Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
It’s officially 2024 and this is my first TTT of the year! I’ve been settling into this year slowly with books I want to read and having fun celebrating my birthday. I hope it’s been going well for all of you too!
One thing to look forward to is always the release of books that are highly anticipated. The following are the books I’m most excited about! Are any or all of these on your radar?
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.
Overall Recommendation:
Call me an official K-pop fan because XOXO has gotten me into the culture and world of K-pop stars. I loved the angst of this forbidden romance between Jaewoo, this seemingly regular boy who appears for a wondrous night in LA, and Jenny, our normal non K-pop loving girl who prefers the cello. Her journey to Korea to study abroad for a term brought such an immersive experience of the culture and the process for K-pop stars. Fast paced and wholly enjoyable from start to finish, I couldn’t stop reading this romantic story between these two musical teens.
I’m starting off the year on such a high with XOXO, a book I honestly should’ve read ages ago. While I’ve always been adjacent to the world of K-pop, I’ve never really immersed myself in it though it has taken the world, deservedly, by storm.
In this beautiful and angsty story of a forbidden romance between a K-pop star and an ordinary transfer student from America, it gave me the whole spectrum of feelings. Fast paced from the start, the magical night Jenny and Jaewoo first meet in LA in her uncle’s karaoke bar showed how much chemistry they have. I didn’t want their misadventure to end as much as Jenny didn’t. And when he ghosted her for a few months until Jenny found herself transferring to a performing arts school in Korea for a term while they tend to her sick grandmother, you know the re-meeting would be filled with complicated emotions. Axie Oh didn’t miss a beat as I held my breath for what would come of this.
The love story definitely took center stage. I love a good forbidden romance that is filled with angst. Both rule followers and passionate about their music and responsibilities, they are clearly perfect for one another if extraneous factors such as a scandal from Jaewoo’s boy band XOXO wouldn’t cause a huge problem. The tensions were so good throughout, from the fear of being caught every time they did even something more than innocent friends would to the anxiety something would give in either of their music careers due to the time they chose to spend with each other over their competing priorities. Even the initial will-they-won’t-they start dating was fun to read.
But besides the romance, there are so many other things I enjoyed! You know me, I only give the best ratings for books that have everything going for it.
I’ve loved the influx of Asian representation in stories over the last few years. This is no exception. The immersive way Axie brought us into the world of Seoul, their culture that differs from North American standards (where else would dating a celebrity be a scandal just for the fact they’re dating?), and the in-depth look on K-pop trainees and debuted groups was truly fascinating. I’ve listened to K-pop occasionally over the years but never fell in love with it. Being in this fictional world has made me more curious and perhaps even more open to joining this music fandom in real life that so many enjoy.
The food and family dynamics in Korea were also represented. You don’t know how many times I was going hungry reading about black bean noodles (jajangmyeon) and kimchi and gimbap. Jenny’s dynamics with her mother and grandmother were also an important part of her story arc. Balancing the responsibility to practice cello to get into the music school of her dreams (and her mother’s dreams) while feeling the lack of support and presence from her mom was an interesting backdrop to set the familial conflicts, but one I can understand as an Asian adult who grew up in similar familial conflicts in the community.
The one thing that was the perfect icing on top of this already fun and emotional book were the other characters, especially the XOXO members. Found family is a huge trope here as the boys only have each other when they tour and face the pressures of debuting. While Jenny may not have her family for integral support, she found great relationships with these boys. From the fun loving youngest member to the serious leader who only wanted the best for Jaewoo, their love for one another was obvious. The highlight was definitely Nathaniel and his attempts to make life easy for Jenny, even when she thought his attentions and freely given friendship would only cause issues for the both of them. Her roommate Sori also initially came across as mean and stuck up but their relationship became something I loved as she stuck by Jenny in all the things she was unprepared for.
This book felt like a K-drama with all the best parts crafted into a fast paced story. If you enjoy a good forbidden romance, excellent characterizations and found family, with plenty of Asian representation, this book is 100% for you. There’s no time to waste! Best add it to your TBR when you can!
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January 5: 2023 Reading Wrap-Up
Prompts: Happy New Year! How many books did you read in 2023? What were some of your favorites? Least favorites? Did you meet your reading goals for the year? What do you want to continue in 2024? Any reading-related changes you’re planning to make?
Welcome to a new year of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! It’s the first Friday of January and it’s time for a new topic. Although I did do a mini-reflection last week, that doesn’t stop me from going through some of these more concrete questions here in today’s prompt!
I think I read about 40 books last year in 2023, and I really ramped it up at the end. There were, as usual, periods of no reading and periods of binge-reading. But overall I think it was a great time. I don’t want to pressure myself too much to read when I have too many non-pleasure (read: work and school) readings to do already, just to make sure I keep the fun in reading, for which I think I have so far been successful!
Some of my favourites included The Only One Left, Babel, and The Ivory Key series. Many of these were surprising finds, but definitely gave me new hope into each of their genres. I was beginning to think that my standards have become too high, but nope, books can definitely still hit the mark, I just have the find the right book. That’s a relief for sure. As for least favourites…well, no need to bash those authors. I’d rather just forget them.
My goal was set around only 30, so I certainly met that goal! I have a friend who has made it a new goal to be more intentional with their reading, rather than just to meet a certain number. So their goal is to read from certain genres and certain authors, all to intentionally create a list for their goal. While I don’t think I will be doing something so concrete, I think I also want to err on the side of reading things that will matter to me, rather than just reading to fill the time or to reach a book count.
I’d definitely love to slip in a few more fantasies if I can, though I’m usually scared to start them as they tend to be longer. But other than that, I think I’ll be sticking to the regular scheduled programming, and hopefully get a chance to read more ARCs this year to review!
What are all your plans for this year? Sticking to the same old or trying something different? Let me know in the comments below!
Down the Rabbit Hole 