Somehow just as much and not as much romance as I expected. Everything felt very surface level, from the move to her feelings for Austin. Overall, not my kind of book, but I definitely see the audience for it.

I have such grand reading plans over my break, I literally can not wait! However, I recently (last night) finished reading 29 Dates by Melissa De La Cruz, now I first want to apologize because this book should not have taken me this long to read but work has been taking up way too much of my time lately and whenever I go to read anything I just end up falling asleep. However, I finally have things set up for a while with work and now I am free to read at night again!

SPOILERS AHEAD

In this book, we meet Jisu a girl who lives in Korea with her parents and is feeling lots of pressure from them to be the best. She goes to one of the top schools in Korea and is expected by her family to get into one of the best colleges. However, Jisu is not doing so great at school, her grades are sub-par at best, she is spending more time on friends and her favorite hobby (photography) than her parents would like, and she is skipping Seons. Seons are where Jisu is set up by the matchmaker Ms. Moon on dates to find the perfect future high powered husband. However, after a bad test grade and a skipped date, Jisu’s parents have had enough and they send her to America to live with a host family and attend a prestigious school there, one they think she will have a better chance with. Jisu is devasted by this sudden move but once in San Fransico with her new host family, she finds so many new adventures, dates, and even maybe love on her own.

I have read many Melissa De La Cruz books and I really enjoy them. I think her stories are interesting and I will always be up for trying her new books. I was fortunate enough to be given this book as an ebook ARC on NetGalley a few days before it was published and I started it almost right away. I really loved this story and was interested in Jisu’s culture and would have loved to see more of her in Korea! I gave this book four and a half stars on Goodreads!

I really liked this slightly nontraditional YA romance. The concept of arranged dating/ matchmaking intrigues me. Very speedy read with a great ending.

The title of the book makes me think it’s more of a romance, but I think it’s more of a book of teen self-growth and discovery. The main character has to wrestle with her parents’ expectations for her life and what her passions are. Great themes for young readers to read through. If you’re looking for more of a YA romance, this book isn’t quite it.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thought and opinions are my own.*
2.5 stars

I remember reading some of Melissa de la Cruz's books back when I was in high school. My fond memories of those books was what prompted me to pick this one up-- that and the matchmaking aspect sounded unique.
Unfortunately, it seems I am no longer a fan of this writing. I felt such a huge disconnect from the characters. Everything felt surface level and surprisingly fake.

First off, buying an airplane ticket to send your daughter to a different country and even signing them up for school there without them knowing and then only telling them they are going the morning of the flight makes no sense. It takes a while to board flights... AND to pack!!

Also, Junior year is the most stressful year in high school. Senior year is stressful because of the applications, but colleges don't really look at senior year stuff unless your on the waitlist and such -- or so I'm told. Unless you're in a country where they take entrance exams to get into university (like South Korea), then things are a bit different.

Jisu's feelings never felt solid to me. She likes Austin, but doesn't. She likes other guys, but then feels more indifferent towards them. This I can forgive though because she's 17. The heart is still learning in high school and so this felt somewhat believable, but I'm not convinced with the ending.
I wish there was more about Jisu adjusting to living in America. Sure, she says she's fluent in English, but there is a huge difference in learning and speaking English outside America or other native English-speaking countries. Jisu knew slang and a few other tidbits I found strange. Yes, she watches American makeup tutorials (really??? When Korea has better products and a completely different style??), but I don't think she'd pick things up so naturally before getting to America.

I did like the diverse cast and taking down the racist classmate. The parts I enjoyed the most were the date scripts. At first I thought they were text messages, so that was an awkward start... but once I knew they were at a place together, I kind of liked the format. Anyhow, there is some awesome conversation in those parts.

All in all, this isn't a book for me and I know that. I do have a few people in mind I might recommend this to: ones looking for relationship-drama, but besides them I probably won't recommend this to many people.

This was such a fun read. The characters were likable and relatable and I really connected with the characters.

This is the story of Jisu, who is sent by her parents to San Francisco for her senior year...I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE THAT!!!

On top of going to a new school, living with strangers, having to make new friends, make good grades and apply to college ...Jisu also has to go on randomly set up blind dates.

This was such a fun read.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

#netgalley
#29dates

I always like reading books based on other cultures to give me an insight on what other cultures believe. This one confused me a little bit, mainly because it's about a Korean but the author isn't Korean and based on other reviews, she got some of the culture wrong. I still enjoyed parts of the book, but I don't feel like I got the right picture.

I found it very difficult to get into this book. I appreciate the cultural background and the insight it gave me into a culture I was not very aware of. However, I found it difficult to connect and remain engaged.

I received an ARC of 29 Dates from Melissa de la Cruz from Netgalley. 29 dates is a cute story about Ji-Su, a teenager from Korea whose parents send her to the US for her senior year of high school. Her parents have hired a Korean matchmaker for her and 29 dates refers to the number of arranged dates that she goes on trying to find the right guy for her.

I love Melissa de la Cruz books so I was thrilled to get the ARC of 29 Dates from NetGalley.

This story follows Jisu as she tries to make a new life in San Francisco after moving from Seoul. She struggles through her senior year, dealing with overbearing parents and trying to acclimate to a new life.

Though I enjoyed the book, I struggled to really connect with Jisu. It turned out to be just okay.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

29 Dates followed the story of Jisu as she moves across the Pacific Ocean from Seoul to San Fransisco. You follow Jisu as she transitions to her new school, attends her senior year, makes new friends, applies for university and attend seons set up by a well known matchmaker.

Jisu struggles to do everything the way her parents would want her to do it, be the perfect daughter and figure out who she is and what she really wants in life.

While I enjoyed the story I did find that it was a bit long and it took me longer to read than the average young adult contemporary would take me to get through. I also found that throughout the story there were many questions or struggles that were brought up that were never answered at the by the end of the book leaving you wondering about quite a bit in Jisu's life come the finish of the novel which was a bit disappointing.

This was a fun and heart-warming read! The story follows Jisu, and young South Korean girl trying to fulfill her parents’ high expectations. She ends up being sent to San Francisco to complete her senior year of high school in order to improve her chances of getting into a prestigious college. All the while, Jisu is being sent on “seons”,or blind dates, set up by a matchmaker at the request of her parents, who want Jisu to make a match with a successful partner.

I enjoyed joining Jisu on her journey through her senior year, reading transcript-like versions of all of her dates, and watching her learn to appreciate herself for who she is rather than who she thinks she should be.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is totally on me but there is something about this authors writing I cannot get into. I don’t know what it is but every story of theirs I read I just can’t get attached.

I have been a fan of this author for awhile. I believe I have read every book. So going into this one I had an idea of the writing. Turns out the author decided to change it up. The start of each date, the dialogue were all completely new. While I enjoyed the fact the main character knew her flaws and privledges I was not drawn to her. The fact her character did not grow as much just felt flat and almost like a book report read.
While I think there are others who will enjoy the way this is written I was not one of them.
Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book on NetGalley.

This book didn't speak to me the way the rest of Melissa De La Cruz's did. I felt like I was underwhelmed by the plot but overwhelmed by the dates. I also was kind of put off by how radical the parents were and the way Jisu thought was kind of wild to me. I was just put off by a lot of things that I didn't particularly love with the way the characters interacted.

I did love that the plot was pulled together at the end by the "black horse" lover and that definitely made it interesting even though I could kind of see it from a mile away.

I would read another book she puts out because even if one book disappoints, that's not totally normal for her.

I’ve read many other books by this author and enjoyed them. This book felt just very average. I didn’t love it, didn’t hate it, probably won’t remember it for long. But it’s a good read for your average teen reader looking for a book.

My favorite thing about this book is that it presents us with a unique perspective. Yes, the protagonist comes from a place of privilege. She's aware of her privilege though. There's no moment of awakening, no judgement of and gaining understanding with a "poor" person. There is some rejection of the trappings of wealth or at least obvious shows of it, but that's an attitude she comes in with .Her story is more about trying to make her parents happy and figure out what sort of person she wants to be. There's no rejection of the parental pressure, just the desire to be seen as more than her achievements. The romantic elements are entirely expected of course. As soon as she has a negative experience with a guy, you pretty much expect that they'll end up together.

I received a Netgalley ARC of Melissa de la Cruz’s 29 Dates, which told the story of Jisu, a senior in Korea who is worried about all the same things that concern most girls her age: grades, friends, college applications, and, of course, blind dates (called seons) arranged by a dating expert at the behest of her overbearing parents. Life changes when her Jisu arrives in San Francisco to finish out her senior year, yet the weight of her parents’ expectations continues to influence her as she navigates the waters of completing final projects, applying for admission to top Ivy League schools, and meeting with high-pedigree boys selected by her seon matchmaker. The only wrench in her parents’ plans may come in her newly-discovered identity, complete with a love of photography and burritos, or the two boys in her life NOT selected by her matchmaker, Austin Velasco and Dave Kang.

While the dialogue from the seons served as great characterization for Jisu, defining her as the antithesis of the serious boys who only think of their future wealth, the arranged blind dates seemed a bit clunky as a plot device; for one, high school seemed premature for marriage plans, and it also didn’t jive that Jisu’s parents were both highly intent on her academic success and fully invested in marrying her off. Additionally, the subtle stereotyping, from the librarian who demanded absolute silence to the materialistic Korean mothers who only gave "backhanded compliments" and the “basic Sophie...listening to basic music and checking her basic makeup,” didn’t seem to fit well in a book that, at its heart, seemed intent on a multicultural focus.

Despite those flaws, though, de la Cruz was able to convincingly capture the worldview of a teenage girl. Comments like, “Everyone at my high school is crazy competitive...They’re all trying to do a million sports or get an internship at Facebook while they’re still in high school” captured the sometimes intense reality of high-achieving high school students today. Paired with Jisu’s silly exchanges with her friends and her inability to decide whether to text the boys she’s interested in (and then throw her phone across the room and sleep once she makes that decision), these purely teen moments make 29 Dates seem more worthwhile but do not completely save it from feeling a bit silly. For fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before as well as Netflix romcoms like The Kissing Booth; libraries should consider purchasing where light romances are in high demand.

Jisu Kim attends a highly competitive high school in Seoul, South Korea. Her best friends seem to know what track they are on, but Jisu likes to take pictures and struggles with the school work. Her parents send her off as a senior year exchange student to an International School in San Francisco. I felt bad for Jisu at first, but the adventure definitely gives her a chance to be herself and there's a lot to be said for time to do that. The rom-com part of the story is framed by a series of seons--dates that her parents have paid a matchmaker, Ms. Moon, dearly for in hopes of also finding Jisu a well off match. I learned quite a bit about Korean culture--the bad luck of 9's for instance, and got a kick out of how quickly Jisu fell into a routine at Wick. She made friends easily and the story was a lot of fun.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a complimentary arc of 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz in exchange for my honest review.*

I enjoyed this amusing and charming story of Jisu"s senior year in High School. This novel is filled with adventure, trial and tribulation, as well as growing pains. One of the things I enjoyed about the novel was Jisu's honest homesickness for both family and friends. In the midst of a new environment she make new friends, but stays in contact with her old ones at home in Korea. The concept of matchmaking is as old as time, so to see it occur in the modern era and with a high school was entertaining and informative. It was a quick enjoyable novel.