Just the Two of Us (Book 1) by Ryu Hyang

SYNOPSIS

'Soohyuk: a paediatric emergency medicine specialist. A man who never eats something someone else gives him.

Soohyuk, the tyrant who rules S University Hospital's paediatric emergency room. He only cares about treating sick children, whether or not that gets in the way of advancing his career. He, a grouch to everyone aside from the patients, suddenly starts noticing a woman: the woman who feeds him.

Yuna: a chef who makes boxed lunches. A woman who panics and collapses whenever she meets a man, due to trauma from her past.

Wanting to do what she likes rather than going off to college, Yuna opens up her own business that specialises in boxed lunches. A Tasty Meal. She gets scared when one day she sees the tall Soohyuk standing outside her restaurant, but she soon learns he is only drawn to the delicious smell. And, somehow, she comes to be in charge of his everyday meals.

When Soohyuk meets Yuna, a confident, surefooted woman who gets startled and scared when he comes near, he wants to know everything there is to know about her.'

REVIEW

Set in Korea, this book allows us all to begin a journey where the characters are trying to find themselves in a world that feels more foreign than it should. To overcoming a history which has given you fear that is a part of your everyday life, to learning to be better than what the previous generation did to you before and now you have made the decision to be better than they ever were.

I wasn't quite sure about Soohyuk at first, I thought that he was a bit brash towards his peers. However, I have come to realise that in order to get things done in his line of work you must hold your own, especially when it is dealing with a child's life. He is very inspiring in some ways, as everything is about the patient and he calls people out when it is not this way. You have got to hand it to him.

Throughout it all, it is clear that both these characters have been portrayed as being real and breathing and not without their faults. Soohyuk with his unwavering talent to have no filter when it comes to speaking, whether in conversation or giving orders to his staff and Yuna, who clearly is still trying to get over the fear that she once experienced as a young girl and has made her family-orientated to her nephew.

Even though at times I could tell that the translation was sometimes hard to read, I still felt like it was a good story. Very kdrama. Yet I didn't mind that at all because it felt like somehow it was still able to be separate from it. I just wish I was able to find out more about this story, but I know that it won't be a while until some of my questions can be answered.

I think that this is an interesting beginning to what could be a series of books and I for one am invested to see how this particular storyline (relationships between family as well as Soohyuk and Yuna) progresses throughout time.

RATING: **** (4 STARS)

WHERE TO BUY

Amazon: Just the Two of Us (Just the Two of Us Book 1): Amazon.co.uk: Ryu Hyang, Cha, Stephanie: 9781952787058: Books

Waterstones: Just the Two of Us by Ryu Hyang, Stephanie Cha | Waterstones

Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/3917/9781952787058

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