Just the Two of Us 1: A Romance Novel

4.75/5 stars!When the hero returns to his native Korea to find information about his birth parents, he encounters the heroine when he was in dire need of food. Though an advocate for his pediatric patients, his cold demeanor takes some getting used to from the pediatric emergency room department in the Korean hospital. There are subsequent focus on the heroine's family as well as the dysfunctional family of the hospital director. As the story progresses, the hero and the heroine fall for each other while trying to overcome some personal issues of their own.For those not familiar with Korean novels and drama, the format and focus differs from how an American novel is usually written. And translation from the original language to English may have instances where the nuance is familiar to the original audience but not to ones who read the translation. Therefore, bear that in mind when reading this book.As for my personal thoughts, I adore this book. I read the story like it was a K-drama but in book format. It definitely has some K-drama elements and the format is not what I'm used to but I had encountered glimpses of Asian novels to recognize that it's normal for the original audience. That said, I enjoyed reading about the couple together and individually as well as the secondary characters in the book. I felt that some situations were going to need some closure, so I look forward to reading more of the series. I feel invested in the relationship of the main couple and want them to be truly happy. I definitely feel that this is a great step in bringing the Korean novels into the wider world and recommend it for readers who enjoy K-drama plus wanting to enjoy original Korean novels but in translation.**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.**

This book was one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. And I say that even though this was only part one of the story. Usually I would steer away from something that ends without a final resolution, but this book was that good.The characters were multidimensional and the plot touched me so deeply. Plus, I enjoyed reading about a different culture and setting - Seoul, South Korea. The main male protagonist, Soohyuk Cha, seems to be somewhere on the spectrum. He’s a ferociously dedicated doctor in the pediatric emergency room in a hospital in Seoul. But he has a sad and troubling backstory that explains some of his quirks. He is attracted to Yuna, a young woman with her own very sad backstory who had risen above her fears to launch a successful business providing her subscribers with box lunches. (Though I did wonder how she delivers dozens of box lunches given that she doesn’t want to ride in cars, but that was just a small plot element.) Soohyuk is first attracted to the smells from her business and her delicious foods, but soon finds himself falling for this woman with her mix of courage, kindliness, and fears. And he soon finds ways to help Yuna’s beloved family. And we are soon learning about the backstories of some other characters in the book,I picked this up to read last night and suddenly I looked up and found that hours had passed. I couldn’t put it down. And the characters and their story have stayed with me since then. I eagerly anticipate finding out what happens as the the author resolves some of the questions remaining.I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I really wanted to love this book. It gave me such a kdrama vibes and as big fan of those, I was really excited about this book.I really enjoyed the main story and I think that the traumas of main characters, Soohyuk and Yuna, were really well presented. I also for the most time liked the relationships between them and sometimes while reading some scenes, I could hear kdramas soundtrack in my head. The only thing I wish for is that Soohyuk would be more interested in finding his birth parents even if I'm pretty sure every reader is gonna now in which direction this plot is going to - it's kind of predictable in this part and reminds me of story in many kdramas.My main problem with this book is translation which unfortunately isn't so good. At first because of it I had a problem with actually getting into this book. When I finally get used to idea, the translations issues were the most noticeable during arguments and misunderstanding between characters. While I'm not expert on Korean, I know enough to guess why sometimes things that Soohyuk said could be misleading and rude. Unfortunately it's hard to get it while reading this book.I believe this book would be a great choice for fans of romantic kdrama, however I think it should be re-edited to get rid of some mistakes and make it more understandable for readers.Thanks to NetGalley and POPPYPUB or opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! I love medical set romances and so this book was written for me!!Soohyuk is so funny with his bluntness, I enjoyed his unintentional rudeness so much!!I felt like the plot and the blossoming relationship between Yuna and Soohyuk was well paced and enjoyable and it really gave me the fuzzies inside.I do think some of the language and cultural context has been slightly lost in translation and would have loved maybe some translation notes hence the 4 stars. Other than that I really enjoyed it! I can’t wait to read book 2.