Tag: people of colour

5 star, YA

ARC Review: ASAP by Axie Oh

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

New York Times bestselling author Axie Oh’s ASAP is the much anticipated companion novel to beloved romance XOXO, following fan favorites Sori, the wealthy daughter of a K-pop company owner, and Nathaniel, her K-pop star ex-boyfriend, in a swoon-worthy second chance love story.

Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.

Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

Overall Recommendation:

ASAP is finally Sori and Nathaniel’s story that takes the elements I loved about XOXO and supplements in different ways that makes this a different experience while being everything I wanted. Another forbidden romance but this time with the baggage of a past history, the angst and chemistry between these two were real since the first day we met them in the previous book. While it can be read and loved as a standalone, I enjoyed seeing familiar faces in the XOXO group and a different side of the K-pop industry. Brilliant in its characterizations and emotionally heartbreaking, this was the perfect romance read that kept me entertained to the last page.

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Diving headlong back into the glamorous world of K-pop and the XOXO group, fan-favourite characters (that included me!) Sori and Nathaniel are thrown back together again after graduating high school and somewhat putting their romantic history behind them. After all, their last foray into the non-platonic feelings almost brought a scandal for Nathaniel’s idol group XOXO just shortly after they debuted. It seems the world is just against them from being together.

I love a well-done forbidden romance as much as the next person, and Axie Oh just has a way of seeing into my heart and knowing which heartstrings to pull when she writes these romances. Sori and Nathaniel were so well written as characters that they felt like real people. Their chemistry was evident even when they were first introduced in XOXO but it was magnified in this book as we focus on their history and present.

Getting to know Sori was one of my favourite parts of the book. She is so much more than meets the eye. Her relationship with her mother, the CEO of an entertainment group, and her rocky relationship with her father made her such an empathetic character. The deep dive into another side of the K-pop industry was so much fun. Not only the music side, I loved seeing the preparation of groups before their debut and the variety shows they go on to make themselves known to their audience. As a K-pop fan, this made the story even more entertaining and real. Axie really drew me in with her depictions of this world.

For fans of the companion book, I’m so glad the boys of XOXO all made appearances that go beyond cameos. I think the biggest surprise was getting to see more of Sun who seemed to be more elusive in book 1 as he had already completed high school by that point. I honestly hope we get a book for each of the boys. *fingers crossed*. And for fans of Jenny and Jaewoo, they also make appearances so this book has a little treat for everybody!

Honestly, I can go on with my gushing, but this book (and series) is a love letter to those who love the K-pop world. It’s fun, fast paced and filled with emotional story arcs. ASAP follows in this same vein and doesn’t disappoint, even with the high standards I had for it. I urge you to go out and find a copy for yourself!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

5 star, YA

Review: XOXO by Axie Oh

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

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!

4.5 star, YA

Review: The Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End and You’ve Reached Sam, this gripping, atmospheric YA novel follows a teen with a mysterious condition that transports her to the past when she smells certain scents linked to specific memories.

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she’ll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee’s fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life.

When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom–a moment Aimee has never remembered before–she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest disappearance yet, but the memory doesn’t match up with the story of how her mom left–at least, not the version she’s always heard from her dad.

Desperate for answers, Aimee travels to Korea, where she unravels the mystery of her memories, the truth about her mother, and the reason she keeps returning to certain moments in her life. Along the way, she realizes she’ll need to reconcile her past in order to save her present.

From acclaimed author Sarah Suk comes an aching, powerful exploration of memory, grief, and the painful silences we must overcome to discover our truest selves.

Overall Recommendation:

The Space Between Here & Now delivered a capturing story about a girl’s journey in finding her mom, and in the process, finding herself. I love the themes of grief tied into memory as Aimee tackles the abandonment from her mother years later. Mixed with Asian elements woven throughout the novel as Aimee travelled back to Korea to explore her parents’ roots, this book captivated me from the start as I too yearned to learn more about Aimee’s time warp condition and her mother’s disappearance. A definitely recommendation!

You know how smell seems to always be the most powerful thing to instantly draw you back to a particular memory? I love that, being the nostalgic person that I am, but imagine this happening physically. All the time. Aimee suffers from a rare condition, Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, that transports her back into her memories at the most inopportune times when her particular sense, smell, is triggered to an associated memory.

In the same vein as If You Could See the Sun and The Other Side of Infinity, I thought this fictional syndrome was super interesting, and it never felt like just a prop to make this book more intriguing. We dive deep into what the condition entails (little is known but it varies from person to person and dependent on the sense), the people struggling to live in a world trying to avoid particular trigger senses (how awful!), and how this impacts the relationships of those suffering from such a condition.

The characters were absolutely superb. I adored Aimee as a protagonist. She felt very real as she tried navigating this condition that seemed to be triggered more often lately. Her father didn’t want her to go to therapy or additional support groups like an Asian parent may react. So how can she tough it out by herself when being in these memories were happening more frequently and taking up longer time? Her reactions and struggles just made me empathize so much for her, and it made sense she’d yearn for her mom when her dad was just a husk in the home.

The major arcing storyline was Aimee’s search for her mom who had one day just left them when she was a kid. This took her to Korea to learn more about where her mom came from in the hopes that it’d lead her to her mom in the present day. I felt this underlying plot really kept me flipping the pages as I was just as desperate as Aimee to find her mom. Did she know more about her condition? Would she be more sympathetic than her dad? Being in Korea was a plus and I absolutely loved the setting, though it never overshadowed the emotional depth to the story.

My favourite part is definitely the way Sarah Suk looked at grief and memory. Even though her mom wasn’t dead, parental abandonment sometimes hurts more because it seems like an intentional choice to leave. With the memories Aimee kept going back to somehow connected with her mom, it’s clear the years passing hadn’t helped with closure. Things didn’t happen in the way I had anticipated it would, and in that way, I enjoyed the story more. I don’t want to give away too many details so I’ll leave it at that.

There was a romantic element to this book too, but it really played more of a supporting role. He was a great help in Korea while Aimee traced her mom’s path, but he never grew larger than the arcing story about Aimee’s past and her condition. I find it refreshing that romance can have its time and place in stories without overshadowing the main plot. It’s sometimes rarer these days as audiences grow more hungry for heavy romantic subplots.

Overall, this book touched me deeply in its exploration of memory and familial relationships. It was quite different from Sarah’s first novel, but I absolutely love the direction she’s going with and cannot wait to read more from her!