Xoxo by Axie Oh(Book Review)

Harper Teen|2021

250 pages

40 chapters.

Young adult friendly✨

Teen idol, arts, music, love, Korean, Seoul, New york, K-pop.

     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. (Official blurb on Goodreads)

Xoxo is a healthy dose of k-pop, k-drama and, k-idols. And Korean urban and rural cultures too. 

I think the cover is really cute, although the story was really cliché. Also I wouldn't classify Xoxo as a a romcom, it is just a story about an average Korean American girl and a k-pop idol who love each other and well they can't be with other so they have to beat all odds for love and sorts. Really really cliché. Frankly, it wasn't a page turner, but I read it because it was on my tbr already and I already started it. Also I noticed Axie didn't want it to be a Cinderella relationship, but it is. No matter how successful her weird mother is.  Also I thought things would have gotten so so hard for them and all but it wasn't really, difficult. And well it was a plain read, no twists , no drastic turns. It was what I expected tho. 

But don't get me wrong it was a good read, and the writing style was quick and simple, so it is the kind of book that can get you out of a reading slump.

Giving it a 14/20.