Hart and Seoul (ARC Review)

Ok. I admit it.

When I’m not reading and reviewing books, a lot of my time is spent keeping up with my favorite K-pop groups. It’s been almost 3 years since I fell down the rabbit hole that is the genre and I haven’t seemed to be able to get myself out since.

 So, when I came upon Hart and Seoul, a book boasting a girl-meets-boy romance featuring a famous K-pop star moving in next door, I jumped at the opportunity to read it.

A story with a plot like this one could have so easily slipped into fan fiction, but Hart and Seoul does not dive into so much drama and fan service. It does, however, bring to the table quite a few of the adored tropes; hate-to-love, enemies-to-lovers, and even some fake dating, that romance readers will likely love.

 This book has just the right amount of twists and turns to keep it interesting, but also believable. I was happy to see that the story dipped into more difficult and sensitive topics instead of just being an all-over cheesy and fluffy romance, exploring not just the happy-go-lucky side of romance and K-pop alike but the darker aspects as well.

 I enjoyed the ups and downs of the story even though I expected all of them. This was helped, I think, by the narration. I didn’t think that I would like (let alone relate to) reading through the perspective of a high school senior who says ‘dang’ and ‘darn’ rather than swearing, but I actually settled into Merilee Hart’s narrative quickly and ended up really liking how it helped me sink into the story and look at what was happening from her view, bringing more believability to the story. The sense of voice in this story was really strong, and I came to feel like I really understood Merri and her motivations and thought processes. Not only that, but it was quick and easy to read. I finished this book in two sittings thanks to this writing style and the push of the eventful plot. At times, the narration did become a bit repetitive, especially when it came to Merri’s opinions on kimchi, but it didn’t detract from the story too much overall. 

 However, I sometimes felt a bit annoyed with Merri because of her unwillingness to learn about Korean culture. I think that many people that will pick up this book will be fans of K-pop already, and have at least some sense of the culture. Merri is pretty clueless when it comes to anything about Korea. This is understandable since she points out that she’s not actually a K-pop fan herself and has never really gotten into K-dramas or any of that. But I also think that anyone who finds they are falling for someone from another country would try to educate themselves so as not to sound foolish. Lee brushes this off for the most part (or at least once he starts to fall for her) which is oh-so-sweet of him. But in comparison, he does a lot more research into her and her culture. He has an advantage since he already knows English, but Merri doesn’t really make an effort to learn Korean in return.

 Making Merri act this way isn’t necessarily a bad choice, in fact, I think it makes her a believable character and it makes sense for who she is. It also allows the reader to learn a little about Korean culture, becoming educated with Merri as she does, if they don’t already know. But I think that many people who pick this up will already know what she is learning, making this information unneeded. These people may have more trouble connecting to Merri because of this aspect of her character and may be offended by her unwillingness to learn. Personally, I found it a bit privileged of her and it made me frown several times, but it didn’t bother me so much that it affected my enjoyment of the story too much. Then again, I wouldn’t call myself an expert on Korea, either, and what I know I’ve only come to learn recently, so I can understand where she’s coming from.

 My main critique for Hart and Seoul is that I wanted more. More time to get to know Merri before Lee is introduced, more discussion on sensitive topics (especially one, the most sensitive of all), more explanation in the conclusion, and more time for the romance to burn before igniting. The latter two, especially.

 The ending tied everything together, but I wasn’t completely satisfied with the explanations the characters gave for the choices they had made and I doubted whether it would have been enough, in reality, for them to move forward in the way it implied they were going to. After all, there were so many factors against it, how were they going to cope? That being said, I would have hated if everything had turned out perfectly. I only wished that there had been a little more to really convince me that what had happened was going to last (or clear implications that it wouldn’t).

 What I wanted more of the most was a slow burn. It’s only a short time between when the characters realize they have feelings for each other, start to question whether to act on them and begin to flirt, and then get together. It was believable, and obviously, readers are aware it’s going to happen from the start. It also left more room at the end for other topics to be explored, which I appreciated. But…isn’t that section the best part of a romance? Personally, I think those will-they-won’t-they, kiss-already! Moments, when the tension is at its crux, is the best part, and there was very little of it in this story. I would have settled for having the story run longer if I could have had a chapter or two more of the steamier stuff.

 I rated Hart and Seoul 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a great summer romance, especially for K-pop and K-drama fans. Fans of The Sun is Also a Star and Eliza and her Monsters will likely enjoy this new release, coming June 4, 2019.

Thank you to Mascot Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.