REVIEW: 'HART & SEOUL' BY KRISTEN BURNHAM:
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I think the best way that I can describe this book is… ‘you get what it says on the tin’.
Once you’ve read the synopsis, you pretty much know the plot inside out. If you’re going into this expecting a fun, fluffy, fast paced read with borderline too much cheese, then you won’t be disappointed. If you’re going into this expecting it to explore complex issues surrounding K-Pop idols, mental health and Korean culture then it probably isn’t the book for you.
Despite generally enjoying this book, I did have my issues with it. I didn’t always mesh with the very simple writing style and the plot twists are remarkably predictable from the very first page, both of which definitely knocked my overall rating down and I do think this book has a lot of squandered potential in terms of where the author could have taken it; she had prime opportunity to explore the dating ban surrounding K-Pop idols, for example. Kristen Burnham does touch on the brutal K-Pop industry and the effect it has on its idols, but only very briefly, glossed over and as a means to an end.
It isn’t groundbreaking reading material, it almost feels like the first draft of the book and if the author had gone back and explored this issue in more depth, hashed this plot point out or developed this relationship a little bit more, it could easily have been a 4/5 star read instead of a high 2/3. However, as a quick, fluffy, saccharine romance to appease the fangirl Gods…I did solidly enjoy it.
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