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Korean From Context #1
Seoul Searching
Maria’s best friend is getting married! As Maid of Honor, she comes to find out that the wedding is being held in the fiancé’s home country. South Korea.
Flying more than halfway across the world, Maria encounters more than just a culture shock. He goes by the name of…
Lee Hwan Soo. An up-and-coming Korean drama actor and a damn near perfect specimen of man. But just when he gets his big break, his best friend announces his engagement to a woman from America.
Being jaded in love, Hwan Soo, puts off the idea of ever being in female company for longer than a date or two. Until he finds out that his best friend and the bride-to-be need him to ‘babysit’ the bride’s Maid of Honor, Maria.
Keeping her from making major cultural faux pas, preventing her from creating international incidents, and somehow teaching her how to speak an entirely new language in time for their friend’s big day…What could possibly go wrong?
Join Maria and Lee Hwan Soo on a crazy rollercoaster of life, language, and most importantly love.
Flying more than halfway across the world, Maria encounters more than just a culture shock. He goes by the name of…
Lee Hwan Soo. An up-and-coming Korean drama actor and a damn near perfect specimen of man. But just when he gets his big break, his best friend announces his engagement to a woman from America.
Being jaded in love, Hwan Soo, puts off the idea of ever being in female company for longer than a date or two. Until he finds out that his best friend and the bride-to-be need him to ‘babysit’ the bride’s Maid of Honor, Maria.
Keeping her from making major cultural faux pas, preventing her from creating international incidents, and somehow teaching her how to speak an entirely new language in time for their friend’s big day…What could possibly go wrong?
Join Maria and Lee Hwan Soo on a crazy rollercoaster of life, language, and most importantly love.
524 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2022
85 people are currently reading
1080 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 9, 2022
Fetishization of Korean culture, self-insertion (of a CLASSIC Mary Sue) to a cringe-worthy degree, and a layout that makes reading the book actually difficult. This one didn't do it for me, which is a shame becuse I was very excited to read it. The Korean in the book is written in Hangul and, if you don't already know the phrases, actively makes you stop reading to look it up (e-book you can highlight to translate, paperback you'll have to reference vocab listings at the end of each chapter) and makes reading it much longer than it should take. I give 1 stars about as often I so 5 (rarely) and this one took the cake. I felt icky reading it and was glad to be done with it.
February 2, 2022
I absolutely loved this. It was light, fluffy and had me grinning from ear to ear for more than 500 pages. The Korean learning concept of the book was so well executed. I really felt like the “Korean from context” worked exactly as it should. I got to practice my pronunciation and word recognition and learn some new phrases, all while falling in love with Maria and Hwan Soo. Looking forward to reading more from this author!
February 7, 2022
I never have super high hopes for romance books, but I at least hope they are enjoyable. I have faith that Seoul Searching could have been something pleasant if the author took the time to round it out.
As readers we have no real sense of who our main character is or where she comes from until halfway through the book, and even then major things from her existence is missing. Maria's life is a total mystery aside from the few character-defining things we know about her: she's spontaneous, overly protective of her best friend, and hasn't been in a solid relationship in who knows how long. There are aspects of her that I wish were built upon more, like how her previous relationships with men, which we are only given the sparsest of details for, have shaped her and her prospective love life. Especially entering this new combative back and forth between her and Hwan Soo. There is literally not even a hint that Maria's dating history has burned her in any way until Hwan Soo misplaces her trust near the end of the book, when she compares him to the men of her past in an internal monologue. There were ample opportunities to mention this resentment toward men, but it is left completely up to the reader to decide how Maria feels about them. If anything, we have no choice but to chalk up her unluckiness in the dating field to her mother, who is referenced to have set her up on a slew of blind dates every time Maria thinks of her, mentions her in conversation, or talks to her directly on the phone. Maria even compares her best friend Val to her mother on multiple occasions. I could only assume that Maria was annoyed by the idea of feeling like not only her mother, but also her best friend instilled this idea that her main purpose was to fall in love. This could have had her general career disappointment tied into it, but instead we hear nothing about her dreams- only that she "gets bored" when she has the same job for more than a year. She won't even admit what she wants to pursue to herself until her career past has been brought up more than once in conversation. Meaning, as a reader, I had no idea what her aspirations were until it was somewhat relevant to the plot of her romance with Hwan Soo. I wanted Maria to be someone on her own rather than a perfect match for Hwan Soo.
With Hwan Soo, on the other hand, we are given a bit more to work with. He had more depth when it came to his dating and career past. I feel like I was cheated with the lack of Maria's past in comparison to Hwan Soo's, particularly because we see through her eyes first. Why doesn't she have anything we can sympathize with when he has a heartbreaking epic ex-love and a (kind of) from-the-ground-up career story? We know what Hwan Soo wants to be, who his family is, what his aspirations are, and how he has come to be where he currently is. For all of this, he is the most interesting part of this story.
Aside from the main characters themselves, the tension between them was fine. It wasn't insta love, but it was almost insta obsession. Maria and Hwan Soo don't admit that they love each other until far into the book, and even then it's not reciprocated the first time- but there are a couple of instances early on where the word "love" or the thought of being married to the other person was brought up. In the same scene when Val was trying on wedding dresses, and subsequently pressured Maria into trying one on for fun, they were teasing back and forth the idea that Hwan Soo might have a crush on Maria. Not even a page later, Maria was internally musing about marrying him while looking at herself in the mirror. To go along with this, I recall it being only about three days after they met when Hwan Soo pondered wanting to love Maria, whatever that means. If these were removed it could have been more realistic than it came across.
Confusing to me was the timeline. Maria is supposedly visiting Korea for a month, but only the first week is well documented. The second after Maria ends up in the hospital, Val says that she's "been here for almost a month," when there was no prior mention of this. Up until that point, the book felt like it was moving at a slow pace (timeline wise only).
A few of the plot devices were either predictable or not sewn together correctly. The idea of Sul Bin and his purpose was not subtle, I knew from the very beginning he was going to be some kind of villain. In the end he was somewhat redeemed, and the blame was put on Hae So, but it didn't feel complete. I do like that Hae So had a big turn around. Even though she is the main stressor in Hwan Soo's past and present, all it took was him rejecting her a handful of times for her to want to join the figurative good side. Now, Maria's mother is one I've been stuck on. At the start of the book, the author makes a point to mention that Maria is the only one traveling to Korea for her best friend's wedding. She even goes as far as to write Maria's mother saying "I wish I was invited to the wedding." Fifty chapters later, Maria's mother flies to Korea with no warning, and when Maria asks why she says "I was invited to the wedding too, ya know." I still haven't figured out when this happened. Lastly, Maria suddenly coming to the realization that Hwan Soo was using her to keep Hae So at bay ever since he booked his lead K-drama role doesn't make a lot of sense. Maria was well aware of the terms and conditions when she initiated the fake relationship of her and Hwan Soo by sending a picture of them kissing to Hae So. She knew that Hwan Soo had a no dating clause in his contract, that Hae So could use this against both of them and blow their lives up, but she didn't know it wasn't all her own idea. If that small detail constitutes her wanting to cut ties with Hwan Soo and Val, her best friend of many years, I'm not sure I understand where she's coming from.
Overall, I wanted more effort. There's a lack of care weaved in the writing of this book and it shows. A romance book is best experienced when the plot the reader is being exposed to develops characters rather than rewrites them.
As readers we have no real sense of who our main character is or where she comes from until halfway through the book, and even then major things from her existence is missing. Maria's life is a total mystery aside from the few character-defining things we know about her: she's spontaneous, overly protective of her best friend, and hasn't been in a solid relationship in who knows how long. There are aspects of her that I wish were built upon more, like how her previous relationships with men, which we are only given the sparsest of details for, have shaped her and her prospective love life. Especially entering this new combative back and forth between her and Hwan Soo. There is literally not even a hint that Maria's dating history has burned her in any way until Hwan Soo misplaces her trust near the end of the book, when she compares him to the men of her past in an internal monologue. There were ample opportunities to mention this resentment toward men, but it is left completely up to the reader to decide how Maria feels about them. If anything, we have no choice but to chalk up her unluckiness in the dating field to her mother, who is referenced to have set her up on a slew of blind dates every time Maria thinks of her, mentions her in conversation, or talks to her directly on the phone. Maria even compares her best friend Val to her mother on multiple occasions. I could only assume that Maria was annoyed by the idea of feeling like not only her mother, but also her best friend instilled this idea that her main purpose was to fall in love. This could have had her general career disappointment tied into it, but instead we hear nothing about her dreams- only that she "gets bored" when she has the same job for more than a year. She won't even admit what she wants to pursue to herself until her career past has been brought up more than once in conversation. Meaning, as a reader, I had no idea what her aspirations were until it was somewhat relevant to the plot of her romance with Hwan Soo. I wanted Maria to be someone on her own rather than a perfect match for Hwan Soo.
With Hwan Soo, on the other hand, we are given a bit more to work with. He had more depth when it came to his dating and career past. I feel like I was cheated with the lack of Maria's past in comparison to Hwan Soo's, particularly because we see through her eyes first. Why doesn't she have anything we can sympathize with when he has a heartbreaking epic ex-love and a (kind of) from-the-ground-up career story? We know what Hwan Soo wants to be, who his family is, what his aspirations are, and how he has come to be where he currently is. For all of this, he is the most interesting part of this story.
Aside from the main characters themselves, the tension between them was fine. It wasn't insta love, but it was almost insta obsession. Maria and Hwan Soo don't admit that they love each other until far into the book, and even then it's not reciprocated the first time- but there are a couple of instances early on where the word "love" or the thought of being married to the other person was brought up. In the same scene when Val was trying on wedding dresses, and subsequently pressured Maria into trying one on for fun, they were teasing back and forth the idea that Hwan Soo might have a crush on Maria. Not even a page later, Maria was internally musing about marrying him while looking at herself in the mirror. To go along with this, I recall it being only about three days after they met when Hwan Soo pondered wanting to love Maria, whatever that means. If these were removed it could have been more realistic than it came across.
Confusing to me was the timeline. Maria is supposedly visiting Korea for a month, but only the first week is well documented. The second after Maria ends up in the hospital, Val says that she's "been here for almost a month," when there was no prior mention of this. Up until that point, the book felt like it was moving at a slow pace (timeline wise only).
A few of the plot devices were either predictable or not sewn together correctly. The idea of Sul Bin and his purpose was not subtle, I knew from the very beginning he was going to be some kind of villain. In the end he was somewhat redeemed, and the blame was put on Hae So, but it didn't feel complete. I do like that Hae So had a big turn around. Even though she is the main stressor in Hwan Soo's past and present, all it took was him rejecting her a handful of times for her to want to join the figurative good side. Now, Maria's mother is one I've been stuck on. At the start of the book, the author makes a point to mention that Maria is the only one traveling to Korea for her best friend's wedding. She even goes as far as to write Maria's mother saying "I wish I was invited to the wedding." Fifty chapters later, Maria's mother flies to Korea with no warning, and when Maria asks why she says "I was invited to the wedding too, ya know." I still haven't figured out when this happened. Lastly, Maria suddenly coming to the realization that Hwan Soo was using her to keep Hae So at bay ever since he booked his lead K-drama role doesn't make a lot of sense. Maria was well aware of the terms and conditions when she initiated the fake relationship of her and Hwan Soo by sending a picture of them kissing to Hae So. She knew that Hwan Soo had a no dating clause in his contract, that Hae So could use this against both of them and blow their lives up, but she didn't know it wasn't all her own idea. If that small detail constitutes her wanting to cut ties with Hwan Soo and Val, her best friend of many years, I'm not sure I understand where she's coming from.
Overall, I wanted more effort. There's a lack of care weaved in the writing of this book and it shows. A romance book is best experienced when the plot the reader is being exposed to develops characters rather than rewrites them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2022
This is definitely one of the worst books I’ve ever read. The author tries so hard to be “woke” with Maria’s character that it makes for some of the absolute worst writing I’ve ever encountered. The author also perpetuates every single stereotype about Korean culture when she could have easily educated the readers more on the culture and not let her own characters become the embodiment of said stereotypes. She tried to write it as a kdrama but it was so bad and was not like a kdrama at all. All the author was able to accomplish like a kdrama was the crazy falling in love story with a poor girl and rich man. It was very disheartening to read as it was a huge disservice to Korean culture and kdramas. I had hopes going into the book knowing that Korean words and phrases were sprinkled in but the inconsistency of the translations at the end of each chapter made no sense. I swear I got the translation for “don’t cry” at least 5 times and only got the translation for “love” once in the beginning of the book. Reading this book made me uncomfortable and the whole thing came off like it was written by a full blown koreaboo which makes sense after looking further into the author myself.
May 2, 2023
DNF- I got about 90% through the book, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I’ve been reading a lot of these types of books since I really enjoy watching kdramas and Kpop content, but this wasn’t it. It was gross and super cringey.
June 8, 2024
absolutely horrible. I couldn't even finish it. The fmc was so so rude about the Korean culture, didn't even try to adjust and respect it, the lmc still falling for her only bc of her looks ????? it was also very badly written. The Author tried so hard to write a kdrama like book but in the worst way possible. idk why I always give these type of books another chance, it always turned out bad.
February 19, 2022
I was hopeful for this book from the reviews, but I was not a fan of the main character. She came off as completely arrogant and disrespectful. She flew across the world with a two week notice and couldn’t even manage to at least look up how to say “hello” or “thank you” in the language. She then continuously breaks the culture norms and her first instinct is to get mad at the person calling her out and trying to help her. I understand first hand the culture shock one can go through when in a new country, but the way she carried herself throughout it was not it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2024
For all that is good in this world, this book is not one of them. This book is the biggest wattpad self insert fetishization that I've read. And I have been ON wattpad in 2012. And there's so much wrong with it.
The actual story/romance
I gave up at 56% percent, because that was the third time the main characters "accidentally" kissed while one of them was asleep. One I can excuse, seeing as the book is marketed as kdrama vibes and that's definitely a trope, BUT THREE? IN THE FIRST HALF. FUCK THAT.
So there's Maria, who has no personality, and Hwan Soo, who is a ✨ sad boi ✨ who is trying to make it as an actor and also just plain fucking rude. They tried to do enemies to lovers, which never works in contemporary fiction cause they're not actual enemies (rivals to lovers is different). This man before they've ever met literally pulls her back by the back of the collar because she dares to go in for a hug with her best friend's fiance. Which, yes, hugging men (especially taken men) as a woman in Korea is not quite the way to go. But literally yanking a stranger by their neck to prevent it. Wtf. I would've punched him in the face.
The Korean
I've not seen anyone mention this in their reviews (ngl I didn't read a lot of them, but the couple 1 stars I read didn't go into this), but the Korean is just? Not correct? I've been learning Korean in classrooms, both in and out of Korea, for almost nine years, and just so much of it is just plain wrong? Like I'm not even talking about situations where certain grammar structures are used where others would be better (Korean has a lot of nuance hidden in grammar, it can get very confusing), but just actual vocab?
I started to keep track of the literal mistakes in the Korean, and in the 56% I've read, I found 10 literal spelling mistakes. TEN. In a book where there's about 3-5 Korean words per chapter.
Examples were:
친구둘 iso 친구들 (friends)
미아내요 iso 미안해요 (sorry, informal)
오늘 최인이다 iso 오늘 최악이다 (today's the worst)
노구 iso 누구 (who)
탁시 iso 택시 (taxi)
환스 iso 환수 (Hwan Soo, the name of the male main character)
Also, she gives romanisation of a lot of the Korean, and there's a bunch of mistakes in that as well.
Look, I'm not trying to judge someone who is learning Korean, cause I know mine isn't perfect either, but if you publish a book saying it will teach you Korean while reading it, then at least make sure the Korean that you're teaching is correct. This was such a train wreck.
When two native Korean people were talking to eachother, most of the conversation would be written in English, and then randomly one or two words would be in Korean. I'm still not sure if this meant that their whole convo was actually in English (which would be fucking weird), or that she just decided to keep a few sprinkles of Korean in there.
Additionally, in Korean you use certain honorifics to show politeness and social hierarchy. Hwan Soo (male main character) is introduced in chapter 2 as younger than his best friend, by minimum one year, as he calls him 형. 형 is a term ONLY used by younger men to older men. For some unknown reason, for two chapters, the best friend calls Hwan Soo 형, implying that Hwan Soo is suddenly the oldest of the two, and then they switch back again. Hwan Soo also forces Maria to keep calling him Lee Hwan Soo 씨, so using his full name and the politeness suffix 씨, because they're not close. In my experience, using just first name followed 씨 should suffice (but I'm not a native speaker so don't quote me on that). She is older than him (I think. As I said before, the author does some weird magic with age) so she would be higher in the social hierarchy. Therefore, he should also be addressing her in a polite way. He doesn't. At all. Not in grammar structures, and not by using any titles that show any form of politeness when calling her name. So either he's fucking rude to the woman he's apparently falling in love with, or the author doesn't understand anything about basic Korean. My money is on both. Once again, this man yanked a woman by the collar.
Lastly, the writing
It just gives "she's not like other girls". That's not me exaggerating. In chapter 24, Hwan Soo literally has a thought that is "She wasn't like anything he had experienced in a woman".
Also, poor Maria, who could just up and leave for a month from her job (does she have a job? Unclear) to visit her friend in Korea. With a week notice. Wtf.
So yeah, long story short. Don't read this.
The actual story/romance
I gave up at 56% percent, because that was the third time the main characters "accidentally" kissed while one of them was asleep. One I can excuse, seeing as the book is marketed as kdrama vibes and that's definitely a trope, BUT THREE? IN THE FIRST HALF. FUCK THAT.
So there's Maria, who has no personality, and Hwan Soo, who is a ✨ sad boi ✨ who is trying to make it as an actor and also just plain fucking rude. They tried to do enemies to lovers, which never works in contemporary fiction cause they're not actual enemies (rivals to lovers is different). This man before they've ever met literally pulls her back by the back of the collar because she dares to go in for a hug with her best friend's fiance. Which, yes, hugging men (especially taken men) as a woman in Korea is not quite the way to go. But literally yanking a stranger by their neck to prevent it. Wtf. I would've punched him in the face.
The Korean
I've not seen anyone mention this in their reviews (ngl I didn't read a lot of them, but the couple 1 stars I read didn't go into this), but the Korean is just? Not correct? I've been learning Korean in classrooms, both in and out of Korea, for almost nine years, and just so much of it is just plain wrong? Like I'm not even talking about situations where certain grammar structures are used where others would be better (Korean has a lot of nuance hidden in grammar, it can get very confusing), but just actual vocab?
I started to keep track of the literal mistakes in the Korean, and in the 56% I've read, I found 10 literal spelling mistakes. TEN. In a book where there's about 3-5 Korean words per chapter.
Examples were:
친구둘 iso 친구들 (friends)
미아내요 iso 미안해요 (sorry, informal)
오늘 최인이다 iso 오늘 최악이다 (today's the worst)
노구 iso 누구 (who)
탁시 iso 택시 (taxi)
환스 iso 환수 (Hwan Soo, the name of the male main character)
Also, she gives romanisation of a lot of the Korean, and there's a bunch of mistakes in that as well.
Look, I'm not trying to judge someone who is learning Korean, cause I know mine isn't perfect either, but if you publish a book saying it will teach you Korean while reading it, then at least make sure the Korean that you're teaching is correct. This was such a train wreck.
When two native Korean people were talking to eachother, most of the conversation would be written in English, and then randomly one or two words would be in Korean. I'm still not sure if this meant that their whole convo was actually in English (which would be fucking weird), or that she just decided to keep a few sprinkles of Korean in there.
Additionally, in Korean you use certain honorifics to show politeness and social hierarchy. Hwan Soo (male main character) is introduced in chapter 2 as younger than his best friend, by minimum one year, as he calls him 형. 형 is a term ONLY used by younger men to older men. For some unknown reason, for two chapters, the best friend calls Hwan Soo 형, implying that Hwan Soo is suddenly the oldest of the two, and then they switch back again. Hwan Soo also forces Maria to keep calling him Lee Hwan Soo 씨, so using his full name and the politeness suffix 씨, because they're not close. In my experience, using just first name followed 씨 should suffice (but I'm not a native speaker so don't quote me on that). She is older than him (I think. As I said before, the author does some weird magic with age) so she would be higher in the social hierarchy. Therefore, he should also be addressing her in a polite way. He doesn't. At all. Not in grammar structures, and not by using any titles that show any form of politeness when calling her name. So either he's fucking rude to the woman he's apparently falling in love with, or the author doesn't understand anything about basic Korean. My money is on both. Once again, this man yanked a woman by the collar.
Lastly, the writing
It just gives "she's not like other girls". That's not me exaggerating. In chapter 24, Hwan Soo literally has a thought that is "She wasn't like anything he had experienced in a woman".
Also, poor Maria, who could just up and leave for a month from her job (does she have a job? Unclear) to visit her friend in Korea. With a week notice. Wtf.
So yeah, long story short. Don't read this.
May 10, 2022
There are good things and bad things about this book.
It’s a cute story and the addition of Korean words throughout are a really great way to learn some of the language when used in context.
If you’re a total beginner and completely unfamiliar with Hangul, there is a list of the words/sentences used in that chapter at the end and each of them written out in the romanised translation as well as the english. Obviously it’s a little easier when you have a grasp on Hangul already and won’t have to flick between pages constantly to understand what you’re reading at the time but it’s a great learning tool if you’re just starting out.
The characters ... I’m not sure I particularly loved any of them if I’m honest.
And the writing. It was okay, easy enough to get into. However, it may just be me but I really don’t like words that are shortened. For example, the word ‘bestie’ was used a fair bit and it really grates on me. I don’t know if it’s just me but for their age, I find it quite immature, I guess?
And I know this book isn’t published by a big publisher but it could’ve gone through a bit more editing before being printed.
It was quite a cute read though and I really enjoyed the Korean language aspect of it. It really helped reading it in relation to relevant situations.
Pros:
+ cute story
+ great learning tool
+ Korean words/sentences throughout
Cons:
- characters not particularly likeable
- needs a bit more editing
- a little immature in places
It’s a cute story and the addition of Korean words throughout are a really great way to learn some of the language when used in context.
If you’re a total beginner and completely unfamiliar with Hangul, there is a list of the words/sentences used in that chapter at the end and each of them written out in the romanised translation as well as the english. Obviously it’s a little easier when you have a grasp on Hangul already and won’t have to flick between pages constantly to understand what you’re reading at the time but it’s a great learning tool if you’re just starting out.
The characters ... I’m not sure I particularly loved any of them if I’m honest.
And the writing. It was okay, easy enough to get into. However, it may just be me but I really don’t like words that are shortened. For example, the word ‘bestie’ was used a fair bit and it really grates on me. I don’t know if it’s just me but for their age, I find it quite immature, I guess?
And I know this book isn’t published by a big publisher but it could’ve gone through a bit more editing before being printed.
It was quite a cute read though and I really enjoyed the Korean language aspect of it. It really helped reading it in relation to relevant situations.
Pros:
+ cute story
+ great learning tool
+ Korean words/sentences throughout
Cons:
- characters not particularly likeable
- needs a bit more editing
- a little immature in places
May 26, 2022
Very badly written, too dirty for me to consider this “k drama style”, and unrealistic in many ways. I’m sorry but I couldn’t even finish it.
We don’t ever learn enough about the main character to actually like her. She is immediately rude and discriminatory toward the Korean culture, yet somehow this is attractive to our male lead? Male lead has too many issues to dive into, and somehow almost none of them, except the “crazy ex” is really mentioned. Finally, if this book is for non Korean speakers, why have several words and phrases written in Korean and never translated? I had to stop and look up almost every phrase because it was never translated or explained.
I read many many books, have a broad perspective on stories and writing styles, but this was poorly written and put together from start to finish.
We don’t ever learn enough about the main character to actually like her. She is immediately rude and discriminatory toward the Korean culture, yet somehow this is attractive to our male lead? Male lead has too many issues to dive into, and somehow almost none of them, except the “crazy ex” is really mentioned. Finally, if this book is for non Korean speakers, why have several words and phrases written in Korean and never translated? I had to stop and look up almost every phrase because it was never translated or explained.
I read many many books, have a broad perspective on stories and writing styles, but this was poorly written and put together from start to finish.
December 19, 2022
For the most part, really enjoyed it. There were a couple of times when I felt the anger levels, expectations and secrets of people involved were a bit over the top - in one case I felt the anger was actually a bit of a red flag.
Overall though, a good read.
Overall though, a good read.
May 24, 2023
Thank you so much Samantha for swapping signed copies with me because I absolutely freaking adored this book!! The writing style was incredible, I loved it so much! This was my first book from Samantha but I cannot wait to read more of her book because WOW. I am in love! Hwan Soo and Maria were incredible!! The enemies to friends to lovers was so well done, I loved it! I'm usually not a big fan of third person narration but this book did it so well. I really felt like I was in Maria and Hwan Soo's minds and it was perfect! Can't wait to read more of her books :))
Samantha, I'm so proud of you!!
Samantha, I'm so proud of you!!
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August 6, 2022OMG!!! LOVED IT AND HAS KEPT ME WANTING FOR MORE AND MORE PAGES!!
October 23, 2023
TBH the only thing I like about this book is the cover art. The storyline was cringe, the characters had no depth, and so many errors that I tried to ignore but couldn't. It was like reading a Wattpad story and I couldn't get myself to finish it. Trust me I tried to pick it up a few times with hopes that it wouldn't be as bad but nope I couldn't do it. The characters had no depth or development and I feel like I learned more about the outfits they wore every 5 seconds than the actually characters. Honestly it's giving Emily in Paris but switch out Paris to Korea. The concept would have been good if executed correctly, but the author has no knowledge of Korean or Korean culture (the phrases literally sound like they have been translated by Google translate). Please get some feedback and editing from actual native speakers when publishing a book that incorporate two languages, it is very unprofessional publishing a book with so many errors. Don't get me wrong we all make mistakes but the amount in this book is ridiculous, writing a book is an art and it takes time and effort, not just typing and mindlessly clicking ok on the corrections google docs tells us. I've never given 1 star reviews before but this one I just couldn't justify giving more.
February 6, 2022
Awkward, funny, cute, romantic. Maria and Hwan Soo are thrown together in such a whirlwind way that I wondered how they would work out. Maria wants to spend time with her beloved best friend whose destination wedding in Seoul is so much more. Maria experiences conflicting pangs of loneliness and happiness while still keeping such a bright and cheerful outlook on the month she spends in Korea learning the language and living in the city. Hwan Soo is just as loving and loyal to his best friend, oftentimes overcoming his own exhaustion and crazy life as a rising KDrama star.
Every event and scene are such a fun place to be. Every interaction is so cute, even when they’re tense. I feel like I learned a bit of culture and manner with the different nuances among the characters. And I loved getting to know the characters. A lovely story and escape.
Every event and scene are such a fun place to be. Every interaction is so cute, even when they’re tense. I feel like I learned a bit of culture and manner with the different nuances among the characters. And I loved getting to know the characters. A lovely story and escape.
April 19, 2022
Interesting
I enjoyed reading this book because it showed a different culture and how the rules of dating and marriage are different from American traditions. At first the Korean language was distracting but the more I read, the more it was nice to learn how to write and speak certain phrases. Brought together because their best friends were getting married, Maria and Hwan Soo did not get off on the right foot. Their first impressions of each other were not that great but it also showed the vast cultural differences. However, the more time spent together, the more they actually started liking about the other person. I liked the ending and I look forward to reading more by this author.
I enjoyed reading this book because it showed a different culture and how the rules of dating and marriage are different from American traditions. At first the Korean language was distracting but the more I read, the more it was nice to learn how to write and speak certain phrases. Brought together because their best friends were getting married, Maria and Hwan Soo did not get off on the right foot. Their first impressions of each other were not that great but it also showed the vast cultural differences. However, the more time spent together, the more they actually started liking about the other person. I liked the ending and I look forward to reading more by this author.
March 8, 2022
If you have never watched a kdrama, you won't understand the flow of this book. It reads just as a kdrama would unfold. Plot holes and all. I absolutely loved this book and left me craving more from our 2 main characters. It's written in a way that any kdrama watcher will understand. If you go into this never watching a kdrama, you will become absolutely frustrated at times. The author is amazing at writing and the fun korean learning was an added bonus ( it's teaches in a way that even a beginner can understand). I say grab this book (and your nearest kpop bias photocard for visual) it's definitely worth the tiktok hype.
March 20, 2022
Quite nice. I will admit I had concerns it would be fetishing of korean culture. I don't think it really was or not super noticably but some parts still felt a bit awkward like a white woman who had watched a lot of kdramas and felt sort of intitled in a way. Idk maybe I am well off. I was cute and fluffy and pretty well thought out for a romance novel. I found the mc a little flat but I liked the concept and the writing was decent.
November 24, 2022
Didn’t like it one bit. I couldn’t even finish it. It was trying to be a k drama but it could only managed to be one that only a foreigner could come up with. Not well written and the whole concept of having Korean words that the main lead somehow got right away because it’s that easy right? It’s a concept with potential but poorly executed
July 3, 2022
I know absolutely zero Korean and had no issues reading this book. I loved the story and growth of Maria and Hwan Soo and appreciated the vocabulary at the end of each chapter. A very cute love story!
May 11, 2022
Love bilingual reads. Good fluff. Mainly great for practicing reading hangul.
February 24, 2022
Flipping loved this book which is filled with sweet romance, fun characters and a unique learning a language by context method! As someone who is currently learning Korean, I loved the challenge of putting my lessons to the test while also enjoying the act of reading. I loved every minute of this book and can’t wait for Samantha Ann to publish more!
February 6, 2022
A super cute romance novel that I struggled to put down truly an amazing read. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters and was the perfect slow burn. I can’t wait to read more from this author
March 2, 2022
So flipping cute, binged in one day. The Korean on the page was very intimidating at first but you get used to it.
January 10, 2023
*spoilers* This book is pure fantasy wish fulfilment for koreaboos. The main character goes to Korea, a famous kdrama actor immediately falls in love with her because she’s just so beautiful, she immediately learns Korean by watching kdramas, and goes to lots of lavish events in Seoul wearing beautiful dresses. There’s also a decent amount of kdrama like action in this- on more than one occasion they accidentally kiss because they kind of clumsily fall into each other and land on each other’s lips. I don’t know how that is even possible but it happens in kdramas and in this book. A very sweet novel that lacks any substance, exactly what I wanted really. Would have been five stars if the main character had more respect for cultural differences.
October 9, 2023
The plot...
The characters...
The humor...
Just LOVEE IT!!
The characters...
The humor...
Just LOVEE IT!!
June 23, 2023
How did I get here?
This book is not only interesting but also amazingly cute. I've been studying Korean for a year and a half and this book helped me practice reading and new vocabulary and expressions that are really useful.
This book is not only interesting but also amazingly cute. I've been studying Korean for a year and a half and this book helped me practice reading and new vocabulary and expressions that are really useful.
November 30, 2022
Absolutely Obsessed!
Samantha Ann knows how to make your heart ach while butterflies flutter in your tummy! I cannot wait for book two!
Samantha Ann knows how to make your heart ach while butterflies flutter in your tummy! I cannot wait for book two!
November 25, 2022
Absolutely loved this book! I remember finally getting it in my hands and being so excited to read it, and it did not disappoint! Learning Korean from a romance was easier, and way more fun, than I expected, and I can’t wait for the sequel!
May 13, 2023
Kdrama on paper
Voor liefhebbers van kdramas is dit een must read. Ouderwetse romantiek, wachten op die eerste kus. Tegen de achtergrond van Koreaanse traditie met een heuse bijna idol.
De chemie tussen Maria en Hwan soo is geweldig.
Een aanrader voor mensen die ouderwetse romantiek zoeken in een boek.
Voor liefhebbers van kdramas is dit een must read. Ouderwetse romantiek, wachten op die eerste kus. Tegen de achtergrond van Koreaanse traditie met een heuse bijna idol.
De chemie tussen Maria en Hwan soo is geweldig.
Een aanrader voor mensen die ouderwetse romantiek zoeken in een boek.
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