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by Susan Lee
She's read every romance…except her own…
Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she's made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene's real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes.
If only it were that easy. Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene's online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head.
As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she'll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.
"Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The trope chapter titles are woven into the story, building a lighthearted atmosphere where one can't help but root for sunshine Aiden to win over grumpy Irene...A must-have flirtation-via-tropes tale with all the swooning and joy readers want in a love story." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Recalling the effusive expression, fast pace, and dramatic moments of a K-drama, Lee celebrates Korean culture, and examines its objectification within the U.S., via a good- humored and tenderly written second chance at love." —Publishers Weekly
"A quick and lovely read that touches on themes of identity and internal growth, this novel is perfect for the romantics at heart." —Booklist
"The Romance Rivalry is laugh-out-loud funny and delightfully charming. Filled with delicious easter eggs to make the romance reader's heart burst, it feels like a cleverly crafted love letter to the genre. A perfect feel-good rom-com!" —Julie Soto, USA Today bestselling author of Not Another Love Song
"Susan Lee does not miss when it comes to writing charming and hilarious YA romances! Fresh, flirty, and fun, The Romance Rivalry perfectly captures the unique joy of reading romance novels while exploring all the deep, complicated, and heart-swishing emotions of being the main character of your own true love story!" —Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Paradise Problem
This information about The Romance Rivalry was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Lee is the author of the young adult romantic comedies Seoulmates and The Name Drop. Her work has been featured in national outlets such as Buzzfeed, NPR, and Pop Sugar. A graduate of UC San Diego, Susan built a career as an HR executive at some of today's hottest companies, until she realized that writing stories was a more impactful and powerful format to change the world. Now she channels her energy into writing happily ever afters for those historically underrepresented in romance. When she is not writing (or painfully procrastinating from writing), Susan can be found down the rabbit holes of her many obsessions including listening to Kpop, binge watching K-dramas, collecting sneakers, building mechanical keyboards, and obsessing over her two adorable, but ill-behaved chihuahuas.
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