Seoul-Mates - by Pamela Q Fernandes

She’s a down-on-her-luck foreigner struggling to fit into a close-knit society, and he’s the heir to one of Seoul’s largest business empires. The marriage of Anglo-Indian Katia Rosario to Jihan Kwan, Seoul’s most eligible bachelor, sounds like a fairy-tale romance. Except that it’s not.

Seoul-Mates, by Pamela Q Fernandes, has everything a romantic novel essentially needs – the damsel in distress, the bad-boy and the villain. The concoction of love, pain, drama and evil brewed by Pamela is almost perfect!

This book was my debut with Indirom Novella and I wouldn’t change that (that does say a lot). By the end of the book I did fall in love with the protagonists (Katia & Jihan) and their story. This read more like a short story rather than a novel. I do think it has the potential to be explored more, and here is why: 

• Each character, even the supporting ones, had depth to them. The author could have built those and highlighted their equations with our hero & heroine.
• Katia & Jihan’s meeting & courtship needed to be meatier for me. After all how the guy woes the girl is quintessential for telling a romantic story.
• While his proposal seemed perfect, I do wish her turmoil of entering the marriage would have been shown. It was a difficult decision for her! 
• The character of Jihan’s sister seemed untouched, there was potential there too. Whatever glimpses of the little sister-in-law’s relation with Katia have been shown were nice.
• Spoiler alert: Imo’s (Korean for Aunt) breakdown, god knows was the perfect opportunity to flare up the drama. This was the manic masala bit of this story.

Pamela’s plot might not be the freshest, but her story definitely leaves you feeling hopeful. If I do ever get a chance I would want to know ‘Why did she pick Korea as the destination?’ 

As a one-time read I would definitely recommend Seoul-Mates. Here’s wishing author Pamela Q Frenandes a full-blooded next book!

Rating: 3/5 (it’s a light read)