My Thoughts:
From Axie Oh comes another feel good bubblegum romance with another member of the XOXO K-pop band falling in love and taking himself off the market. This time, the story centers around Korean American member Nathaniel and model, and up and coming K-pop idol Sori, the daughter of their entertainment company CEO.

Sori and Nathaniel were in a relationship a few years ago, but that was squashed by her mother, the CEO and her father, a rising politician. However, she was happiest with Nathaniel. When she realizes that she does not want to be an idol, and when Nathaniel is caught in a scandal, Sori offers to hide him. There is no need to guess with this one. Of course they will get together, but that is why readers like this kind of K-drama/romance. In addition, Jenny and Jaewoo, as well as other members of the band XOXO show up. In addition, when Sori realizes that she is good at helping to coach and manage a new member of the girl group ASAP, she also finds her solution for fulfilling her own dreams and ambitions over her mother's dreams and ambitions for her. This is a fast read and it will not disappoint. I hope Ms. Oh will tackle another XOXO member for her next book.

From the Publisher:
Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.

Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

Publication Information:
Author: Axie Oh

Publisher: Harper Teen (February 6, 2024)

Hardcover length: 352 pages

The follow up to XOXO, this time focused on Sori's plotline. Sori has spent years training to debut but now wonders if that's really the path she wants to take. She makes a deal with her CEO mother to help train another idol, Hyemi, who needs to debut quickly, and if she does well, to consider letting Sori end her contract to debut. Meanwhile, Sori becomes entangled with her ex, Nathaniel who is part of a very popular kpop group. As she juggles her reconnection with Nathaniel and works on helping train Hyemi, she's also trying to help save her mother's entertainment company. Overall, a solid sequel that delves more into the kpop world. It was great that Sori was able to determine what she was good at, even if she had to deal with the complications with her father and also deal with the fickle press.

I love Axie Oh's writing style so much! I really enjoyed XOXO and ASAP was just as good! I would def reccomend this book to anyone. I really love a second chance romance, and Sori's story is just so easy to read. I read this pretty quickly, looking forward to more from Axie Oh!! Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC, I already have a paperback copy for my shelves :)

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the sequel to XOXO, which I liked but, ASAP I loved! Sori and Nathaniel captured my heart in the first book and when I saw this was their story continued I was ecstatic. I was not disappointed at all this book made me feel like a school girl all over again and I loved every minute of it. My only hope is that we will get to see other characters in the book get their own stories. Cause I’d probably cry if there was more to this world. 🩷

This book was very fun and such a good "continuation" from the first book and the ending was so cute :))))))))))))

I think I would have enjoyed this book slightly more if I had read XOXO, but overall it was a cute read! This is definitely a book that I would put in my personal "guilty pleasure" category. Overall the pacing was good and the characters had great chemistry. It was a slow-ish burn, but wrapped up quite nicely. I like that the characters had a life outside of each other—family and friend relationships were strong too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

ASAP by Axie Oh is a sweet story following the daughter of an entertainment company CEO as she reconnects with her ex, a member of a popular K-pop group. Set in Seoul, this one contains a relatable main character and many entertaining side characters, including some familiar faces from the author’s previous book, XOXO. Fans of stories about K-pop and second-chance romances will not want to miss this one.

As the daughter of a prominent entertainment company CEO, Sori is used to maintaining perfect appearances even if it means sacrificing relationships. Despite her mom’s career, Sori has no interest in debuting in a K-pop group like her mom wishes, and in exchange for choosing her own path, she is tasked with helping the daughter of a wealthy man who can help save the company to prepare for debut. However, when one of the members of a popular boy group–Sori’s ex–gets involved in a scandal, Sori agrees to protect him from the paparazzi by letting him stay in her apartment. As the two spend more time together, Sori realizes that her feelings haven’t changed, but with the threat of another potential scandal she must decide which path will truly make her happy.

❀ SORI IS AN ENTERTAINING CHARACTER

I enjoyed Sori’s character, and she is so entertaining to read about. I really felt for her since she feels a lot of pressure from both of her parents to be perfect and must push her own feelings to the side to maintain her image. What I loved about Sori is her compassion and how willing she is to help others, like Hyemi and Nathanial. While she does want a relationship with Nathanial, Sori also thinks about how her mom might be affected by a potential scandal, and I admired how considerate she is.

❀ WELL-DEVELOPED SIDE CHARACTERS

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the side characters. As this is a companion novel to XOXO, there are cameos from Jenny and Jaewoo as well as the other XOXO members that are so fun to read. I also loved Sori’s friendship with Hyemi, who has dreams and fears of her own, and her relationship with her mom, a woman CEO who is determined to protect her daughter. Each of the characters in the book feels developed, and this makes for an even more delightful read.

❀ ASAP BY AXIE OH IS A DELIGHTFUL COMPANION NOVEL

ASAP by Axie Oh is an entertaining second-chance love story. I enjoyed the K-pop company concept, and the main character is relatable. The side characters are equally exciting to read about, and fans of XOXO will definitely appreciate this companion novel.

I loved XOXO and I was so excited to see how Sori and Nathaniel would find their way back to each other. As a kpop fan, I really enjoy how the trainee system and dating restrictions are shown. There is so much pressure on idols to hide their personal lives for fear of scandal. It is so unfair and I hope this sheds light on these issues so more people can see that their faves deserve a life.

The romance was just so cute and it was so nice seeing them fall deeper in love while they had some private time together away from the pressures of their careers, For me, the best part was watching Sori come into her own, stand up to her father, and make peace with her mother to follow her own path, The cameos from Jenny and the members of XOXO were the cherry on top and I would love to read more books about this group!

I highly recommend this lovely series for kpop fans and fans of YA romance.

Thank you so much to HarperTeen and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Sori spent her whole life rehearsing to become a #kpop idol, but has decided it’s not for her. Telling her mom, who owns an entertainment company and her father who has presidential aspirations is going to be hard. She needs to stay out of the spotlight and her ex-boyfriend and current member of XOXO isn’t helping matters. Nathaniel is part of her past ever since they broke up because idols and trainees couldn’t date, but now the rules are a bit lax. With Sori entering a new phase of her life could it be possible for her and Nathaniel to make it work again?

A second chance YA romance companion novel to XOXO by @axieoh
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Sori spent her whole life rehearsing to become a #kpop idol, but has decided it’s not for her. Telling her mom, who owns an entertainment company and her father who has presidential aspirations is going to be hard. She needs to stay out of the spotlight and her ex-boyfriend and current member of XOXO isn’t helping matters. Nathaniel is part of her past ever since they broke up because idols and trainees couldn’t date, but now the rules are a bit lax. With Sori entering a new phase of her life could it be possible for her and Nathaniel to make it work again?
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I adored XOXO and couldn’t wait to read ASAP. It was just as cute! Second chance YA romance is one of my favorite tropes and this one gave me all the swoon factors!

CW: sexism, infidelity, injury, fainting, cyberbullying

I absolutely loved this!
Nathaniel was so patient and loving. He knew what he wanted from the beginning and stuck to it.
And Sori, my heart went out to her. Trying to choose between making her mother happy and fighting for her own happiness.
I was rooting for them since the first book and I'm so happy they got their happy ending.

If you loved XOXO you will love ASAP even more.

Sori and Nathaniel already had me hooked in XOXO and I couldn't wait for their story. It did not disappoint. They make you smile and break your heart over and over in this book but not once do you stop rooting for them.

For fans of all things K-Pop, second chance romance, enemy (sort of) to lovers (more like denial to lovers on Sori's side and Nathaniel lover always 😍)

Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

I enjoyed this romance and XOXO by the same author. I enjoyed the characters and the love story. At a few points I felt the details were a bit lacking and the writing was simple, but that is what makes it a perfect read for YA or even middle grade readers that love K-pop. For myself I would rate it 3.5 stars, but it could be a definite 5 star for the right reader and targeted audience!

Did I love this so so so much? Yes. It was cute, and a little bit dramatic, and everything I love in a book. Can't wait to get my hands on the audiobook version so I can re-read it. So glad to be back in this world with the characters I loved from XOXO. It made my K-drama and KPOP loving heart happy.

Big THANK YOU to Netgalley/HarperTeen for the ARC, I've literally been looking forward to this one for SO LONG.

Just as satisfying and good as XOXO. The characters are still so great and well written, the romance is SO GOOD and emotional, I just loved it. Axie Oh is such a fantastic writer, at this point she's an auto read for me. I don't often do short reviews for 5 star reads but I really have nothing to add. No notes, perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is like a k-drama brought to papers. The characters are likeable and the plot is easy to follow. While I personally was not a big fan of the book (just because of it being heavy on the romance), I know friends who will eat this up in one sitting the moment they get their hands on it.
Do I recommend? Yes. Following Sori's pathway to make her own decisions was definitely interest to watch. And while I felt the romance was a bit forced at times, the friendships weren't nor were the familial relationships. Which I feel Axie Oh always seems to know how to really dig deep especially with family issues and love.

This was such a cute YA second chance romance with some adorable and realistic characters! It's a spinoff from XOXO, so it's completely fine as a standalone but I felt like re-reading the latter before jumping into ASAP just for fun 😆 I think I ended up loving this one even more than XOXO!⁣
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Sori has spent her whole life training to become a kpop idol but she doesn't want to spend her whole life under a spotlight anymore. Her mom is the CEO of a famous kpop entertainment company so everything's been planned out for her, but a chance to change this comes up when she strikes a deal with her mom. She'll get to choose what she wants to do in exchange for mentoring a new trainee who'll be debuting along with their company's new girl group ASAP. ⁣
And Sori has a lot on her plate and can't afford any more scandals. Though circumstances keep putting her in close quarters with her ex-boyfriend Nathaniel(who's a member of a famous kpop band - XOXO) she knows that she can't date him again. But she can't stop her heart from wanting more especially when his company makes her happy and comfortable. Will she be brave enough to give her first love a second chance?⁣
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I loved the tension between Sori and Nathaniel! It was soo good and I could feel it in every interaction of theirs! Also the way they supported and just understood each other when necessary without any explanation was so amazing! There were swoonworthy kdrama moments too 😆 ⁣
I loved how different and confident Sori was in this one! She was so supportive while helping Hyemi and had a wonderful older sister side to her! And surprisingly I also liked the fact that she had her reasons for her actions and she understood her mom's difficulties too. It was nice to see their relationship progress further over the course of the story. And definitely loved the side characters too!⁣
Overall this was a light YA read that you'd definitely enjoy reading(especially if you're a kpop/kdrama fan!)❣️✨

I adored this spinoff from XOXO that features a new Korean Pop girl band, ASAP and a heartfelt, sweet, second chance romance between two former friends. Axie Oh's books are always entertaining and full of characters you can't help rooting for - this book was no different. It was also great on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is the second book in the XOXO series but could be read as a standalone. This story follows Sori who fell in love in the past with an XOXO member but had to break up with him due to her mother’s company but she’s still in love and so is he. I really enjoyed XOXO and wanted to know more about Sori and Nathaniel’s story as if you read XOXO, you can see something was there. I’m glad that the author decided to write this book because it was a great story. I loved the entire storyline as it was fun and entertaining. Readers get to understand more of the female side of K-Pop and how they must work every day. The cultural part of the book was great and the setting was wonderfully done. This book is only told from Sori’s pov.

Sori is the FMC of this story who still wants to be with Nathaniel but doesn’t want her mom’s company to be ruined while she’s going through a divorce. She grew a lot throughout this book and readers can see how the world thinks she’s a bad girl when actually she has a soft spot. She’s trying to be open and I loved that. There were a lot of side characters in this book and I have to say that they were all well written. There wasn’t one person that I hated. The romance is a second chance and slow-burn romance. I really liked the development of the couple but I have to say that I wish we got more of them together as a couple.

The ending was great but Sori and Nathaniel’s story ended quickly. I wish we got more scenes of them as a couple. There is one scene that was so cute that will live rent-free in my mind and I won’t spoil it. I recommend checking out this book and XOXO because the stories are fantastic.

*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Thank you to #NetGalley, Axie Oh and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sori has always wanted to be a k-pop idol until she doesn't anymore. She wants to be left alone and by herself.

Nathaniel is one of the big time members of a K-Pop group and is off limits. Nathaniel and Sori dated but that was before he made it big.

Soon Nathaniel is rocked by a scandal and Sori offers him a hideaway. Will their old romance blossom back?

A fun YA read with a K-Pop twist A book that was easy to binge read!