Summary: Desi doesn’t fail when it comes to being the top student in her grade, dominating the varsity soccer field, and filling up her resume that’s bound to get her into Stanford University. Flirting, on the other hand, is a completely different matter. Desi is notorious for her “flailures” (flirting+failure), but when the perfect guy comes into town, she finds guidance in the Korean dramas her dad has always been obsessed with. Using her “K Drama Steps to True Love”, Desi is ready to win over Luca, K drama antics in store.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

**Warning: There are spoilers below for Maurene Goo’s I Believe in a Thing Called Love**

My Thoughts:

The most unique part of I Believe in a Thing Called Love is Maurene Goo’s use of K dramas! Before reading the book, I really didn’t know too much about K dramas, so it was interesting to learn more about them and Korean culture in general. It was funny how K dramas motivated the plot of the novel, and I knew from the get-go that Desi wouldn’t have a picture-perfect success story.

While the plot was a tad predictable, what made I Believe in a Thing Called Love for me was Appa! I loved the idea of how this ex-bad boy and mechanic came home everyday to hang out with his daughter and watch K dramas. It was just so adorable to see how much he cared for Desi, and his dad humor was to die for. I felt just as disappointed as he did when Desi misses her Stanford interview to go to the hospital with Luca.

I’m going to go a bit off topic, but I think one of the reasons why I was so disappointed in Desi was that I didn’t understand why Desi was so enchanted with Luca?? Yes, he seemed good-looking and had the whole angsty-art boy thing going, but despite what he argues toward the end of the novel, I feel like him and Desi wouldn’t have gotten together if it wasn’t for Desi’s K-drama scheming. I wish we got to explore him a bit more (would have loved to see more of his Tumblr-famousness come into play or something) outside of his tagging and his problems with his parents. Even though Desi is obviously upset that she doesn’t get into Stanford, I hated how she tried to downplay it, saying that Boston University had a better program anyway and Fiona saying that part of Desi’s infatuation with Standford comes from her mother’s influence. PLUS HOW COULD YOU GO TO SCHOOL ACROSS THE COUNTRY FROM THE CUTEST DAD EVER??

Overall, while I found some aspects a bit problematic, I enjoyed I Believe in a Thing Called Love for its diversity, family life, and integration of K dramas.

Have you read I Believe in a Thing Called Love? Share your thoughts & feels in the comments!