Monday, April 15, 2019

#AmReading YA: Somewhere Only We Know - Maurene Goo

Somewhere Only We Know
Maurene Goo
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she's just performed her hit song "Heartbeat" in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She's about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She's in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She's very cute. He's maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.
Thank you, Maurene Goo, for putting this HUGE smile on my face! Somewhere Only We Know was an absolute delight. I had previously read articles calling this "a modern-day Roman Holiday", and I must admit, Goo did a fantastic job capturing the essence of the original story, while making it modern and meaningful for the YA audience.

Lucky was a K-pop princess, and her days were filled with work, work, and more work. At the end of her tour, she escaped her security detail, and ventured out to enjoy Hong Kong on her own. Certain events bring her into the path of Jack, who happened to be moonlighting as a tabloid photographer. In an effort to get a big Lucky scoop, he offered to show her around Hong Kong, but the more time they spent together, the more their feelings became intertwined. This question if Lucky and Jack could make this feeling last for more than a night.

I instantly fell in love with Lucky, and became fiercely protective of her. She was so sweet and genuine, and I empathized with the battle she was fighting within herself. She loved having the opportunity to be a singing sensation, but she longed for more normalcy and autonomy. It was easy to see how much this one day of freedom meant, and I wanted more of that work-life balance for her.

Though I liked Jack, in general, it took me a looooong time to trust him. His motives were not pure, and his deception was something that could have ruined Lucky. It was good to see he had a conscience, and was able to see beyond the famous veneer and recognize Lucky as an actual person.

The two of them together made my heart soar. I adored their interactions, and as they grew closer and closer to one another, my heart beat faster and faster. Some may condemn this as instalove, but I DON'T CARE! It was fun. It was sweet. It was adorable and charming. It made me happy. I loved the way each of them could really "see" one another, and they were supportive and encouraging. They were a perfect coupling, and I wanted their adventure to last forever.

I had the best time frolicking in Hong Kong with these two. First of all, we ate A LOT. Goo incorporated so much food into their 24-hour adventure, and I was totally jealous...and hungry. I also loved that she brought us to so many different points of interest. I love when an author utilizes the setting of their book, and Goo practically made Hong Kong another character in this story. It was a wonderful backdrop for this whirlwind romance, and it just ratcheted up my desire to visit there someday.

But, a BIG reason for this grin on my face was that ending! My smile grew wider and wider with each sentence, and it was perfection for me. It also had me yearning for a sequel, but you know, that's me reacting to how much I loved both Lucky and Jack, and I just want more of their story.

Somewhere Only We Know was so many things. It was a love story, but it was also a story of finding oneself and their purpose, and taking the action necessary to make their wants come to fruition. This book surpassed my expectations, and obviously left me drying my happy tears.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Maurene Goo continues the tradition of naming them in such a way, that I associate and get a song stuck in my head, and so, I leave you with this song.



Do you like K-Pop?
Let us know in the comments!

24 comments:

  1. I've really enjoyed Maurene's books lately, so this is on my TBR. I love the sound of all the food!! I've watched a lot of travel vlogs in Hong Kong and yep, the food looks delicious! The characters sound super cute too!

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    1. The last one was only OK for me, so I was a little worried, but she dialed down the angst on this one, and just gave us a wonderful little romance and story of self discovery. This book had me wanting to run out to the H Mart for some good Chinese food.

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  2. Sounds like a cute, feel good read!

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    1. It was so fun and adorable and it just made my cheeks hurt from all the smiling I was doing.

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  3. Okay, your love for this one is just so obvious in your review, Sam! Reading about how happy it made you put a big smile on *my* face! :) It was only recently that I figured out what K-Pop even was (LOL) and I’ve still never heard any of it. Loving your mood board! I’m going to be checking my library for this one.

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    1. There are a few current YA authors, who write these books with the perfect amount of drama and romance, and Goo is definitely one of them. She created two characters, who I grew to love, and took me on a fantastic adventure. There was a jump ahead ending, which you know I am all about, too.

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  4. I'm SOOO happy that this was such a winner for you Sam! This sounds darling and I'm definitely adding it to my TBR.

    This is Amber at Du Livre btw! :)

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    1. I was really glad too. I loved Thing Called Love, but The Way You Make Me Feel was just OK for me. This book! I LOVED it! By far, my favorite Goo book.

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  5. This just sounds so adorable! I love the idea that the MC gets to let her hair down and just enjoy life for a day.

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    1. This set up is always fun, and Goo took it next level for me. So, so good.

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  6. This sounds lovely. I didn't realize it was a modern take on Roman Holiday. That definitely piqued my interest when I read that. Great review!

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    1. I really liked Goo's take on Roman Holiday too. It was fun and light, but as with almost all YA I read, there was a lot of substance too. It left super happy.

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  7. I have a copy of this and am planning on getting to it soon, but this review made me move it up a little on my tbr!

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  8. I love it when a location is so vivid like how you've described in this book. It jsut makes me want to dive into this book so much knowing the skill with which she creates the location.

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    1. Goo does an amazing job taking us all over Hong Kong, and so much food. I could almost taste it.

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  9. I'd not even realised this was coming out so I'm glad to see it's a good book. I like the sound of a modern day Roman Holiday and it sounds like a good book. I can understand why it took time for you to trust Jack but I'm glad he won you over in the end.

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    1. I loved Goo's second book, but her last one was just ok for me. So, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the premise sounded really promising, and I thought Goo hit it out of the park with the execution.

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    1. I hope you are as delighted by this book as I was.

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  11. That Keane song is so heavily ingrained into my childhood! Have you heard the Lily Allen cover of it? She puts a totally different spin on the song and it is really good even though I still love the original too! And I am glad that this next book of hers was so good and the K-pop lovers are gonna love it!

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    1. When I hear that song, all I think of is the Christopher Robin movie and I get all emotional. I did hear Lily Allen's version, and almost used that one, but I went for the original.

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  12. I love that song! Great pick. I totally want to own this book now. Fun and charming. I am totally loving it. Great review!

    Mary

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    1. This book owned me, and is by FAR, my favorite of Goo's

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