Oh, my heart. This book was delightful.

Elena Soo has felt invisible, overshadowed by her siblings and friends, who all seem to know exactly who they are. What she is sure about is that she'd rather work to save her local community center than go to prom...until her childhood best friend turned K-Pop star Robbie Choi shows up back in her life to fulfill a childhood promise that they made to each other.

I really enjoyed the story arc around the community center as Elena's favorite place to be, and how central it is in several events throughout the book. I loved the way the other community center workers felt like members of Elena's family to her.

I really appreciated the journey with Elena's insecurity, especially in the resolutions with other characters. We're reminded that while Elena's feelings are valid, she's also a teenager and that sometimes all it takes is to see a different framing of a situation to feel completely different about it.




I loved WDB, meeting each of them and how easily I managed to tell them apart - something I don't always manage to do quickly when I meet a larger group at once. Minseok, Jun, Jaehyung, Jongdae, and Robbie all had their own personalities that made them endearing to me as I met them with Elena. I loved the little fun fact cards about each of the members between chapters. Sooyeon ended up being one of my favorite characters, and even though D.E.T. was only on page for a little bit, I was super charmed by his character as well.

Robbie and Elena's relationship developing as people who were once best friends but now had to learn about who each other grew to be in the seven years apart was great - I absolutely love the not-quite strangers who used to know all of each other's tells - especially since Robbie is now a K-Pop star, which has it's own complications. I thought it was hilarious that Robbie would put on a dark hoodie thinking that he wasn't going to be seen as creepy. I loved Robbie and Elena carrying on traditions from their childhood, and I was satisfied with how they chose to move forward.


I do wish that we saw more from Robbie's perspective - we got some chapters from his, but the chapters are mostly from Elena's, so it sort of felt like we were getting just enough of Robbie's perspective so that we would still be rooting for them when the conflict between the two of them erupts in the last part of the book, as given Elena's insecurities, I'm sure having only her perspective would've skewed our perception as readers as well.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for the ARC.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an ARC of this book! This was such a cute story! As someone who loves K-pop this book felt perfect to me. Also, who doesn't love the childhood best friends to lovers trope? Seeing Elena and Robbie spark up their friendship again was so endearing and they had so many funny moments and each interaction was just sooo cute! I really enjoyed getting a kind of behind the scenes look at the life of K-pop stars, and the reality that not everything is all fun and games and that they face a lot of difficulties as well. I really enjoyed Elena's character because I really felt we were similar in many ways. She was always constantly thinking she wasn't important enough for anybody to remember and it really broke my heart but I totally understood where she was coming from. I think that fear is what always led to her wanting to control every single aspect of her life, and to fear the unknown. Even she acknowledges this when she says "Trying to predict everything was a losing battle", and honestly there is so much truth in that! I like how her relationship with her family was also explored as well. So this book isn't just a cute rom-com, there's a lot of other important topics that are done really well! I think I'll start thinking the way Elena does, to "Live in the moment". So here I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: "Fear of the unknown wouldn't stop me from living my life." Thank you for such a lovable story Kat Cho!

This was a fantastic YA romance. I fell in love with it from the first page and I genuinely enjoyed it for the most part.

I liked how everything was kept hidden at first. Elena, the main character, was someone who at first their true self was hidden within and as the story went on, you finally realize her true self. I was kinda shocked when I realized that. But the personal developed through out was excellent and that is something I always love about YA novels. And man, how I wished knew a guy like Robbie. He is every girl's celebrity crush, no matter the taste in music because of what he did for Elena after not seeing each other for so long.

I really enjoyed Cho's writing style and I found myself wanting to be in Elena's place, mainly because of Robbie, but also Cho's writing was so phenomenal that I really felt like I was in her place. The Asian culture was excellent, and I've found that I really like to read that in novels. This makes me want to listen to K-POP and I don't even like it.

The novel was great and an excellent romance that tied together with a bow at the end. I read this all in one day because I could not stop reading Once Upon K-Prom.

Thank you to Disney Books and Netgalley for gifting me this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Once Upon a K-Prom is a perfect romance and friendship story. I loved following the story of Elena, as she grew to trust Robbie and accept the love she deserves!

I struggled with whether this one should get a 3 or a 4 and I landed on the three for 2 reasons. First, the pacing of the book felt weird. I don’t know if it was the passage of time or the way the chapters were constructed, but it was cumbersome. And second, I wish there was more depth to the secondary characters. I wanted to know more about Tia, for sure, as well as Josie and Max. And I wish her relationship with her mom, especially, and her dad felt more resolved.
But it was a fun read. Sweet and heart-pangy. 💜📚

I really enjoyed this book! It was sweet and fun. I wasn't too familiar with k-pop culture so it was a good introduction. I loved Elena and Robbie and seeing how their story and relationship progressed after being childhood best friends and then losing touch for so many years.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book to read!

I applied for the eARC of this book because it thought it would be a cute romance and I love books with famous people getting into relationships.

I think one of the main reasons I didn't like this is because I'm not that knowledgeable about K-pop stuff. I feel like someone who really enjoys K-pop will automatically enjoy this more then me. Other then the fact that this wasn't for me I had some other critiques.

1. The main character was annoying. She acted like such a cliche YA female main character. Her entire personality could be described with the phrase "I'm not like other girls because I don't want to go to prom". She was just annoying

2. The plot just disappears. The main conflict of this story is solved about 50% in. The problem with this is that it makes the rest of the story just a bunch of talking with other characters and no plot which I think can work in some books but in this book it didn't.

3. The book is wrapped up to quickly. So the book, like most romance books has a third-act break-up. I hate that specific trope but there was another part of it that made me mad. The situation is resolved to quickly. After the break-up there was barely in space between that and them getting back together. And to make it worse right after they get back together, THE EPILOGUE HAPPENS AND THE BOOK ENDS. This felt so strange and didn't give most of the characters proper endings

4. Side characters felt underdeveloped. If the character wasn't apart of the K-pop group then they didn't get any character development or a proper ending.

Now let's get to the things I liked.

1. I really liked the love interest. He was really nice and I could tell he actually loved our main character. We did get a few chapters from his POV but sadly there wasn't any more then five. I would have probably liked this book more if it was solely from his perspective

2. It was a really simple read. This didn't require much thinking to read and did keep my attention for the most part. I actually was able to read this extremely quickly for the first half and thought it was really fun.

3. I did see the chemistry between our MC and love interest. I feel like if this book had more of a plot it would have been more apparent but I could definitely believe the romance

Overall, this book was okay but not for me. If someone who really likes K-pop read this book they would probably like it more. If someone wants a cute romance where you don't half to think much then I think this book would be a good pick.

2/5 stars.

this was so cutee ahhh!! i loved the romance, and unlike a lot of romance books it didn't feel unrealistic or anything. the main characters were all so well developed, loved that too. my one complaint was just that the ending was maybe a bit rushed? but overall this was so so good <333

I loved this book. I was literally reading a kdrama and laughing through the whole thing. Elena being the “invisible” sibling in her family and always compared to her “perfect” twin brother would make any teen feel that way. The socially awkward teen gets the attention of someone popular/celebrity is always fun for teens to daydream. Plus, the over indulgent on prom is a good point to consider for teens to possibly reconsider as right of passage.
Elena experience with pre- prom preparation will give teens the experience they need especially with CoVID cancelling proms in the last two years. Having to wait for someone to ask you to prom or the stigma that you have to have a date is not what is crack up to be. It shows that you just don’t have to follow the crowd when there are other things more important to you. Plus, the pressure of people pushing for teens to go to the right of passage can give teen anxiety and feel bad if they did not have fun.

this was a really cute young adult romance novel, I had a lot of fun reading this. I enjoyed getting to know Elena and Robbie, they felt like real people and I appreciated that. I can't wait to read more from Ms. Cho.

I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was surprisingly the first book written by Kat Cho that a I’ve read but after doing so I am highly anticipating getting my hands on her other works.

I really appreciated all the attention to detail of K-POP culture. It was a really fun and lighthearted read that I flew through quickly.

Elena and Robbie were so cute even though miscommunication and not saying how you really feel is a trope I dislike.
I appreciate the second chances nature of the story and loved all the side characters too.

Kat Cho created a beautifully fun world where k-pop, k-drama, and romance collide! I enjoyed the characters, the k-pop reference, and the romance immensely.

Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho is a delightful YA contemporary book perfect for fans of XOXO by Axle Oh, and fans of all things K-Pop! The writing is very simple and versatile which I enjoyed. I think that this book can appeal to a really wide range of ages- I can see it being fun for a younger YA crowd (maybe even upper middle grade) as well as the general YA audience. That being said, it was fairly childish and lacked emotional depth and maturity. I just think that if a teenage character swears... it's fairly appropriate and requires no further commentary- I mean have you HEARD the way teenagers speak? It's totally normal. The K-Pop aspect was really fun and seems to be the most developed part of this story/world. I liked how there were interspersed fact sheets about the idols- this felt very realistic and interactive and I had a lot of fun reading through them. Overall, this book had lovely characters, a solid plot, and average writing making this an enjoyable but not particularly memorable read. 4/5 stars!

Once Upon a K-Prom was a fun and quick read. The K-pop fan in me, did really enjoy this. Though I did have some issues. The story follows Elena who's childhood friend moves back to South Korea where he become a K-pop idol. They had promised each other back then to go to prom together. Due to lack of contact, Elena figures she may never see her best friend again, but one day he shows up at her door to take her to prom.

Characters (7/10): Elena and Robbie were fairly well fleshed out. Elena did irritate me at times. She does however come to terms with some of my biggest issues with her character in near the end as some of the other characters enlighten her to them. I did like Robbie, wish we could have had a litle more of his chapters.

Plot (6/10): A fiarly basic YA plot, just with K-pop idols thrown in. It also had a fair bit of plot moments that could have been solved so much easier if the characters had just communicated with each other. Conflicts that can be solved with better commnication is a bit of a pet peeve of mine and was really satrting to wear on my enjoyment of the novel.

Writing (7/10): I thought it was well written. Just wish there had been more Robbie chapters.

Entertainment (7/10): This novel spoke to my K-pop loving heart. There were so many moments when I was like "yep, that sounds accurate to the k-pop industry". The only thing that brought down my entertainment were those conficts due to lack of communication.

Overall I did enjoy this novel. It never felt bored reading. The characters were likeable for the most part even when their lack of communication started to grate on me. Also really loved that Robbie looked up to G-Dragon. He gets bonus points for that alone! Would reccomend to anyone who is a current or even past K-pop fan.

Overall: 6.8/10 (3.4/5)

Between the excellent execution of the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope and the charming and relatable main characters, this book was everything I could have asked for. A quick, if mildly cliche, contemporary romance that checks all the right boxes.

This book is very different from Kat Cho's Wicked Fox series, though her take on the genre was just as excellent. Our main character Elena is relatable almost to a fault, as I found myself getting frustrated at traits that I saw both in her and in myself in terms of her severe insecurity and lack of confidence. Robbie is just as adorable as you can imagine, if not a bit naive - exactly what you'd expect from a 17 year old international celebrity.

I didn't expect to care just as much for the side characters as I did for our main pairing, but the contrast of Elena's experience being pulled into the celebrity world with idols who'd grown up in it was a welcome and interesting dynamic to explore. I can only imagine I would have loved this book more if I were into the kpop scene at all myself.

This contemporary YA romance was everything I hoped it would be, Hilarious, Cute, Fun, and every K-Pop fans wildest dreams!!

Although Elena is our narrator, the reader gets snippets of our heartthrob idol Robbie’s POV which was incredibly creative and fun! Having both POVs does spoil any potential plot twists, but knowing everyone's secrets did work well to build my anticipation for the big reveal!

I deeply appreciated that Cho takes the time to depict the sacrifices and difficulties that idols must endure in the Korean entertainment industry. What I loved most about this book is the wholly unrealistic depiction of how fans react when a K-Pop idol tries to date anyone. This is how it should go in real life. At no point did Elena fear for her life or have fans stalking her. Something that I’m sure would happen to any normal person that dared to date an Idol, based on how rabid fans become when Idols date each other. These are real people that have personally given up so much to bring joy, hope, and comfort to billions of fans around the world. They deserve to be able to fall in love and start families without risking the ire of their fans or the loss of their career. We as fans have received so much from our idols, and need to give that back to them. Idols deserve to be loved for more than their idol-persona.

Despite all there is to love about this story, I really didn’t enjoy how our MC Elena’s social anxiety and history of self-sabotaging behavior takes center stage for most of the book. I am a firm believer that well-rounded characters are riddled with flaws, but I have a hard time reading first person POV when the character has so much anxiety. Her negative self-talk of her internal dialogue is inescapable and made it particularly difficult for me to root for her. I wanted to see her grow and overcome her worries but when the reader knows firsthand from snippets of other character POVs that she is causing her own distress for most of the story it makes her an unsympathetic and unlikable character.

Fortunately I’m obsessed with this concept and the rest of the cast was so fun and engaging that I was still able to love and enjoy the ride!

Imagine, your offspring/niece or nephew
just entered their preteen years and you are overwhelmed by the NEED for them to love K-pop & K-dramas as much as you do. But the child—a bookish queen to the 🍵— for some beautifully, nerdy, tragic reason, will not budge from their reading streak, i.e., “Auntie Rachel, I need to beat your Goodreads challenge, stop bothering me about cute boys.”

How do you get through to someone like that?

You shove this book in their face and you demand it to be read. That’s what you do. Once Upon a K-Prom is the sweet, innocent fantasy of every K-pop stan to have graced this earth. Sure, Elena is not a stan and she can be pretty annoying with her thought processing. But what kid isn’t? In the favor of Elena’s irritating ways (in addition to Robbie, HER MOTHER, and a few other featured characters), Kat Cho is smart in the way she develops a learning experience that screams: the world is not against you, no matter how much it seems like it may be.

I wish I could fairy my way through every bookstore and replace this book in the hands of kid readers who have their dirty little paws glued on the literary treasures that are Colleen Hoover and Sarah J Maas. I would gladly whisper, “soon, very soon young ones~~until then, let’s stay within the PG bubble that life should grant you at this age by chewing some pink bubblegum, sippin’ on coke with a fun-straw, and reading Once Upon a K-Prom.”


**Loads of thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Finally! A book that I thouroughly enjoyed this month. My february reading has not been the best so I am elated to end it on a high note. This story was sooo cute! It was easy to digest with moderate "drama". I loved the kpop references. I am a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trip but the friends to lovers trope is getting to me lately. Especially the I have been away for a long time but I am back now "trope". The only thing that worries me is being in a book "hangover" since I enjoyed it so much. If you are looking for a quick and cute read that will put you in a nice relaxed mode this is the one for you.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an e-arc for my honest review. I greatly appreciate it and will be reading more books by this author for sure!

I fell in love with the cast of characters introduced by Kat Cho in "Once Upon a K-Prom". It's literally something you wish you could see on TV as a K-Drama. It will suck you in and leave your emotions in a tizzy. I found myself smiling, crying, giggling, and punching the air throughout this beautiful masterpiece. I simply adored the growth of the characters and their comfortability in talking about insecurities, issues, and facing their feelings, while still staying true to who they are. Kat Cho does an exceptional job in showing the reader that everyone suffers their own battles, but communication is key in unleashing happiness.

I loved these characters so much and truly hope if you're reading this that you take the time to add this title to your TBR.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

A super cute contemporary from Kat Cho! As someone who has been a k-pop fan for a long time I appreciated the knowledge the author has about the industry and fandom culture, clearly she loved it too and that shows through the novel. The romance made me so warm and fuzzy many times over.