I loved the setting in Seoul written by an author who is American-Korean just like her MC. But somehow, the story itself could not catch me. I've expected a light romcom, instead the romance was already settled with just little hints of spice. It's the second book in a series and large parts of the book were just summarizing what had happened in the previous book. There was some drama of Hara and her stepbrother in love being not socially accepted and yes, it did remind me of K-Dramas. I also liked the various descriptions of food, but Hara's obsession for cooking in the second half of the book was rather a surprise for me. Even though the story was technically good written, there was something missing for me. This is my personal opinion of course, for some others this might be a thrilling story.

Archived prior to being able to read the book. Lost interest in trying to pick it up. I was originally interested but as it sat in my library, I did not feel the summary grabbed my attention anymore.

Seoulmates by Jen Frederick is a captivating read that will resonate with fans of emotional and hopeful stories about identity, family, and love, particularly those who enjoy exploring themes of adoption, cultural identity, and expat life, and are looking for a lighthearted and romantic drama that will keep them invested in the characters' journeys.

I was really hoping to like Seoulmates, especially since the first book ended without a HEA. But I quickly lost interest in the story. I think I wasn’t in the right mood, but unfortunately I haven’t felt called to finish it. DNF at 30%

Ahh i don't know...I felt like the characters were trying to hard. There was alot of unnecessary drama and misery for no reason?

With how Heart & Seoul ended I was looking forward to reading Seoulmates, but while good it didn't have as much magic as the first one. Yujun was also still such a sweetheart, and Hara was still struggling with finding her birthmother and what she really wanted. I will say that this book was more fast-paced than the first one and it really made it easier to read as the first did drag on a bit. Frederick's writing is great and she has a talent for really making you get pulled into Seoul and letting you get lost in the story.

There was a lot of drama considering Hara and Yujun's relationship, and sometimes I did feeling like the main character was a teenager as she acted younger than she actually is. Also, there's so much food that I couldn't help but be hungry the entire time I read the book, so don't read this hungry.

Note this is the second book in the series so best to start at the beginning. This book would be good for lovers of passionate stories, finding yourself, traveling, and romance.

I enjoyed the world this novel is set in and it allowed me to travel vicariously through our lovable characters!

This turned out to be book 2 in the series. I am sure this could be read as a standalone but as I was reading, I got the feeling the characters were already well acquainted did some research and found out there is a previous book. I will have to read that one first.

This one was a great first purchase! If Natalie Tan's book of luck & Fortune is circulating well for you, this is a solid followup read for patrons.

Seoulmates is a romance between Hara, a Korean-American adoptee, and her stepbrother in Korea, Choi Yujun. The social norms of Korea forbid marriage between the two, so Hara and Yujun must face censure from their mother, Yujun's stepmother, and from society in general, and hide their budding relationship.

The novel, as well as being a romance and domestic drama, is also a travel document of sorts, as the plot incorporates Korean traditions, food, and popular street food into the story. We also see Seoul and what it has to offer in the way of culture, social norms about dating and marriage, traditions, and of course, its variety of spicy foods.

I would recommend Seoulmates #2 to romance readers as well as to anyone wanting to know more about Korea and in particular, Seoul.

Seoulmates is the sequel to Heart & Seoul (which I really enjoyed), and I definitely appreciated the closure this brought to Hara’s story. You definitely need to read the books in order, and I’d highly recommend the audiobook - the Korean words would have been tricky to read.

This cover is absolutely stunning! As for the plot/character development, I thought it was solid and overall I really enjoyed the story.

This book was clearly published because at the end of the first book, the couple was not together, and the lack of HEA meant it couldn't be a romance.

But when this book starts......they are together???? So I don't understand what we're doing here??

But here we are. As if nothing ever happened. It feels like the first book happened, then a second book's worth of events happened, but that happened in a three-month window that we skipped entirely and find ourselves here, in nonsense land.

It took me a while to dive into this one as I kept saving it for a day I could really dedicate time to it, and oh, was it worth it!! I fully enjoyed SeoulMates, as i’m a huge lover of kdramas, this definitely has the similar feel as watching one! I just adored it so much!

Rating 4

I will be honest when I requested this one I had no idea it was a sequel. I didn’t have time to read the first one but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this one. To be honest, I didn’t feel lost or confused about anything. You can still enjoy this story but I do recommend reading the first one because it will make this one even better. This was a great story from start to finish. It was the perfect mixture of cute, sweet, emotional, and even had humor. This book didn’t focus only on love like I thought it would but instead on other bigger factors. I liked how this book was written. It was a little long for me but if you read it in sections then you won’t notice it at all. Overall, I would recommend this one and am definitely going to purchase this duology for my library.

*Received an ARC on #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so much to @berkleyromance for the gifted copy.**

This story picks up right where book one ended, so it’s important to read Heart & Seoul first to fully understand the emotions and depth of these established characters.

I was excited to continue Hara’s story. She’s beginning her new life in Seoul. She struggles to fit in with her judgmental coworkers, but is slowly learning the language better. As with the first book, I enjoyed learning about more the customs and everyday life in this culture. The foodie descriptions were great and I really liked all of the scenes in and around the food truck or as Hara experimented with cooking several meal. I liked learning a little about the traditions surrounding Chuseok and Seollal, both festivals and holidays observed throughout South Korea.

I loved seeing my favorite side characters again. Jules, Bomi and Sangki truly are the best. I honestly wouldn’t be sad to see them get their own stories - especially since they each represent LGBTQ and it already showed the struggles they were facing coming out to their families.

Yujun once again was the sweetest, most patient love interest. The two shared several brief, yet light steamy scenes. This storyline focused more on the two trying to figure out how to make their forbidden love work and with Hara trying to find her true home - a place where she fit in and felt accepted. I struggled with Hara’s birth mother, Wansu and even though the conclusion felt a tad rushed and unexpected, she won me over in the end. I love the overall theme of finding peace within your found family.

I received a review copy from @netgalley and @berkleyromance - all opinions are my own.

This is the second book following Heart and Seoul in the Seoul series by Jen Frederick. I found this one to have lost some of the charm that the first book had as it repeated at times things that I had just read in the first book, as if I hadn’t read it. I don’t like when any media does this as I feel like I’m wasting time revisiting things I’m already aware of. That is great though for if a reader skipped and went straight to book 2, but for me I found it a waste of time rehashing what I had already read in the first book here and there throughout this story.

Also, it felt selfish in this book where Hara is so focused on her lust that she isn’t respecting the culture or the family she has just become apart of with regard to wanting to keep forcing their relationship to be accepted even though she has been told from the discovery of who her mother was that their relationship would never be accepted by the cultural expectations of who is an appropriate match for a relationship.

By the end, it all seemed to work out as Hara’s birth mother divorced Yujin’s father so that they could be together culturally, but I felt as though the damage within that family structure had already been done beyond repair for Yujin’s relationships with his extended family, and that those relationships were now lost forever.

This book also felt really long and not really about their love, but the cultural objections to it and trying to find a path around to make it work, all in all, I was hoping for more romance and uplifting, but I just felt sad?

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Books for the ARC of this book!

This story was compelling, with high stakes and full of culture that I didn't know about before. I was impressed by the way the pressures of the societal traditions were explained and how that made for a near impossible situation for the characters to find happiness. The story was cool with inclusions of food, themes of identity, finding acceptance and self-acceptance, culture, and gave me a lot to think about. It was sweet and I'm eager to see what the author writes next.

The second book in the series I was hoping for some quick resolution. An okay book but honestly not as gripping as the first.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.