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The Comeback
12 hours, 14 minutes
Who is Ariadne Hui?
• Laser-focused lawyer diligently climbing the corporate ladder
• The “perfect” daughter living out her father’s dream
• Shocking love interest of South Korea’s hottest star
Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: That’s the way she likes it. If she’s going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.
But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he’s there. (Yeah, right.)
Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn’t long before she’s falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a world-shaking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she’s fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she’s finally ready to be.
Who is Ariadne Hui?
• Laser-focused lawyer diligently climbing the corporate ladder
• The “perfect” daughter living out her father’s dream
• Shocking love interest of South Korea’s hottest star
Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: That’s the way she likes it. If she’s going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.
But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he’s there. (Yeah, right.)
Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn’t long before she’s falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a world-shaking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she’s fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she’s finally ready to be.
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published July 14, 2022
About the author
Lily Chu
8 books1,522 followersLily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book.
The Stand-In, The Comeback, and The Takedown are released in audio as Audible Originals, and are performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s critically acclaimed books have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and have been named in Audible’s Best of the year lists.
In print, The Stand-In was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
Translation rights have been sold for seven languages.
The Stand-In, The Comeback, and The Takedown are released in audio as Audible Originals, and are performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s critically acclaimed books have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and have been named in Audible’s Best of the year lists.
In print, The Stand-In was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
Translation rights have been sold for seven languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,615 reviews
July 22, 2022
The Comeback was a solid 5-star read through most of the book for me, but it kind of lost its way towards the end. That being said, I enjoyed it immensely, and between this and The Stand In, I consider myself firmly in Lily Chu fangirl territory now. She does an amazing job of mixing tropey fun with grounded emotions, and writes great personal growth arcs within the context of compelling romantic relationships.
I sincerely could not have been more charmed by the start of this book. Ariadne Hui, our heroine, is a workaholic lawyer trying to make partner at her big impersonal law firm, in part to fulfill a dream her father has always had for her. She comes home late one night to find an improbably hot Korean man sleeping on her couch, and very reasonably pulls a knife on him - until she discovers he's actually her roommate's cousin Jihoon, come to Toronto to recover from a "bad breakup." Slowly, over the course of the first half of the book, Jihoon goes from nuisance houseguest to friend to love interest for Ari.
He is also BLAZINGLY OBVIOUSLY a Kpop star on the run from his band, and the fact that Ari does not put this together until halfway through was mildly exasperating. I wrote previously about my issues with plot improbabilities in The Stand In: the plot zaniness bothered me much less in The Comeback, mostly because, as a reader, you really only had to accept this one improbability at the outset. But I was slightly annoyed on Ari's behalf, because she was an otherwise competent and smart character who somehow managed to miss the glaringly obvious for Plot Reasons.
But honestly? I will forgive everything because both Ari and Jihoon were such lovely characters. Ari could very easily have fallen into romance heroine stereotype: she's a career-driven lawyer who is extraordinarily no-nonsense and HATES talking about feelings, and has a strained relationship with most of her family, especially her sister. I fully expected a trip to generic ice-queen territory here, with a heroine who was hurtfully oblivious to others, or cold and closed-off beyond believability. But this book took a much more nuanced approach to Ari's characterization. I appreciated the fact that she could struggle to relate to her sister (who is an "I need you to be verbalizing all your feelings" person), yet still have a deeply caring sisterly relationship with her roommate, who seems to get that Ari creating detailed travel itineraries, or literally just standing beside her during tough interactions, is a way she shows love. This book definitely understands that you don't have to be good at out-loud feelings to know how to care for people. I loved that.
And Jihoon. Oh my goodness. He might just be my favorite romance hero of the year. He is incredibly emotionally fluent - he spends a lot of time talking about feelings and going deep with other people to help them understand their own. Perhaps even more importantly, he is presented as a really involved, very intense listener, which is... whew, just extraordinarily sexy.
Yet at the same time, he has a core of utter chaos that I found funny and charming as all get out. The first few weeks he's at Ari's apartment, you can tell he's trying to be a respectful houseguest and give Ari her space, but the exuberance of his personality keeps sneaking out in specific and hilarious ways. Which leads to some great interactions, as straight-laced Ari tries to deal with the fact that a very attractive man has accidentally turned her shower blue while trying to dye his own hair. Or has bought every cereal in the grocery store because he wants to try out Canadian brands. Or covered her bathroom vanity with fancy skincare products. Or really, really wants her to share his excitement about earrings and designer shoes.
As is probably clear from these descriptions, there's a fair bit of... unconventional gender-coding, I guess you could say, going on with Ari and Jihoon. And it works really well, in part because the author does not try to make a huge "look at me, I'm GENDER-SWAPPING" deal out of it. She lets both Ari and Jihoon both be who they are from beginning to end, without ever trying to compensate for their unconventionality, or shove them into more conventional hero-and-heroine boxes. With Jihoon especially, his characterization was woven into an exploration of Korean idol culture that really pushed beyond the typical white, cishet-centric writing of hero masculinity, in a way that affected every aspect of this book. I was sincerely impressed.
And Ari and Jihoon work so well together. The author did a great job of realistically putting them into scenarios where they shared a lot of themselves with each other, so that I was entirely sold on their attraction by the time they were ready to declare it. In particular, there was one scene where they plan a hypothetical dream vacation together, and use discussion of their travel styles as an opportunity to reveal all kinds of rich personality details. Just that one conversation made them feel both well-rounded, as well as perfect for each other. Also, as someone who loves travel planning, it was one of the most unexpectedly romantic scenes I think I've ever read.
All that said, I did take my rating down a star from the 5-star read I expected this to be, because of how the plot was handled at the end. (Mild spoilers ahead, but most of this will be pretty obvious to people familiar with romance tropes).
Once Jihoon reveals that he's also a member of the wildly-famous Kpop group StarLune, the main source of conflict becomes whether he and Ari can make a long-distance, uber-famous + normal-person relationship work. And I felt like the book started down some interesting avenues with this issue: in particular, the dynamic where Ari goes to Korea and finally starts to understand what Jihoon does, the importance of his art and the depth of his relationship with his bandmantes, just as Jihoon is starting to wish he could leave the group and do something different, had really great potential.
Instead, the narrative got mired in a cycle of "yes let's try to do this"/"no this will be too hard"/"what if people find out"/"what if we tell them" that... felt both circular and a bit tired. In particular, at the big crisis moment, both Jihoon and Ari do a weird total reversal of their feelings about being in a public relationship, in a way that neither the book nor the characters ever acknowledge. Instead, Jihoon and Ari each blame the other for taking a position they themselves had held just a few chapters ago? It was an odd misstep, for me.
Still. I can forgive a lot of plot nonsense for good characterization. Which this book had in abundance. And as with The Stand-In, there's a whole universe of relationships going on around the main romance, that enrich it without detracting from the overall story. Ari works on her relationship with her sister, both Ari and her roommate learn to set boundaries with their parents, Jihoon deals with his changing relationship to his bandmates, both Ari and Jihoon figure out what they really want from their careers... in the end it's all very satisfying, and really well-done.
Also, unsurprisingly, Philippa Soo's narration is STELLAR. 500 stars for that.
CW: health scare for a parent, secondary character deals with weight and diet criticism from her mother.
I sincerely could not have been more charmed by the start of this book. Ariadne Hui, our heroine, is a workaholic lawyer trying to make partner at her big impersonal law firm, in part to fulfill a dream her father has always had for her. She comes home late one night to find an improbably hot Korean man sleeping on her couch, and very reasonably pulls a knife on him - until she discovers he's actually her roommate's cousin Jihoon, come to Toronto to recover from a "bad breakup." Slowly, over the course of the first half of the book, Jihoon goes from nuisance houseguest to friend to love interest for Ari.
He is also BLAZINGLY OBVIOUSLY a Kpop star on the run from his band, and the fact that Ari does not put this together until halfway through was mildly exasperating. I wrote previously about my issues with plot improbabilities in The Stand In: the plot zaniness bothered me much less in The Comeback, mostly because, as a reader, you really only had to accept this one improbability at the outset. But I was slightly annoyed on Ari's behalf, because she was an otherwise competent and smart character who somehow managed to miss the glaringly obvious for Plot Reasons.
But honestly? I will forgive everything because both Ari and Jihoon were such lovely characters. Ari could very easily have fallen into romance heroine stereotype: she's a career-driven lawyer who is extraordinarily no-nonsense and HATES talking about feelings, and has a strained relationship with most of her family, especially her sister. I fully expected a trip to generic ice-queen territory here, with a heroine who was hurtfully oblivious to others, or cold and closed-off beyond believability. But this book took a much more nuanced approach to Ari's characterization. I appreciated the fact that she could struggle to relate to her sister (who is an "I need you to be verbalizing all your feelings" person), yet still have a deeply caring sisterly relationship with her roommate, who seems to get that Ari creating detailed travel itineraries, or literally just standing beside her during tough interactions, is a way she shows love. This book definitely understands that you don't have to be good at out-loud feelings to know how to care for people. I loved that.
And Jihoon. Oh my goodness. He might just be my favorite romance hero of the year. He is incredibly emotionally fluent - he spends a lot of time talking about feelings and going deep with other people to help them understand their own. Perhaps even more importantly, he is presented as a really involved, very intense listener, which is... whew, just extraordinarily sexy.
Yet at the same time, he has a core of utter chaos that I found funny and charming as all get out. The first few weeks he's at Ari's apartment, you can tell he's trying to be a respectful houseguest and give Ari her space, but the exuberance of his personality keeps sneaking out in specific and hilarious ways. Which leads to some great interactions, as straight-laced Ari tries to deal with the fact that a very attractive man has accidentally turned her shower blue while trying to dye his own hair. Or has bought every cereal in the grocery store because he wants to try out Canadian brands. Or covered her bathroom vanity with fancy skincare products. Or really, really wants her to share his excitement about earrings and designer shoes.
As is probably clear from these descriptions, there's a fair bit of... unconventional gender-coding, I guess you could say, going on with Ari and Jihoon. And it works really well, in part because the author does not try to make a huge "look at me, I'm GENDER-SWAPPING" deal out of it. She lets both Ari and Jihoon both be who they are from beginning to end, without ever trying to compensate for their unconventionality, or shove them into more conventional hero-and-heroine boxes. With Jihoon especially, his characterization was woven into an exploration of Korean idol culture that really pushed beyond the typical white, cishet-centric writing of hero masculinity, in a way that affected every aspect of this book. I was sincerely impressed.
And Ari and Jihoon work so well together. The author did a great job of realistically putting them into scenarios where they shared a lot of themselves with each other, so that I was entirely sold on their attraction by the time they were ready to declare it. In particular, there was one scene where they plan a hypothetical dream vacation together, and use discussion of their travel styles as an opportunity to reveal all kinds of rich personality details. Just that one conversation made them feel both well-rounded, as well as perfect for each other. Also, as someone who loves travel planning, it was one of the most unexpectedly romantic scenes I think I've ever read.
All that said, I did take my rating down a star from the 5-star read I expected this to be, because of how the plot was handled at the end. (Mild spoilers ahead, but most of this will be pretty obvious to people familiar with romance tropes).
Once Jihoon reveals that he's also a member of the wildly-famous Kpop group StarLune, the main source of conflict becomes whether he and Ari can make a long-distance, uber-famous + normal-person relationship work. And I felt like the book started down some interesting avenues with this issue: in particular, the dynamic where Ari goes to Korea and finally starts to understand what Jihoon does, the importance of his art and the depth of his relationship with his bandmantes, just as Jihoon is starting to wish he could leave the group and do something different, had really great potential.
Instead, the narrative got mired in a cycle of "yes let's try to do this"/"no this will be too hard"/"what if people find out"/"what if we tell them" that... felt both circular and a bit tired. In particular, at the big crisis moment, both Jihoon and Ari do a weird total reversal of their feelings about being in a public relationship, in a way that neither the book nor the characters ever acknowledge. Instead, Jihoon and Ari each blame the other for taking a position they themselves had held just a few chapters ago? It was an odd misstep, for me.
Still. I can forgive a lot of plot nonsense for good characterization. Which this book had in abundance. And as with The Stand-In, there's a whole universe of relationships going on around the main romance, that enrich it without detracting from the overall story. Ari works on her relationship with her sister, both Ari and her roommate learn to set boundaries with their parents, Jihoon deals with his changing relationship to his bandmates, both Ari and Jihoon figure out what they really want from their careers... in the end it's all very satisfying, and really well-done.
Also, unsurprisingly, Philippa Soo's narration is STELLAR. 500 stars for that.
CW: health scare for a parent, secondary character deals with weight and diet criticism from her mother.
August 5, 2022
This would be a 5 star book. Except for the way the characters and the author treat our MC.
Man lies about who he is. Woman is upset, expresses concerns about recurring a relationship with an international celebrity who isn't supposed to date and what it means for their relationship but also her life and her family. After only 2 days of knowing the truth she's told she has to make up her mind because he's going back to Korea. So she says she can't do it.
He calls her a coward. Many times. Other people do as well.
Then she's in Korea on business and she sees him. He treats her badly, calls her a coward. Bullies her into "giving us a chance". That's not okay.
Then HE reveals their faces in public. His fans freak out. She and her family are threatened. She loses her job. And his company says she is a mentally unbalanced person who chased him. He does not refute that. He is upset that she doesn't understand things from his POV.
So she expressed concerns. She was ignored. These things came to pass. Worse than she even expected. And somehow everything is still her fault and people are dragging her for "did you actually listen to what he had to say?". She did. She waited. She listened. He was a jerk.
The rank misogyny is overwhelming. I loved the first book. I loved the beginning of this book. But I LOATHE the way we are supposed to blame a person who sets boundaries and actively looks out for her own interests.
Man lies about who he is. Woman is upset, expresses concerns about recurring a relationship with an international celebrity who isn't supposed to date and what it means for their relationship but also her life and her family. After only 2 days of knowing the truth she's told she has to make up her mind because he's going back to Korea. So she says she can't do it.
He calls her a coward. Many times. Other people do as well.
Then she's in Korea on business and she sees him. He treats her badly, calls her a coward. Bullies her into "giving us a chance". That's not okay.
Then HE reveals their faces in public. His fans freak out. She and her family are threatened. She loses her job. And his company says she is a mentally unbalanced person who chased him. He does not refute that. He is upset that she doesn't understand things from his POV.
So she expressed concerns. She was ignored. These things came to pass. Worse than she even expected. And somehow everything is still her fault and people are dragging her for "did you actually listen to what he had to say?". She did. She waited. She listened. He was a jerk.
The rank misogyny is overwhelming. I loved the first book. I loved the beginning of this book. But I LOATHE the way we are supposed to blame a person who sets boundaries and actively looks out for her own interests.
August 9, 2022
This story reads as though targeted for pre teens. 2 of 10 stars
July 28, 2022
2.5 Holy mackerel she drove me insane! It took her way too long to get out of her own way. I get being scared and not wanting to be hurt but seriously???? Ugh
October 2, 2023
I was expecting a light romantic comedy when I got "American Roommate Experiment" vibes from the blurb. However, this book is far from light or easy reading. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the blossoming love story with the forced proximity trope. Ariadne and Choi Jihoon are well-crafted characters who carry the burden of their parents' high expectations.
Instead of focusing solely on romantic scenes, the book delves into heavy issues like mansplaining, racism, and diversity in a thoughtful manner. Cultural norms and dysfunctional family issues are also explored skillfully.
The story begins by offering glimpses of Ariadne's work life and her ambition to become a partner at the most prestigious law firm in Toronto, which is owned by her father. Despite having other opportunities to work in a better environment with better clients, Ariadne remains loyal to her father in her pursuit of a partnership.
One day, she returns home to find a stranger sleeping on the sofa. Her roommate Hana introduces him as her cousin, Choi Jihoon, who has come to Toronto to heal his broken heart. At first, Ariadne is irritated by Choi's presence, as she wants no distractions before getting her promotion. However, she soon finds herself falling hard for him, despite knowing that he is a secret man in her life. The collision between her personal life and career creates a lot of damage. Can they find a way to overcome this and lead fulfilling lives?
While I enjoyed the book, the last third was overly melodramatic and angsty. The relationship, work, and family issues the characters faced left me feeling suffocated.
Overall, it's a good, thought-provoking, angsty romance with likable characters that earns 4 stars from me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
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Instead of focusing solely on romantic scenes, the book delves into heavy issues like mansplaining, racism, and diversity in a thoughtful manner. Cultural norms and dysfunctional family issues are also explored skillfully.
The story begins by offering glimpses of Ariadne's work life and her ambition to become a partner at the most prestigious law firm in Toronto, which is owned by her father. Despite having other opportunities to work in a better environment with better clients, Ariadne remains loyal to her father in her pursuit of a partnership.
One day, she returns home to find a stranger sleeping on the sofa. Her roommate Hana introduces him as her cousin, Choi Jihoon, who has come to Toronto to heal his broken heart. At first, Ariadne is irritated by Choi's presence, as she wants no distractions before getting her promotion. However, she soon finds herself falling hard for him, despite knowing that he is a secret man in her life. The collision between her personal life and career creates a lot of damage. Can they find a way to overcome this and lead fulfilling lives?
While I enjoyed the book, the last third was overly melodramatic and angsty. The relationship, work, and family issues the characters faced left me feeling suffocated.
Overall, it's a good, thought-provoking, angsty romance with likable characters that earns 4 stars from me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
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September 15, 2022
Let me preface this by saying that I think I’m the target demo for this book and have a lot of personal similarities to the female MC that should make her relatable to me. For example, I’m a WOC in a very competitive and stressful white male dominated field, my parents put a lot of pressure on me to be successful, my dad is sick. Lots of eerie similarities! I also love Phillipa Soo’s narration and enjoyed The Stand-In. Which is why this is disappointing.
The Comeback is a novel in need of an editor. It has a super cute premise marred by the protagonist being so devoid of characteristics that it’s hard to know what the exceptional male MC sees in her. The question of “who is Ariadne Hui” in the book’s blurb seems like a genuine inquiry from the marketer. She doesn’t seem to actually enjoy anything or have any real motivation other than making her parents proud by becoming partner in her law firm (she is 30 years old). She doesn’t like music, tv, film, apparently reads but doesn’t ever mention books. She has no style, can’t cook, has no pets, hates podcasts. She has a very strained relationship with her family and apparently only one friend. She works 90 hours a week at a job she despises. Her one passion is creating travel itineraries for places she makes no attempt to actually visit. In fact, she’s not only never left the country - she’s a 30-year-old at a well paying job who has never even been on a plane. Now, I love stories about complex main characters who don’t have their shit together and are still finding themselves as much as the next millennial. But Ari is just…so dreadfully bland and without true intrinsic motivation that it comes off as a parody. Yet she’s somehow also a snob about k-pop not being “genuine” art, despite apparently having no tastes or preferences?
I think the premise of Ari and Jihoon falling in love (beyond he’s hot and he likes that she’s the only person on earth who wouldn’t sell his used boxers on eBay) would’ve made a lot more sense if Ari were an indie music snob. She and Jihoon could’ve bonded over their mutual love of music. Jihoon could’ve shared his desire to produce indie music and they could’ve bonded over this (maybe he could’ve performed incognito at an open mic in Toronto and that’s how he gets found out, rather than his hat slipping at a convenience store or wherever?) This would’ve created a genuine, not forced relationship and heightened the existential conflict for Jihoon, as well as justifying Ari’s initial skepticism for the machine of k-pop.
Secondary gripes: Is Ari actually good at her job? Is she actually a good daughter? Both of these foundational parts of her very lackluster personality would’ve been more believable if the author had followed the dictum “show don’t tell” - show us Ari actually helping her company, making moves the others can’t, fixing Britani’s mistakes, so that her being passed over for a promotion becomes more meaningful. The topic of racism and white feminism in the workplace is so important, but I was never convinced that Ari was actually good because there was no evidence. Maybe she works so many hours more than everyone else because she sucks at her job. We’ll never know 🤷🏻♀️ Meanwhile, her dad totally disappears from the plot. Hopefully he’s not still on the verge of death? Has he finally eaten a carrot? Maybe I’ll find out in the epilogue. Third, of the three Asian main/secondary characters, all have the exact same issues with their parents - overly critical, judgmental, guilt, no freedom to pursue their dreams without essentially being disowned. Couldn’t we get one alternative model? Maybe this could’ve been something Ari and Jihoon connected on, something else they had in common. But did that also have to be the case, even further escalated, for Hana? It’s too much and it plays into familiar stereotypes.
Overall: really promising premise that is undercut by its wet blanket protagonist. I hope that the best friend gets her own book; she’s a lot more interesting.
(Grain of salt: I’m 9 hours in and will update if my opinion changes.)
The Comeback is a novel in need of an editor. It has a super cute premise marred by the protagonist being so devoid of characteristics that it’s hard to know what the exceptional male MC sees in her. The question of “who is Ariadne Hui” in the book’s blurb seems like a genuine inquiry from the marketer. She doesn’t seem to actually enjoy anything or have any real motivation other than making her parents proud by becoming partner in her law firm (she is 30 years old). She doesn’t like music, tv, film, apparently reads but doesn’t ever mention books. She has no style, can’t cook, has no pets, hates podcasts. She has a very strained relationship with her family and apparently only one friend. She works 90 hours a week at a job she despises. Her one passion is creating travel itineraries for places she makes no attempt to actually visit. In fact, she’s not only never left the country - she’s a 30-year-old at a well paying job who has never even been on a plane. Now, I love stories about complex main characters who don’t have their shit together and are still finding themselves as much as the next millennial. But Ari is just…so dreadfully bland and without true intrinsic motivation that it comes off as a parody. Yet she’s somehow also a snob about k-pop not being “genuine” art, despite apparently having no tastes or preferences?
I think the premise of Ari and Jihoon falling in love (beyond he’s hot and he likes that she’s the only person on earth who wouldn’t sell his used boxers on eBay) would’ve made a lot more sense if Ari were an indie music snob. She and Jihoon could’ve bonded over their mutual love of music. Jihoon could’ve shared his desire to produce indie music and they could’ve bonded over this (maybe he could’ve performed incognito at an open mic in Toronto and that’s how he gets found out, rather than his hat slipping at a convenience store or wherever?) This would’ve created a genuine, not forced relationship and heightened the existential conflict for Jihoon, as well as justifying Ari’s initial skepticism for the machine of k-pop.
Secondary gripes: Is Ari actually good at her job? Is she actually a good daughter? Both of these foundational parts of her very lackluster personality would’ve been more believable if the author had followed the dictum “show don’t tell” - show us Ari actually helping her company, making moves the others can’t, fixing Britani’s mistakes, so that her being passed over for a promotion becomes more meaningful. The topic of racism and white feminism in the workplace is so important, but I was never convinced that Ari was actually good because there was no evidence. Maybe she works so many hours more than everyone else because she sucks at her job. We’ll never know 🤷🏻♀️ Meanwhile, her dad totally disappears from the plot. Hopefully he’s not still on the verge of death? Has he finally eaten a carrot? Maybe I’ll find out in the epilogue. Third, of the three Asian main/secondary characters, all have the exact same issues with their parents - overly critical, judgmental, guilt, no freedom to pursue their dreams without essentially being disowned. Couldn’t we get one alternative model? Maybe this could’ve been something Ari and Jihoon connected on, something else they had in common. But did that also have to be the case, even further escalated, for Hana? It’s too much and it plays into familiar stereotypes.
Overall: really promising premise that is undercut by its wet blanket protagonist. I hope that the best friend gets her own book; she’s a lot more interesting.
(Grain of salt: I’m 9 hours in and will update if my opinion changes.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2022
I saw this on Audible Originals (i.e. free) and picked it up. I didn't connect it to The Stand-In, which I hated, before coming to write this review. And I'm so glad I didn't! Although, it's pretty clear very early that Ari isn't the limp noodle that put me off that other book.
Not that Ari's characterization doesn't have issues. She's supposed to be a top lawyer with a prestigious firm but, frankly, I don't see it. She's painfully illogical a lot of the time, conveniently inarticulate a few too many times, and she's not so much being gaslit at work as she's gaslighting herself. Not that I buy the firm that operates as a form of patronage/spoils for partner nepotism with Ari coming in with a useless patron. But if you give that as a premise as a thing that's possible (if unlikely), you still have Ari missing or ignoring how sidelined she is, how little anyone there respects her, and how she kind of hates working there. Which is a lot of clueless to pack into someone who graduated in the top five percent of her law school.
So I ignored all the work stuff as useless background. Mainly because I liked Ari despite those obvious flaws. When she was pursuing her guided tour interests and interacting with the unconventional clients her firm stuck her with, she was engaging. And her interactions with Jihoon (barring the initial idiocy) were sweet and felt authentic.
And I liked Jihoon, too. He's sweet, hard-working, and has the soul of a poet without the sap. I love how they connected during their time together and fully bought their relationship. And I liked that they had important conversations, even when they came to conclusions that hurt. And you'd think I'd have been pushed out of the story when we got not one, but two dark moments. But they actually served as a balance and they were authentic to where they were and who they were, so I was willing to go along.
So yeah, the story has weaknesses, even if you give it the wish-fulfillment of any celebrity romance. And yeah, you have to give the K-pop it's trappings (I have no idea how authentic those were, but they were detailed enough I was able to buy it) and that's no small thing. But it was an easy four star read for me and I'm glad I took a bite.
A note about Diversity and progressive/political stuff: Ari's roommate (and Jihoon's cousin) is a Diversity Consultant so you get a lot of chatter around those topics. Plus, since they're Asian, you get the added exploration over their particular struggles. The stories/complaints about work were fairly well balanced, I think, even while discussing obvious outliers. While we got the expected clueless guy claiming that he doesn't need help because he's "a nice guy", you also get a harangue by "Lady Woke" leaning into ally status to tell them how they should feel. So it was pot-shots all the way around and delivered with enough humor to get over any bumpy depictions. And that's always my preference when authors dip into things smacking of politics—the pot-shots all the way around, I mean.
A note about Audiobook: Phillipa Soo was an outstanding narrator. Her English is unaccented as appropriate to the characters, but the few Korean words and phrases sounded completely authentic and flowed naturally. I know nothing about Korean, mind, so I'm hardly a judge, but it felt solid to me.
A note about Chaste: There's sex in the story, but even the making out was fairly pulled back on detail. So it's questionably chaste. i.e. I consider it chaste due to the pull-back, but you could easily make the case that it isn't if so inclined.
Not that Ari's characterization doesn't have issues. She's supposed to be a top lawyer with a prestigious firm but, frankly, I don't see it. She's painfully illogical a lot of the time, conveniently inarticulate a few too many times, and she's not so much being gaslit at work as she's gaslighting herself. Not that I buy the firm that operates as a form of patronage/spoils for partner nepotism with Ari coming in with a useless patron. But if you give that as a premise as a thing that's possible (if unlikely), you still have Ari missing or ignoring how sidelined she is, how little anyone there respects her, and how she kind of hates working there. Which is a lot of clueless to pack into someone who graduated in the top five percent of her law school.
So I ignored all the work stuff as useless background. Mainly because I liked Ari despite those obvious flaws. When she was pursuing her guided tour interests and interacting with the unconventional clients her firm stuck her with, she was engaging. And her interactions with Jihoon (barring the initial idiocy) were sweet and felt authentic.
And I liked Jihoon, too. He's sweet, hard-working, and has the soul of a poet without the sap. I love how they connected during their time together and fully bought their relationship. And I liked that they had important conversations, even when they came to conclusions that hurt. And you'd think I'd have been pushed out of the story when we got not one, but two dark moments. But they actually served as a balance and they were authentic to where they were and who they were, so I was willing to go along.
So yeah, the story has weaknesses, even if you give it the wish-fulfillment of any celebrity romance. And yeah, you have to give the K-pop it's trappings (I have no idea how authentic those were, but they were detailed enough I was able to buy it) and that's no small thing. But it was an easy four star read for me and I'm glad I took a bite.
A note about Diversity and progressive/political stuff: Ari's roommate (and Jihoon's cousin) is a Diversity Consultant so you get a lot of chatter around those topics. Plus, since they're Asian, you get the added exploration over their particular struggles. The stories/complaints about work were fairly well balanced, I think, even while discussing obvious outliers. While we got the expected clueless guy claiming that he doesn't need help because he's "a nice guy", you also get a harangue by "Lady Woke" leaning into ally status to tell them how they should feel. So it was pot-shots all the way around and delivered with enough humor to get over any bumpy depictions. And that's always my preference when authors dip into things smacking of politics—the pot-shots all the way around, I mean.
A note about Audiobook: Phillipa Soo was an outstanding narrator. Her English is unaccented as appropriate to the characters, but the few Korean words and phrases sounded completely authentic and flowed naturally. I know nothing about Korean, mind, so I'm hardly a judge, but it felt solid to me.
A note about Chaste: There's sex in the story, but even the making out was fairly pulled back on detail. So it's questionably chaste. i.e. I consider it chaste due to the pull-back, but you could easily make the case that it isn't if so inclined.
July 27, 2022
Lily Chu's writing - delightful.
Pillipa Soo's voice - magical.
Lily Chu + Phillipa Soo = more joy than any one person deserves.
Pillipa Soo's voice - magical.
Lily Chu + Phillipa Soo = more joy than any one person deserves.
August 4, 2022
Kpop fans terrify me
I honestly thought the book was over after we found out that he was a kpop star and they decided to be together 4ever. But then it dragged. And dragged. I did not like it.
I honestly thought the book was over after we found out that he was a kpop star and they decided to be together 4ever. But then it dragged. And dragged. I did not like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2023
Is your career rewarding? Do you follow a daily routine?
The Comeback
by Lily Chu
Pub Date: 09 May 2023
SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca
Women's Fiction
Synopsis:
Lawyer Ariadne Hui follows a strict routine. Her career is exhausting, and she must strive for excellence at all times if she wants to become a partner in one of Toronto's leading law firms.
After an grueling day, Ariadne is shocked to find a strange handsome man asleep on her couch. Her roommate explains that this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin who just flew in from Seoul. After a broken heart, Choi needs a few weeks to rest. Ari won't even notice him during his brief visit, right?
My thoughts:
There's nothing better than reading an adorable romance like The Comeback. The story captivated me so much that I finished it in one night. Choi and Adi are my favorite characters, and the supporting cast stole my heart as well. This is an enjoyable, easy-to-read book with some serious themes. Be sure to read the trigger warnings before proceeding.
Rating: 4.25/5
Thank you NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Casablanca, for sharing this cozy romance with me. Your kindness is appreciated.
The Comeback
by Lily Chu
Pub Date: 09 May 2023
SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca
Women's Fiction
Synopsis:
Lawyer Ariadne Hui follows a strict routine. Her career is exhausting, and she must strive for excellence at all times if she wants to become a partner in one of Toronto's leading law firms.
After an grueling day, Ariadne is shocked to find a strange handsome man asleep on her couch. Her roommate explains that this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin who just flew in from Seoul. After a broken heart, Choi needs a few weeks to rest. Ari won't even notice him during his brief visit, right?
My thoughts:
There's nothing better than reading an adorable romance like The Comeback. The story captivated me so much that I finished it in one night. Choi and Adi are my favorite characters, and the supporting cast stole my heart as well. This is an enjoyable, easy-to-read book with some serious themes. Be sure to read the trigger warnings before proceeding.
Rating: 4.25/5
Thank you NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Casablanca, for sharing this cozy romance with me. Your kindness is appreciated.
March 9, 2023
When a book is this cute, I'm willing to overlook the flaws, but only some of them.
For example Ari doesn't really like anything except books, but even that doesn't get more than one mention. This is not that important in the grand scheme of things because I liked her when she was together with Jihoon. He's basically her opposite and I think they work well together.
And I would've even given this five stars had it not been for the ending which was the biggest flaw in my opinion. The book should've ended when Ari learned Jihoon was an idol and they still decided to stay together, nothing past that was needed.
But still, I really loved it, the narrator did a good job the second time in a row, and I'll probably reread this in the future.
For example Ari doesn't really like anything except books, but even that doesn't get more than one mention. This is not that important in the grand scheme of things because I liked her when she was together with Jihoon. He's basically her opposite and I think they work well together.
And I would've even given this five stars had it not been for the ending which was the biggest flaw in my opinion. The book should've ended when Ari learned Jihoon was an idol and they still decided to stay together, nothing past that was needed.
But still, I really loved it, the narrator did a good job the second time in a row, and I'll probably reread this in the future.
April 25, 2024
Ariadne Hui is driven to become partner in the law firm where she works. She works excessively and is very regimented with her life. One evening she arrives at her apartment and finds a good-looking man sleeping on her couch. Ariadne quickly learns that he is Choi Jihoon, her roommate's cousin from South Korea, who is in town recovering from a broken heart. Jihoon is very quiet. He tries to stay out of Adriadne's way and not bother her. But the two soon become friends...and then something more.
This contemporary romance started off well. I liked both characters. Ariadne has a strained relationship with her family that Jihoon is helping her overcome. Ariadne learns that Jihoon lied about his reason for visiting his cousin. I was enjoying this contemporary romance up to the point where we got a lot of drama and angst. A little is OK, but it just kept going on and on.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Phillipa Soo. She does a fantastic job with the narration. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
This contemporary romance started off well. I liked both characters. Ariadne has a strained relationship with her family that Jihoon is helping her overcome. Ariadne learns that Jihoon lied about his reason for visiting his cousin. I was enjoying this contemporary romance up to the point where we got a lot of drama and angst. A little is OK, but it just kept going on and on.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Phillipa Soo. She does a fantastic job with the narration. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
April 1, 2023
After seeing and buying Lily Chu's debut romcom in Target back in 2021, I immediately recognized her name when I was looking through the Audible Plus catalog. The Comeback was only included until 3/31 so when I saw it was going to be removed, I knew I had to hurry up and listen to it while it was still there. I'm really glad I was able to squeeze this in, and I enjoyed both the storyline and Chu's writing style. I thought that Ariadne was a very strong female MC, and Phillipa Soo did a wonderful job narrating the audiobook. She fits so nicely as the voice of Ari, and I'm happy to see she narrates The Stand-In as well since I still need to get to that.
The budding romance between Ari and Jihoon is a really slow burn and at times I did think this was drug out a bit too long. I think if it would have been shorter and more concise, I would have really loved it, but as it stands it was still very enjoyable. Chu mixes in serious topics along with the humor of the story, but overall, the tone is light and the romance completely adorable. There is extremely strong characterization happening here which I loved, and plenty going on without taking away from the main storyline. I loved the personal growth that Ari especially experienced, and although I thought she was silly for not realizing who Jihoon was (how wouldn't she know?), she was a flawed and relatable character that you can’t help but root for.
The budding romance between Ari and Jihoon is a really slow burn and at times I did think this was drug out a bit too long. I think if it would have been shorter and more concise, I would have really loved it, but as it stands it was still very enjoyable. Chu mixes in serious topics along with the humor of the story, but overall, the tone is light and the romance completely adorable. There is extremely strong characterization happening here which I loved, and plenty going on without taking away from the main storyline. I loved the personal growth that Ari especially experienced, and although I thought she was silly for not realizing who Jihoon was (how wouldn't she know?), she was a flawed and relatable character that you can’t help but root for.
July 23, 2022
A really sweet romance which I feel like I read at the right moment to lift my spirits <3
August 4, 2022
I want to like this because I enjoyed The Stand In so much.
However, I find the main protagonist an exhausting and a toxic character. I can't even believe that she's already in her 30s based on the decisions she made. For a supposedly successful lawyer, she sure is a naive one.
I love, love Phillipa Soo as the audiobook narrator, so at least there's that.
However, I find the main protagonist an exhausting and a toxic character. I can't even believe that she's already in her 30s based on the decisions she made. For a supposedly successful lawyer, she sure is a naive one.
I love, love Phillipa Soo as the audiobook narrator, so at least there's that.
July 21, 2022
The main character Ari really annoyed me. She was narrow-minded and emotionally stunted towards all aspects of her life. I expected her to grow a bit more by the end of the story, but I don’t think that happened.
I'm a newbie to the K-Pop world and was excited to listen to this story but Ari and her narrow-mindedness from the beginning was a huge pet peeve. If you are a fan of K-Pop and certain boybands, then I’m not sure you would like this story. I don’t know much about the K-Pop world and the obligation that Korean idols feel towards their fans is strange to me but that is the Korean culture. I think Ari should have been a bit more understanding of this.
I'm a newbie to the K-Pop world and was excited to listen to this story but Ari and her narrow-mindedness from the beginning was a huge pet peeve. If you are a fan of K-Pop and certain boybands, then I’m not sure you would like this story. I don’t know much about the K-Pop world and the obligation that Korean idols feel towards their fans is strange to me but that is the Korean culture. I think Ari should have been a bit more understanding of this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2022
I was hoping for a light, easy romance but instead I got a lot of wokism. Too much emphasis on gender, race, and a boy who wears more makeup than me. I liked the Stand In, but I just did not like this book at all. The narrator was really good, the writing style was okay, the main characters were just too juvenile in their thinking to be 30 and nearly 30 years old. And it was way too long. It was a big yuck for me.
August 1, 2022
Entertaining enough audio book but way too long for such a fluff kind of book. I had to speed it up just so it wouldn't take so long to finish. Predictable storyline and the main character was kind of annoying.
August 10, 2022
Reluctantly - 2 stars, only because the beginning had a promising start. But close to the halfway mark, it went downhill. I actually can’t believe how repetitive and contradictive it became. Ariadne and Jihoon are so dysfunctional.
Philippa Soo was great though.
Philippa Soo was great though.
Read
August 11, 20222.5 stars
The Stand In was much better.
The k-pop idol thing felt forced in the storyline and the development of their relationship was very weak.
The Stand In was much better.
The k-pop idol thing felt forced in the storyline and the development of their relationship was very weak.
August 3, 2023
2.75/5 stars
This was honestly fine and probably deserves 3 stars but, spoiler alert, they broke up TWICE. I can barely make it through a romance book where they break up once.
This was honestly fine and probably deserves 3 stars but, spoiler alert, they broke up TWICE. I can barely make it through a romance book where they break up once.
November 22, 2022
I listened to this one on audiobook, and Phillipa Soo was so freaking amazing a performer, I was snorting and laughing and getting choked up on a regular basis throughout the experience. I need to find more of her audiobooks, because she is just that good.
Okay, I really, really ended up loving that. I super-appreciated that the plot included a more balanced take on "family is important!" than I usually bump into, where it was more "boundaries with families are important, and if they won't honour them, it's not okay!" and I cannot tell you how freaking refreshing that was. Truly. Like, on the basis of seeing characters say "I love you but the way you're treating me is not okay" alone, I loved this book.
I know zilch about K Pop, which meant I also appreciated the heroine being just as clueless about the topic, allowing me along for the ride in a way that never felt info-dumpy. I also found myself absolutely on her side throughout—as an introvert, the very notion of the kind of attention she was getting left me itchy with hives and while I can absolutely see Jihoon's reasoning and understand his choices, I definitely would have reacted much the same as Ari, so everything felt so emotionally "Oh, yes, 100% Ari, yep, you've got this!" to me, for the most part. (The one exception there was when as the reader I'd been told how horrible Phoebe was for most of the story thus far, only to learn that Ari herself had inflated it—it was a moment of unreliable narration that had me wondering about all her other declarations of her family, but it was just Phoebe, in in the end.)
Anyway. I really enjoyed the heck out of this, especially as a performance. Can't wait for more from Chu (especially if Soo performs it).
Okay, I really, really ended up loving that. I super-appreciated that the plot included a more balanced take on "family is important!" than I usually bump into, where it was more "boundaries with families are important, and if they won't honour them, it's not okay!" and I cannot tell you how freaking refreshing that was. Truly. Like, on the basis of seeing characters say "I love you but the way you're treating me is not okay" alone, I loved this book.
I know zilch about K Pop, which meant I also appreciated the heroine being just as clueless about the topic, allowing me along for the ride in a way that never felt info-dumpy. I also found myself absolutely on her side throughout—as an introvert, the very notion of the kind of attention she was getting left me itchy with hives and while I can absolutely see Jihoon's reasoning and understand his choices, I definitely would have reacted much the same as Ari, so everything felt so emotionally "Oh, yes, 100% Ari, yep, you've got this!" to me, for the most part. (The one exception there was when as the reader I'd been told how horrible Phoebe was for most of the story thus far, only to learn that Ari herself had inflated it—it was a moment of unreliable narration that had me wondering about all her other declarations of her family, but it was just Phoebe, in in the end.)
Anyway. I really enjoyed the heck out of this, especially as a performance. Can't wait for more from Chu (especially if Soo performs it).
August 16, 2022
This took me forever to finish because this book is entirely too long. I liked the beginning and I liked the ending. That’s it! Everything in between was boring and dragged out. I also hated how everyone treated the FMC. She was understandably trying to protect herself and her privacy, but she was bullied for it. Not cool! The MMC never gave her time to decide what was best for herself. He kept telling her what to do and getting mad at her for being unsure or needing time. When their relationship was outed, he chose the group over her. Which he knew would ruin her life (job, family, privacy, safety). It drove me nuts that everyone made excuses for him. “Did you let him explain?” “Did you listen to him?” Umm…yeah she did, and he still threw her under the bus. Why are we supposed to feel bad for him? Nope! I don’t think so! There were a few things that I really liked about this book though. I loved the k-pop star aspect, I loved her sister and their relationship, and I really liked the emails that he would send to her at the end. They were so cute and the most memorable part of this book. I also thought Phillipa Soo’s narration was great. I love her! This book could have been so much better. I wish we had a better MMC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2023
The Set Up was one of my favourite 2022 rom-com reads and while The Comeback didn’t quite meet the expectations its predecessor set for me, I still really enjoyed it. I absolutely love the way Lily Chu writes and the characters she creates feel fully dimensional and developed. Jihoon was the softest darling, Ari was headstrong and such a great POV to read from and the side characters were equally fab.
My only qualm with this book was the attitude towards Ari’s concerns and hurt about a certain aspect of the book. They felt very much belittled at times, which was a shame and felt unfitting of the characters those comments came from.
That being said, this was overall another fabulous read from Lily Chu, who has well and truly become a autobuy author for me. I’m already looking forward to whatever she brings out next because I have no doubt it’ll be another great time.
Also shout out to Phillipa Soo for another 10/10 narration.
My only qualm with this book was the attitude towards Ari’s concerns and hurt about a certain aspect of the book. They felt very much belittled at times, which was a shame and felt unfitting of the characters those comments came from.
That being said, this was overall another fabulous read from Lily Chu, who has well and truly become a autobuy author for me. I’m already looking forward to whatever she brings out next because I have no doubt it’ll be another great time.
Also shout out to Phillipa Soo for another 10/10 narration.
September 2, 2022
I don’t know if it’s the narrator who has done both of Lily chu’s books or the author is amazing or both but I loooooved this. I love how it’s celebrity life and seeing behind the scenes but not the typical American celebrity. The different cultures the author writes about are so beautiful and intriguing I want to now to to Korea and only just now have an desire to sample K-Pop. The diehard fans that make my skin crawl are portrayed beautifully and respectably while also getting across how weird it is to live your life for people who don’t actually know you and just obsess over your image.
I also loved the little mention about her characters from her previous book! I look forward to her next book to have nods to them both.
I now need to get these books in physical format just so I can have them on my shelves
I also loved the little mention about her characters from her previous book! I look forward to her next book to have nods to them both.
I now need to get these books in physical format just so I can have them on my shelves
September 1, 2023
100,000,000% you should be reading this book, but if you aren't convinced just by that, here are some pieces to pique your interest:
-set in Toronto
-MC is a lawyer
-MC has high career expectations for herself, so romance falls by the wayside
-fake identity
-forced proximity
-cutest romance ever
I am obsessed with Lily Chu's writing and you should be too. Her romance books are steamy rather than spicy, but I'm still enthralled by every line and live for each and every interaction between the MCs.
-set in Toronto
-MC is a lawyer
-MC has high career expectations for herself, so romance falls by the wayside
-fake identity
-forced proximity
-cutest romance ever
I am obsessed with Lily Chu's writing and you should be too. Her romance books are steamy rather than spicy, but I'm still enthralled by every line and live for each and every interaction between the MCs.
January 26, 2023
DNF at chapter 8, 23%
The writing is cringy, the plot for a whole quarter of this book has been boring and domestic. The main character is bitter, judgmental, and close-minded, and all of the other characters are flat and one-dimensional.
The main idea of the plot sounds nice, but I don’t like the writing or any of the characters enough to waste my time on waiting for it to get better or more interesting.
The writing is cringy, the plot for a whole quarter of this book has been boring and domestic. The main character is bitter, judgmental, and close-minded, and all of the other characters are flat and one-dimensional.
The main idea of the plot sounds nice, but I don’t like the writing or any of the characters enough to waste my time on waiting for it to get better or more interesting.
July 24, 2022
So this was cute and a definite recommend especially if you love K-pop! 1 only have 2 complaints. The first was this was pretty long winded, therefore there were lulls in the storyline. The ending was also quite abrupt with little about the couple in the future. Overall, this is a great light and fun read or listen.
September 25, 2023
Lily Chu's The Comeback, a celebrity-romance, drama-packed novel about love, family, and life. It's a book with a fun, exciting premise, one I was looking forward to diving into. Unfortunately, the book itself is unable to deliver on its more exciting points, making for a frustrating read.
Lily Chu lives in Toronto, Canada, and loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late reading a good book. She writes romantic comedies with strong Asian characters. You can find her online at lilychuauthor.com or @lilychuauthor.
Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: that's the way she likes it. If she's going to make partner in Toronto's most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times. But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is her cousin Choi Jihoon, freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he's there. (Yeah, right.) Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn't long before she's falling hard. But when one wrong step leads to a shocking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage—not as the competent, steely lawyer she's fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she's finally ready to be.
At first, I was incredibly excited to pick this book up. I really enjoy a good celebrity romance, and after the first one hundred pages, I was curious to see how Ari and Jihoon might make their relationship work. I loved how right off the bat, we knew this story was going to be about more than just romance—Ari clearly has to work through her career exasperations and her hopes for her familial relationships. I am a huge advocate for romance novels that incorporate more than just romance, and it seemed like The Comeback would absolutely fit the bill. However, by the end of the book, I felt like none of these promises were delivered on. I think this can be boiled down to three things: how the celebrity romance was developed, how Ari's relationship with her work evolved, and how her relationship with her sister grew over the course of the novel.
To start, it was incredibly frustrating to see the way the celebrity romance situation was handled. At the beginning, I could forgive Ari's ignorance of Jihoon's fame—she's not into K-pop! She has no idea about that world! That's totally fine, because I relate, and in Ari's shoes, I never would have known Jihoon was a celebrity hiding out from responsibilities. In fact, that throwaway line about Ari turning the news on, hearing about some missing Asian singer, and then turning the news off was hilarious. I enjoyed how Ari's not-knowing allowed Ari and Jihoon to connect at the beginning. While I don't believe one month is truly enough time to make that connection (especially since the one month refrain is repeated over and over again, going to show how insignificantly short one month is), I was ready to put that wariness aside to believe in their once-in-a-lifetime love story.
It's the second half of the book that wrecked my hopes for that. Jihoon and Ari fall into a cyclical narrative, wherein Jihoon consistently doesn't let Ari know the real-life implications of a relationship with him, and where Ari keeps changing her mind about being with him because of those costs, and both of them are upset and angry with one another. Put simply, they have issues communicating with one another about the real-life nature of their relationship. They can't scale a roommate relationship to the real world once Jihoon rejoins his band, and it's frustrating for the reader to watch them not communicate with one another ways to make it work. In particular, the forgiveness they both extend comes quickly (especially with a one-month-relationship foundation), and yet they don't actually take the time to discuss the logistics of their relationship (despite Ari mentioning several times that's what she's stressed about, and despite Jihoon knowing his own world so well that he could have predicted the ending of the novel). All-in-all, it's a very frustrating experience.
Secondly, I was looking forward to seeing how Ari would work out her career worries. Clearly, she works at a place that doesn't value her, despite her stating over and over how she puts work above all else and spends more time working than she does doing anything else. I was excited for her to stick it to her racist colleagues, to quit and pursue her passion for making travel itineraries, but we never really get a defining moment for Ari as she makes this change. We get one throwaway paragraph describing how she quit her job and how she got her new one. While I was definitely excited to see her pursuing her passions, there isn't a larger commentary on how important it is to be happy with our work, or commentary on how difficult it is to leave one line of work and go into a different industry (even though you could argue that Ari doesn't completely switch industries all at once). The one saving grace of this is how at the very least we see Ari and her father developing a relationship outside of her law work—she speaks to him on page and declares what she wants, and he eventually agrees to let her make a travel itinerary for him (and while that still means their relationship hinges on what she does for work, at least it's a step in the right direction since it's what she's happy doing).
Finally, another big promise the novel makes at the beginning is Ari and Phoebe fixing their sisterly bond. It's clear that Phoebe is coming home to be a bigger presence in Ari's life, which Ari is unfamiliar with, since Phoebe left home when Ari was a teenager. Despite Ari having a quite sisterly relationship with her roommate, she chafes against Phoebe's reentrance into her life, unsure how to move forward or if she even wants to. I believe this to be super valid, and can’t imagine the hurt that I would feel if my sister left my life when I was younger. All that being said, I wish Ari had been more open to Phoebe, and more vulnerable with her sister when she couldn't find the courage to be vulnerable with Jihoonn. It seemed to me like Ari had more of a reason to bring Phoebe in, knowing that her father almost died unexpectedly. But, all the way to at least 75% of the way through, Ari is still finding ways to push Phoebe out. I hoped that we could have spent some of the time between Ari's and Jihoon's splits giving Ari and Phoebe space to start working their trauma out, but that doesn't come until much closer to the end, which means it is not as rewarding as it could have been when they finally accept one another in their lives.
All-in-all, this book would have benefitted from a different pacing, instead of trying to cram too much into a timeline that doesn't work for the narrative. I think there's some excellent commentary in here about K-pop and the music industry, and it's definitely a reminder that we are defined by the things we love.
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
Lily Chu lives in Toronto, Canada, and loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late reading a good book. She writes romantic comedies with strong Asian characters. You can find her online at lilychuauthor.com or @lilychuauthor.
Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: that's the way she likes it. If she's going to make partner in Toronto's most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times. But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is her cousin Choi Jihoon, freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he's there. (Yeah, right.) Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn't long before she's falling hard. But when one wrong step leads to a shocking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage—not as the competent, steely lawyer she's fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship...and discover the Ariadne Hui she's finally ready to be.
At first, I was incredibly excited to pick this book up. I really enjoy a good celebrity romance, and after the first one hundred pages, I was curious to see how Ari and Jihoon might make their relationship work. I loved how right off the bat, we knew this story was going to be about more than just romance—Ari clearly has to work through her career exasperations and her hopes for her familial relationships. I am a huge advocate for romance novels that incorporate more than just romance, and it seemed like The Comeback would absolutely fit the bill. However, by the end of the book, I felt like none of these promises were delivered on. I think this can be boiled down to three things: how the celebrity romance was developed, how Ari's relationship with her work evolved, and how her relationship with her sister grew over the course of the novel.
To start, it was incredibly frustrating to see the way the celebrity romance situation was handled. At the beginning, I could forgive Ari's ignorance of Jihoon's fame—she's not into K-pop! She has no idea about that world! That's totally fine, because I relate, and in Ari's shoes, I never would have known Jihoon was a celebrity hiding out from responsibilities. In fact, that throwaway line about Ari turning the news on, hearing about some missing Asian singer, and then turning the news off was hilarious. I enjoyed how Ari's not-knowing allowed Ari and Jihoon to connect at the beginning. While I don't believe one month is truly enough time to make that connection (especially since the one month refrain is repeated over and over again, going to show how insignificantly short one month is), I was ready to put that wariness aside to believe in their once-in-a-lifetime love story.
It's the second half of the book that wrecked my hopes for that. Jihoon and Ari fall into a cyclical narrative, wherein Jihoon consistently doesn't let Ari know the real-life implications of a relationship with him, and where Ari keeps changing her mind about being with him because of those costs, and both of them are upset and angry with one another. Put simply, they have issues communicating with one another about the real-life nature of their relationship. They can't scale a roommate relationship to the real world once Jihoon rejoins his band, and it's frustrating for the reader to watch them not communicate with one another ways to make it work. In particular, the forgiveness they both extend comes quickly (especially with a one-month-relationship foundation), and yet they don't actually take the time to discuss the logistics of their relationship (despite Ari mentioning several times that's what she's stressed about, and despite Jihoon knowing his own world so well that he could have predicted the ending of the novel). All-in-all, it's a very frustrating experience.
Secondly, I was looking forward to seeing how Ari would work out her career worries. Clearly, she works at a place that doesn't value her, despite her stating over and over how she puts work above all else and spends more time working than she does doing anything else. I was excited for her to stick it to her racist colleagues, to quit and pursue her passion for making travel itineraries, but we never really get a defining moment for Ari as she makes this change. We get one throwaway paragraph describing how she quit her job and how she got her new one. While I was definitely excited to see her pursuing her passions, there isn't a larger commentary on how important it is to be happy with our work, or commentary on how difficult it is to leave one line of work and go into a different industry (even though you could argue that Ari doesn't completely switch industries all at once). The one saving grace of this is how at the very least we see Ari and her father developing a relationship outside of her law work—she speaks to him on page and declares what she wants, and he eventually agrees to let her make a travel itinerary for him (and while that still means their relationship hinges on what she does for work, at least it's a step in the right direction since it's what she's happy doing).
Finally, another big promise the novel makes at the beginning is Ari and Phoebe fixing their sisterly bond. It's clear that Phoebe is coming home to be a bigger presence in Ari's life, which Ari is unfamiliar with, since Phoebe left home when Ari was a teenager. Despite Ari having a quite sisterly relationship with her roommate, she chafes against Phoebe's reentrance into her life, unsure how to move forward or if she even wants to. I believe this to be super valid, and can’t imagine the hurt that I would feel if my sister left my life when I was younger. All that being said, I wish Ari had been more open to Phoebe, and more vulnerable with her sister when she couldn't find the courage to be vulnerable with Jihoonn. It seemed to me like Ari had more of a reason to bring Phoebe in, knowing that her father almost died unexpectedly. But, all the way to at least 75% of the way through, Ari is still finding ways to push Phoebe out. I hoped that we could have spent some of the time between Ari's and Jihoon's splits giving Ari and Phoebe space to start working their trauma out, but that doesn't come until much closer to the end, which means it is not as rewarding as it could have been when they finally accept one another in their lives.
All-in-all, this book would have benefitted from a different pacing, instead of trying to cram too much into a timeline that doesn't work for the narrative. I think there's some excellent commentary in here about K-pop and the music industry, and it's definitely a reminder that we are defined by the things we love.
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
February 27, 2023
We follow Ariadne, a career-driven lawyer, who meets Jihoon when he randomly shows up at her apartment. It turns out, he is her roommate’s cousin and he just wants to crash in Canada for a while, leading to them growing closer. What he doesn’t reveal is that he is part of one of the biggest K-Pop groups, stardom he can’t hide with hair dye and face masks.
I’m not into K-Pop but I liked how the book introduced the differences between dating a western celebrity and a K-Pop Idol, i.e. how the relationships between them and their fans differentiate.
I really liked the build up of their romance and how some of the smaller moments payed of big time by the end of the book. It was a little frustrating, how many people expected Ariadne to just accept some of the situations that arose from his stardom because ‘that is just how things are’ even though she was (rightfully) frustrated as she was neither used to his culture nor the treatment of K-Idols. The willingness of both, Jihoon and Ari, made up for this and I liked the genuine feel of the conflicts.
What I would’ve loved to see would’ve been Ariadne wrapping up her employment with her dumb law firm slightly more actively. After a plot line of her struggling to prove herself to her bosses, office bullying, and insinuations that she was nothing but a diversity hire, having that plot line wrapped up nearly off-page was a slightly disappointing.
I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I’m not into K-Pop but I liked how the book introduced the differences between dating a western celebrity and a K-Pop Idol, i.e. how the relationships between them and their fans differentiate.
I really liked the build up of their romance and how some of the smaller moments payed of big time by the end of the book. It was a little frustrating, how many people expected Ariadne to just accept some of the situations that arose from his stardom because ‘that is just how things are’ even though she was (rightfully) frustrated as she was neither used to his culture nor the treatment of K-Idols. The willingness of both, Jihoon and Ari, made up for this and I liked the genuine feel of the conflicts.
What I would’ve loved to see would’ve been Ariadne wrapping up her employment with her dumb law firm slightly more actively. After a plot line of her struggling to prove herself to her bosses, office bullying, and insinuations that she was nothing but a diversity hire, having that plot line wrapped up nearly off-page was a slightly disappointing.
I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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