XOXO by Axie Oh

SYNOPSIS

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle's Los Angeles karaoke bar, it's clear he's the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure... before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she's shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she's enrolled for the semester. And he's not just any student. He's a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world- and he's strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny's life off the path she's spent years mapping out, she'll have to decide once and for all just how much she's willing to risk for love.

REVIEW

This book is a charming, heartfelt story about following your dreams and being true to the music. It makes you want to smile and have that warm feeling, just as we get into the sunny summer months.

Even though there were plot points that could have been developed, this was a sweet story about family, friendship and love in the beating heart of Korea.

If you want all the feels of travelling and visiting somewhere when times are tough and you just want to escape, this would be the perfect book to escape to. It doesn't impose what you should do, but rather what you could be and how you can better yourself, even if you feel like you have a pretty great life already. It opens up that treasure box stored deep away in yourself, asking, are you really being true to yourself? How can you be better than the person you already are.

This is a great book even if you want to experience a new culture that is vivid and exciting. It has an outstanding impact on the plot and gives you that overwhelming sense that this is a culture that must be shared and you must discover for yourself.

It would be quite interesting to see how this story would continue if there were a sequel because it gives me Fame vibes, yet, is nothing like Fame and something completely unique at the same time.

I'm glad that I was able to read this book at a time when I was struggling to grasp life itself. It just shows, the best books are able to help you understand yourself and the world when you at one of your lowest points. This book is like therapy, but the best kind where the sun always shines and makes you feel at ease.

RATING: **** (FOUR STARS)

BUY LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/XOXO-Axie-Oh-ebook/dp/B08L3MZYBX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VAIP7OBOJ718&dchild=1&keywords

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