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352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2024
spoiler-free!!
okayokay so this rating and review is based purely on enjoyment 🤭🤭
i absolutely LOVED sorinate sososo much and i swear this sequel was EVERYTHING.
this was almost like a slow burn and tbh it might be my new favorite read this year 😭😭
in terms of the writing style it was about the same?
i did feel like the pacing was better and was ultimately an improvement from xoxo.
improvements from xoxo
- more family involved!! her relationship with her mother at the end was so wholesome. plus i think that one of my critiques from xoxo was that there wasn’t enough family scenes and this book definitely had more, which i loved 🤭🤭
- more character development and i preferred this story line (second-chance) compared to xoxo since im not a big fan of insta love
- the moments they had (IMO!) were not that cheesy and they had some reallyreallyreally cute moments
- ALSO I JUST LOOKED BACK AT MY REVIEW FOR XOXO AND I MEAN I DONT REMEMBER ANY SUPER CRINGE-WORTHY LINES SO YES THAT’S AN IMPROVEMENT
sori
i love her sososo much and she’s genuinely such a wholesome person and will help anyone she can. although i was a little annoyed after the third time she shoved nathaniel away, i can understand where she’s coming from. she’s super cautious when it comes to falling for nathaniel again and her first priority is always her mother and joah. i love her so much and she’s just so lovable. (not to mention sorinate make the CUTEST couple)
sori ->"But it's more than that. I have a responsibility to the company. I have more to lose ...”
nathaniel -> “I have to lose you. For me, that's enough. Even if it doesn't matter to you.”
nathaniel
AAHH HE MADE ME SCREAM AT SOME PARTS LIKE THE MERMAID SCENE?! I GASPED (idc how unoriginal this scene is bc it eats every single time). the way he cares so much for her and is willing to sacrifice his career and everything just for her, also when he was absolutely destroyed because sori rejected him again i was like NOOOOOO POOR NATHANIEL 😭😭
“He doesn't rush me, though everyone outside is probably wondering why we haven't stepped out yet. He's so patient with me—the one person in the world who has always seen me, as I am, flaws and all.”
hyemi
ngl she was just there to move the plot along and she actually had me gasping at some parts (not for a good reason) like um girl??? back off from her man like ilu and all but PLEASE ☹️☹️
xoxo characters
if you loved the characters from xoxo, just a heads up because they basically don’t exist in this book 😭😭 Gi-Taek and Angela are briefly mentioned but she never meets up with them. and for jenny, she’s only there to give sori a pep talk whenever she feels down. (still love her though ☝️☝️)
footnote:
this book definitely had some logistical problems and some of my questions were definitely left unanswered but if you look past that, i promise you’ll like it 😭😭
plsplsplspls read this guys
pre read doubling down on the cheery romcoms because i sat down to write my review for the poppy war and all i wanted to do was scream, cry and stare at the ceiling all at once
“You should be wary about setting rules with me,” he says, his voice like silk. “You know I live to break them.”
…
He’s a flirt and a delinquent, and I’m very much a girl who would risk it all for him.