I Believe In A Thing Called Love

Written by Maurene Goo

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Who knew falling in love for the first time would be so dramatic? Maurene Goo's pop-culture-savvy rom-coms are the perfect combination of humour and heart - perfect story for fans of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and The Kissing Booth.

Desi Lee knows how carburettors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and never had a B. But in her charmed school life, there's one thing missing - she's never had a boyfriend. In fact, she's a known disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation magnet.

When the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides it's time to tackle her flirting failures. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has watched obsessively for year - in which the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. Armed with her "K Drama Rules for True Love," Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos. All's fair in love and Korean dramas, right? But when the fun and games turn to feelings, Desi finds out that real-life love is about way more than just drama.

Maurene Goo's I Believe in a Thing Called Love is a fun, heart-warming story of falling in love - for real.

(P) 2018 Tantor

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781444971446

Maurene Goo

Maurene Goo grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper, one thousand cousins, and piles of books. She studied communication at UC San Diego and then later received a Masters in publishing, writing, and literature at Emerson College. Before publishing her first book, Since You Asked, she worked in both textbook and art book publishing. She has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two cats.

Reviews for I Believe In A Thing Called Love

[daumari · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Finished this a few days ago but was out of town-very cute YA read (and third in a row for my unintentional We Need Diverse Books read). Desi Lee is a super motivated Type A person in almost all aspects of her life... except for dating. When a cute new boy comes to their school, Desi decides she'll fix her flailures (flirting fails) by creating rules to get her man, derived from watching several series of K-Dramas.

I think I'd pick up on more references to tropes had I watched any k-dramas before, but it was a cute frame structure and she's such a likeable teen. Hooray for teen girls!

[lexilewords · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

OH MY GOD LOVE LOVE LOVE

(thank you to my wonderful Sestra Samantha for lending me her copy)

I'll go a bit more into this closer to the date, but guys I think I needed to be best friends Desi in High school because honestly she's my kind of cool.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

teen fiction (rom-com, k-drama style, diverse cast, set in modern Orange County). This was a light read, recommended for those who are or might be interested in Korean drama series (with a helpful primer at the end, in case you are new to them but want to learn more).

[norabelle414 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Desi Lee is perfect at everything. She has a 4.25 GPA, is captain of the soccer team, student body president, and she's right on track to go to Stanford pre-med next year. (Just like her mom, who died when Desi was 6.) But when it comes to boys, she's a flailure (that's flirting+failure). After completely embarrassing herself in front of the gorgeous new guy at school she spends all weekend wallowing in her dad's favorite Korean Drama shows, and suddenly it hits her ... what Desi needs is a plan. If she comes up with a plan (using K-Dramas as her guide), and follows all the steps, Desi can be perfect at romance, just like everything else ... Right?

This was very cute and I mostly didn't have any problems with it. The things that Desi does are very stupid, but she and everyone else mostly realize that. Both of the romantic characters have lots of character growth. I liked the tiny bit of a twist that Luca's mom mostly sucks and he fully admits it but still likes her better anyway. The author does a great job of telling you that romances have a formula, and then sticking to the formula while also making you forget that there is a formula. Desi's friends are great fun. Definitely recommended if you like teen romance.

[lilrongal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book so much!

Desi is relatable, funny, ADORABLE and my favorite protagonist of 2017 so far!

The book will cause so much second hand embarrassment but it's worth it, and now I want to check out all the k-dramas!!

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Desi Lee is a very driven, likable character. Hoping to get into Stanford University, she has applied herself throughout her school years in various academic and sport activities. What’s been missing all this time is an important rite of teenhood, the first boyfriend. Her attempts at romance so far have resulted in klutzy moments she and her friends call flailures.Taking a page out of her father’s favorite tv programs, the K dramas he enjoys from his home country of Korea, she embarks on a mission to catch the eye of new student Luca. I enjoyed the relationship between Desi Lee and her father (Appa). I knew next to nothing about K dramas, so if Appa says they are nothing like American soap operas, I believe him!