I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Name Drop by Susan Lee Published by Harlequin on September 12, 2023
Pages: 304
Format: ARC, Digital
Goodreads
"Susan Lee always writes the exact book I want to read!" —Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis
New from the author of Seoulmates comes a story of mistaken identities, the summer of a lifetime, and a love to risk everything for.
When Elijah Ri arrives in New York City for an internship at his father’s massive tech company, Haneul Corporation, he expects the royal treatment that comes with being the future CEO—even if that’s the last thing he wants. But instead, he finds himself shuffled into a group of overworked, unpaid interns, all sharing a shoebox apartment for the summer.
When Jessica Lee arrives in New York City, she’s eager to make the most of her internship at Haneul Corporation, even if she’s at the bottom of the corporate ladder. But she’s shocked to be introduced as the new executive-in-training intern with a gorgeous brownstone all to herself.
It doesn’t take long for Elijah and Jessica to discover the source of the mistake: they share the same Korean name. But they decide to stay switched—so Elijah can have a relaxing summer away from his controlling dad while Jessica can make the connections she desperately needs for college recommendations.
As Elijah and Jessica work together to keep up the charade, a spark develops between them. Can they avoid discovery—and total disaster—with their feelings and futures on the line?
Praise for Seoulmates
"The perfect childhood friends-to-lovers story—full stop." —Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners and The Soulmate Equation
"Adorable, heartfelt, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!" —Gloria Chao, author of American Panda and Rent a Boyfriend
"A deliciously swoony romance." —Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart Principle
I had the amazing opportunity to meet Susan Lee at Steamy Lit Con in August 2023 (and some other associated events throughout the weekend). Not only is she one of the most delightful humans, she also gifted individuals on a K-drama inspired experience a e-ARC (advanced reader copy) of The Name Drop and a hard cover copy of Seoulmates. Like I said, she is a kind and generous individual and I cannot wait to see her career as an author thrive. She did, after all, write one of my favorite books of 2023.
TROPES
Mistaken identity, miscommunication (not between the main characters), class difference.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Emotional abuse, misogyny, sexism, classism, panic attacks/disorders, toxic relationship (familial).
WHAT WORKED FOR ME
My overarching favorite part of this book is the tone and style of writing from Lee. She embodies the comedy part of rom-com that had me giggling out loud while reading this book. When I said this book made me fall in love with what YA romance can be, I’m not even a little bit exaggerating. This book feels like a love letter to New York that we get to view through the eyes of our two main characters – who, yes have the same name.
The set-up of this book is a play on mistaken identity that I’ve not seen done in a romance of any kind. The fact that each individual accepted that it was totally fine until they get to their respective housing and are like “uh, this is weird”. Each character is given the space to grow as an individual and then together. The general message, in my opinion, is that speaking up for those you care about may not be the easiest to do, but it is worth the sacrifice you may have to make to do so (very prevalent in our current world).
Candidly, it’s been several months since I’ve read this and know I’m forgetting details. But this book had everything I love in romance: stolen moments, mutual pining and the journey that you want to see two characters go on. I found myself rooting for these young ones to succeed in what they were doing, and kicked my feet in the air over the cute moments at the same time.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
Honestly, there is not a single thing I can think of that didn’t work for me with this story. There’s nothing that left me wanting more. If anything, it made me even more excited to read Seoulmates and anything Lee publishes in the future.
SPICE RATING
This an upper YA novel and therefore is a low spice rating. I’m giving it .5-1 on the spice scale. There is angst and mutual pining, but at an age appropriate level that is not comparable to the adult novels that I read.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Susan Lee is now an auto read/auto buy author with The Name Drop easily one of my favorite books of 2023. I cannot wait to continue to read her stories for years to come.
Thank you to Susan Lee for a copy of this e-arc!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 23 for 23
