XOXO audiobook

if youve ever had a daydream fantasy when you were a teenager about having a meet-cute with a member of a boyband, this book was written for you.this story is the perfect balance of cuteness, fun and growth. i love the setting - so much so that i started look at flights to seoul - and the music school in a big city is perfect for this kind of story. the whole “i didnt know youre famous” trope makes this so much sweeter, too, by just seeing how an average girl and a boy who wants to be normal work through their own teenage worries together. and honestly, all of the characters are amazing. i dont think ive read so many side characters who are just as awesome as the main ones. overall, im really impressed with this story and its definitely made me want to automatically read whatever book AO writes next. ↠ 4 stars

ahhhh i totally forgot how much i love the forbidden love trope. and this book delivered exactly that. i really enjoyed reading about south korean customs, cultures, and ideals. this was such a feel good novel. literally jenny out here living my dream

4.5 starsI wasn’t expecting to adore this YA book as hard as I did, but omg it’s adorable and I can definitely see myself rereading this one in the future. It just put a smile on my face the whole time I read it. Here are some quick thoughts I jotted down after finishing it:•This shit was soooo cute•One if my favorite YA books I’ve read in a long time•My only critique is that the ending conflict felt a little cliche and unnecessary, but otherwise I loved this so much•I love that this main character Jenny gets a chance to explore South Korea and visit family she hasn’t met before•The love interest is a K-pop star named Jaewoo, and he’s so SOFT and adorable •I also really love and adore the way he would take care of his family 💕•I love the forbidden nature of their relationship because he’s not allowed to date because his life is so public •I love that it starts with karaoke in her Uncles bar, their first scenes together were soo cute 🥺•I’m also obsessed with this book cover, it’s gorgeous!!•The audiobook was great!

I’m on BookTube! =)”A silky shirt clings to his shoulders, and his long legs are clad in smooth black pants. His left arm is in a cast, but a Rolex glints from his right wrist – and are those sleeve tattoos?” If you’re BTS ARMY and didn’t immediately think of Jungkook when you read this description of Jaewoo then I really dunno. *lol* It was my first thought and from then on out I always pictured JK when I read about him. Don’t judge me, I needed to live vicariously through Jenny’s POV. ;-P I mean which k-pop fan doesn’t dream of meeting their idol and actually being together with them? XD Okay, so this out of the way we can finally talk about the actual book. ”If you need help, you only have to ask.”There’s a short pause, then he says softly. “If I asked you to save me, would you?”My heart breaks a little. “I can try.” I absolutely loved how Jenny and Jaewoo met. I mean a karaoke bar is so fitting for a k-pop idol and those two spent quite a nice night together. Their meet-cute was extremely sweet and I can’t believe Jenny didn’t know who he was. She found out soon enough though and to say the revelation kinda threw her would be an understatement. Jenny was such a great character though and I really liked the way she thought about life and idols in general. Her stance on how fans should respect their idols and their wishes was amazing and I really wish the hard-core fans in the fandom would see it like that too.”I mean... not exactly that. More like, you need to be strong for yourself first, be healthy and happy for yourself first, before you can be strong and give happiness to others. The healthier and happier you are, the more you can give to your fans, right? They should want that for you.”I think the majority of k-pop stans (and when I say majority I mean about 90%) want their idols to be happy no matter what they do or who they end up with. I’m no exception to that rule because honestly if any member of BTS would find their significant other I’d be super happy for them. They deserve it! They did so much for ARMY and all I want for them is to be happy and healthy. ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

4.5 starsThis was SO CUTE and I loved this romance! First, it's a forbidden romance and there was so much riding on both of them if it got out that they were seeing each other. Jaewoo isn't allowed to date as a member of a very famous K-Pop group, especially after another member already dated someone and got into huge trouble. I really enjoyed how Jenny and Jaewoo were trying not to give in to their feelings for each other until they found it impossible and decided to risk everything for each other. I loved how they spent more time together as they went to the same school in Seoul and how they got to meet each other's families and really open up to each other. I will say, Jenny was frustrating when she would blow off her friends and school for Jaewoo, especially since she was supposed to be an elite cello player. She wasn't practicing a whole lot and it was hard to believe she played on that level without showing her practicing for hours a day. I did love her relationship with the friends she made at school, especially with the other member in Jaewoo's group. Her relationship with her roommate was also really cute and I loved how all of those relationships developed throughout the book. The whole atmosphere of this book was just so fun and I would definitely recommend it as a cute forbidden YA romance!

OKAAYY AAAAAHHHH!! THIS WAS LIKE A KDRAMA TURNED INTO A BOOK AKXNSJJAJBS 😭❤️I AM HEAD OVER HEELS RN AND I'VE OFFICIALLY JOINED THE XOXO FANDOM! (my bias is nathaniel hihi) i know the whole concept thingy or tropes here aren't original and u can see them everywhere, but i mean, who cares??!! im such a sucker for anything kpop related in books and yes, this is literally me fangirling😌plus that BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS STUNNING COVER, ohmygod!! i swear this book didn't disappoint 사랑해 재우! 사랑해요 나타니엘! 사랑해 xoxo!

XOXO is like watching those cute, lighthearted Korean dramas I stay tuned every night. I want more YA contemporaries similar to this book. 😭❤️ It's one of the books that you will surely fly through and just enjoy the story. Jenny and Jaewoo are adorable! The romance between these two talented musicians began in Los Angeles at Jenny's Uncle's Karaoke bar. Their first encounter is fun and carefree and Jenny is completely unaware that Jaewoo is part of a famous K-Pop group. Away from pressure and fame, Jaewoo indeed enjoyed that night but he needs to return to Korea.When Jenny heard her grandmother is terminally ill, she and her mom flew to South Korea and for the meantime, she's an international transfer student in an elite arts academy. Stars aligned, she and Jaewoo crossed paths and learned that he's a superstar. However, he's forbidden to date. The first Korean drama that came into my mind when I was reading this was Heartstrings. It's one of my favorites starring Park Shin-Hye and Jung Yong-hwa (CN Blue) and I just can't help feeling the similarity. Our protagonists have different music genre. Jenny is into classical music while Jaewoo is into modern pop. The supporting characters in this novel are also great and each of them stood out without taking away the spotlight from Jenny and Jaewoo. Nathaniel and Sori are my favorites, I'd love to see these two in the future and have a second chance romance. Since Jenny grew up in U.S., I love her learning about the Korean culture and embrace her roots. She also made very good friends and it's obvious she enjoyed her stay. Jaewoo is obedient and hardworking guy. His years of training surely paid off and the dedication he puts in is all for his family. I admire him for living a life a little and stand his ground. I wish the musical events these characters participated are more elaborated and atmospheric. Overall, this is a feel-good YA contemporary and I recommend it. Props to Greta Jung for narrating the story. She nailed each character's personality.

the first half was fantastic, then the plot got a bit murky. the plot SEEMS like it would be cringy, but it’s SO not. this is the perfect YA beach read

when i read this i loved it

4.5!definitely needed an extra chapter at the end or an epilogue!! it ended tooooooo quick 😭

Let me tell you. I’m so happy this is YA; because if it was NA/A this would’ve gone in a completely different path. I loved this, I read it in one sitting and made me feel so happy and bubbly and content. jaewoo and Jenny meet coincidentally and spend the way together only for Jaewoo to disappear for the next couple of months without any word. That is, until Jenny gets admitted into a prestigious performance arts school and finds out that jaewoo goes there too. And he’s in a very famous k-pop group. “Because the truth is, I don’t need him. I have a whole life that’s separate from his. But I still want to be with him. I want to be there for him when he’s unhappy just as much as I want to be there for him when he’s happy. Though I hope he’s never unhappy because it physically hurts when he’s unhappy, you know?” I loved that the author gave equal importance to all aspects of Jenny‘s life. Forming new friendships, her relationship with Jaewoo, her friendship with jaewoo’s band, her relation with her mom and grandmother The forbidden aspect really played an important role here and I loved that. I feel like I’m most of my recent romances, the forbidden aspect is only for the sake of the trope or because they hate each other so they’re forbidden to be together? Like that makes sense🙄. But here. It was so good. Then sneaking around and finding time to be together was adorable. I also adored the budding friendship between Jenny and Sori. It was a very supportive and understanding friendship which was not easy and definitely flawed. Overall. I say try this. It’ll definitely make you happy. “What time is it? Don’t you have your own beautiful performance to get to?”He stops laughing. “Oh shit, you’re right. I forgot about that.”“You forgot about it!”He grins, which is completely unfair, because with his makeup and that outfit, it’s like a cupid’s arrow to my heart. “My girlfriend that I was in love with who broke up with me on a hospital rooftop three months ago in Seoul shows up right before my concert in New York City. Yeah, I forgot about it.”

Ay me encantó, aunque también debo admitir que el final le bajo una estrella completa para mí, le faltó MUCHO.

Okay I loved this book!! I luckily work for a publisher so I got my hands on the manuscript and as soon as they announced the cover i had to read it!! Living the dream of a y/n fan in this book, I mean can I please find my KPOP star to fall in love with!! PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE THIS INTO A KDRAMA 🥰🥰🥰

A young cellist and a K-pop star meet in the back of karaoke bar. . . Jenny is serious about classical music and lives in LA. Jaewoo is an idol and attends a performing arts school in Seoul. Their life trajectories are in totally different directions. When Jenny and her mother move to Seoul for a few months to spend time with Jenny's halmoni, things start to get interesting. I enjoyed the setting in Seoul and learning more about what it is like to be a part of a K-pop group. Is classical music "high brow" and K-pop "low brow?" The theme of music choice is explored in interesting ways along with life priorities and balance. I would love to see a sequel set in NYC. Hint, hint. . .