Aaaahh! Sooooo good! I was hooked from start to end. Sure, it’s full of the usual tropes. The unpopular girl with the mega popular guy, the misunderstandings, feelings not acted on…. But it still feels fresh and exciting. I bet you this is gonna be a movie.
So yea, just read it. It’ll give you squeals and feels

Elena Soo is the youngest of the Soo children. Her older sisters have all left home and its just her and her twin brother Ethan left at home. Ethan is the prodigal son and can do no wrong, where as Elena can get straight A’s and still her mom has to go through all her sisters names before she remembers Elena’s. But Elena is on a mission during her Junior year, to save the community center from closing. But asking the teens from her school give the money they would use for Prom to help out, is not working. In fact the whole school kind of hates her for it. Then her childhood best friend Robbie shows up at her door to make good on their promise made when he left at 10 years old. Robbie is an international K-Pop star and has come back to take her to prom. But him ghosting her for 7 years means it will take more than a rose for her to forgive him.

Ok big thank you to the publisher and Netgalley.com for the pre published copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. First of all this was a fluffy romance to rival a k-drama or Disney movie like Starstruck. I liked the book, but I didn't feel the characters were fully developed. And honestly there were a lot of side characters that seemed unnecessary for most of the book. Plus Robbie’s group seems to be a rip off of BTS. I know that seems a bit harsh, but on the positive the feels are there for me with this book. If you want a good rom com then pick this one up.

Super sweet and super fun. Fans of K-pop and K-dramas are going to adore this. Elena and Robbie were best friends until Robbie’s family moved back to Seoul when he was ten. In the seven years that have passed, he’s become part of a world-famous K-pop group… and now they’re coming back to the US for a tour. Robbie, remembering the promise they made to each other in their childhood, surprises Elena with a very public promposal. But Elena wants nothing to do with Robbie, seeing his over-the-top efforts as nothing more than fodder for the group’s millions of fans.

I loved the large cast of characters and the seamless interweaving of Korean language and culture into the story.

Thanks to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for the electronic ARC.

Once Upon a K Prom had everything you'd want in a Asian American YA romance novel -- pop culture references, realistically explored strained familial relationships, and Asian men who are actually described as attractive. It felt like a book for US (young Asian Anericans), a book where awkward, overt explanations of pop culture, foods, and social relationships weren't necessary. It didn't cater to other audiences as clumsily as other books have, yet Elena's insecurities were still relatable enough that most readers could relate to and/or be intrigued enough to persist to the end. While I wouldn't use this in a classroom, I would recommend it to anyone who has even a passing interest in K Pop, self-image struggles, or high school heart-on-the-line romance.

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Netgalley.

A solid 4.5 stars.

Summary:
Elena is trying to raise money for the community center by asking her classmates to rethink their prom spending, but comes off as anti-prom and a kill joy to some of her peers. Elena isn't anti-prom, in fact there is one person she would want to go to prom with, but it's impossible--Robbie, her childhood best friend is a rising K-pop star, and they've long lost contact. Elena is is certain that they are in completely different worlds when Robbie all of a sudden shows up on her doorstep to honor a promise to take her to prom they made seven years ago. Elena doesn't trust the idol charm, and isn't sure if this Robbie is really interested in reconnecting and going to prom, or if it's all a publicity stunt for his band. Elena gets sucked into the world of K-pop and drama at every turn and Robbie is learning how to be a leading man in life and in his music career.

Review:
I really enjoyed this one, it's light and the romance is wholesome, clean, and has a slow burn that is typical in K-dramas. Everything works out nicely for the main cast, and the dynamic between the band members is well done. I have one major critique ... [SPOILERS: I feel that some of the secondary characters, mainly Elena's family needed more of a presence, and Ethan, Elena's twin brother, needed more of a presence and purpose. As did Elena's sisters, they never make an appearance or interact with Elena besides a half-hearted group chat. Even if sisters are not the closest, they should respond to boy drama. It seems that Elena's siblings only purpose is to make Elena really feel like the unwanted/least wanted child in their family, which builds sympathy for her with the reader. (hide spoiler)]

Kat Cho's writing gets better with each book. I think I like Once Upon a K-Prom more than Wicked Fox. I look forward to the next one! Honestly, this would be a great teen K-drama ... Maybe Netflix will pick it up.

Cute but felt "high school." I didn't love it as much as XOXO by Axie Oh or Heart and Seoul/ Seoulmates by Jen Frederick. There were a bunch of the standard kdrama tropes, which kind of feel like easter eggs for kdrama fans, which is fun. I really liked the character of Sooyeong, because she's so nice and relatable, instead of being the usual cold and successful female foil character.

2.5 / 5 stars
Dnf @ 60 percent

Elena’s past best friend is back in town and he is determined to take her to prom. Elena is suddenly surprised when the now famous Kpop icon Robbie shows up unexpectedly on her doorstep. Elena is surprised to see Robbie and witness firsthand how much he has changed. Robbie and Elena decide to try to spend some time together to see if their friendship is doomed or if they can get back to where they once were.

Overall this book just did not keep me interested. I feel like a lot of stuff repeated and not much was happening. I feel like the author tried to add some depth to the characters but it just was not fully there. I did appreciate all the love Elena shows for her community and those were the most meaningful scenes to me.

I feel like Elena and Robbie’s scenes were kind of awkward and just did not feel that impactful in the end. I just kept wanting more from this and it ended up not being something I connected with as much as I hoped. I also feel like Kpop could have more of a presence with description and everything than it did. Some things just seemed way too convenient and unrealistic.

I really enjoyed this one and it's a prime candidate for recommending to my students - especially since I know so many who love kpop too.

Based on the summary, it's not REALLY a surprise how the story progresses, but the characters make it a lot of fun to read. The struggle with change, trying to control your life's path, and feeling like you are left behind by people are all common themes that make it really relatable, even as the main character is dealing with the absolutely foreign issues of friends-to-romance with someone who is kpop-famous

As a kpop fan, I also really enjoyed the nods to the industry and the way the story explores some of the long-standing issues with kpop groups, companies, and their fandoms. You can see some of the inspiration for the fictional group that Robbie is part of and I loved the addition of their little kpop profiles scattered throughout (even though I feel like I want to hear some of reasoning for the "is friends with" portions for some).

Overall a fun and quick read that I will be gently poking some of my younger high school teacher pals to add to their libraries.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for this review.

Kat Cho’s latest is a dream come true for all Kpop and Kdrama fans, as well as all readers who like light, fun romances. Highly recommended!

This was a super cute friends to lovers, set in suburban Illinois. I really love that the book doesn’t romanticize k-pop , because the industry while glamorous and full of super talented people can be stressful for artists in many ways as the book explores. Overall, the book was really enjoyable and will definitely be adding to my classroom library for my students!

I received this as a free e-ARC and all opinions are my own.

Thank you for letting me read this advanced readers copy! This is such a sweet story and pretty quick read since you don't want to put it down. I love how the author really went in to character motivations throughout time, and not just the main two characters. It really draws you in as a reader to feel like you KNOW everyone.

I felt like I was familiar with the tone of the author, so I looked her up and realized I am also reading one of her other books currently- Wicked Fox. Loving that one too, but for very different reasons. I have book talked this book recently with my secondary media specialist peers and plan on purchasing it for our library once it comes out.

It is so refreshing to find SWEET (not over spicy or smutty) young adult reads that my middle schoolers can still relate to and enjoy. Also, that closet-finding-paint scene is *insert chef's kiss* all the butterflies and blushing.

This is my third book of Kat Cho's, and I loved it. I loved how quickly the plot moved and how witty the dialogue was. There's a lot of misunderstanding and miscommunication, but I still recommend this to any Kpop/Kdrama and/or contemporary romance reader. Teens will love this.

This was a light and fluffy YA romance that is sure to appeal to fans of YA rom coms and fans of K-Pop alike. Fans of both are sure to be extra delighted.

This book was so sweet and hilarious that I could not wait to finish it. I flew through this book because of how light and good hearted it was. The main characters journey mixed with the Korean culture was so fun. Highly recommend.

This was the CUTEST. BOOK. EVER! 💜 This book has it all: friends to lovers, K-pop, and swoon-worthy moments that will keep the pages turning. I honestly didn’t want this book to end, but I couldn’t wait to read more about the boy that moved away, became a famous K-pop idol, and made his way back into Elena’s life to ask her to prom (a childhood promise 🥲💖). Thanks again to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for feedback.

This book seriously had me wanting more with each chapter that ended. I was so happy when I received the approval to review this book that I started reading it later that night. Robbie Choi and Elena Soo are childhood best friends, but when Robbie moves away, Elena is left behind and wonders what happens to friends that have so much distance between them. Over time, Elena learns that Robbie joined a K-pop group and is now famous because of the group’s success. She can’t worry about this now, as she is trying to save her favorite community center from closing without funding, but to do so, she’s trying to tell her peers how to save money when it comes to prom. With prom looming closer, Elena doesn’t want to have anything to do with it, that is until Robbie shows up on her doorstep to ask her to prom 😱 From there, Elena is trying to figure out how to mesh into Robbie’s new life, when all she remembers is the young version of Robbie, her best friend. This story has many great moments, some that make you laugh and some that make you want to hug the characters. I also loved the members of Robbie’s group and would love to see more of them in another book 😬 Elena and Robbie have my heart and if you are a K-pop fan like me, definitely pick up this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a lifelong fan of romance and romcoms and a relatively new fan of Korean pop culture, this book was a must-read for me, and I’m so happy I did. There were definitely some swoon-worthy scenes, and the characters were fun and felt real. I also loved all the aspects of Korean/Korean American culture woven into the story. The story was well-paced and, I admit, I was having so much fun, I devoured it in a single day. I wish some of the other band members had gotten a little more page time, but… maybe in a future book?

I mean… if the author wanted to write a companion novel based around Jongdae and Sooyeon’s relationship, I wouldn’t be mad at all.