My expectations were too high for this book!! I’m upset. This book was mostly enjoyable, but it wasn’t this amazing book that I thought it would be. The description and the cover made it seem like pure wholesome perfection, but the execution fell flat.

## Once Upon a KProm: A Sweet and Sassy Rom-Com with a Twist

'Once Upon a KProm' by Ally Carter is a delightful blend of classic rom-com tropes with a unique and hilarious twist. The story follows Katelyn, a quirky and fiercely independent girl navigating the treacherous waters of high school drama and the pressure of finding a date for the KProm, a school dance with a twist: every couple must create and perform a fairytale-themed skit.

**What works:**

* **Charming Characters:** Katelyn is relatable and fun to root for, her witty banter and independent spirit make her a compelling protagonist. The supporting characters, including her best friend and the charming (and slightly clueless) boy next door, are equally engaging and add depth to the story.
* **Unique Premise:** The KProm concept is fresh and provides a constant source of amusement. The creative skits and the competitive spirit within the school add a layer of excitement and anticipation.
* **Heartwarming Romance:** The blossoming romance between Katelyn and her love interest is sweet and believable. Their interactions are filled with playful banter and genuine affection, making their connection feel authentic.
* **Witty and Engaging Writing:** Carter's writing is light and breezy, keeping the story moving at a brisk pace. Her dialogue is sharp and witty, adding humor and charm to the narrative.

**What could be better:**

* **Predictability:** While the story is enjoyable, it follows a fairly predictable rom-com formula. Some readers might find the plot a little too straightforward and lacking in surprises.
* **Limited Depth:** While the characters are charming, their development could be deeper. Some of their motivations and backstories feel a bit superficial.

**Overall:**

'Once Upon a KProm' is a fun and lighthearted read perfect for fans of contemporary romance and high school stories. It's a quick and enjoyable escape with a touch of whimsy and a satisfyingly sweet ending. While it might not be groundbreaking, it's a charming and entertaining read that will leave you with a smile.

**Recommendation:** If you're looking for a light and fluffy rom-com with a unique twist, 'Once Upon a KProm' is definitely worth checking out. It's perfect for a cozy evening with a cup of tea or a beach day with a good book.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this fun novel!

I requested this book around the same time I was heavily into Kpop and Kdrama's, but wasn't as into reading Young Adult Romances and had to dnf it at that time. Now I'm not as invested in the Kpop world as I used to be but am reading more romance novels so I thought I would enjoy picking this up again and giving it a better chance. I'm so glad I did, while it's not something I would normally pick out, I had fun reading this in almost one sitting.

I wasn't familiar with Kat Cho's writing style, but after reading a review of this in comparison to her other series, this definitely makes me want to check them out. The story flowed well and I only got lost like twice but that was due to me speeding through this book instead of taking breaks and my usual annotations. The only thing I had an issue with regarding of how fast the story moved despite it being in a three-ish week setting was Elena's own character development during the timeframe. While I'm glad that Elena realized that her coping mechanism towards people leaving was also affecting the people around her, I wanted there to be more time of her working to fix that instead of pushing it all into the third act, because having to put that with the miscommunication trope and reconciliation, things felt unbalanced.

But aside from all that, this was sweet and a great continuation of adding more YA romance into my reading list to figure out what I like about this genre after years of heavily avoiding it. I also loved the additional parts with the K-pop profiles for everyone in the group, I almost wish this was a series following every member of that group but I doubt that would come true, I love solo novels but I'm also a fan of connected series.

I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main characters were Elena Soo and Robbie Choi.

Elena wants to raise funds for the community center that she been helping with. So she and her friends decided give out fliers during there lunch time. They set up a table. Next to them there is a table that is dealing with Prom. She has decided to not go to prom and use the money for the center. She surprised when her childhood friend show up asking her to go to prom with him.


Robbie Choi move a way from this town and has came back to it to ask his childhood friend to go to prom. But he find out that she doesn't want to go. Robbie life is different now that he is a famous K-pop idol.

This was a fun story to read. It had action and drama throughout. It had a few giggles within.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Once upon a K-Prom

By: Kat Cho

Publish Date: 17 May 2022

Publisher: Disney Publishing worldwide

Teens and YA

#OceUponaKProm#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Disney for allowing me to read and review this book.

Book Review:

Unfortunately this book was just okay for me. I gave it 3 stars. Some ya books work for me and some don’t and this happened to be in the don’t folder.

Elena feels likes she is invisible because of her views about the up coming prom. She thinks people spend way more money than they need to for this one event. She would like them to be thriftier and donate the rest of the money to the community center.

Her views on the prom aren’t because she wasn’t asked but because the person who asked her many years ago hasn’t come to be there for the big event.

Robbie who was Elena’s best friend years moved to Korea and stopped contact with Elena for some reason. While he has been gone he has become a big K-Pop star. One day he shows up to keep his promise to Elena about taking her to prom.

All doesn’t go well with the two friend’s. Elena doesn’t like the spot light and Robbie is under contract and doesn’t know what to do.

Can they figure it out or will it end badly.

What I liked about the book was that even though Elena felt she was invisible she had a good cause with saving the community center. She does have some friends that will stand by her.

Once Upon A KProm was such a fun and delightful story - it reminded me of kdrama’s mixed with anime storylines as well as a bit of the series xoxo, Kitty. I was already a fan of Kat Cho’s other YA titles, but I think Once Upon A KProm took it up a notch for me. It had the right amount of relatable-ness, drama, twists, cuteness, and humor to enjoy the ride.

ONCE UPON A KPROM is so cute!! I don't read much contemporary, but I could not put this book down. I think childhood friends-to-lovers is becoming one of my new favorite tropes :)

If you are a kpop fan, then you will probably enjoy this book! I am a kpop fan, so I had a lot of fun reading this. I loved that Robbie was a part of a kpop group, so we got to see behind the scenes of that. We also got to see performances and concerts, which reminded me of the kpop concerts I've been to. I also loved that some of my favorite groups were mentioned, and it was such a great touch to include kpop profiles!

Elena was not my favorite character to follow. Initially, I really did not like her, but I think she ended up having pretty good character development. By the end of the story I didn't dislike her as much as I did in the beginning.

This is such a cute and sweet story. I'm not as knowledgeable about K pop so I appreciated that things were explained well without interrupting the flow of the story. It feels like a good balance between not needing to know everything going in, but also not over explaining things to where it will be annoying to K pop fans already super familiar with how everything works. The setting is well done and the story just twisty enough to be captivating while still allowing enough together time for the love interests to not be frustrating. All around a well balanced story,

As an avid fan of K-pop and K-drama, I thought this book would be the perfect way to combine Korean pop culture and literature, my two favorite past-times. While reading this book, I am reminded of the Disney Channel movie, Starstruck, which is a movie I loved...when I was 13. This book is definitely geared towards a younger young adult audience, which is fine, it just wasn't for me. Kat Cho's writing is reminiscent of 2013 Wattpad. Reading this book felt like a fan's yearning for that love story with their favorite Kpop member. I adored Kat Cho's previous series, Wicked Fox. I just felt this story was too juvenile for me.

I had previously read some of Kat Cho's other books so I was really excited to pick this one up, especially to see how she would do when writing a different genre, and she didn't disappoint. This book was so cute and it was nice to see Elena and Robbie both open up more to each other as well as to see Elena open up to others.

This was such a sweet book about childhood sweethearts reconnecting… and also one of them is famous now. A trope I didn’t know I needed or loved until this. Robbie Choi is trying to make good on a promise he made to his childhood friend Elena and take her to prom, but he’s also a mega K-Pop star now and she’s, well, she’s Elena. And the only person who ever really saw her for who she is is now famous and not acting like he used to.

I was so thoroughly charmed by this book. Elena and Robbie reconnecting and relearning each other got me. As is the case with a lot of K-Pop books, I didn’t get as much from this as I’m sure a fan would, but! There was still enough here that I enjoyed it.

All in all, I recommend Once Upon a K-Prom. It will have K-Pop fans swooning.

4 stars!

I an unable to review this title, as it was archived before I had a chance to download and read it. This feedback is only to stop this title from adversely affecting my netgalley feedback rate. If in the future I have the opportunity to read this title, I will post a proper review here.

Thank you Disney Publishing and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. Once Upon a K-Prom is a cute young adult contemporary romance. The writing style is pretty good. Even though the story was pretty predictable, I enjoyed it overall. I liked following Elena and Robbie Choi. Their banter and relationship is cute!

Cute teen romance with a pop idol thrown into the mix. I know nothing about kpop but I enjoyed this teen angst romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for giving me access to an eARC of this magnificent book by Kat Cho. I apologize for not making this review timely, but here it is.

In Once Upon a K-Prom Kat Cho writes a wonderful friends to enemies to lovers romance starring to teens: quiet Elena Soo who feels like nobody really notices her and K-pop star Robbie Choi. Elena and Robbie were best friends when they were in elementary school, but then Robbie moves, becomes a K-pop star, and stops returning Elena’s texts. Fast-forward to high school, right before prom, and Robbie is back in Elena’s life. Elena’s not sure if it’s safe to trust this new Robbie who acts like he’s always putting on a show for everyone. And Robbie’s not sure what to do about Elena hating him. There are so many things he wishes he could tell her, but there are secrets he has to keep to protect himself and some of the new friends he’s made in his time away from Elena.

Told in the point of view of both Elena and Robbie, this book is a romance and a coming of age tale about figuring out who you are and owning it. Both Elena and Robbie have a lot of work to do in that department. Elena wants to get out of her twin brother’s shadow and have people value her for who she is…including herself and to do that, she has to learn how to use her own voice. Robbie has been undergoing K-pop training so he can be the best musician and bandmate possible, but he also wants to carve his own path in the music industry. Will these two be able to stay together this time or will they be pulled apart once more? Find out in Kat Cho’s Once Upon a K-Prom!

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide for providing me with an e-ARC of Once Upon a K-Prom!

I 10000000000% needed this book in my life. I am a sucker for Korean Dramas & this one plays out just like one. There were so many times that I was annoyed by the characters because I just wanted cute sweet romance, but it made it all worth it in the end. 10/10 recommend if you need some fluff & some cute K-Pop musicians in your life!

i knew i wasn't the target audience for this and i still made the mistake of investing in it. HOWEVER, this is fun...if you can turn your brain off and live in lala land for a bit.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

4.5

This is what I needed. The perfect palette cleanser.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my honest review.

3.5 stars. I’ve said it elsewhere, but pre/teen Alexa would absolutely have been all about this story. It has the hallmarks of the tales I grew up reading and writing — a main character (two actually) who is trying to figure themselves and their relationship out, a pop music aspect (though mine would have been more Western and less K-pop back then) and a budding romance between two former childhood friends. It was charming and the last couple of chapters gave me all those excellent ~fan fiction vibes; but it also felt surreal to see a big chunk of who I used to be reflected in main character Elena. All in all, ONCE UPON A K-PROM was fun to read!