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.
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This was SO. STINKING. CUTE! I can’t even count the number of times this book had me grinning like a total fool. I ended up listening to the audiobook at work and was totally sucked into it. I listened to it all throughout my shift and the minute my work day was done, I picked up my kindle and finished reading the eARC. I just needed to know what happened right away.
I loved getting these glimpses of Korean and K-Pop culture, and honestly learned a lot that I didn’t know before picking up the book. I also loved that the main character developed such strong friendships while she was in Korea and that the focus of the book wasn’t solely her romance with Jaewoo.
The only reason this was 4 stars instead of five for me was the ending. It felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic to me. There was all of this tension building and then it was rushed. Jenny never really resolved things with her mother, I felt like there were things left unfinished with her grandmother, and the resolution with Jaewoo, while sweet, was a bit cheesy and seemed too easy.
I hope that we get more of these characters and would love to see some of the other XOXO band members get their own stories. I loved Nathan and definitely want to learn more about him.
As The Book Ends 