Author: Axie Oh
Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.
REVIEW
I loved loved XOXO. It was the perfect book I needed. Well written and a lot of fun.
So if you have ever seen the K-Drama EXO Nextdoor this reminded me a lot of that. Which made me so incredibly happy, I’ve been looking for something that captures that feeling for a long time. I loved that it’s this fun idea of an idol and regular person (even though she is talented on her own) meeting by chance. Really this needs to be it’s own K-drama.
I loved Jenny. She is a talented cellist who has all the needed technique but has been so focused on it that she has lost her spark. Her Uncle offers a bit of a challenge and she finds herself taking some risk. I really liked seeing her develop from someone who is so focused on their goals that they lost sight of other parts of themselves. To find how she can have all the things, she just needs balance.
There are so many other characters to love and I don’t even want to delve into them too much because it’s fun to get to know them through the story but I loved Jaewoo as well. It was fun to see his character evolve as well as he deals with his own issues of being a Kpop idol. There are just so many great and cute moments.
It’s always hard to put into words when you love a book sooo much how great you think it is. This book makes me smile when I see the cover. I can’t wait to reread it when I need a pick me up. I just really really really want this as a K-Drama or I would even take a Manwha or maybe both.