Seoulmates

Frederick delivers a poignant, insightful tale about interracial adoption and finding one’s roots in her second story about Iowa-raised Korean adoptee Hara Wilson. It picks up where Heart and Seoul left off, with Hara in Seoul working for the IF Group—of which her birth mother, Choi Wansu, is CEO—to help the company save face after the scandalous reveal that Wansu abandoned Hara to be raised in the U.S. Hara strives to acclimate to her new life in South Korea, but the language and cultural differences prove to be barriers. One bright spot is the man she’s fallen for—charismatic and loving Choi Yujun—but, because he’s technically Hara’s stepbrother, their romance is forbidden and Korean society ostracizes them for their relationship. Now Hara must fight for both acceptance and love. While reading the first installment provides additional emotional shading, this can easily be read as a standalone given Frederick’s skillful plotting and deeply felt characters. Frederick, herself a Korean adoptee raised in Iowa, brings gravitas and realism to this sensitive tale that will captivate readers. Agent: Steven Axelrod, the Axelrod Agency. (Jan.)