This pains me to write, but this was a DNF for me. I really, really struggled to make it through the first book, even though I love almost every romance story I read. I hoped things might turn around in the second book but between the translation issues and then the lack of a clear story, I lost interest.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book, even if it didn’t work out this time.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

This is the sequel to Just the Two of Us and it takes place right after the events of the first book.
First, the characters were enjoyable and their struggles felt real. I really liked to know the side characters better and to continue their stories.
Second, the plot was less focused on the romance but a lot more on the mystery. However, it was addictive and the end was great.
Last but not least, this book was a bit boring because the readers already know the end of the mystery so it isn't really a surprise.
Overall, this book was not as good as the first one but seeing the characters again was great.

This was a DNF for me from the first chapter. I think it might have been the translations but I just didn't like the writing style and could not get past it .

Thank you for the opportunity to review.

I was so disappointed with Book 1, and I just wanted to make myself enjoy this one more, and to give it a chance, but I really have to be honest - I absolutely can't! This just isn't the book for me. The translation feels unnatural, and I just don't understand this kind of writing at all.

I was so happy to get an arc of this, as I loved Just the Two of Us so much. This continues straight from the first book. Soohyuk and Yuna are now living together. Soohyuk has found his birth parents and he tries to figure out how to not only confront them but confront his past. This is a great sequel and I loved the focus on their relationship as a couple, seeing them after their initial get together, it’s not as good to me as the first, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it, just I felt slightly more attached to the first. But I definitely recommend this and the first book too

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I loved the first book in this series so much that I had to rush right in to Book 2. I fell in love with the characters and just needed to resolve the issues. These are flawed characters who still went on to have successful lives even with their fears. They never succumbed to those fears. The love of family was a huge support. The secondary characters are just as well-written as the primary couple. The author truly succeeded when she said that she wanted the "central theme to be empathy". It is a book where empathy shines through the plots.
I will definitely seek out more by this author. It is easy to be drawn in and get lost in her writing- and isn't that the hallmark of a great book. Even though our main characters find love, this is more than just a romance .Love within a family is just as much the juggernaut here.
Highly recommend.

#netgalley #justthetwoofus

Similar to book 1, I found it very difficult to get through this book due to the translation issues. It felt very jarring and stilted, and that honestly took so much away from the story. Instead of focusing on the characters or the plot, I’d get stuck trying to figure out what an odd translation meant or being shocked by some random thing someone brought up. I wish I were able to read fluently in Korean to give this book a fair chance, but it’s very difficult to read in its current state.

I love being able to read a Korean Drama. I would love to see this onscreen one day. I can't wait to see what is next for these two.

Thank you, again, to NetGalley and POPPYPUB for this advanced copy which I received in return for an honest review.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]

This book is kdrama stuff! We need Park Seo-joon as Soohyuk right now! LOL
I liked this book more than the previous one. Although I find difficult to connect with a character like Soohyuk that is so devoid of emotions we see him change and become more "human". His relationship with Yuna is lovely (and surprisingly hot!) and under Yuna inffluence Soohyuk stops running and deals with his past. I would have liked the whole revelation with his family to have been different but it was sweet and heartwarming enough.
Overall, this was a lovely reading.

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<b>3-3'5 estrellitas</b>, por ahí va la cosa.
Bastante mejor esta parte que la anterior, sobre todo porque aquí vemos el desarrollo de la historia de amor deal with his pastde Soohyuk y Yuna, además de que se resuelve toda la trama familiar.
Como ya dije en el anterior, esta historia es digna de kdrama, me parece que, en ese sentido, tiene de todo, especialmente drama. Pero una cosa es verlo y otra leerlo, y ahí es donde la conexión con el libro es más complicada, al menos para mí. La autora es coreana (este libro es una traducción) y creo que, conociendo algo cómo es la sociedad, mi mente de lectora occidental (que quiere pasiones y emociones) pide cosas que ella, por su cultura más contenida, no va a darme. No me supone un problema con lo que cuenta pero reconozco que, para mí, la lectura se hace menos emocionante y más distante.
De todos modos, en esta parte, al poder ver a Soohyuk enamorado de Yuna (oyeeeeeeeeeee, que en los kdramas no veremos nada pero aquí bien que le arrean al tema y nos lo detallan!) y ver cómo se va desenmarañando el misterio con su pasado, he leído mucho más interesada y la lectura no me ha costado. De cómo se comportan los personajes en sus relaciones familiares no puedo decir mucho, ya que hay determinadas cosas que son propias de su cultura y que a mí me cuesta entender, así que no debo juzgar. Eso sí, ojo cómo le dan al bebercio y lo bien visto que está, es algo que siempre me fascina de los coreanos.
En fin, que me ha entretenido y ya es bastante.

Having finished the first book within two days of intensive reading I was eager to pick up the story of Soohyuk and Yuna where the first book left off. Many plot lines were finally coming together in this volume, Soohyuk has finally found his birth parents and has conflicted feelings that affect his budding relationship with Yuna.. There is also a dilemma regarding Yuna's nephew and whether or not to tell him about the disease he suffers from .This was less of an emotional ride than the first book, as now our protagonists settle into their lives together and work through their issues (even the hospital drama was less demanding) and there are steamier scenes between Soohyuk and Yuna as they develop an intimacy. The ending wrapped up everything nicely and left me highly satisfied. It still reminds me very much of Korean daytime soaps because of the family drama and how unrealistically the generational tensions are resolved, but frankly I prefer a happy ending and am willing to voluntarily suspend all disbelief. All in all this was a really satisfying and engrossing recreational fun.

I am very grateful to Netgalley and POPPYPUB for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

Ok didn’t expect this at all! The first book was cuteness overload and a lot of fun so this one didn’t disappoint. I’m glad how the story panned out, I was satisfied with it. Defo would recommend as a light read to my friends.

I read the first book in this series and didn’t particularly love it, but I was hoping that this one would be a little more entertaining and keep my interest more. This is an extension of a story about a man and a woman who meet in Korea. They both have complicated back stories and find love in each other even though it is hard for them. I liked the idea of this book, but it was a tough read. It was hard to keep track of the characters and the writing for me was a bit hard to believe. I didn’t feel the characters in the writing and most of the time the dialogue just didn’t work for me. I don’t know if it is because it is a translated piece, or if it is the writing. I didn’t hate this, but I didn’t really love it either.

This was a very fun read. The second book picks up right where Part 1 ended. I enjoyed reading more about Soohyuk and Yuna as a couple and how they are now living together. The relationship development was my favorite part of the book, and it was so sweet seeing their interactions together.

In Part 1, we got to see their relationship flower and grow, whereas in Part 2, Soohyuk’s relationship with his family was the focus. We got to see more of Soonhyuk’s family life and his struggles with his separation from his parents. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a very heartfelt and feel good read!

Thank you, POPPYHUB and NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

If you're a fan of Kdrama this is just for you! This was a fun read. I like Yuna's character better and loved the romance.
Find me on ig @rinnyreads

Thank you so much to Poppy Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. The conclusion to this story was very awesome and sweet but dramatic all at the same time. Again, like its predecessor, it has the feels of a drama but at the same time fulfilling. Trigger warnings for abuse, rape, blunt language, death, surgery, and familial distress due to pediatric disease . Definitely a slow-burn on every aspect of this book including character development but I feel that this book went a little faster than its predecessor. I think my only issue with this again was the writing and a little too long for me personally. However, if you enjoy K-Dramas, I think you should at least give this duology/duet a try. 4.5 out of 5 stars

“Just the two of us... that’s what she’d said.” Just The Two of Us by Ryu Hyang

3.5 stars! I think this is the last book of Soohyuk and Yuna. I think. And it continues where it left off from the previous book.

Soohyuk and Yuna become a real couple here. And both learn to help carry each other’s baggage. Soohyuk, in particular, had a tough time dealing with his.

When his family starts to realize that he’s one they’ve been looking for, the way they all started interacting with each other changed. Especially when Soohyuk allowed them to enter his life.

I normally avoid duets, especially those that have the first book end in a cliffhanger. This particular one, I accidentally stumbled into. Luckily, the 1sr book didn’t end in a cliffhanger, more of a happy ever after for now.. But the HEA was finalized, realized here in the 2nd book. And I do like it. It’s rhythm was different, as is the setting and the way people interacted with each other was different too. It made me what to check out Korean tv series.

Thank you PoppyPub and NetGalley for this arc! I enjoyed it!

Unfortunately i struggled reading the first book in this series, it was the dialogue I struggled with. Because I was too busy trying to follow and understand the dialogue I lost myself in the story. I feel the second book was the same and didn't make sense after not reading the first book.

I absolutely loved this continuation of Yuna and Seooyuk's story. While I also enjoyed the first book, the added emotional depth in this sequel was a wonderful surprise. Hyang's woven together a seamless story about loving difficult, family relationships and the perspective we should have when faced with hardships. If I could only use one word to describe this book it would be hope. Hope that we will be loved despite our shortcomings, hope that we will be supported in the midst challenges and hope that some of our greatest wishes will become a reality. I'm so glad I was given an early copy by the publisher!

I was eating japchae and watching a K-BBQ video, so I caved and downloaded this because I apparently wanted to torture myself with more Korean food-related content. (I'm also Asian and can't say no to free things.) It's been a while since I read the first book and instead of re-reading my review like a sane human being would, I decided to read the rest of the series because I have problems.

I thought the first book was bad, but this was a hot mess. I'm not sure how much was lost in translation and how much was just the writing, but the level of cringe was at an all time high.

"Surrendering to his persistence, she asked with utmost awkwardness, 'What do you think of my smile?'
It all happened in a flash. Soohyuk let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders instead and kissed the crown of her head.
'Mr. Cha...' She nervously pushed him away in response to his sudden action.
'It makes me want to do this,' he answered as he pulled her even closer to him and kissed her on the forehead."

There's the kind of the standard cheesiness you'd expect from any Asian drama, but there's also nonsense stuff like, "his lips gently caressed hers as if to calm her down. She could taste the winter wind on his lips" (whatever that means) and "their bare skins touched affectionately" (okay...) Oh, and let's not forget, "you're really cute. I could just bite your cute little face off and crunch, crunch, crunch..."



I know translating is no easy feat, but I was surprised some things didn't get cleaned up during the editing phase. Soohyuk supposedly has the palate of an eight-year-old and doesn't eat spicy food, but he'll eat a hamburger with jalapeños? There's also a lot of repetition in this book, like multiple ba-boom, ba-booms and "she's so cute's." And don't worry about forgetting the title of the book, Hyang makes sure to beat it into our heads. Soohyuk and Yuna repeatedly talk about how it's "just the two of us," but it's also an apparent reference to the Will Smith song?? The song plays on repeat throughout the story (there are some major song-fic moments in this book) to really bring the point home.

Not gonna lie, I didn't read huge chunks of this. When words like "supple" started appearing, that was my cue to avoid that part of the book (I pretty much skipped all of chapter 5.) There's literally a scene when Soohyuk wants to "go home" 😏 and only agrees to stay after getting Yuna to agree to "do everything I ask of you tonight." Like, this is the kind of Fifty Shades of Grey garbage I did not sign up for.

As an actual story, Just the Two of Us isn't very good either. The biggest problem is that the plot is all over the place. You might be able to blame part of it on the fact that the romance escalates so ridiculously quickly that Hyuang ends up just throwing in random obstacles to drum up some "drama," but that doesn't explain why there's no real logic to when, why, or how certain things are revealed. Plus, the supposed hurdles the couple face end up resolving pretty quickly, so why even bother? As a whole, the story is piecemeal, and the pacing is jerky. The storyline surrounding Soohyuk finding his birth family is especially weird. I can't even try to make sense of why it's handled the way it is. None of the characters' motivations are convincing or believable, because there aren't really any emotional stakes involved in the story line, the whole thing falls flat, making the resolution particularly dissatisfying.

I went into this with pretty low expectations, and I was still disappointed. Honestly, I feel like even that half-star rating is generous. I mean, I only have myself to blame for this, but I guess I read this so you don't have to?

Since we last saw Soohyuk and Yuna, it was just the first blossoms of their relationship and the foreshadowing of what might happen to them both in the future. In other words, the first book was simply a way to give us an insight of what type of world we find these characters in and a brief glimpse of what makes them who they are.

In some ways looking back, it felt as though there was a greater focus on Yuna in the first book and how she gained her own scars, but not necessarily a great deal about the battles Soohyuk has had to overcome before meeting her. I think this next book in particular opens up the conversation to Soohyuk's past and how this has ultimately shaped him to be a hard doctor who is constantly fighting for his patients - and it is rewarding to see how he has changed according to his experiences.

Compared to other book sequels that I have read in the past, there are only a handful and I mean only one hand, where I think that a book is able to surpass it's predecessor. This is one of the cases. One of the reasons is because of how it did not mess around in any capacity to show what all the reader's would be questioning about since the last instalment and I am very thankful that Hyang did not shy away with the plotting. But also, it seemed like the atmosphere of this book has a very different one which was full of joy and acceptance and I couldn't help but read it all to the very end in a short period of time.

I am very glad that I was able to read Yuna and Soohyuk's journey, it truly was an interesting one with sadness and fear, but with great happiness and delight. I think that this might be one I will read again at some point when I want to turn to something familiar. It seems like this time of year is the perfect way to end this story of these characters.