I loved this so much. This was one of the cutest and most heartwarming books I've read in a while. I won't bother to reexplain the plot of this book because I'm <b> A.</b> no good at it and <b>B.</b> it feels more like a jumping-off point of the story. This is a story that I feel like you can enjoy more knowing only that much. There are so many elements to this story and I don't want to accidentally spoil any of them.

I will admit that I'm not a huge K-pop fan but I do like the stories that can arise from the premise. In the past, these stories have turned into some of my favorites. So when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. This book was so much fun. I found all of the characters to be engaging and full of personality. Even the ones we spent little time with felt alive and personable. I also loved the setting. It may have just been Seoul but Seoul is an amazing place.

This book just spoke to me. It was something that I was looking for that I was unaware of. I feel like this is going to be a standout book of the coming year and I personally need to look into more books featuring K-pop stars.

XOXO was a cute young adult romance. Jenny was adorable and I was hoping she and her K-pop idol would have their Happy ending. I can't wait to read another book by Axie this one was very good!!!!!

Oh my goodness, this book was amazing! I loved it, the story and the cover! XOXO by Axie Oh is a book about an Korean-American girl who goes to Seoul. Jenny Go is the perfect daughter, a cello prodigy, who has spent years planning for the future. Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world, and he is forbidden from dating. Will they risk their perfectly laid plans for love or were they never meant to be?
Jenny was such a fun character, I liked how she was both American and Korean. I thought that it was really cool how she could play the cello. She was such a nice girl and she was really genuine. I connected with her from the beginning. It was so amazing to read about her experiencing Seoul and reading about her Korean heritage. She was strong, but she was also lonely and she really wanted to prove herself to her mom. Jenny was the type of person who stuck to a plan, but meeting Jaewoo kind of threw everything off kilter.
Jenny had to figure out what she really wanted and find that spark within herself. Meeting her grandmother and going on an adventure in Seoul will really help her find herself, but life and relationships take work and Jenny will have to decide if she is going to chase after what she wants. She will have to make the choice if loving someone is worth the hurt they can bring.
Jaewoo was sweet but he was also reserved. I liked him, but I also wanted to shake him at times because of the trouble he put Jenny through. He tried his best, but he was stuck in the expectations of others and himself. He wanted so badly to do the right thing, that he didn't really know what to do with Jenny. However, Jaewoo will have to realize that being with Jenny is better than trying to follow the plans he made for his life.
I liked seeing Jaewoo grow more confident in himself and reading about him fall in love with Jenny. He learned how to be young again and how to just enjoy life. But he can’t get away from being an idol. Will he be able to stand firm when things start to get crazy? Or worse, their relationship doomed from the start?
I wanted Jaewoo and Jenny to find their happy ending so badly. I didn’t know how they could be together and I ended up staying up way too late to read it! Jenny and Jaewoo had to overcome many obstacles in order to make their relationship work. It was not easy especially when combating fans and paparazzi. But they had friends to help them along the way. Nathaniel, Angela, Gi Taek, and Sori were so funny and I loved them. The friendship between them was not all smooth waters, but they made it work. They made this book so much better!
I actually usually do not like teen books even though I am a teen myself, because of all the unnecessary drama. However, XOXO was the exception, I couldn’t have picked a better book to read! I was especially excited for XOXO because it was written by an Asian American about an Asian American girl. I love finding books that represent Asian Americans. I couldn’t recommend this book more than enough! XOXO is a clean contemporary YA novel, but there are a couple of innuendos and cursing.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

I posted my review on Bookbub, Goodreads, and Barnes and Nobles on 12/22/2020. I will post on blog and Amazon when it releases.

The perfect K-drama in book form. As I was reading, I could picture everything happening. Two small niggles: I wish there had been a bit more about her cello ambitions, it didn't seem to be tied in to her character (why does she love it?), and more about her orchestra class, which is only mentioned in passing. The romanization used for the Korean words is not the one I'm used to (more "eo" spellings), so sometimes it took me a minute to recognize words. And one word at the end in hangul that is not translated. Really small things, though. This book has all the great kdrama tropes and characters, and like them is really addictive. I've finished it, but I still want more. More time with the culture, more time with the cute romance and the drama.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. This was a great book and I enjoyed reading it. I highly recommend reading this book.

4 stars

Big thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for this e-ARC! All opinions and ratings expressed in this review are my own.

This was a pretty solid 4 star book for me and I actually really enjoyed it. It reminds me a lot of Crazy Rich Asians but in Korea and I really loved some of the characters. I sometimes found the main two (Jaewoo and Jenny) a bit insufferable but I loved Sorin, Nathaniel, Angela and Gi Taek so much. It was a pretty quick read and its easy to follow, but I still felt like their relationship was rushed.
The pacing of the story itself I didn't mind, it was mostly the relationship. I also found myself enjoying the side characters a lot more than the main two.
I would recommend this book for a fun, quick, contemporary romance (being based in Seoul made it all the better) the cover is also so beautiful??!?!!

If theres going to be a book two about Sorin and Nathaniel (SIGN ME UP!) they were my favorites by far :-)