Reviews

The Comeback by Lily Chu

Only show reviews with written explanations

ramya_ch's review

4.0

Wow, it's a rollercoaster! For Kdrama and K-pop fans, it's a getaway to their world. Ariadne's perfect, planned life gets flipped upside down when she falls for Jihoon, a visitor with a secret. It's a heartwarming tale of love, unexpected twists, and finding yourself.

weekdaygladers's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

serenali422's review

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

prested's review

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5.0

Ariadne Hui is desperately trying to climb up the corporate ladder at her law firm.
She's the hardest working lawyer at her firm and yet she still hasn't gotten far at the firm.
After another day at the firm, she arrives home to find a handsome stranger sleeping on her coach.
After freaking out, she discovers that the stranger is her roommate's cousin, Choi Jihoon, who came from Korea to Canada to recover from a nasty breakup.
After a little while of caution, Jihoon and Ariadne slowly become closer and closer.
Until a few weeks into their somewhat friendship/budding relationship is hit with a shocking reveal and Ariadne needs to decide whether or not she's willing to work for this relationship.
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This was such a great listen!
It was a lot of fun to listen to and I really enjoy Chu's work.
I loved the dynamics between Ariadne and Jihoon. They were such a good pairing.
I liked how realistic Ariadne dealt with the problems at her law firm and how Chu portrayed microaggressions.
I also liked how Chu portrayed how Ariadne's family dynamics affected how she acted at work. Ariadne wasn't oblivious to how her firm was treating her but because of her family's dynamics she didn't feel she could be vocal about the issues she was having and applied how she treated her familial problems to how she treated her work ones.
I liked how both Jihoon and Ariadne has issues outside of their relationship and how they both worked on their issues separately but gained strength through their relationship so that they could work on their issues.

It was a fun read and I enjoyed it a lot.

mlglenn's review against another edition

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4.0

This was my first Lily Chu book and I definitely want to read more! I knew nothing about K-Pop going into this but feel like I need to do some investigating because I’m fascinated by the whole thing. Ari and Jihoon are super cute together - I love Jihoon’s emotional intelligence and desire to communicate - and Ari had such an amazing sense of humor. I just wish there had been a little less will they/won’t they! Overall a really fun book and excited for reading more books by Chu!

*Possible spoilers below*

POV: single first person

You can expect: K-pop star MMC, opposites attract, lawyer FMC, emotionally intelligent MMC, hidden identity, finding your purpose, grand gesture.

Rep: queer side character, Korean MMC

Spice: 1/5 (closed door)

CW: emotionally manipulative parent(s), toxic working environment, racism

beckit's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

C - 10
A - 9
W - 10
P - 10
I - 7
L - 10
E - 10
CAWPILE TOTAL: 9.4

Another fantastic read that I got for free through Audible. I am blown away by Lily Chu's writing. I've read very few closed door romances in recent years that manage to include enough entertainment to not be a bit boring so I am LOVING these books.

The little easter eggs for The Stand-In made me really smile and I loved Ariadne. Her relationship with her sister Phoebe hit me in the feels, I think it would for anyone who's had differences with an older sibling that they're trying to get over.

There are of course themes from the book that as a white reader I can't relate to, but some of the family dynamics are universally relatable so it's still SO easy to connect to Chu's characters while bringing this whole other element to the story that's a huge part of their identities that I will never experience.

I actually was listening to this around the time I was getting ready to go to a Stray Kids concert and I went into it blind, finishing it the day after, so I have some knowledge of the fan culture that Jihoon experiences.

The ending made me cry, everything was detailed to perfection, not too much and not too little, it was just an utterly immersive, fantastically written novel performed by an incredible narrator, and audible offers it for free so even if you're on a book buying ban get it. It is so worth it.

I'm so obsessed with how much I've enjoyed Lily Chu's writing that I've added all her books to my audible library and I am eagerly awaiting the release of her latest one and desperate to start the last one already ready to play.