Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout Pages: 304
Published by GriffinTeen, St. Martin's Griffin on June 9, 2015
Genres: Love & Romance, Young Adult
Source: Finished Copy from Publisher
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.
Hello, I love You is a standalone young adult contemporary romance that was so much fun to read. I should tell you, right off the bat that I don’t know very much about Korean culture of KPOP-y things, so I am not an authority on how authentic Hello, I Love You was, but I will tell you this- I had a lot of fun reading this book. Sure, Jason bugged the heck out of me at times, but this was such a stinkin’ cute romance that I didn’t care. I think so many people will love Hello, I Love You.
The story is told through Grace’s point of view. Grace has had some kind of fall out with her family, and she decides to finish out her senior year of high school at an international school in Korea. I’m not really sure how she picked the school, but I do know that she wanted to get far away from her home in Nashville. We don’t know too much about what the issue was that she was running from, but we learn that Grace’s family is pretty famous. Her dad is a huge country music producer and her brother is a country mega star.
Grace seemed like a fish out of water at her new school. But I loved her roommate Sophie- who also had a famous brother. Jason, her twin, is the lead singer of a very popular KPOP band. I thought it was hilarious that Sophie and Grace were basically in the same situation. Sister with famous singer brother, but no one really ever brought that point up. And each of their families has their fair share of secrets. Grace and Jason start out really not liking each other- which lead to some pretty delicious bickering and bantering. Of course we all know, that later turns into flirting, and I ate it all up. I really like when couples go from annoyed with each other to liking each other. Is that weird?
Grace and Jason bonded over music. Jason writes a lot of his band’s songs and Grace has an eye for music composition herself. Their romance unwound at a great pace. They went from annoyances to truce to friends and the something more didn’t come for a long time. It just added to the cute factor of their story. There was also an adorably cute/cheesy moment at the end that had me sporting a huge grin. Jason will make you feel just like Grace did. You start out wanting to punch him and you end up loving him. Just like I loved Hello, I Love You. If you are looking for a fun read, this is your summer book!
Spotify Playlist
Katie’s Spotify playlist for HELLO, I LOVE YOU.
Direct Link: http://smarturl.it/HILYP
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Top 10 things you didn’t know about Katie M. Stout
- I’ve lived in three countries: America, England, and Thailand!
- I’ve had some unusual jobs, from a journalist with an international charity to a photography assistant to a piano teacher.
- When I was in high school, I refused to read American books. I was the biggest literature snob ever and only read books by British authors. (Thankfully, I got over that. Apologies to anyone I offended back then – I was an idiot.)
- I have never read a book by Sarah Dessen or Judy Blume. It’s my great YA shame.
- I hate rough drafting. It’s painful. Editing, on the other hand, is my jam.
- I would totally quit Facebook if I didn’t think my family would disown me for being an even worse communicator than I already am.
- The idea of real people reading my book straight terrifies me. Especially the ones I know. Like my old teachers or people from my church. That’s just weird.
- I hate driving. Riding public transit when I lived in England was one of life’s great pleasures back then.
- My favorite writer-y person in the whole wide world is Kristin Rae, author of Wish You Were Italian and the upcoming What You Always Wanted. That girl has legit kept me sane through the debut process.
- I’ve “quit” writing like 47,000 times, but I always come back again. At the end of the day, even though parts of it get me down, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give up telling stories.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Kaitlyn A
Your review makes me want to read this even more! I need this book in my life now!!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I hope you get a chance to read it Kaitlyn! Good Luck and Thanks for stopping by
kindlemom1
I’ve been seeing this everywhere this week! I’m so glad you liked this so much. It does sound like a really good read.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Yea it has gotten a lot of release week buzz. it was pretty cute.
Eva @ All Books Considered
Oh this sounds so good! I’d seen the cover but hadn’t really read about it before but now I know I MUST read it! Great review!!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
It was pretty cute Eva. I hope you get the chance to read it. Good Luck and Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Lola
I’ve seen this blog on another blog last week and it sounds like a fun book. I also don’t know a lot about K-Pop, but it’s fun to see a book adress a topic like that. And ofcourse the seting in Korea. I am not really a fan of when characters start disliking each other and then it turns to love, but I have read some books where I did enjoy it, so it matters how it’s written and why they disagree. It does make for a slower developing romance usually though, which is something I like. Great review!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I guess it has been getting some pretty mixed reviews. I came into it with a blank slate as far as expectations and knowledge of kpop and korean culture and I enjoyed it. But I know I have heard at least one person say it wasn’t very accurate. I can’t speak to that point. But I hope if you read it you enjoy it as well.
Good Luck Lola and Thanks for stopping by 🙂
jazmen
I wasn’t that much of a fan of this one. I was pretty disappointed with it actually. I’m really glad you enjoyed it though!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
awh bummer Jazmen. What didn’t you like about it? Was it Jason? He I thought he was so rude in the beginning, but he grew on me.
Vanessa
I’ve seen it a while ago at the bookstore and I was intrigued. And your review says that you enjoyed it, I might enjoy it as well!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
It was pretty cute Vanessa. I hope you get the chance to read it. Good Luck and Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Carol
This book seems pretty great, I think I’m going to add it to my TBR this summer! I really need fun books because I’m in a huge reading slump and from your review I gather that this is the book I need! 😉
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Reading slumps are the worst. I love so many genres but romance is always my favorite so I always turn to something light and fun when I need to get out of a slump. I hope this works for you! I guess it has been getting soe mixed reviews, but I thought it was pretty cute Carol. I hope you get the chance to read it. Good Luck and Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Chelsea B.
This novel sounds so fun! I’m so excited to read it. Also, I LOVE the title!
Krys
Am I the only one who immediately started breaking out in song after reading the title?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCorJG9mubk
– Krys