

Cliché. Everything happened real quick and there was barely any character development. I liked how the story began, though. Maybe if the story had been fleshed out, as well as the characters & the Seoul setting, I would have loved it.

[Bronte]

wasn’t even bad good it was just.. bad n dull, the plot line lends to potential but the writing n chemistry were so flat i’ve read shorter fanfics with more tension than this

[natalia]

this was defs a YA read, but omg it was so cutie and wholesome !!

🤍 set in seoul
🤍 friends to lovers
🤍 forced proximity
🤍 co-actors in a kdrama
🤍 slow burn
🤍 practice kissing (for the acting, ofc)

[Julia Bigelow]

Didn't really hold my attention.

[Jessica Army, blink forever!!]

Chole Gibson takes a job to be a English teacher(My dream) in korea. What could go wrong? Well for Chole a lot! When she is alone in a new place walking to streets of seoul giving up hope and thinking its a mistake she get a main role in a kdrama. A very famous actor by the name Shin Jinseung who looks so familiar. Sparks fly between them. And when they share a kiss for the drama can Jinseung keep the no dating rule? god this book has so many swoon-worthy moments. And i read it in less then a week! This book is my first YA book. It gives the butterflys 🦋

[Edy]

When you're in a reading slump because you finished Chain Of Thorns and don't know what to do with your life, so you read a Kindle Unlimited K-Drama Romance because you have very limited interests.
Quick and fun. So I would recommend it. Definitely insta love, though. Don't go into this book thinking it'll be the best book ever written and I'd say you'll enjoy it. Also I had no idea so I'll warn you. It's the first in a trilogy..

[Janet]

If you're like me and love to binge on romance K-dramas then this is the book for you. The novel follows the arrival of Chloe Gibson to South Korea from the U.K to begin her new job as an English teacher. Only to find herself having been scammed out of a job and money and out on the streets on day 1.

Not wanting to call her family abroad for help she wanders the streets of Seoul unsure of what to do or where to go. Until a stranger by the name of Seo Minjung a talent recruiter for KAM Entertainment, who has approached her as she looks like a foreign character they need to cast pronto.
Inviting Chloe to stay the night at her place and offering to help her out for a few days.
Chloe agrees to read for the foreign girls part in an upcoming drama series "Hidden History" where she meets lead actor (aka K-drama heartthrob)Shin Jinseung. A romance with Shin or any leading heartthrob is basically forbidden in the entertainment industry. But you'll have to read to find out how things develop when Chloe is faced with a kissing scene as the drama's story develops on-screen and off!
The story has a good pace but needed a bit more development. In all, it was enjoyable, and look forward to finding out how things develop further in book 2 The Dating Drama.

[Alecia]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚜𝚜— 𝚂𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗
•••
If you’re like me and obsessed with K-Drama’s then you’ve imagined at least ONCE what it would be like if you actually stared in one 😅.
•
The Practice Kiss reads like a K-Drama fan fiction novel. It follows the story of Chole Gibson as she travels to Korea to start her English teaching job, only to land a major role in an upcoming drama.
•
It’s a super cute, and fluffy read. There are moments that are a bit awkward and cringe worthy, but would it be a kdrama (novel) without those moments?!?
•
The novel covers Chloe‘s experience in Korea as a foreigner and the strict “no dating” policy that many actors and entertainers have to follow in Korea. Definitely pick it up if you like watching romantic comedy Kdramas or reading about Korean culture.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Avidreadersbc]

This should be made into a movie !!!!

This storyline is fast-paced and very, very unique. There's lots of simmering tension and even a little heartbreak. It is a must read for all Korean entertainment fans and even for those you aren't. This is like one of those stories that caters to everyone. You cannot help but like it.

The only bummer here for me is that everything's so PG-13. It's a slowwww burn and even when everything culminates it's a fade to black scene. I was so devastated at that. Especially as I was looking forward to it. I might not have even read the series if I had known this I'm the beginning and I would have missed out on a truly amazing storyline..so I'm still torn on this.

But I have never read a book that's so movie worthy. This really NEEDS to be made into one.

[Amy]

Mediocre read. The chemistry between the two leads is really hard to gauge. We are told it by the supporting cast constantly but its never felt. This felt very one dimensional, and since its written in first person, it makes it even harder to tell Jinseung’s real motives.

There’s a lot of back and forth over the will they won’t they, and to be honest I wasn’t convinced by any of it.

I’m giving this 3 stars because it still serves a story that I want to believe in, and even though this book goes there with an intimate scene, it is on the light side. My love for Kdrama’s is the reason I bought this book, and I still want to root for the characters. Not sure I will purchase any more in the series, the writing feels too loose and misses so many opportunities to connect the reader to the character.

[Andrie]

Not dropping per se. It's more of On hold. I'm putting it in on hold after reading 13% of it (I know, too early) but I don't have the time to be reading books that didn't capture my attention. I used to finish a book even if I didn't like it, just so when I openly say my opinion nobody could have argue that I shouldn't have an opinion cause I didn't finished the book. Now, I don't care what others think. I don't have the time and will to finish books that I don't want to.
Anyway, the book is not horrible but not great either. I felt I was reading the f's diary all the way through. Small sentences, lack of world build and not great with details.
I might pick it up again. I love everything Korean so I might give it another chance but for now it's a no.

[Rhoda Baxter]

I picked this up after reading an article about books influenced by K-Drama. I love K-dramas, but when I watch one, it takes up all my concentration. I'm a bit busy right now, so I figured I'd get a quick K-drama hit by reading this book.
Chloe goes to Korea for a job - which turns out to be a scam. Penniless and drunk, in the rain, she gets spotted by a talent scout and offered a job. She's cast in a K-drama alongside a handsome actor ... who knew her when she was a teenager.
I wanted a quick K-drama hit and that was exactly what I got. I enjoyed reading this book and zipped through it. The only downside was that it didn't fully end. I think you need to read all three books to get the full story with the happy ending.

[Trisha]

I quite enjoyed this book, though I had to suspend belief in a few different ways (like about the entire premise of the story really ...) while reading to be able to enjoy it. Anyway, I was glad that in the end the heroine acted more reasonable than she did in that one moment when she got annoyed at her love interest for being worried about things. If you've read it you'll know what I mean. It turned out well and I didn't end up detesting the heroine, so that was good. ;)

Anyway, if you are not Korean but you're a big kpop/kdrama fan and you're happy to suspend belief in order to live vicariously through this story, then I recommend it to you!

[sh9taro]

The book gave me comfort, at first i thought it was badly written but at the end it actaully is so nice.
It was a nice quick read. I enjoyed it while i was laying on the beach. one of the disadvantages is that i think the character are badly written… there should be more personality to them while the girl was only going through trauma and and the boyfriend was just there… nothing about him for the past 2 other books.

[Haley]

A quick and fun insta love story. I liked that the characters had previously met, though the FMC had limited memory of this. I think this is a fun story to read if you had a free afternoon. I wish we could have seen some further development of the characters and setting as it felt like we bounced quickly through plot points without much set up. The concept of the story is fun and I do like the characters, it just felt like something was missing.

[Laraine]

This is a book about accidentally becoming a minor KDrama actor suddenly and working with one of your favorite actors. Destitute after being used in a scam a young woman finds success to briefly stay in Korea. It was a quick read. I expected it to have twists and turns like a K-Drama but it was a relaxing read. There will be a part 2 and I Look forward to reading that as well.

[Molly]

Great for K Drama lovers! Very typical plotline but still fun to read. Light on the [physical] romance and heavy on the clichés. Not as much depth in the characters that I usually prefer but for the sake of a quick, fun read, I'd say go for it! I will likely read the second when I am needing a break from heavier reads.

[Andrea]

Being hooked on K-dramas, I of course enjoyed this foray into the behind-the-scenes world of their production. This is possibly (probably?) totally unrealistic -- but then again, if you're hooked on K-dramas, you're not overly concerned about realism. Nice realization of settings, good story pacing, pretty slight character development. Enjoyment factor will be high for fellow K-drama addicts.

[Izzy Matias]

Loved reading this book!! Makes me want to fly to South Korea in the hopes of starring in a KDrama too. As a fan of Astro, I got excited when Chloe mentioned she's also a fan. :)) I've already started reading book 2!

[Mariana Ríos]

I love kdramas so I really enjoyed this book a lot. I read it really fast, it was easy to follow though a bit predictable. Still I think it’s a good book to relax and it definitely leaves you with a smile.

[Laura Wolf]

Sweet and immersive romance

Unlike any other romance I've read, immersive in Korean culture and centered around Kdramas this was an absolute treat.
Great characters, totally unique plotline and so detailed it will totally make you want to go to Korea.

[Jessica Swain]

A kdrama fans fantasy! Very cheesy and kind of cliché, but makes for a cute and quick read. The book reads as YA with very little to no spice. Very sweet and wholesome with an happy ending. 🫰🏻

Insta connection
Forbidden love
K-drama
Foreigner
Set in Seoul

[AleXa]

I really love it! It was a really great book! I actually hate reading but I didn't stop reading this.

[❤️My Dog is my Best Friend❤️]

*3.5

[Hannah]

A cute story to keep my Kdrama heart going! Im excited to read the second book of the series!

[Erica]

Nice quick read. Cute story.