Just the Two of Us by Ryu Hyang is a rom-com Korean drama centering about two people who complement each other despite the polar opposites they stand on; a stoic, eccentric pediatrician named Soohyuk and loveable blogging chef named Yuna. It's a slow burn romance, not a cup of my tea, but it plays out a natural scheme of falling-in-love so I think it is an okay read because the build-up of getting some romantised elements is really satisfying after witnessing them denying their feelings towards each other for quite a long time.

At first, I couldn't get used to its writing style, particularly the execution of the translation. Since this book is originally published in Korean, it feels awkward to read the translated one. There are some noticeable jarring words in which I find unfitting to be put in sentences and to be related to situations that the author wants us to imagine. Some scenes I couldn't understand, it's a lot worse at the beginning of the story but then it's getting better when coming through the middle of the story. Seemingly the word choices are important to be highlighted here because they do really give some impact to readers whether they want to continue reading this book or not. I'm not sure if the translation is lost due to the cultural differences, I just hope this book will get properly edited, and perhaps ask for assistance from people who possess a good command of Korean and English language literacy.

However, it doesn't mean that the story is overall bad. There are some aspects that I would like to shower praises besides the aforesaid amazing build-up, one of them is the characterisation. Soohyuk is a guy whom you always label as a typical protagonist whereby he just gives everyone a cold shoulder but then only show a frail side of him towards the heroine and kids (he's a pediatrician). I must say that I'll always fall for this trope 🤣 love it. In this story, Soohyuk's cold demeanour stems from the past experiences he has had during his childhood; a domestic violence incurred by his stepfather. Thus, he resolves not to let any kids experience the same experiences he has gone through by becoming the best specialist in this field. Same as the female lead, she has encountered a gnawing trauma by being confined in a small space (claustrophobia) and being molested by a man. Love begins to blossom when these two could fill in each other's void.

Reasons why I rated it 2 stars is because of the poor translation and the abrupt ending; a cliffhanger that doesn't provoke me to read the sequel. I almost abandoned it after passing the first few chapters but then, I love watching k-dramas and this book has bits similar to it. So I beared with it till the end, just casually enjoying the story without focusing much on its writing style.

Thank you Netgalley and POPPYPUB for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the premise on this one, but sadly I did not finish it. Quite a few triggers throughout, very slow start and the translation/writing made this difficult to follow. I also didn't really connect with the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read and review this novel! Unfortunately I think the story and the dialogue got lost in translation. It was hard to follow for me. I really love the idea of the story.

This was a delightful love story about Soohyuk the crabby, strict, and demanding pediatric emergency room doctor, and sweet, loving, chef Yuna. A wonderful novel about family, trauma, perseverance, and love above all things.

I’m sad to say that I didn’t finish this one. I don’t know if it was the Netgalley app or just how the ebook was laid out but it was just too difficult to read

I liked the diversity in characters, but ultimately, this book wasn't for me. It had a cute and lively premise, but I found the writing to be jilted.

I liked this as it’s the type of thing I normally like to read but with a cultural difference. That did make it more of a challenge to read at times but otherwise I liked it.

This was a solid read but coupled with some clunky writing and translation issues, I found it hard to feel engaged and connected to the plot and characters.

Just the Two of Us follows Soohyuk and Yuna as they bond over food and life. Soohyuk, the broody doctor, soon finds comfort in the sweet, caring Yuna and they start to question their feelings for each other.

At first, the premise really intrigued me because it reminded me of Kdramas. I love a good opposites attract trope and I thought I would really love this. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The plot was a bit confusing and I found my mind wandering whenever I was reading this, which was not a good sign. However, I did find some moments really sweet and the romance realistic and cute.

Overall, this was a lovely, sweet read if you overlook some of the translation issues - perfect if you're a fan of Kdramas.

Ryu Hyang writes a delightful story about a pediatric ER MD who travels to South Korea in search of his birth parents. Soohyuk is a brilliant doctor who lacks social skills. Raised int he US, he has taken an assignment at a Korean hospital and given himself two years to find his parents. He meets Yuna, also an orphan, who makes box lunches. They become friends and the story evolves from there. Soohyuk has trouble with Korean food and Tuna has difficulty with men and small spaces. Both clearly have some trauma in their pasts.

This book took me a bit to get into. I was not sure if the sometimes awkward phrasing was due to translation issues or was Hyang's showing how Soohyuk could sometimes mangle Korean. Sooyuk becomes immersed in the hospital staff especially with the chief, his estranged wife, and their MD son. This is clearly the first book of a series so many of the issues it raises don't get resolved. It also provides an eye opening take on Korean adoption. Once I became invested in the characters, I really enjoyed it.

I’m finding that the older I get, the less willing I am to waste time on books that are hard to read, poorly edited, or have some scene or character that I thoroughly dislike. In the case of Just the Two of Us, the issue for me was the translation.

The translation made the writing feel choppy and stilted. It was so difficult to read. And our main hero Matt/Soohyuk was very unlikable. Now, whether that was an intrinsic character flaw or a product of the translation, I’ll never know.

Because I quit.

DNF.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this romance. Right from the start the synopsis makes it out to be like such a cute opposites attract romance. However, the translation wasn't the best. The story read really clunky and didn't read like a fluent book but rather like you put a book into Google translate and hoped for the best.
I don't know if the translator writing made the romance lack so much chemistry or if it was like this from the beginning but I couldn't really enjoy a relationship that read so bland.

The whole secret plot of his origin was also not the best and didn't do much for me.

Book Review for Just the Two of Us by Ryu Hyang
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

I had high hopes for this book after seeing all the positive reviews, but I had to DNF this book. I'm hoping it was the translation, but the writing was so awkward and unnecessarily wordy. I just couldn't continue with it. On the very first page it says "His lips, hidden under stubble that looked like a patch of freshly cut grass," so was it stubble, or was it a few inches long, because stubble and cut grass are surely not the same length.

The plot was also very confusing. I didn't know what to make of the prologue. From the beginning, it sounded like the start of a Korean drama. As in, the male protagonist treated a woman having sex like a dirty bimbo. This woman who he apparently doesn't even remember the name of, had no romantic relationship with him but he allowed her to live with him, which is when she started making moves on him, but then when she's in bed with someone else after his continual rejections, he kicks her out for "cheating" on her? I tried to read a little further but the writing just really took me out of it.

Thank you Net Galley and Poppy Pub for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of this book, and as I started reading I hard a really hard time getting into the cadence of the characters voices. I found the plot confusing and it jumped from place to place and time to time. This might be an issue from the ARC version but I felt confused pretty much the whole way through.

Just the Two of us Book One
By Rui Hyang
This book is a brilliant read you enjoy. I couldn’t put it down. This story is about a chef and a paediatric doctor. This is a beautiful romance you enjoy like friends two lovers. With a slow burn romance. You also just an insight of life from the hospital as he tell us his journey of hospital life. And you get un insight as a chef. This book makes you smile and feel happy and is full of emotion read you follow they journey this book is full of drama you enjoy

I read the first few pages then couldn't go any further. The story and characters make no sense, the writing is mediocre.

It opens on a woman who manipulated the main character into living in his house after he didn't respond to her previous advances. He admits because she just doesn't leave his house and she flirts with him, that they're dating? But he's never tried to sleep with her or anything? Then he comes home to her having sex with some random guy in her room, his guest room, and he tells her she cheated on him? What on earth? Then she goes on a tirade about how crazy he is for never responding to her advances and it's not her fault she "cheated." So dumb. DNF, zero stars though I have to put at least one for the website.

Thanks for the ecopy in exchange for my honest review, netgalley and publisher.

Can I get an amen for all the diversity and representation in the 2021 romance releases I'm seeing! Let's keep holding publishers accountable and asking for these stories to be written, heard, and supported!

Just the Two of Us by Ryu Hyang is the story of a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and Yuna, the chef in charge of making his lunches every day, who also is terrified of men due to drama from her past.

I got strong K-drama vibes from this story, and it was just as sweet and adorable as all K-dramas are, while also touching on deeper and sensitive subjects such as trauma. If K-dramas are your thing, I cannot recommend this book enough. Even if they aren't, I would still recommend this book if you're looking for a sweet, romantic read.

My one complaint with this book was with the ending...and it was significant issue that I took with it. The ending was rather vague and muddled, leaving the reading with an empty and incomplete feeling, which is now how you want a romance to end. If she was positioning the book to be the first in a series then the ending is understandable, however I've yet to see many two-part romances of this nature (sweet, light, and fun) succeed. It will be interesting to see what the romance book community thinks of this one, especially the ending.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It is a romantic novel full of emotions that will make you sigh on every page.
On the one hand we have she protagonist who has a very hard past and does not give up in the face of adversity and on the other we have a pediatrician who is a curmudgeon but it is the opposite.
If you are looking for a novel that transmits you the emotions and live a romance that grows little by little, this is the ideal one.
Sweet, fun and full of emotions, you will not be able to stop reading it

I DON'T KNOW. I just... don't know. Perhaps many of my issues with this book land squarely on the translation, but it just seemed choppy and outdated?

The main male romantic lead, Soohyuk, was both underdeveloped and also random huge revelations were just thrown out in such a jarring way. Also, Soohyuk is a huge jerk and I wasn't here for it. Yuna, the female lead and a chef, was much easier to tolerate and the descriptions of food are worth their own star alone. The romance didn't work and there were a lot of cringey moments throughout. I wanted to like it but it's very unlikely I'll be reading the second installment.

This cute story gives me all the K-Drama vibes. It follows the hero Soo hyuk, who is an American doctor who was adopted from Korea to his birth country to find his roots. He has a chance meeting with Yuna who. then begins to cook food for him and slowly warms his heart.

Now this book is truly a K-drama in the sense of it being a slow burn. I've finished this first book and they have barely had any physical contact.


I'm waiting on abeted breath to read book two.