Reviews

Anna K Away by Jenny Lee

m_l_valentine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

elizkacz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

aubtonn's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

Anna K Away picks up the story from [b:Anna K: A Love Story|45043369|Anna K A Love Story (Anna K, #1)|Jenny Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564772321l/45043369._SY75_.jpg|65711594], which was a modern retelling of [b:Anna Karenina|15823480|Anna Karenina|Leo Tolstoy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601352433l/15823480._SX50_.jpg|2507928]. In Anna K Away, we follow several of the characters during the summer following the events of Anna K. Anna is heartbroken over the loss of her first love, Vronsky. She is also dealing with the fall out of their sex video being leaked. To escape all this, Anna's father takes her with him to visit family in South Korea. Anna's brother's girlfriend Lolly spends the summer at theater camp where she meets a co-star who sparks something in her. Bea goes to California and meets a lovely young woman. Kimmie spends the summer in NYC with her new boyfriend Dustin. The story pops around between these 4 different storylines as we see who the summer of the crew from Anna K shakes out.

This was a fun read. Like the first novel, this is edgy YA about a group of well-off teens. More sex, drugs and rock & roll but this time with a splash of K-pop.


I listened to the audio book for this one and it was well done and a fun listen. Two thumbs up for the audiobook. :)

Thank you to the publisher for the audiobook.

janagaton's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed some of the characters' storylines, such as Lolly/Dean & Bea/Tiare, but this sequel was nowhere near as good as the first one in my opinion, and I'm sad about it): Still can't wait to read more of Jenny Lee's work in the future though!

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

4/5

A really great sequel to a great book. There were some parts I was meh with but other then that I would have given it five stars.. I guess I was waiting for more drama like the first book had.

pixiepages's review against another edition

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3.0

The first one was much better. I did like being reunited with the characters though. It's just so similar to Gossip Girl and Crazy Rich Asians that I can’t fully fall in love with it. I will say this book was much slower than the first one. Same drama, same group, just a different location. It was just all right for me.

ameserole's review against another edition

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2.0

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now while I wasn't a huge fan of the first book, Anna K: A Love Story, I will admit that I was actually pretty excited to dive into Anna K: Away. Which, yeah, sounds super weird while I'm typing this but oh well. I said what I said people.

The reason why I was excited was because I really enjoyed reading Crazy Rich Asians. I'm still not a huge fan of the Gossip Girl vibes but I was willing to make an exception if this turned out better than the previous one. Spoiler alert: I still don't like anyone. Maybe it's the characters, drama, romance, or anything else in between but there's just something that rubs me the wrong way.

I tried, like really tried to find one thing to like and right now - that's the ending. In the end, I just don't think this book was for me but I am glad that I took the risk to dive into it.

rjsreadingnook's review against another edition

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4.0

ANNA K AWAY is a great follow-up to ANNA K: A LOVE STORY with a blend of teen drama worthy of Gossip Girl and the sadness that comes with grief and loss.

I wasn’t sure what to expect after the canon divergence at the end of ANNA K, but Lee really delivers an entertaining story with my favorite characters from the first book and some new characters that I loved right away.

What I loved: Anna’s storyline in South Korea involving some K-pop drama, Beatrice’s budding romance with a Tahitian woman in California, and Lolly’s time at theater camp. The way Lee portrayed grief for teens was done so well. Her writing style flows and kept me engaged. I read this as an audiobook and narrator Jenna Ushkowitz is spectacular.

What didn’t work for me: Kimmie and Dustin’s storyline with the miscommunication trope. Not a fan of that trope and it disappointed me because they were my favorite part of the first book. The final party sequence was a bit of a letdown, too, after so much buildup but there are plenty of entertaining moments sprinkled throughout.

A great beach read and I highly recommend the audiobook version for the narrator Jenna Ushkowitz.

Thank you to Libro.fm and the publisher for the ALC. This was my honest review.

briannethebookworm's review against another edition

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4.0

*3.5* After tragically losing the love of her life, Anna K escapes to Seoul indefinitely to simultaneously cope with her heartbreak and avoid the repercussions of a sex tape leaked by her ex’s sister. She must decide whether to return to Greenwich for her senior year or stay in Korea for a “fresh start” that both her and her dad need.

My feelings about this are similar to how I felt about Anna K. It definitely made for great escapism reading, and the lives of the rich are wildly entertaining. It very much felt like an episode of Gossip Girl, and I wish there was more to the plot. The book circled through the same characters as the first book, all connected in some way, but it just felt like I couldn’t get invested enough in any of the storylines.