The Noh Family ARC Review! // a chaebol k-drama book debut

Everyone, this is not a normal introduction. This is a cry for help. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE K-DRAMAS!!! I’m currently watching Vincenzo but when I finish that, there’s too many random ones to watch on Netflix. And what if none of them are as good as Vincenzo? My mind will spiral into another Boys Over Flowers meltdown and we can’t have that. Anyways, back to our scheduled programming!

Thank you Penguin Teen for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

🇰🇷 Korean family

💸 Riches galore

👪 Themes of family

rep: Korean-American author/Korean characters

The Noh Family reignited my love for K-dramas. You can really tell that the author loves her culture, because there is so much passion in every page of this book. And all the tropes that I usually dislike? Yeah, they worked well here.

We follow Chloe, an aspiring fashionista who may have to give up her dreams of becoming a world-famous fashion designer since her mom doesn’t make enough money to send her to college. But after she takes a DNA test and finds out she’s related to one of the wealthiest, most influential families in Korea, she is invited to fly over to meet them. While the Noh family seems like a dream come true at first glance, Chloe can’t help but feel that there’s something else lurking underneath the picture-perfect facade. Something the Nohs want to stay hidden from her.

This is supposed to be a professionally written review* but I have to admit that the only major notes I have for this book are three separate highlights of every time Boys Over Flowers is mentioned, accompanied by increasingly panicked freak-outs that go from “Oh hey, Boys Over Flowers!” to “ARE THEY TRYING TO REIGNITE MY OBSESSION???????????”. So if this review seems chaotic…here’s my excuse. And it’s a bloody good one, isn’t it?

*although, when am i ever professional? besides professionally sarcastic of course

Now that we’ve gotten my most important thought out of the way, I will describe this book in one word: fun. It’s full of k-drama love, k-drama tropes, and k-drama levels of drama. The famous “umbrella scene” is made fun of! At the same time, the horrific beauty standards often perpetuated in Korea are acknowledged! It’s glamorous and dramatic, yet emotional and touching. This story felt incredibly self-aware, in the best of ways.

Chloe is eighteen but I sometimes felt that she acted a bit too naive? Some aspects of what was happening within the family were obvious to me but she picked up on nothing. It was a little frustrating at times but I mean, this isn’t a thriller story so it’s not that much of an issue. It just made the story feel younger, and more tedious to read through at points for me.

I also really love how the topic of family is discussed. The core of this story is very coming-of-age and it works so well. And while some of the hijinks felt too absurd or too predictable, it genuinely just worked in that charming k-drama way. I don’t want to say anymore because this is just great to go into blind!

So that’s it! Overall, I’d say that this is a fun, chaotic coming-of-age story that occasionally surprises you, whether by a slight plot twist or an emotionally driven moment. If you enjoy k-dramas or books with great Korean rep, you’ll enjoy this one! I’m giving it it 4/5 stars. This comes out May 2nd, and you can preorder a copy, add it to Goodreads, and add it to Storygraph! Tell me:

What’s YOUR favorite K-drama?

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