I would rate this book 3.5 stars since I really enjoyed it! It's a really charming young adult romance that I believe will captivate viewers of K-dramas.

When Elijah Ri and Jessica Lee traveled to New York for an internship, they were unfortunate enough to get into a misunderstanding. They refused to let it defeat them, though. They made the most of the confusion by remaining switched, rather than obsessing on it. Their will to make the best of a challenging circumstance and upbeat outlook are incredibly motivating.

The book's plot kept me interested and entertained the entire time, despite being a little corny and predictable. If you enjoy Korean dramas and YA romance, I would highly suggest it to you.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @inkyardpress for an early copy of The Name Drop by @susanleewrites. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: September 12th, 2023

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66098768-the-name-drop?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=NYlPGqVKgT&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

If you love watching Korean dramas, then you’ll love The Name Drop. Elijah and Jessica travel to New York for an internship, and as they share the same Korean name, Jessica is assigned Elijah’s first-class seat, while Elijah her economy seat on the airplane bound for New York. To add more hilarity to the situation, Jessica is picked up by a luxurious vehicle on the way to Elijah’s New York home (yes, the car and the house are supposedly for Elijah). At the same time, he rides with the rest of the interns from Jessica’s group. On their first day of internship, they realize the misunderstanding but decide to continue the ruse. Elijah wants the experience while Jessica wants a platform to prove herself, which is difficult since she has no money or connections. They continued to fool everyone working at the office as they worked on the hackathon project, led by Jessica, the executive intern.

Though I found their switcheroo hard to believe (I mean, come on, Elijah is from a chaebol family, how could no one know him, especially within his family’s company?), I enjoyed their interactions and their friendship with the other interns. I loved that the author gave both the main characters so much character growth, with Jessica so driven to prove herself and get into college, and Elijah getting to explore what he wanted to do for his future while gaining friends, which was quite difficult with his status and he just really made being rich so lonely that I felt really happy for him during his internship.

Apart from the unbelievable switcheroo, Elijah and Jessica’s romance was lighthearted and sweet. Really, you’d read this to appreciate their character growth and the K-drama vibes. I just hoped that there was something significant done to fight sexism in their workplace overall.

I decided to stop reading this at about 50% through. I wasn’t very engaged in the story, and didn’t feel inclined to keep going.

dnf’ed at 32%

this book felt like something straight out of a k-drama and what i read i really enjoyed!! i liked the main characters, i liked the side characters, i liked the setting! i just think that i picked this book up at the wrong time unfortunately.

i am definitely going to be revisiting it once i’m in the mood for a cute YA romance! (especially since my sister begged me to pick up a copy for her from work!)

thank you so much to netgalley and Inkyard Press for an e-arc! i will be updating my review once i’ve finished it!

The Name Drop written by Susan Lee was NOT for me. I'm so sad this book didn't work out for me because I loved this author's previous debut novel "Seoulmates". I really wanted to love this one just as much as Seoulmates, but for many reasons it didn't work out for me. The characters were portrayed horrible based on their heritage, they were treated so bad in their work force based on their nationality between Korean and American. The main character was to sit at her job and just look pretty and take notes, and she was absolutely okay with it when she didn't even sign up for that. Another thing that didn't work out for me was the romance portion, all the characters did were just bat their eye lashes at each other and accidentally "bump" into each other and turn it into a hug out of nowhere. I so badly wanted to love this book, but it felt like it was missing too much information, and had me bored out of my mind. I think I went in with too high expectations because I loved Susan Lee's previous debut novel. Susan Lee truly writes the most beautiful dedications in the beginning of her books. Please don't let this review stop you from picking up this book, these are just my own thoughts and opinions. Please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND INKYARD PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

"Don't apologize for being observant, for having a natural knack for reading people. Don't ask for forgiveness based on someone else's reaction to your knowledge", she says. "Be very stingy with your apologies. We women too often say "I'm sorry" for things that are entirely not our fault. It's our go to".

"If anyone looks at you weird, look at them back even weirder".

The Name Drop written by Susan Lee is a story about mistaken identities, the summer of a lifetime, and a love to risk everything for, which didn't really happen since the romance wasn't there except for a few batted eye lashes. Elijah Ri arrives in New York City like a fish out of a fishbowl being a rich Korean boy for an internship at his father's massive tech company, Haneul Corporation. Elijah drove me nuts, I swear. He just arrived in New York City expecting the royal treatment that comes with being the future CEO of Haneul Corporation. Elijah just expected everything to be handed to him instead of just working his ass off like most people do. Despite Elijah expecting the royal treatment, he instead finds himself shuffled into a group of overworked, unpaid interns, all sharing a shoe box apartment for the summer. When Elijah arrives in New York City he's wearing super expensive clothing and has his face covered, for what reason? Because he's extremely rich and doesn't want anyone to know his game. Elijah has never worked a day in his life, so when he interns at Haneul Corporation he's "so shocked" that he has to work instead of shit being given to him.

Jessica Lee and Elijah Ri are completely different from each other. Jessica comes from a poor family where she has to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, she's extremely shy, whereas Elijah talks to people and gets everything he wants handed to him. When Jessica arrives in New York City, she's so eager to make the most of her internship at Haneul Corporation, even if she's at the bottom of the corporate ladder. What Jessica doesn't expect is to be introduced as the new executive-in-training intern with a gorgeous brownstone house all to herself. But get the catch, it doesn't take Elijah and Jessica very long to discover the source that they share the exact same Korean name. Elijah was supposed to get the brownstone house and Jessica was supposed to be in the shoe box sized apartment. But Elijah and Jessica decide to stay switched up so Elijah can have a relaxing summer away from his controlling dad, while Jessica can make the connections she desperately needs for college recommendations. Someone at Haneul Corporation got Jessica and Elijah mixed up because they share the same exact Korean name, but they decide not to say anything at all.

This book started off as a real page turner right away-this is always such a positive experience with a book and a good indicator that I love to see. A book that can grab my attention from the get go is hard to find and was a pleasant surprise in this one!

I loved how the author did their own unique spin and twist on the swapping places/ mistaken identities trope here. There were moments where I was shocked and laughed, and worried for the characters all throughout.

The beginning of this book was great, and the ending was wonderful. I’ll admit that parts of the middle were slow for me and hard to motivate myself through. It was sort of the zone where things became a repeated trend, the worries and thoughts of the characters remained the same, and we knew the big drop was coming even if they didn’t. But it was sort of that frustrating misunderstanding part where the characters keep secrets rather than just talking it out. And I personally would've preferred a lot less cursing/ swearing, as I expected it to be more clean going in (only to find that the cursing is pretty prevalent throughout the book).

However, the ending has the spark of cuteness that wraps you in and rooting for the characters again! This is a contemporary romance that is reeeally a slow burn. There may be an insta-attraction, but the burn is slowwww. But not in a bad way!

I loved the way the book ended.

Overall, I rate this one:

🌟🌟🌟.💫/5. (3.5 Stars)

Loved this YA so much! I really enjoyed the characters and seeing them in the switched roles. It was fun and funny, and all around enjoyable. There wasn’t much romance until the end but I loved seeing the friendship develop first between the MCs. This was my first book by this author and won’t be last.

A bit predictable, but a fun read by Susan Lee. I enjoyed her first book and I found this to be a good one, too! Overall a nice YA romance that will be a hit with my kpop fan students. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just thought this was so cute! I think this is the perfect book for people who love rom coms and K dramas. I do think it's a bit cheesy, but if you go into it just expecting a cute rom com type cheesy story, you'll have a good time.

The Name Drop is a good enough teen romance, in which the two lead characters happen to have the same name. In Korean, that is. In English, Elijah and Jessica are quite different: she won a place in a prestigious summer internship with 10 other participants, while he is the son of the sponsor company's son. The two decide to switch places for the summer, with Jessica stepping into the executive training program where everyone believes she's the owner's child, while Elijah joins the freedom of living as an anonymous intern with the others in his group. When the discover that both internship programs are primarily designed for the company's image, Jessica, Elijah, and the other interns are determined to make this year's final project something they can be proud of, even if the company isn't so thrilled.

Ms Lee brings in cultural issues, highlighting the different expectations of American and Korean society, and the ways these expectations play out in Elijah and Jessica's lives. She weaves this facet throughout the story, highlighting the differences in a believable manner.

This was a fun read, despite the somewhat implausible role swap. The romance seemed rushed at the end, while the strangers to friends development, as well as Elijah and Jessica's relationships with the other characters were more robust. I recommend this if you're looking for a fun, easy read with a K-drama/K-pop vibe, or if you're fond of rags to riches arcs.

This was a cute YA romance. Perfect for fans of K-dramas.

During Elijah Ri and Jessica Lee's travel to New York for an internship, they experienced an unfortunate misunderstanding. They both share the same Korean name, and as a result, Jessica unintentionally occupied Elijah's business class seat at the airport and inadvertently took Elijah's ride. Thankfully, Elijah and Jessica figured out the mix-up not soon after. However, they decided to stay switched. How long can they keep up the charade without being discovered?

The story was predictable and a bit cheesy but still quite enjoyable overall. Would recommend it to fans of YA romance and K-dramas.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Someone else had said that this is a perfect book for fans of K-dramas & YA romance and I honestly couldn't agree more. That being said, it's a very cute book and definitely worth the quick read. I, myself, am also a huge fan of K-dramas and the story didn't disappoint! It was enjoyable to watch our main characters handle the mix-up of their similar names. I'm not normally a huge fan of different POVs in books but I found it extremely helpful in this case to be able to connect to both Elijah and Jessica.

I rated the book 3 stars because I definitely liked it but it went pretty quickly for me and I think I would've wanted to see just a little more with the romance. Unfortunately, the ending also felt very rushed. Nonetheless, it is very sweet and I did enjoy it overall. And, I did really like the take on the classic K-drama rich guy, poor girl trope (set in NYC!!).

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard press for a copy of this e-book.

I had so much fun reading this YA book. I found the characters to be very cute and the romance to be very lighthearted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this e-book copy!

I am a bit behind on my reviews, so this one is coming after the publication date. I went into this intrigued by the premise and I wasn't disappointed. This story follows Jessica and Elijah as they encounter mistaken identity due to having the same Korean name. The pair decide to keep the charade going as both would like to experience each other's lives during this internship. I think the hijinks of this book are what kept me going as I wanted to see how things would end but I felt the romance was a bit rushed. Outside of the romance, I think this book is a fun short read. I would recommend checking this out if the premise makes you curious.

This is a perfectly averagely enjoyable YA book about a rich kid and a poor kid. It was a good enough time while I was reading it but I can tell that it won't stick with me.

I enjoyed reading "Seoulmates" by Susan Lee last year, so I was super excited to be approved for her new novel, "The Name Drop"! This book was so cute and fun— it had me smiling to myself SO MUCH from all the K-drama vibes it was emulating. Yes, some suspension of disbelief must be had in regard to the actual plot, but it didn't bother me. I would say that the romance isn't necessarily always at the forefront of the novel either, but I honestly kind of liked that and think it worked in its favor. I think it's a testament to Lee's writing that she's able to create and write characters/young adults that all feel so authentic, nuanced and relatable in their motivations and struggles; even as someone who is leaving her ~20s soon as I turn 30, I was still able to connect with Jessica and Eliljah as they embarked on their individual journeys and discovering who they are/want to be (all while also falling in love!)~ I would definitely recommend this out to others who enjoy K-dramas (or really, any kind of Asian-helmed/led soap operas) and are looking for a quick read with great characters you can truly root for!

Switched identity, ala The Prince and The Pauper, is explored in The Name Drop. Jessica Lee is a top southern California high school student who earns a summer internship in New York with her father's employer, the Korean tech company Haneul Corporation. Elijah Ri is the son of Haneul's Seoul-based CEO and will reluctantly be spending the summer as an executive trainee there. Because their Korean names Yoo-Jin Lee are the same, the airlines confuses them and puts Jessica in first class and Elijah in coach. When they arrive, Jessica is whisked off to a townhouse and Elijah ends up in a cramped apartment with the interns. By the time the two figure out what happened, Elijah, who has been yearning to live a less sheltered life, proposes they continue with the switch, and Jessica, who turns out to be an excellent leader, agrees. The two bond while working together on a company event, but differing perspectives on life threaten their budding romance. Told in Jess and Eli's alternating perspectives, peppered with classic K-drama tropes (demanding parents, an elite male attracted to a low status female, a Cinderella makeover) this humorous and romantic tale is filled with rapid-fire banter and a relatable emotional connection where the lovers give each other the strength to follow their hearts.

I've always been in love with NYC and have visited many times. There's something about it and something that Elijah and Jessica definitely would agree with me about. I could not help but love their chemistry but also how they're both trying to figure out who they are in relation to their parental expectations and future.

We have this pressure to have our future figured out before we graduate and it can be crushing and unrealistic. I loved how for both of these characters, they have to figure out and question this image people have of them and their future. It's swoony but also emotionally impactful about forging another option.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

This was a very lighthearted romance between two teens that occurs in the summer. I loved the two main characters because it reminded me of chaebol kdramas. This book is about two people from separate worlds finding their place. What starts as a case of mistaken identity forms into a beautiful love story. 
If you're a fan of YA romance novels and Kdramas I highly recommend this for you. I'm very excited for the author's next novel. 
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.