Book Review: Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Goodreads Description: 

A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process. 

Title: Hello, I Love You

Author: Katie M. Stout
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA,
Format: ebook, ARC

Pages: 304 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 
Source: ARC was received in exchanged for an honest review from NetGalley

Oh gosh my head is up in the air of how do I rate this book...

Grace goes to an international boarding school in Korea for her final year of high school after tragedy struck her family. She's the daughter of one of the biggest country music mogul and producer as well as the sister of one of the biggest country singers around. There in Korea she befriends with her roommate Sophie and be enemies with her twin brother Jason who is one of the newest K-Pop star in the industry.  While adapting to her new life in Korea and avoiding the problems back home, Grace finds herself falling for Jason even though she sworn off being associated with anyone in the music industry.

When I first heard about this book it reminds me of Anna and the French Kiss meets Korea Drama and I don't know if any of you guys watch those drama but they are the most cringe worthty, dramatic, cheesiest and cliches things my eyeballs have ever experience and but they are also additively and laugh out loud hilarious thing ever! That was my experience with this book! I cringe at the cheesy dialogs and rolled my eyes at the cliche things the characters thinks/ does but still at the end of the day was addicted to the story and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. It was a hard to get into book especially since the MC was already pissing me off in within the first 10% of the book with racist chopstick remarks (and FYI in case any of you guys don't know I'm Chinese Malaysian). But after pushing myself trough I found myself forgetting why I mad and carrying on what happens next.

I liked the pacing of the book even though I was not a fan of how the relationships were build. Though it was predictable, I did like predicting the mystery surrounding Grace's brother

Grace was not my favorite MC but is not the worst. She's going trough a hard time with her family especially her mum at home, hence her moving to Korea. I don't dislike her as a character and do empathise her especially when you learn why she's 'running away' from home for but I hated how she handled some of the situations.

I adored Sophie! I really like her as a character and her relationships with both Grace and the brother Jason.

Jason was a love hate character for me as his cold and moody attitude put me off while I did like his passion for music.

Now some (or should i say a long list) of things I was not a fan of the book. Firstly like Grace I went to a boarding school for my last year of high school overseas and lived in a dorm filled with international students mostly from South East Asia. I was cringing at Grace's remark about how the dorm only have chopsticks. I'm pretty sure they'll have provided forks and knife no matter what. Another thing that made me cringe and almost flung my reading device was her going all 'love at first sight hottest Korean guy' remark as the insta love siren in my head beep. keep in mind this is just the first 10% of the book. There are more cringe cliches and inaccurate facts about Korea in the book that made me roll my eyes, but instead I'm not gonna turn this into a negative review (as I did enjoy some things) but focus on the positive.

I enjoyed reading the sibling relationships in the book especially Sophie and Jason's. It was real and fun to watch their sibling bantering.

My favorite thing about this book is THE ROMANCE! *Play Katy Perry Hot and Cold* No joke the one thing I feel the author nailed is the love hate relationship (which is my cream de la cream of all love hate relatiohship)! Grace and Jason's relationship also reminds me a bit of the relationship between Tessa and Hardie in the After series where one moment they are cold towards each other and the next they are the sweetest thing ever! Also I enjoyed that they bonded over music and their common ground of parent/family problem.

Overall this is not the best thing I've read but its definitely not the worst. I keep thinking this as a polished wattpad story or a K-pop fanfiction.

This is probably the most disappointing book I've been anticipating of 2015. It had potential to be a new favorite book though sadly it had A LOT of flaws and in accurate facts not to mentioned PISSING ME (and probably the WHOLE of ASIA) within the first 10% of the book.
 

If you have read Anna and The French Kiss... Skip this, If you have NOT read Anna and the French Kiss also SKIP this as that's better in story, characters and overall.  If you are curious, bout the book read a sample or check it out of the library before checking it out.

Book Review: Model Misfit (Geek Girl #2) by Holly Smale

Goodreads Description:

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I am still a geek.”

Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this.

What Harriet doesn’t know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives.

With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes.

Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like.

Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good? 

Title: Model Misfit (Geek Girl #2)
Author: Holly Smale
Genre: Contemporary
Format: Paperback

Pages: 356 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Source: Purchased from Big W

SUGAR COOKIES!!! 

Harriet and her random facts are back and she is more of a geek than before!

This time she's off to Tokyo, Japan for her modelling job and as always not a bed of roses and Unicorns as someone is trying to sabotage the photo shoot and her career.

To top that Lion Boy dumped her.

It was fun following Harriet around Japan in her usual clumsy geeky ways as she model with an octopus, deals with her roommates and being away from home along with. She shows us that even though she has everything a girl can ask for life is still not perfect.

We see the return of our favourite characters from Geek Girl like her parents, Wilber, Yoka Ito along with Nat and Toby. I love how we get to more character development in this book as that was something that Geek Girl was lacking of.

We don't get to see alot of Harriet's parents Richard and Annabel as Annabel is heavily pregnant and Richard can't take Harriet to Tokyo as he is looking for a job and needs to be with Annabel for when the baby arrives but we do see them pop up trough out the book at the randomness times and it was some of the most entertaining parts of the book.

While we got to see Nat and Toby for a short amount of time i actually like them more in this book (yes even Toby the creepy stalker).

Nick aka Lion Boy I had such mix feeling bout him trough the book and was probably feeling what Harriet was feeling. In the end Lion Boy charmingness won me (and Harriet) over. Also its great to finally know more bout him as i felt like he was a 'prop' in Geek Girl (along with Nat).

Also in case you guys don't know he is Yoka Ito's nephew and I don't know why it never crossed my mind that he is half Japanese and its mentioned he's Australian so I had a hard time picturing Lion boy in Geek Girl. Jordan Rodrigues aka Christian Reed from Dance Academy as Nick anyone?!?!

I also love the detail and development on his relationship with Harriet!

Also Wilbur the 'Fairy godmother' was freaking awesome! Always there to save the day and get Harriet out of trouble! Seriously one of my favorite characters and his random sugar coated unicorn words makes me smile!

Some new characters introduced includes Harriet roommate Poppy and Riu. Poppy i had some doubts from the start but Rui I adore her! Rui, a Japanese model who is practicing her English in hoping to move to Australia. Its super fun, cute and a bit crazy watching her speaking English in the process mixing up her words and pronunciation. 

Then there's Bounty, Harriet's step-grandmother who takes her to Japan and looks out for her. Bounty is like a grandma version of Wilbur minus the random sugar coated unicorn words.  

Overall i love this book so freaking much! Especially the ending it really warms my heart and thank goodness I was home when reading that last page or else I'll probably burst into tears and get a bad case of home sickness. Also the romance makes me melt! The plot twist caught me off guard! I breezed trough this in a day literally hugged this book and squeal at the end of the heartwarming cuteness.

If you like Geek Girl you need to check out Modal Misfit as its so much better than the first book! 

Trust me you'll laugh with the book and naw with the cuteness! 

Also if you like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, Harriet is basically a teenage model version of him! 

Book Review: Tall Dark and Distant (Smitten) by Julie Fison

Goodreads Description: 

Full of love, romance and a whole heap of flirty fun, Smitten is a sexy new series. It will make you weak at the knees.

When Georgia meets Nik on her summer holiday, she’s sure he’s too good to be true. He’s gorgeous, with god-like abs and an adorable English accent. Then she discovers that he’s actually a member of an obscenely wealthy Russian family – and he wants to get to know her better. Nik catapults Georgia into a world of private yachts, fast cars and expensive jewellery. Having a billionaire for a boyfriend certainly comes with benefits … but it also comes with a price. How long will it take before life in the fast lane spins out of control?

 

 

Title: Tall Dark and Distant

Author: Julie Fison

Genre: Contemporary, YA, NA, Romance, Chick Lit, Mature YA

Format: Paperback

Pages: 236 page

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont

Source: Purchased from Booktopia

Yay another smitten romance! Great fluffy romance to start my summer holidays! I breezed trough this and was just what I needed to recover from uni exams.

The book follows Georgia on vacation with her family in Noosa when she meets Nik on her morning run. The two turn from friends and running buddies to something more.

I have a love hate relationship with the character Georgia. On one hand I like her down to earth, smart and awkward personality though on the other hand she tend to make some really stupid and cringe worthy mistakes. As for Nik, I love the guy instantly! Swoon worthy, slightly mysterious, cheeky and charming. Nik comes from a wealthy family and has a dark past that I didn't expected.

The side characters were an okay cast but the one that stood out to me the most is Alice, Georgia's younger sister. Gosh that kid a piece of work as I've never hated a character this much till I read about Alice. Long story short, Alice is freaking annoying and gets kinda bratty when she does not get what she wants especially from Georgia and gets her revenge on her sister even if it means almost ruining Georgia and Nik's relationship.

I like Georgia and Nik's relationship! It was not exactly instalove but the romance was a good fast pace. This book also explores more on the emotional side of romance and boy was there some emotional roller coaster in this book.

The plot of the book was interesting and the plot twist was unexpected. Its a good 'regular girl falls for mysterious rich guy' sorta romance. Though the book started out really good but I find the ending of the book kinda lacking.

Overall its a sweet summer/vacation contemporary romance that will make you swoon, smile and giggle and you can read while relaxing around.

Book Review : Counterfeit Love by Julie Fison

Description:

Lucy Yang is loving her first television job in Hong Kong. She works hard and plays hard, and she doesn’t have time for a relationship if she wants to become a TV news anchor by the time she’s twenty-one. Besides, what man could live up to her impossibly high standards?

Then she meets Byron, and her world is turned upside-down. Funny, clever and impossibly gorgeous, Byron might just satisfy all of Lucy’s criteria. Sure, he’s a little cagey about his job, but what businessman in Hong Kong doesn’t want to protect trade secrets?

But as Lucy desperately tries to get to the bottom of a potentially huge news story, Byron keeps popping up in the most unlikely places. Is it just a coincidence? Or is Lucy’s perfect man not so perfect after all?

Title: Counterfeit Love

Author: Julie Fison
Genre: Contemporary, YA, NA, Romance, Chick Lit, Mature YA
Pages: 234 pages
Source: Received from publisher via Smitten Romance Book Club

Cute, mysterious and happy reads!

So I recently read Julie Fison's 'Lust and Found' and a couple of days later they announced a new Smitten Romance book written by the same author and luckily I managed to snag another Smitten Romance novel for the Book Club!

This was really different from Lust and Found (in a good way) and the only similarity is that its once again sat in Asia, this time in Hong Kong. Once again the author managed to capture the setting and atmosphere of Hong Kong spot on! I love the details in the book including some of the landmarks and street names that were added in the book. Also the book is briefly set in Singapore and my home country Malaysia is mentioned several times trough out the book (I kinda got excited whenever I see the word Malaysia :P).

Lucy Yang, an Australian born Chinese, freshly graduated and recently moved to Hong Kong to peruse a career in journalism. Ambitious, hard working, career driven, Lucy is determined to be a TV news anchor by the age of Twenty One . I love her character the moment I opened the book! Sweet,fun loving, funny, ambitious, independent as well as super smart and quick thinking she is definitely my favorite character in the book!

Byron, super swoon worthy, flirty, smart, super lol funny and charming with a hint of mysteriousness that will keep you guessing more and more about him and when you do find out... keep all eyes in your sockets and your jaws off the floor as you're in for a plot twist! I enjoyed every moment guessing more and more about him and probably contributed to one of the biggest plot twist in the book! He's described to be a good looking Eurasian I'm guessing Chinese/American since he has an American accent... never really cleared on his ethnicity.

I liked how the relationship played out between them. The book talks a lot about trust in a relationship. While it took a while for Byron, since he was all secretive and mysterious about his life/job to be trusted by Lucy, I'm glad how he managed to redeemed himself in the end.

I love how the book follows the behind-the-scene of journalism/ TV reporting as well as Lucy on the job for a good chunk of the book. I also love how even though Lucy is determine to meet her goals, she does it in a fair/honest way.

Lucy's friend Charlotte was fun to read! Her job at a concierge service sounds really interesting. I wish there will be a book about Charlotte as it will be great to read more about her. Her friendship with Lucy is another thing I enjoyed!

The characters and plot were what made the book for me! They were likeable and had a great character development! Also the plot has an air of mystery that will keep you guessing as well as the plot twist, while a couple were predictable, most of them I seriously didn't see coming. Also Lucy's growth, career wise was nice and refreshing as well as something that a lot of girls/readers can take from reading the book. We need more strong and determine characters in books to give readers an example of hard work and determination pays off.

I overall enjoyed this and have a new book to place on my favorite shelve! A real page turner that I could not put down and I read it in less than a day! Also did I mentioned that this was super cute that I literally had a big smile on my face when was done with the book?!?! Good, Happy and Satisfying read!

Also its refreshing to read a casts of Asian characters as main characters that are different from stereotype 'Asian kid = super smart/nerdy sidekick etc' that are usually seen in books.

Check this out if you are up for a lighthearted, fluffy romance with a hint of mystery with strong, independent and well developed characters and an escape to Hong Kong. Also check it out if you are planning to travel to Hong Kong or even Asia in the new future as well as if you are planning to go into journalism

Speaking of which, reading this made me want to go to Hong Kong since its been years since I've been there :P 

Overall a goodreads and a new favorite smitten romance!

 What was the last romance you've read?

Book Review : Lust and Found (Smitten) by Julie Fison

Goodreads Description:

Cambodia is the last place in the world Sienna wants to visit. She likes five- star hotels and exercising her credit card in air-conditioned malls – not flea- ridden hostels and trekking through the jungle.

But when her brother Eddie starts sending strange messages from Cambodia, Sienna’s mum convinces her to go check on him. Thankfully, her boyfriend agrees to go along.

When they arrive, they discover that Eddie has disappeared. Sienna just wants to find him and get the hell out of there. Everything in Cambodia
is getting to her – the language barrier, the unrelenting humidity, the mosquitos. But mostly it’s Eddie’s maddeningly hot French friend, Guillaume, who couldn’t be more unhelpful if he tried..

 

Title: Lust and Found (Smitten)

Author: Julie Fison
Genre: Contemporary, YA, NA, Romance, Chick Lit, Mature YA
Pages: 234 pages
Source: Purchased at Dymocks 

So I mentioned in my review for Love Is The New Black by Chrissie Keighery that the Smitten Romance series is one of my favorite romance series and owe most of the books in the series.

I was recently at Dymocks and saw more Smitten books and decided to pick one that the synopsis caught my attention more.

The main reason why I picked this up was cause it's set in Cambodia and not many books I've read is set in Asia so I thought why not? It will be fun to read a book set in a sorta a familiar setting ( I'm from Asia btw :P)

Reading trough the story though I love the author's description of Cambodia. In fact she is spot on on describing the setting and atmosphere especially the humidity and trust me considering I was born and bred in Asia that is one thing I never appriciate... the weather (prefer Melb cooling Autumn/winter weather... sorry to the humidity in Asia??? lol)

 The characters were probably my least favorite of the book. While Sienna started out as a self-centered, dependent, spoil-brat, gold-digger (yes I said it!) that seriously made me cringe, she eventually learned to be independent, think for herself, care for others,and most importantly change for the better.

As for Daniel, the more I read about him the more I cringe as first off he is 10 years older than Sienna. I am okay with age but his characteristic just made me cringe more and more I read about him (eventually I almost chuck the book across the room). He does online poker for a living. He comes out as a very manipulative and self centered boyfriend and what I hated about him the most is the way he treats Sienna! Literally the more he talks and say 'she's mine', 'she belong to me' the more I just want to strangle the guy and say 'she is not an object! she is a person! and stop doubting her! etc'. Seriously that's no way to treat a girl/lady! I seriously think he's better off with a puppy than a girlfriend!
(okay rant over! in otherwords i hate his character with passion! lol)

Guillaume... well he started off as an okay character with a hint of mystery in him. Not the most swoon worthy guy but as you get to know more and more about him you can't help but smile at his silliness and cuteness. 

This book is fun and adventurous! Reading it reminds me a bit of home! Also the Angkor Wat is one of the few places I hope to visit in the next few years. While I was not a big of a fan of the cast of characters in the book, as the story developed I enjoyed development of  Sienna and Guillaume characters. Also the plot twist I didn't see coming till that very second the bomb drops! The way they found Sienna's brother Eddie was a mixture of 'THAT MAKES SENSE!" and "WTH OMGASDFJKL; NO WAY" and "Wait what?! O.o?!".
 

While Sianna's journey trough Cambodia was rough and the book have its highs and lows, the pacing is never dull and the ending is happy and satisfying. 

Anyway I like the book. A nice exotic adventure romance novel that I definitely recommend. In fact you can never go wrong with a Smitten Romance novel. Pick this up if you want to find a book set in Asia, a light quick read that you can definitely brows trough on your holidays with cute, funny and flirty romance that will make you happy.

I'll be reviewing more of the other Smitten Romance books that I so far owe in the next couple of weeks so subscribe for more reviews and stay tune!