Down the Rabbit Hole

When investment banker Jessie Kim is laid off in a virtual meeting and then overhears why (“she’s already being overpaid anyway for a woman” and “Asians are worker bees, not someone who can drum up new deals”) she delivers an “eff you guys” speech and storms out. 

After moving back home to Tennessee to live with her loving but meddling mother and father, she runs into her childhood nemesis – golden child Daniel Choi – at the local Asian grocery store. The smart, charming lawyer appears to have it all…while Jessie has nothing.

Jess begrudgingly accepts Daniel’s help to relaunch her long abandoned Korean cooking YouTube channel Hanguk Hacks, showcasing easy meal prep for busy professionals. But just as she discovers Daniel’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems and there’s more to him than meets the eye, he shows up for a life-changing business opportunity, and their rivalry is back on….

I have to stop thinking that Suzanne’s adult books are going to be like other romances. To be honest, they fit more in women’s fiction as a genre than romance since it’s not the major focus of the books. It skews all of my expectations which also unfortunately impacts how I see her writing (which isn’t terrible or anything per se but just not what I was expecting coming into it).

So We Meet Again is very similar to her debut adult novel, following a career-focused Korean American woman in an area dominated by men. There’s very blatant sexist comments directed at our protagonist, Jessie, which I expected from the synopsis yet still dug under my skin and boiled my blood. I understand they’re there to show what she’s up against but I will warn it can be quite triggering.

I have an appreciation for what Suzanne is trying to do here and the message she’s trying to portray, but I did have things I just didn’t like or agree with in this book.