"Runaway Pride" is a captivating read that challenges societal norms with its strong character portrayal and insightful narrative. Despite typically preferring first-person narratives, I found myself engrossed in the story thanks to the impressive writing, especially in depicting Charlie's character. The book's exploration of societal expectations regarding marriage and family is refreshing, highlighting the importance of individual readiness over societal pressures. However, as the story progresses, it loses some momentum, particularly in the development of the relationship between Rick and Charlie, which felt more superficial than deeply meaningful. This, coupled with some unanswered questions and a sense of unresolved closure, left me wanting more from the story. Overall, "Runaway Pride" is an enjoyable read that could benefit from tighter pacing and deeper character development. Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the ARC!

"Runaway Pride" by Sylan Young is a captivating tale of self-discovery, love, and overcoming past traumas. At its core, the novel follows the journey of Charlie Ha, a young woman from a privileged background who decides to break free from societal expectations and follow her own path.

The story begins with Charlie realizing that the life mapped out for her, including a predetermined wedding, is not what she truly desires. Fueled by a sense of rebellion and a desire for authenticity, she embarks on a spontaneous getaway, leading her to the doorstep of Richard Min, her best friend's older brother.

Rick, characterized by his humble upbringing and protective nature towards his brother, initially sees Charlie as just another privileged girl. However, as circumstances force them to spend time together, he begins to see her in a new light. Despite his reluctance and past traumas, Rick finds himself drawn to Charlie's authenticity and determination to follow her heart.

The dynamic between Charlie and Rick is beautifully portrayed, with their contrasting backgrounds and perspectives adding depth to their relationship. As they navigate the complexities of their feelings, they must confront their own fears and insecurities, particularly Rick, who grapples with his past experiences and views on relationships.

Young skillfully weaves together themes of self-discovery, family dynamics, and the power of love in "Runaway Pride." Through Charlie and Rick's journey, readers are reminded of the importance of authenticity, resilience, and taking risks in pursuit of happiness.

Boy I had the time of MY LIFEE

Runaway Pride follows Charlie, our rich girl female lead a la "Elle Woods" and her kind-of-grumpy brother's best-friend Rick. When she realizes that her wedding to a groom that is perfect on paper is less of what she wants for herself and more what her mother wants for her, she realizes that she does not want to get married. The first chance at escape that she sees is an idling car, owned by Rick who she convinces to drive her away. This spawns the beginning of a sweet relationship, and Charlie learning to take her life back from her narcissictic mother.

Charlie was an absolute delight to read about. I tend to love her kind of character so it's not too much of a surprise, but one aspect I especially appreciated reading about was her journey to finding her own independence. Throughout the book we see Charlie confront her mother, her upbringing and figure out what she wants for herself in life. One of the biggest things she confronts, espeically with Rick, are the privileges that come with her social class. It plays a large part in her tendency to do anything to please her mother, but also in developping their romantic relationship, and I found that Young confronted that beautifully.

Their relationship developpment was so natural, and their chemistry was effortless. It was really in the little scenes, like when Charlie catered food for his whole gym, or he carried her after a fall at a baseball game. I was blushing and giggling the whole time.

This is the first of a series, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how the second book will play out. I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley, and Sylan Young, for providing me with an eARC copy!

.Rick and Charlie charmed me from their first meet in the getaway car. Coming from completely different worlds, they ended up having one big thing in common. Their issues with their mothers were intense and impactful in a way that shaped them. Rick is so dreamy with his cooking and protective nature. Charlie is so wonderful and not what Rick thought she’d be. Love the main characters back stories and growth they had.

this has to be one of my favorite read the year, and i know the year is just starting but the way these two characters found each other, emotionally got me really hard!

This book was everything and more!!
Charlie’s character development was phenomenal and her growing relationship with Rick was also very enjoyable. Grumpy sunshine is one of my favourite troped and I loved seeing it play out throughout the book. If you are looking for a book filled with crazy family drama, a grump who only smiles when he is around her and great character progression then look no further!

I was really enjoying the book until the 40% mark.
I enjoyed it for the most part but wouldn’t say that I enjoyed the book or that I liked it. It simply wasn’t for me. I didn’t like a lot of the word choices and a lot of things that the male main character (Rick) said rubbed me the wrong way and irked me. I just didn’t like him. The female main character (Charlie) on the other hand, I did like. She was sweet and had a nice personality. I also didn’t like the spice in this book. They felt forced and some scene had me questioning why they were doing this in the first place and felt random. The characters also didn’t feel like themselves during those scenes, it was like a switch was flipped and they became different people, but the switch didn’t make sense nor did it flow
The beginning had me hooked though and there were a lot of cute scenes. The aesthetic of the book, story and characters was also really pretty.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy!

5.0

I love Asian romances and I will not take any criticisms with this book.

The story follows Charlie, a wealthy down-to-earth sunshine entrepreneur who runs away from an arranged marriage and accidentally drags Rick, an average grumpy gym bro nature photographer, into her mess. It follows the classic best friend's brother, the grumpy-sunshine trope that we all know - but with added daddy and mommy issues and a sprinkle of elder sibling passive aggressiveness. Both Charlie and Rick are wildly different from each other, but that doesn't stop them from being a healthy couple who communicate, love and support one another through difficult times. I enjoyed seeing a couple who made realistic sacrifices for each other without resenting the other for their choices - they were always willing to try and make sure both came out in a good position. And honestly, I love them your honour.

The book and narrative has their pitfalls for sure - but I couldn't care less. I love love and I love Charlie and Rick. I liked seeing their chemistry together and their love bloom. She's a strong character, being a hyper-independent person who still thinks positively of the world and the people around her - and he's a realistic, solution-based man who was willing to admit his mistakes but had enough love for the world and for the ones he cared about.

It's surprisingly well-written, and for a romance book, it adds enough depth and dilemma without feeling like they were last second editions. Both Charlie and Rick have mummy issues that they still don't resolve, and probably never will be, but that plot didn't feel like an after-thought, it felt like the mummy issues were the foundations of this story. I might just be me, but it feels like everything the characters did and their lives were deliberate and true to who they were. And yeah, side characters and some plots were dropped and forgotten about, but I suppose I won't fault the book for that because including all of those would have made the whole story clunky and disorientated. By focusing on the development of Charlie and Rick, it meant we could believe their romance a little bit more.

Also the communication was peng. I love that they talked about their problems, worried that the solution was to leave each other, and choose to be together despite the issues pointing at them. I love them, your honour.

I am so in love with this book that I will be buying the paperback version so I can re-read it again and recommend it to my friends and fellow romance book lovers!

i honestly thought this book was very cute both characters were very lovable, especially the sweetheart that charlie is..

to me the book felt more character driven, there were some complicated family relationships and lovely friendships and it was quite steamy, which i wasn't expecting

The story of Charlie and Rick. An opposites attract romance. It took me a while to get in to the book and it's characters.

Rick happens to be parked outside the wedding venue when runaway bride Charlie decides to make a run for it. Rick, who also happens to have strong feelings for the rich crowd and general grump, is not thrilled to be aiding in her escape. Charlie also just so happens to be Rick’s brother’s best friend. Charlie must battle it out with her mother, her pride, and Rick’s reservations about rich people. Rick’s and Charlie’s character development really showcased how relationships and conflicts can be resolved. I loved Charlie’s perseverance and passion for her job and building her business. I also loved Rick realizing his feelings for her as the story went on.

This is about a girl who decides she doesn’t want to get married, so she escaped by jumping in her brother’s best friend car leading them on a journey.

Now I expected this to be a Julie Roberts and Richard Gere story, and I definitely got elements of that.

This was a great romcom to open the series. It’s punchy and to the point which I love, and the inclusion of discovering how to get through negative experiences has been done well to drive the characters forward.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC

The books starts off pretty immediately into the plot which is good in ways of that it wasn't too slow but also the story just felt a bit rushed throughout, especially in the characters relationships. They seem to go from not really liking each other to dating in a couple chapters and they kind of just glossed over the issues that come between them. But also their relationship is pretty cute towards the end of the book and how they seem to stick together through everything that hits them.

this book was cute! i enjoyed it and the characters were fun to read. i liked the plot and the writing too

This book was such a funny rom-com. So well written and a very light read.

It follows Charlie who's from a wealthy background and realises she doesn't want the life that was planned for her, so she escapes and ends up with Rick, her best friend's older brother. Rick decides to help Charlie and they start to like each other, but he struggles with his fears about relationships.

▫️ grumpy x sunshine.
▫️ best friend's brother.
▫️ rich girl x poor boy.

Thank you to the author, Victory Editing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun rom com. Charlotte ( Charlie) came very close to marrying the man her mother chose for her. Seeing a car outside the church
at her wedding was the escape she needed, and she seized the moment! The driver, Rick, wanted no part of this but what else could he do but drive this poor crying, confused beauty away…

Runaway Pride by Sylan Young begins right before the wedding for Charlotte “Charlie” Ha. Instead of walking down the aisle, she finds herself in the back of the car of her best friend’s brother, Richard “Rick” Min. Rick doesn’t want to be in this mess of nonwedding chaos, but he finds that, after years of avoiding Charlie based off of his assumption that she’s just another flippant rich girl, he’s drawn to her, wants to keep helping her, and actively cannot stop thinking about her. While Rick is fighting his feelings for her based on his past trauma, Charlie is doing her best to live out her dreams with her career and finding love. However, Charlie understands that Rick must take it upon himself to do the work of reconciling his long held stubborn beliefs or risk losing her.

I wanted to love this book. I think, somehow, the style of writing just wasn’t for me. The tropes of grumpy/sunshine and best friend’s brother are some of my bread and butter, and yet it didn’t fully work for me. The story was on the page, but I really felt like it was mostly tell, very little show. For instance, Rick was this book’s grump, and while, sure, a lot of grumps in romance come off as assholes, Rick actually was one, but he never endeared me as the reader to him (which makes me so sad because I LOVE grumpy/sunshine and don’t often mind when the grumps start off as assholes!!!).

Additionally, the readers are repeatedly told that Alex, Rick’s brother, is one of Charlie’s best friends. But it really felt like Charlie and Alex were only friends because Charlie and Sarah, Alex’s wife, were besties. In believable/realistic bestie groups of three, usually each person also individually has some semblance of close friendship to each other, even without the third person present (hence the expectations that come with said title of *best* friends). Between Charlie, Sarah, and Alex, I didn’t actually see the individual friendship between Charlie and Alex until about 70% in when the best friend in the best friend’s brother trope more actively came into play on page. But since their specific friendship wasn’t really shown until that tension entered the plot, as a reader, I simply didn’t care. I think perhaps if readers got to see more of the history and foundation of the friendships between Charlie, Sarah, and Alex, instead of simply being told over and over that they’re each other’s best friends (even with Sarah and Alex’s marriage), I’d’ve enjoyed the story more than I did.

In a similar vein, this books could really have benefited from fully fleshed out flashback scenes to when Charlie and Rick first met and specific instances of Rick avoiding Charlie in the years leading up to present events. Readers were just told and told and told about these moments, but I would have liked to have actually read them! See their thoughts about each other in that moment— instead of in conversation years after the fact!

Furthermore, sometimes reading stories by and about children of immigrants, I want to fight— I mean this in a way that comes from deeply personal understanding and being *seen* on page in a book in the world of not really having representation that I identify with until these last few years. I mean this in a positive way of *loving being seen* on page. This book started off with me wanting to fight from the heavy expectations that come from immigrant mothers. However, this feeling was fleeting. I would have loved to have seen some depths to the mothers in this book. Charlie’s mom comes off as the stereotypical aggressive, rich tiger mom, and readers never get to see any other facet of her character. Where is her depth! Where is her heart! If the point of her character in this book is to show that she lacks nuance and heart, then job well done, I guess.

Runaway Pride had all the elements of a really fun romantic K-drama. It just didn’t quite fall into place for me. I am somewhat interested in seeing how Sylan Young’s writing grow from here and definitely intrigued by and hopeful for Aera and Nick’s story. Thank you, Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for the ARC!

Review on posted on Goodreads and Instagram on 2/21. Will be on Amazon on 2/23

This book follows Charlie who runs away on her wedding day with her best friend’s brother who isn’t her biggest fan. Rick thinks they couldn’t be more different because she’s grown up rich and spoiled, and he’s had to struggle so much. However, as he gets to know her he quickly starts to develop feelings for her. Will they be able to survive all of the trials they have to go through and make their relationship work?

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very complex and well written. I loved both Charlie and Rick’s characters. Sylan Young does a great job of covering a lot of ups and downs in a relationship in a shorter book. She also covers a lot of deeper topics such as grief, abandonment, and strained familial relationships. Overall, I really liked this book and I’m looking forward to reading more from Sylan Young’s books. I also would love to check out the sequel she’s writing for this book when that comes out!

I really enjoyed this book. She stood up for herself and did not get married just because it was what her mother wanted. I really enjoyed that she stood up for her boyfriend to her mom. She showed him that just because you have money does not mean that they are all the same, like he thought!

Runaway Pride had a great premise and strong characters that for the most part, were fleshed out. However, the story fell a bit flat for me in places. The book, while dual POV, didn’t feel balanced in terms of the depth of character work. In other words, Charlie’s pov held more detail than Rick’s at time. There was also a lot of telling versus showing which at times took me out of the story.

A big theme of this book focused on the class divide between the two MC’s and the personal prejudices surrounding getting to close to someone from the upper class while being outside of it. Also, both characters are dealing with severe mommy issues and family trauma.

I think the story would’ve been enhanced if it was another 100 pages longer. And with it, more details in Rick’s POV really working through his family issues. There was a line in the book where he reminisces on the fact that it’s been awhile since he’s been to therapy and I think maybe a chapter(s) where we watch him going to counseling and unpacking the hurt that is having long term effects on his relationships. I think there should’ve been a chapter which saw Charlie meeting with her father to help save her business and the rebuilding of that relationship.

I feel like Sarah was written as Charlie’s best friend and while there were a few scenes with them, it felt like Aera was more of her bestie than anyone else. Also their extended friend group kind of just disappears after awhile. Also at times, the spice just didn’t flow. The dirty talk didn’t make sense to the specific characters and/or at times it seemed like I wasn’t reading the same characters from the previous chapters. Like they felt like completely different people.

But despite my critiques, I did laugh a lot while reading (esp. when Rick tried to set Ryan straight). I just wish their ending felt more real and finite and earned (maybe?).