I did not expect to love the sequel as much as the original! I'm normally not a big second chance romance person but this one was done really well, and I'm hoping there are more books in this series. You don't have to have read the first one (XOXO) to read this one, but I highly recommend reading both! Whether you are a huge Kpop fan or not there is definitely something in these books for everyone.

A companion novel to “XOXO” that we all needed? YES PLEASE!! Thanks again to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books (HarperTeen) for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for feedback.

I originally read Axie’s “XOXO” in 2021 when I was getting introduced to K-pop as a genre and newly discovering BTS as a group. I have since fallen into many books since then that I adore because of K-pop and for that, I was thrilled to see “ASAP” as a companion novel being released this year! We were first introduced to Nathaniel, a member of XOXO, and Sori, Jenny’s enemy-turned-bestie, in the first book. This time around, we get to revisit them and see what Sori’s life looks like since the first book. She ends up helping out a new girl group, ASAP, all the while, figuring out her feelings for Nathaniel along the way. I also enjoyed many swoon-worthy k-drama moments in this book, so if that’s your jam, please consider picking up this book! Now, I don’t want to give too much away, but I just wanted to say thanks again to Axie for giving me characters to root for, as this was a second-chance romance novel that gave me all the warm fuzzies from start to finish 💜 #MinLeeForever

I look forward to receiving my forever copy to put alongside “XOXO” and to see what else is in store for Axie Oh 📚💖

+ We are back in the XOXO world and I’m loving it. I loved XOXO, so I really needed to read ASAP – asap…haha okay lame joke. But I loved the characters and knowing this was Sori and Nathaniel – I had to have it. I love the insider look into the life of a K-pop idol and it’s even more interesting because Sori is giving up the chance to be an idol, so I liked how she was trying to find a new path in her life. I like that she eventually was brave enough to tell her parents what was important to her. That’s something relatable.

+ The XOXO boys are back but there isn’t too much of Jaewoo and Jenny. Which is only right because this isn’t their story. But I love this cast of characters! I thought it was interesting we got more of Sun though – is it because he’s such a grump that I am totally attracted to this XOXO member and want his story the most? I know there is going to be a good story for him but I guess I have to wait, I feel like his would be the last book in the series. I love how Sori is close to these boys because of their time in training to be an idol – she’s got a level-headedness about her that I like. I like how strong she is.

+ The romance is a second chance romance which isn’t my favorite trope. But I did love that Sori and Nathaniel had a second chance at it. I just felt bummed at the little things that kept them apart – well I thought that the issues were so minimal – but to a K-pop idol or trainee like the characters in this book, it’s BIG problems like dating, scandals (that don’t even seem scandalous), and other issues like that. I hated that the same issues that pulled them apart was threatening their love again. It’s a sweet romance though, Sori and Nathaniel are so comfortable with one another, I thought that was comforting – by the way, I need all of these books in this “series” to be a K-drama. It would be perfect!

~ I’m older so sometimes I find all this perfection in these stories a bit too much. The characters have some troubles here and there, but they are perfect – because they have to be for their idol statuses. They are gorgeous, they are talented, my goodness the pressures they put on themselves! It just goes to show how much sacrifice these trainees and idols have to make for their success.

My Thoughts:

If you like K-pop and you loved XOXO, you will love ASAP. If you like sweet, fluffy romance that makes your heart flutter, you will like this book. I’ll be looking forward to the next book in this series!

I loved XOXO and was so excited for the chance to review this book. Overall, I loved it, second chance is one of my favorite tropes, and getting to see these two characters have another chance was great, especially after everything that happened in the last book!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I really liked Axie Oh’s prior contemporary, XOXO, and I was excited she was writing more within this “world” with ASAP, especially as Sori and Nathaniel were standouts from XOXO. With both leads connected, either directly or peripherally, to the K-Pop world more directly, this book was much more industry-focused, and it was fun to see the inner workings of the industry, even with all of its dysfunction.
Sori is a sympathetic protagonist, being the daughter of two people who work behind the scenes at a big K-Pop company, and having trained her whole life to be a K-Pop star, but hasn’t made her debut with a group yet, with this book focusing on her work with new girl group ASAP. I really liked her journey throughout the book, with her dealing with her parents’ expectations of her, especially her mother’s. I worried about the direction it would take, given how toxic the industry can be, but the relationship between mother and daughter ended up being super sweet and I liked how she ended up encouraging Sori to go after what she wanted.
With so much “idol” stuff dominating the plot, it shares a lot of page time with the romance. But the romance itself is super cute nonetheless, and I liked seeing Sori and Nathan navigating their relationship amid the industry pressures they’re dealing with.
This was another fun read, almost as much so as the first book. If you enjoyed XOXO and are craving more, you’ll probably also like this one. And even if you haven’t read the prior book, I still recommend picking this up if you enjoy YA romance with a focus on K-Pop.

I just love this author; they do a fantastic job creating characters that the reader can stand behind and root for. Sori is relatable and easy to support in her journey of becoming her own young woman. This is a beautiful story of going beyond your parents’ expectations and showing them that maybe there is a different path that is better suited for your future. I love the romance between Sori and Nathaniel. You can just tell that Nathaniel is a stand-up guy who truly would do anything to make Sori happy, even if it means that they can’t be together. Overall teens are just going to fall in love with this story, it is everything you could want from a romance.
Thank you so very much to HarperCollins Children Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Soft, cute, precious, built on so much community and fandom and love

For a second chance romance, I expected more flashbacks or context of the Before, but because this is a sequel and I did not read the first book, that may have been the disconnect for me. Also, Nathaniel felt very flat as a love interest. I don’t think I could tell you a single quirky fact about him after that entire book.

However, I could tell you quirky facts about almost the entire rest of the cast. I fell in love with the friendships between other people more than I fell in love with the romance, and I’m a-okay with that. I really cared about these characters and their friendships and dynamics and relationships and they all felt believable and the love was so real, and that was its own experience.

I honestly hope the next book is about Hyemi having a bisexual crisis cause that was absolutely the vibe I was getting from her and she is the CUTEST

I had so much fun with XOXO when I read it last year and was so excited with the release of ASAP and getting to know more about Siri and Nathaniel. That being said, I wasn’t a huge fan. I definitely enjoyed this, but it was also lacking in some major ways.
The writing itself felt very clunky and the pacing was a bit off. The majority of the book took place over about 2 weeks and so the actual plot points didn’t really happen until the very end so it felt a bit rushed.
I thought Sori’s character was really well done and we got to learn about her since it was in her POV. Nathaniel though, felt like his only purpose was to be the love interest. He doesn’t really have much going on besides being okay with whatever Sori will give him. Also, this was supposed to be a second chance romance but we only know that because we’re told that. We don’t really get shown their history or lingering romantic. tension. It just felt very insta-love and second chance romance should definitely not feel that way.
I enjoyed this though, I just think XOXO was executed better. But this was the perfect palate cleanser book between heavy fantasy series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this one! I have a weakness for k-dramas and second chances romance so the odds were stacked in this book's favor.

Pros: believable romance (I'm getting tired of insta-love, maybe it's my "old-age" so I like when the MCs already have history), supportive mom (this is particularly heartening to see), there was no "big misunderstanding" trope which is always refreshing, sufficient smouldering from the love interest

Not really a con, more of an observation some things might not translate well to readers unfamiliar with Korean culture/idols/etc, some of the writing feels like it was written in Korean and the translated back to English- again, this is more an observation than criticism but it may provide some barriers to access for some readers.

This book was very interesting (in a good way!) It was really cool to see kind of the business side of the music and performance industry, and how things work where they lived. I really enjoyed seeing how the main character and the new trainee's relationship grew!

Min Sori has been training for years to debut in a girl group. But when the time was about to come, she felt like she didn’t want to debut anymore. On the other hand, the flames with her ex, a famous boy group member, rekindled after a lot of encounter coincidences.

Maybe I’m a minority here but i feel like everything, including the characters (especially the main couple) are too artificial. What do you mean they’re mostly teenagers but literally acting like adult? Sori being the perfect low-maintenance daughter because her parents were never around but somehow she’s still able to manage her life perfectly. And then there’s Nathaniel who’s ready to please Sori at any chance. Not gonna lie and sorry for being blunt but his main personality in this book is clearly simping over Sori.

I’m not a pro in this K-Pop industry thing but who thinks it’s a good idea to include a 16 year old girl with no proper training only 2 weeks before the girl group debuts??? I don’t care how much the girl wanted that all her life but this I think jumping into that business with only 2 weeks of preparation is quite… reckless of anyone who involved in that decision.

The writing was cringe and as I said, the dialogues are artificial. Can’t imagine real people talking like that irl. And the story often jumps from scene to scene even though this book doesn’t use chapter titles. I mean if one wants to divide the scenes apart, might as well make chapter titles.

Soo that’s it i guess. Overall I might slightly like XOXO better but idk.

Cute! I liked being in the same world as XOXO and learning a little bit more about the characters. The main couple in this one was adorable.

This was a fun, second-chance romance between childhood bffs story + a girl trying to carve her own path while also managing the very intense career/personal drama of her parents. I think this would be really fun as a TV show!

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I loved this follow up to XOXO, and felt it stood strong on its own too though! Sori and Nathaniel's second chance romance was precious, and I appreciated the commentary on idol/parasocial culture. I will continue to read anything Axie Oh writes :D

I have enjoyed each title this author writes and ASAP was non exception. It is easy to become connected to her characters and learn something from their growth and relationship development. I think a lot of teens who like contemporary romance would enjoy ASAP.

I didn't realize this was a sequel when I started reading this book, so I really appreciated all the catch up notes at the beginning. Sori and Nathaniel were really cute. The book really picked up for me about halfway through. I flew through that second half!

Read this book if you love:
Second chance romance
Friends to lovers
K-pop
K-drama
Musician x Model/Pop trainee
Sweet romance
No spice romance
Discovering oneself

Content: unfaithful father

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

As a really fun follow-up to XOXO, ASAP explores the idol culture world with Sori and what it looks like to make decisions for oneself. It is a lovely YA romcom and another engaging book from Axie Oh.

𝘼𝙎𝘼𝙋

Axie Oh | English | 352 Pages | HarperTeen/HarperCollins

First, I love the cover. Second, that's it.

I haven't read XOXO but I know how much public attention the book has gotten. Using the same world as XOXO, ASAP follows a romance story between Nathaniel and Sori. Due to certain circumstances, they broke up and chose to move on as friends.

I loved the premise. Second-chance romance is my current obsession. The back-and-forth relationship between Nathaniel and Sori gave me butterflies. Moreover, the background is the K-Entertainment industry. For me, who also loves Korean dramas, this book was fun to follow.

But, that's it.

Although the story was sweet, I couldn't stop thinking about the scenes and picturing those in reality. Bet it would be more awkward than realistic.

Don’t hate me, I love The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea, but this? The writing rather clumsy, the focus of the story keep change abruptly, making the tension in some scenes end in smoke.

As for the characters, Nathaniel is a soul-less walking kitten. He doesn't seem to have his own will and role in this book. Everything is solely on Sori’s wish. He will do what Sori says like an obedient kitten. And honestly, as a fictional character, that was less-fascinating.
Sori is portrayed as mature, responsible and helpful. Other than overthinking a lot, she has almost no flaws. Rich, smart, kind, beautiful, famous. Mary stu?

However, the butterflies still there. So, I guess this is worth a shot.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read the e-ARC in exchange for honest opinion.

3/5

#Nyunreads

I have thoroughly enjoy Axie Oh’s books, and ASAP is no exception.
Something about this book grabbed my attention and help on to it from start to finish.
I did not want to put this book down and fell asleep reading several times.
Though I don’t personally purchase books for our shop, I sincerely hope that this is one that we get in stock when it releases.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

→3 stars

fans of k-pop come one, come all!

k-pop is one of those things for me that I KNOW if I let myself, it would become a new hyperfixation for me. as a fan of One Direction for many years, it would take little to no effort for me to latch onto any of the bands. i'm always transfixed when videos of any performances come across my fyp. it's truly astounding how in sync everyone is with a big group! just reminds me i have absolutely no artistic talent in my body.

XOXO has been on my TBR for awhile so when I saw the sequel had come out I, naturally, read this one first. the story follows Sori and Nathaniel, and based on other reviews, it's clear they were a favorite from the first book. I enjoyed reading about Sori and watching her grow into who she wanted to be. she fought for herself, her family, and friends tirelessly. when push came to shove though, she fought for what she wanted as a life for herself which happened to include Nathaniel. for me, the only downfall is that I think this focused more on Sori's growth as an individual and daughter and less on the romance between her and Nathaniel. Not a bad thing for the right person but I personally like to be slapped in the face with romance, like any stereotypical hopeless romantic. overall, I enjoyed learning about Korean culture in this book as there were a lot of terms I didn't know about so that was very interesting!
as always, sori and nathaniel 4eva<3

thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!