delandjessica's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don’t usually read non genre books, let alone romance stories, but I read other books by this author and was curious about the title, so I decided to give it a go.
“Another Cinderella Story” meets “Wish Dragon,” this book is basically a Korean Hallmark romance story, only instead of a prince, the male lead is in an imaginary, super famous K-pop band suspiciously similar to BTS. So if you don’t like corny Hallmark movies, then this book definitely isn’t for you. But other than me hating that the male lead Robbie is weirdly given the occasional chapter in third person perspective (most of the book is in first person through Elena’s POV) that completely ruins the biggest reveal in the book since the reader already knows the whole thing pretty early on, I quite enjoyed this book. It hits all the plot points and beats you’d expect from a light romance, and everything turns out right in the end even though I don’t personally agree that the characters would be so forgiving of certain events.
Where this book lost points with me is in Elena’s character. She’s super whiny and pessimistic all the time and causes most of her own problems by being just the worst at reading/interacting with other human beings, including her own family members. A bunch of characters do ultimately call her out on this at the end, which I appreciated, but it doesn’t make her any less annoying or pathetic throughout. I also thought it was silly that the major relationship misunderstanding that has to happen in these kinds of stories 1. the reader already knows about from the weird aforementioned Robbie chapters, and 2. would have easily been avoided if either Robbie or Elena had any people skills and thought to trust each other enough to talk about their problems/situations candidly. They do discuss why they’re like this at one point, but the explanations felt unrealistic to me, though I understand that these kinds of misunderstandings caused by lack of communication/trust are the bread and butter trope of these kinds of stories. So it’s not unexpected.
Anyway, I did enjoy reading this book, though I found it fairly predictable given its strict adherence to the standard playbook of a Hallmark-style romance story. I also enjoyed the lack of serious language and a clean romance that was based on real connections and an understanding of who the other person is rather than pure physical attraction. This author has a way of keeping you reading despite the less desirable elements in this book, and I look forward to seeing what else they have to offer in the future.
“Another Cinderella Story” meets “Wish Dragon,” this book is basically a Korean Hallmark romance story, only instead of a prince, the male lead is in an imaginary, super famous K-pop band suspiciously similar to BTS. So if you don’t like corny Hallmark movies, then this book definitely isn’t for you. But other than me hating that the male lead Robbie is weirdly given the occasional chapter in third person perspective (most of the book is in first person through Elena’s POV) that completely ruins the biggest reveal in the book since the reader already knows the whole thing pretty early on, I quite enjoyed this book. It hits all the plot points and beats you’d expect from a light romance, and everything turns out right in the end even though I don’t personally agree that the characters would be so forgiving of certain events.
Where this book lost points with me is in Elena’s character. She’s super whiny and pessimistic all the time and causes most of her own problems by being just the worst at reading/interacting with other human beings, including her own family members. A bunch of characters do ultimately call her out on this at the end, which I appreciated, but it doesn’t make her any less annoying or pathetic throughout. I also thought it was silly that the major relationship misunderstanding that has to happen in these kinds of stories 1. the reader already knows about from the weird aforementioned Robbie chapters, and 2. would have easily been avoided if either Robbie or Elena had any people skills and thought to trust each other enough to talk about their problems/situations candidly. They do discuss why they’re like this at one point, but the explanations felt unrealistic to me, though I understand that these kinds of misunderstandings caused by lack of communication/trust are the bread and butter trope of these kinds of stories. So it’s not unexpected.
Anyway, I did enjoy reading this book, though I found it fairly predictable given its strict adherence to the standard playbook of a Hallmark-style romance story. I also enjoyed the lack of serious language and a clean romance that was based on real connections and an understanding of who the other person is rather than pure physical attraction. This author has a way of keeping you reading despite the less desirable elements in this book, and I look forward to seeing what else they have to offer in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment and Grief
Minor: Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cursing, and Death of parent
sailormegan's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Once Upon A K-Prom by Kat Cho
Writing Quality 4/5
Very easy, fast-paced read.
Characters 4.5/5
Elena Soo is a great female main character. Though I would say her character growth took longer than I would’ve liked. Robbie Choi was a well-rounded love interest and complimented Elena well. Elena’s friends were there, though not necessarily fully fleshed out. The rest of the K-pop group members were each there own K-Pop trope which was a cute touch.
Plot 4/5
The plot was cute, funny, and overall a light-hearted read. I enjoyed the bits of Korean culture Kat describes as well as learning all the things that are K-Pop specific. If you’ve ever seen a k-drama, you’ll know sometimes random plot lines may be introduced with no previous indicator to add drama and further the story. A few scenes in K-Prom had this vibe to it. However, I did enjoy the callback. It reminded me of the 80’s and 90’s high school rom-coms I grew up watching.
Post-reading Rating 5/5
It was a great, happy-ending. Well done.
Who Should Read This
-Fans of Kat Cho, Jenny Han
-Fans of Korean culture and K-Pop.
-Fans of 80’s/90’s/ all high-school cutesy rom-com movies
Final Rating 4.25/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident
Minor: Blood, Body shaming, and Bullying
More...