Just the Two of Us (Book 2) by Ryu Hyang

SYNOPSIS

Soohyuk, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist, came to Korea in search of his birth parents, wanting to sort through the muddled darkness of his past. When he met Yuna, an anxious cook, he didn't expect to fall in love.

Yuna has struggled all her life to trust men after an incident in her past and spends all her time doting upon her nephew and pursuing her one true love: cooking. The last thing she expected when she met Soohyuk was that she would want to move in with him.

Both took a leap of faith and found happiness. Now, it seems certain they were meant for each other. Yet, navigating the twists and turns of a real relationship proves more difficult than either of them expected. Yuna fears what her brother will say when he finds out she's living with Soohyuk. and she grapples with the changes brought on by her young nephew's recent medical diagnosis. Meanwhile, Soohyuk is tied up working hours on end at S University Hospital, fending off the hospital director and his son, who can't seem to leave him alone.

As they build a new life together in Seoul, both of them help each other grow. Soohyuk encourages Yuna to open herself up to him in ways she never has before, and Yuna encourages Soohyuk to open his heart to the possibility of forgiving the family he once had and lost, who might be closer than he thinks.

REVIEW

Since we last saw Soohyuk and Yuna, it was just the first blossoms of their relationship and the foreshadowing of what might happen to them both in the future. In other words, the first book was simply a way to give us an insight of what type of world we find these characters in and a brief glimpse of what makes them who they are.

In some ways looking back, it felt as though there was a greater focus on Yuna in the first book and how she gained her own scars, but not necessarily a great deal about the battles Soohyuk has had to overcome before meeting her. I think this next book in particular opens up the conversation to Soohyuk's past and how this has ultimately shaped him to be a hard doctor who is constantly fighting for his patients - and it is rewarding to see how he has changed according to his experiences.

Compared to other book sequels that I have read in the past, there are only a handful and I mean only one hand, where I think that a book is able to surpass it's predecessor. This is one of the cases. One of the reasons is because of how it did not mess around in any capacity to show what all the reader's would be questioning about since the last instalment and I am very thankful that Hyang did not shy away with the plotting. But also, it seemed like the atmosphere of this book has a very different one which was full of joy and acceptance and I couldn't help but read it all to the very end in a short period of time.

I am very glad that I was able to read Yuna and Soohyuk's journey, it truly was an interesting one with sadness and fear, but with great happiness and delight. I think that this might be one I will read again at some point when I want to turn to something familiar. It seems like this time of year is the perfect way to end this story of these characters.

RATING: **** (FOUR STARS)

BUY LINKS

Amazon: Just the Two of Us, Book 2: Amazon.co.uk: Ryu Hyang, Cha, Stephanie: 9781952787102: Books

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