Somewhere Only We Know

Author: Maurene Goo
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (May 7, 2019)
Hardcover, 328 pages
Goodreads     |     Amazon

Summary
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.

Review
This is written in the first person past tense, with chapters that switch off between Lucky and Jack’s POV. I have a history of shying away from books writing in the first person because it seems like a style that is more difficult to do, and when it’s done poorly it REALLY shows. Thankfully, Maurene Goo is a master and the first person past tense really works here. I love getting to see inside Lucky’s head and experience her thoughts, feelings, and motivations. I love that we get to see Jack how she sees him, and then the next chapter we get to see everything from Jack’s POV.

While I’m not super into K-pop, I do love Korean dramas (which often star and/or are about K-pop stars), so I was really excited when I saw Maurene Goo’s newest book would have a K-pop star as one of the MC’s. And oh, my gosh, I fell so in love with Lucky! I also didn’t even know that Hong Kong was a place I wanted to go until I read this book. (Like Lucky, I love trying new foods, and this book made me add SO MANY THINGS to my list of things I want to try!)

The way the relationship between Lucky and Jack builds is so wonderfully done, and more than finding each other Lucky and Jack find themselves throughout the course of this book. I think that’s the hallmark of a really great romance novel, especially a YA/NA romance. I want to see this as a rom-com, maybe made by Netflix, and I think Jack and Lucky’s adventurous day in Hong Kong would make a BREATHTAKING film.