With thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a digital arc of 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz, all opinions expressed are my own.

Jisu is in her final year of high school, preparing for college when her parents ship her from Seoul to San Francisco to complete her senior year. They also have a matchmaker for her who arranges blind dates with eligible Korean young men.

Honestly I thought this was going to be a super fun book about all these interesting dates and Jisu’s experience along the way. Instead I felt like it was one great big whine. Jisu complained about everything. Each date seemed to be as boring as possible. All the conversations were very stilted. The characters just didn’t develop. Sadly, with an idea that could have been super interesting, this book just fell flat for me.

2.5/5⭐️

3.5 stars actually. Also many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the arc!

I feel like I should have looked at the cover more closely. I also probably should have read the blurb. But in the end, I kind of actually like this lighthearted romcom. It was cute in it's own way. Definitely not what I was expecting (and at the same time was, hence the title) and for a moment I felt very disjointed--the sad effect of reading the author's name and getting hit with full Korean content. But it was nice. Jisu is mostly a sympathetic character with the usual highschool problems. I liked seeing her stress over college applications, it doesn't feel the same as the usual process I read about. So it was nice, and familiar (as an asian).

I do kind of wish I got more of a feel of what she would do at the end. The love interest was interesting, but it amazes me how I kept thinking it was way too typical! But he was nice and cute and good love interest material. As for the other guy, evidently he was a total jerk, and I can't express how many times I wanted to shake Jisu. Which goes to show how it happens, and the thoughts that come with it, and how we learn from it. More so for Jisu who was uprooted and replanted and dealing with the different cultural expectations.

I did like de la Cruz's interpretation and creativeness in bending this story into shape, and despite the obvious author-culture vs character-culture going on, I also don't think that mattered a lot. The author in her notes essayed her own exploration, experiences, and acknowledgement of her cultural informants; and I think it's great that a popular author can go out there, research (as they all do for all stories whether it's science fiction or history etc) and then give a decent portrayal of it to expand the diversity of the literature.

So:

<b>Story</b>: Very cute, some affective, and grows on the reader (I will admit that the beginning threw me off and it took me a while to get into it).
<b>Romance</b>: It's not in-your-face, and Jisu does come across as a bit of a cynic, but also a teen who's looking for the right answers. It's a cute romance.
<b>Characters</b>: Friends feature highly! I love it. I love how they're supportive as well! It's strange for me to say that it's nice to see Jisu integrate so easily into a new school and country. So much so she makes good friends in both san fran and maintain her home friendships back in Korea.
<b>Love interests and seon dates</b>: The main guy is nice! The other guy is a tool! And the seon dates were amusing. So that was fun.
<b>Writing</b>: I presume this usual Melissa de la Cruz writing? This is my first work by her and I didn't dislike it. I liked the flow, and she makes Jisu a sympathetic character.

<b>Overall</b>, I would recommend this as a fun, light, summer read. I don't put much heavy stock in it or emotion, but it certainly has a nice little ending to put a smile one's face. Perfect for the bloody hot summer we've been experiencing down under!

This book was a whirlwind. Well written and easy to read, in typical De La Cruz fashion!

As it was based on South Korean people, some of the language was lost on me, some of the customs also.
But I did enjoy the book, it was fun and a perfect read for the Australian Summer

Jisu's traditional South Korean parents are concerned by what they see as her lack of attention to her schoolwork and her future. Working with Seoul's premiere matchmaker to find the right boyfriend is one step toward ensuring Jisu's success, and going on the recommended dates is Jisu's compromise to please her parents while finding space to figure out her own dreams. When she flunks a test and bails on a date, her parents are fed up and send her to San Francisco. Where she'll have the opportunity to shine academically—and be set up on more dates!

Possibly one of the sweetest novels I have read recently. It is easy to read, humorous and heartbreaking at the same time. It takes the pressures of school and multiples it by 1000 - with parents that pile the pressure on even more. My favourite thing about this book is that it is about focuses on a Korean teenager. I am absolutely loving seeing more books come out, particularly in the YA category that features a lead character from a different country. It just opens up a whole new multicultural world - introducing the idea of seons (blind dates set up with a match maker and parents) and other cultural occasions. Would highly recommend!!

(4.5)
I received an early eARC for this one from Netgalley. I absolutely loved it. The characters and the relationships she had with all of her friends. And some of the seons were full of whit.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

Jisu's traditional South Korean parents are concerned by what they see as her lack of attention to her schoolwork and her future. Working with Seoul's premiere matchmaker to find the right boyfriend is one step toward ensuring Jisu's success, and going on the recommended dates is Jisu's compromise to please her parents while finding space to figure out her own dreams. But when she flubs a test then skips out on a date to spend time with friends, her fed-up parents shock her by shipping her off to a private school in San Francisco. Where she'll have the opportunity to shine academically—and be set up on more dates!
Navigating her host family, her new city and school, and more dates, Jisu finds comfort in taking the photographs that populate her ever-growing social media account. Soon attention from two very different boys sends Jisu into a tailspin of soul-searching. As her passion for photography lights her on fire, does she even want to find The One? And what if her One isn't parent and matchmaker approved?

This book was something different for me to read and I really enjoyed it. Learning about a different culture is something I find really interesting and this book taught me more than I expected.

Jisu I found hard to like though, I found her way with people was a little rude and off at times and never resolving her issues with her parents exceptions and what she wants to do with her life had me a little frustrated. In saying that it could be a cultural difference that I can not relate too.

The side characters I didn't have much thoughts on either with this book so I felt like the characters for me was lacking when it comes to finding interesting and wanting to read more about. In saying that I did breeze through this book and did enjoy it and I am glad I read it. I ended up giving this book a 3.75 stars out of 5. I am a person who has to be able to like the characters in the book to really enjoy it and having Jisu the way she was just made the rating lower for me.

I still intend to read more of `Melissa de la Cruz novels because I can see myself really enjoying other books she has written.

29 Dates follows Jisu, a young South Korean girl as she navigates a new high school in a different country after her parents find her struggling to cope at her very competitive high school in Seoul and send her off to America. Living with a host family, Jisu has a hard time juggling school and new friends as well as going on blind dates that her mother's match maker sends her on.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Jisu and how she always had an open mind when going on her blind dates even though she didn't want to be there. I liked that she stood up for herself and always spoke her mind when it was called for. I really felt for her when she felt the constant pressure from her parents to do well and how she felt that she really didn't know what she wanted to do or be after high school. I feel that is relevant to most young people and although this novel is aimed at someone younger than me, I still felt a connection to the character and the story.

I found myself really looking forward to reading about her 29 dates which featured at the end of each of the 29 chapters, especially the very last one but wished it had been a bit longer.

The majority of the cast of characters were great, and I really enjoyed the friendships that Jisu had in Seoul and in San Francisco but especially with her friends back in Seoul. I hope we get to see more of them in future books because I would like to hear their own stories and also through them find out about Jisu because I would love to read more about her.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend you give this book a go!