I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
Published by: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux Inc.
Pub Date: May 30, 2017
Pages: 325
Format: hardcover | Source: purchased
Genres: young adult, contemporary romance
Rating: 
Desi Lee believes anything is possible if you have a plan. That’s how she became student body president. Varsity soccer star. And it’s how she’ll get into Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds guidance in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Steps to True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and staged car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.
Right off the bat I loved Desi as a character- she was hilarious and relatable in so many ways. The beginning felt just like high school. I liked her friend group and her meet cute with Luca! And the fact that it was set in Orange County 😉 But oh my gosh, the second hand embarrassment throughout the book! Ack! It was almost too much for me to handle. I also got so stressed out at one point about the inevitable K-drama list reveal that I put the book down for a week. The tension was real.
I did laugh a lot even if so much of the stunts were implausible situations and I loved her interactions with Luca, how she came out of her shell a little more. The story was hilariously charming even when Desi was being too ridiculous. As much as I loved the romance and the friendships, my favorite part of the book was definitely Desi’s relationship with her father. It was sweet and had so many layers. I loved seeing how they related to each other, what they bonded over, and hearing about Desi’s mother and expectations. And I super loved how much Appa loved K dramas! It was a nice intro for me since I know nothing about K dramas and that was echoed in Desi’s experience at first. Even though some of the story was implausible and embarrassing, the relationships shine and the humor brought a smile to my face.
Can you handle second-hand embarrassment? Do you enjoy contemporaries that are a mixture of silly and realistic? Let me know! (Also shout out to Maurene Goo, a fellow UCSD alumni! I was so excited to see that in her bio.)
The Bookish Beagle 
I totally can’t handle second-hand embarrassment. On TV shows or movies I’ll fast forward and a book I’ll skip. It is so bad!! Glad you enjoyed this one anyway. Great review!
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I tend to look away because I want to keep watching but I can’t look directly at it hahaha. Books, I have to pause a lot to get through the page! It’s usually worth it though 😛 Thank you!!
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YAAY I have this one! It sounds really cute and I’m mostly just reading it for the Kdramas. I’m not surprised that the situations seem over the top, just like a good kdrama. Haha.
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oh totally! I think you’ll really enjoy it then, if you haven’t read it yet 🙂
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I don’t know if you’ve watched any Korean dramas before, but I BELIVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, has the elements of a Kdrama, where everything sounds implausible with the added humor and drama. This book is not for everyone but I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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I haven’t but I definitely got that impression! Which is why I liked that Desi was just getting into Kdramas too 🙂
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Ooohhh I probably couldn’t handle the second hand embarrassment if I were to read this! I get anxious just thinking about it :’) Yay for good parent-kid relationships in YA though! I love seeing that. This sounds like a cute read 🙂
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Yeah it was a fine line for me! Oh gosh, I adored the father-daughter relationship, it was so sweet! And prominent, which I loved.
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Second hand embarrassment can be awful. I don’t mind it so much because it’s a sign that I’m already invested in the character, but I understand having to set a book aside because of it. I loved Desi’s relationship with her father. They really were the best part of the book in my opinion.
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That’s a good way to look at it! I think that’s the thing, I just get so invested on the character’s behalf. Agreed, their relationship made the book for me.
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