Oh boy! As a die hard fan of Paper Princess series that Jen Fredrick was the co writer with Elle Kennedy a.k.a Erin Watt, I was so intrigued by Seoul Series!

At the first book, I was a little disappointed not to see HEA like the most romance readers and that cliffhanger at the end made me bite my nails harder. I didn’t care too much to read women’s fiction story: it was still well written inner journey of Hara.

Of course my expectation was reading a romance : Yujun Chopin and Hara’s story hooked me up from the beginning. But the book centered on Hara’s revelations to fly to Korea for finding her biological parents. The culture, traditions were well depicted and interesting enough to attract your attention.

And at this book the author picks us up for she left the story. Hara finally finds her paternal mother. She also has to fight against the obstacles to reach her own happy ending! I have to admit I loved Yujun more at each chapter! That guy never gave up and fully stood for his love!

I think I loved the second book more than the first. Pacing was faster and more riveting! The supporting characters were adorable! Love story and evolving of characters were also great!

The story was also wrapped up adroitly! I devoured in one sit!

I advised you to read the first book to catch up the entire development.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

The romance and beauty of this book made my heart tingle and butterflies erupted in my stomach. Seoulmates was beautifully written and it is definitely one of my new favourites.

3.5, rounded up. I liked that Frederick enabled Hara to explore South Korea more in this book; I feel like I learned a lot about the language, food, and culture and met some delightful side characters. Hara was still frustratingly passive as a main character, and I wish her relationship with Yujun had been featured more (those darn business trips...). I know this is a duology, but I wish there were one more book to flesh out and tie up some of the plot points within this novel.

This book made it all okay for the two main characters in such a beautiful way. I won’t spoil anything, but I simply loved it. I hope the side characters will get stories too!

I really wanted to like this book - I thought the blurb sounded intriguing, but once I started in on it I was just very confused. It felt like I was being dropped into the book half way through - I actually went back and checked the chapters because for a minute I thought maybe I had mistakenly clicked on a chapter part way through from the table of contents. I hope this book finds it's people, it just wasn't one for me!

Loved this so much as a sequel to Heart and Seoul. The characters are diverse and the plot is a compelling romance. I do like the blend of Hara finding her own identity in this new environment. Excellent wrap up to the duology.

I did not know that there was a preceding book, but… it’s okay. I thought the concept was interesting, however, I was not super attached to the plot.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was excited for the sequel. The first thing I loved about this book is the way she describes South Korea and the people and food. I will admit at times I found the main character frustrating. I feel like she was way too passive in her life but I was happy when she started making her own choices in the end. Overall I enjoyed it.

I'm sad that this story ended. I really wish I could have had more Hara and Yujun. It was a wonderful second book. I hope this author writes another one.

The ending of Heart & Seoul left me with a ton of feelings. Hara's life was still in turmoil at the end of that book, and I needed some concrete resolutions for just about everything that happened. To say I was excited for Seoulmates would be an understatement.  I couldn't wait to read it, and I am happy to report that fans of Heart & Seoul are going to be pleased with the ending Hara gets in Seoulmates.

Seoulmates begins pretty much where Heart & Seoul ended. Hara is working at Wansu's company, navigating what being her daughter means, and trying to make her relationship with Yujun work. Everything is kind of a big mess for Hara, and Korean customs and language are not making anything easier. I loved the journey Hara went on to get to the place she needed to be emotionally. There were a lot of ups and downs for her. I can only imagine how stressful going through everything would be in a new country with a language barrier. I loved how Hara had strong friendships to help her along this journey. Some of my favorite moments were those with Hara and Sangki. That friendship was precious I want him to get his own book!

I also loved Hara and Yujun's romance. Yujun was so supportive and unwavering in their relationship. That was so important and nice to read. The forbidden aspect of their romantic relationship was interesting. I loved learning about why and what their relationship meant to Korean society. I learned a lot about Korean culture in Heart & Seoul and that knowledge expanded with the relationships, customs and holidays in this book. 

My favorite thing about this book was how everything wrapped up. Each and every storyline was dealt with in the best of ways. Hara's feelings about it all and where her life was headed left me feeling content. This book and series were truly special.

I read the first book to this series last year without realizing it was going to have a sequel. I think marketing needs to get better when it comes to things like. The ending was very much open but without knowing there would be a sequel I rated it lower.

Since the ending of the first book was a cliffhanger, I was curious to see where Hara’s story would go when it comes to family and her relationship. Big secrets were revealed and it left her trying to figure it all out. I could understand her decisions or reasoning for a lot of her choices but I also felt like her and Yujun were a bit selfish at times. I get wanting to break free from traditions and following your heart but at the same time there is a lot more involved than just their feelings.

The plot does have many plotlines and at times it felt like too much, especially towards the end. Everything was being resolved rather quickly and almost too conveniently. I would say that this was where my biggest gripe was with the book. The drama could be entertaining but it also felt like that’s all the book was. The romance was very minimal as Yujun was usually away on trips. I did like the found family aspect though because I liked her friends who were along for the ride since book one.

Overall, this was kind of a mixed bag but still good for a conclusion. I at least got my answers and that’s all that matters.

I read 'Heart & Seoul' earlier this year and I was left feeling devastated for Hera and anxious to read the conclusion to her story. I am happy to say that 'Seoulmates' was everything I hoped for and more.

Hera is trying her best to cope with her current circumstances. After coming to Korea to find her biological parents and hoping to finally stop feeling like an outsider, she soon realizes that she still doesn't feel at home and her problems are quickly adding up.

She starts a job at her Korean mom's company and is subsequently hated by her co-workers, who accurately feel she's a product of nepotism, she has not yet mastered the Korean language, and she's terribly homesick. Her greatest source of heartache, however, is the fact that she has been instructed to stay away from Yujun, her boyfriend. He may well be the love of her life, but she just found out he is also her stepbrother. They were not raised together, nor did they know about their connection when they met, but in Korean culture it's a huge no-no.

In 'Seoulmates' we get to see Hera navigate her way through all of these obstacles. Jen Frederick did a fantastic job in writing Hera's journey of self-discovery. Hera has never felt as though she truly belongs anywhere, and as a result she constantly seeks people's approval or keeps herself closed off as a defense mechanism. In this story, after years of self-doubt, Hera finally realizes that she's the master of her own happiness.

"I came to Korea to find my family, to figure out where I belonged, and what I learned was that family has never been about blood. Family is about the people you love and the people who love you back, and in that circle, you are never an outsider, a person with no name. You always belong."

I would also like to stay that the love story between Hera and Yujun is so pure. Yujun is truly the sweetest, most supportive boyfriend ever written. He stands by Hera throughout the entire story. No silly breakups or misunderstandings for these two. He and Hera constantly communicate and support one another and stand up to those who say they do not belong together. It was lovely to see them get their happy ending.

"He's a steady presence in a not-so-familiar place. I want to crawl onto his and inside his shirt, inside his heart. It's safe there. That's where my home is."

'Seoulmates' was a wonderful story of self-discovery, love, friendship (I loved all of the friends featured in this story; Sangki was a particular favorite) and finding family and an absolutely delightful read.