The Name Drop

by Susan Lee

"Susan Lee always writes the exact book I want to read!" —Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

New from the author of Seoulmates comes a story of mistaken identities, the summer of a lifetime, and a love to risk everything for.

When Elijah Ri arrives in New York City for an internship at his father’s massive tech company, Haneul Corporation, he expects the royal treatment that comes with being the future CEO—even if that’s the last thing he wants. But instead, he finds himself shuffled into a group of overworked, unpaid interns, all sharing a shoebox apartment for the summer.

When Jessica Lee arrives in New York City, she’s eager to make the most of her internship at Haneul Corporation, even if she’s at the bottom of the corporate ladder. But she’s shocked to be introduced as the new executive-in-training intern with a gorgeous brownstone all to herself.

It doesn’t take long for Elijah and Jessica to discover the source of the they share the same Korean name. But they decide to stay switched—so Elijah can have a relaxing summer away from his controlling dad while Jessica can make the connections she desperately needs for college recommendations.

As Elijah and Jessica work together to keep up the charade, a spark develops between them. Can they avoid discovery—and total disaster—with their feelings and futures on the line?

Praise for Seoulmates
"The perfect childhood friends-to-lovers story—full stop." —Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners and The Soulmate Equation
"Adorable, heartfelt, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!" —Gloria Chao, author of American Panda and Rent a Boyfriend
"A deliciously swoony romance." —Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart Principle

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Romance

Audible Audio

First published September 12, 2023

About the author

Susan Lee is the author of the critically acclaimed and reader favorite young adult romantic comedies SEOULMATES and THE NAME DROP. Her work has been featured in national outlets such as Buzzfeed, NPR, and Pop Sugar. Kirkus Reviews calls Susan’s voice “honest, fresh and thoughtful”. A graduate of UC San Diego, Susan built a career as an HR executive at some of today’s hottest companies, until she realized that writing stories was a more impactful and powerful form of change. Now she channels her energy into writing Happily Ever Afters for those historically underrepresented in Romance. When she is not writing (or painfully procrastinating from writing), Susan can be found down the rabbit holes of her many obsessions including listening to Kpop, binge watching K-dramas, collecting sneakers, building mechanical keyboards, and obsessing over her two adorable, but ill-behaved chihuahuas.

Reviews

[m · Rating 3 out of 5]

❝𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅, 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓.❞

I have waited so long for this book and my expectations were so high. But what happens often when the expectations are high? Yup, you guessed right! We get disappointed. . I was sooo excited for this one and hoped it would cure my reading slump which it did actually (I think lol) but I kinda got disappointed too. I find the idea of this book very intriguing. I mean a book about the son of a CEO and a poor girl. And the switching names and everything. It sounds interesting, doesn't it? And just look at this beautiful cover 😍. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver it. The story was cute but it dragged a little too which was very tiring to read.


❝𝑨𝒏𝒅, 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒋𝒂𝒉, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏, 𝑰 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐o.❞


The romance was cute but I wanted more romance. There weren't so many ElijahJessica moments. I wanted more from them 😭. I wanted their kdrama moments which I didn't get much. 😔

And omg what I really found surprising was that there was a really unexpected drama at the end of the book. I was speechless and I was kinda annoyed too lol.


❝𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔. “𝑩𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒚 ‘𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚’ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐-𝒕𝒐.❞


╰┈➤ Jessica is a very shy girl who doesn't swear a lot and is very smart. She's from a poor family. She works a lot and wants to show her skills. She's such an adorable character. At the end of the book she annoyed me a little but somehow I could understand her.

╰┈➤ Elijah is a very cute guy. No honestly when I saw the cover I thought he would be some arrogant rich bad boy but it turned out that he was a cutie. He wasn't what I expected. I liked the way he cared about Jessica and protected her.


╰┈➤Read it if you like:
: ̗̀➛ Poor girl x rich boy
: ̗̀➛ Strangers to friends to lovers
: ̗̀➛ Kdrama vibes
: ̗̀➛ BTS reference


Overall, it was cute but not something special. If you want to read it please don't have high expectations.


╰┈➤ Just random:
I loved the dedication in this book. It was so cute. I just to hug Susan Lee for that dedication 🥺🫂



------------------------

This better help me get out of the reading slump 😭

screaming crying throwing up THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD!
OMG THE COVER! 😍
THIS GIVES ME K-DRAMA VIBES✨️
I NEED THIS BOOK RN😩

[Susan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am infinitely proud that this book exists. Because it was FREAKING HARD. When people tell you book 2’s are a grind, believe them. :)

I wasn’t sure I could do it. But I am so very pleased with how it turned out. I hope you’ll fall in love with Jessica and Elijah. I hope you’ll show them some grace and patience as they go on their journeys to finding themselves. And I hope more than anything that you’ll root for their HEA. <3

[Anastasia ｼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh this took so long to read. Unsure how I feel about this one rn.

3.5 stars, full review soon.





Thank you Inkyard Press for the ARC!

[Dawn Solaris · Rating 3 out of 5]

★彡 3 stars 彡★

“Don’t apologise for being observant. Don’t ask for forgiveness based on someone else’s reaction to your knowledge… be very stingy with your apologies.”

ᨒ ོ ☼ ᏖᏒᎧᎮᏋᏕ ᏗᏖ ᏇᎧᏒᏦ ᨒ ོ ☼

➳❥ NYC Setting

➳❥ Dual POV

➳❥ Friends To Lovers

➳❥ Identity Switcheroo

➳❥ Rags X Riches ($‿$)


𖡼.𖤣𖥧 ᎷᎩ ᏖᏂᎧᏬᎶᏂᏖᏕ 𖡼.𖤣𖥧

: ̗̀➛ 🅣🅗🅔 🅢🅣🅞🅡🅨 & 🅣🅗🅔 🅕🅔🅔🅛🅢: The talk of an internship brings Elijah and Jessica together for a fateful encounter in New York. In Elijah’s case, internship in question spells out to be a private office, luxurious pampering and whatnot. Whereas for Jessica, it’s supposed to be middle-class treatment (translating to: meagre pay, bunking with fellow poor peeps and zero accomodations). Now… funny story… they happen to share the same Korean name, so an identity swap and a mutual deal later, they’re living the other’s life ₍^. .^₎⟆

The story discusses ideas of classism, misogyny and racism in work places. And to be honest, the ample amount of these mentions and the way the characters fought around them was very appreciated. It wasn’t shoved down my throat and still done in a tasteful way, so kudos to Susan Lee!

: ̗̀➛ 🅙🅔🅢🅢🅘🅒🅐 🅛🅔🅔: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again… Jessica gives the concept of “over sharing” a new definition. If I had a penny for every time she publicly raved about her go-to toothpaste flavour, when asked for her boarding pass… I’ll be a freakin’ Kardashian kid ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I thought the quirk was cute, when she would feel the nerves and just start spouting random deets of her life. In fact, seeing her from Elijah’s POV, I definitely thought she was an absolute cinnamonroll. However, let’s just say in some instances, her getting into these shameful scrapes was torturous shit. My secondhand embarrassment meter can only take so much, before exploding in smithereens of lost dignity (⊙ _ ⊙)

One scene in particular, when she meant to send a “GIRLIE POP, SAVE MY ASS, PLS! MY CANDY CRUSH GUY JUST SENT ME A VERY FLIRTY TEXT?! WHAT CAN I REPLY WITH TO MAKE ME GIVE OFF SEXY KITTEN VIBES!?! XOXO” to her bestie but sent it to the very guy she’s talking about instead was… something. The way I physically convulsed with cringe and belted out Old McDonald Had A Farm a couple of times to rinse my mind… operation unsuccessful because “sexy kitten” is now imprinted onto my frontal lobes ×͜×

All in all, she was 5 percent cute and 95 percent Teletubby-powered kindly ignore this if you love them creeptastic tHiNgs (𓁹‿ 𓁹)

: ̗̀➛ 🅔🅛🅘🅙🅐🅗 🅡🅘 (ᴠͥɪͣᴘͫ✮⃝): He’s the entire reason I loved this book more than I should’ve. Elijah is peak book-boyfriend material, and I loved how sweet he was. He’s supposed to be this rich and spoilt brat, but he was always so kind to Jessica and his friends. Especially, trying the humble life and navigating poor people problems after literally having been pampered his entire existence… really suited him. It was delightful.

I love complaining so I’ll say I could’ve done fine and well without his brand snobbery. His internal monologues were always revolving around luxury brands. Like, dude! I get it, you have Prada for breakfast and wipe your nose with Gucci and bury your enemies in Dior cuz ahhh tacky (ᴗ_ᴗ.)

»»——★ fιnαℓ тнσυgнтѕ ★——««

➳ All in all, minus the rushed ending and Jessica being a health hazard to moi, this was a very pleasant read. Lighthearted, nothing too serious and ridiculously hilarious!

ﾒ𝟶ﾒ𝟶

｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gahhhh! The Name Drop by Susan Lee was SUCH a fun book. I read it on the beach, and it made me smile the. whole. damn. time.

I don't read many books with characters in this age range (yes, I like my books more ahem, adult-oriented), but I love Susan and I really wanted to try this one. I was hoping she kept the momentum going from Seoulmates, and she DID. In fact, this one was possibly even cuter for me as the tropes were just so enjoyable.

I loved the mistaken identity/name confusion thing that was going on here, even if it was a *tad* implausible. I'm not Korean, so I have no idea how common a name their names were in Korean, but it was a super fun plot device. I also am a sucker for a "change of fortune"-type romance where they get to spend some time seeing how "the other half lives."

My only criticism is that I think the romance aspects were a little underdeveloped and the ending felt a little rushed, but the book was so well-paced and lovely that I enjoyed it so much regardless. Thank you, Susan, for another great story, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

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[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This was a cute YA romance. Perfect for fans of K-dramas.

During Elijah Ri and Jessica Lee's travel to New York for an internship, they experienced an unfortunate misunderstanding. They both share the same Korean name, and as a result, Jessica unintentionally occupied Elijah's business class seat at the airport and inadvertently took Elijah's ride. Thankfully, Elijah and Jessica figured out the mix-up not soon after. However, they decided to stay switched. How long can they keep up the charade without being discovered?

The story was predictable and a tad cheesy, but still quite enjoyable overall. Would recommend it to fans of YA romance and K-dramas.

*** Thank you to NetGalley, Susan Lee, and Inkyard Press for graciously sending me a copy of the novel to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

[Nochu_Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an ardent fan of k-dramas I was extremely excited when I was offered an advanced reader copy of The Name Drop by Susan Lee. Going in to the book, I already knew this was supposed to be feel good, fluff, contemporary teen romance that gives out K-drama vibes. However I am really sorry to say I was utterly disappointed with the book.

I am a woman of color (I mention this because it is one of the main themes addressed in the book) who is the Asian Regional Director in a multinational gaming company with a branch in Seoul itself. Perhaps this is why I found The Name Drop to be problematic.

However, I hope this might not be a huge issue for an average reader who doesn’t understand the inner workings of a gaming company or the components that goes into organizing a hackathon, which is the central theme of the narrative. While I could provide a detailed breakdown of each instance where the author erred in their portrayal, I will refrain from doing so to prevent any potential spoilers. In my opinion, the inadequate amount of research invested in crafting the plotline was absolutely shocking to me.

Another aspect that the author overlooked was that, despite the gaming company being of Korean origin with branches in the United States, these branches are still governed by US labor laws. Furthermore, no international branch, even if it were composed entirely of Asian Americans, would have a homogeneous workforce. As a result, I found it challenging to accept the level of misogyny depicted in the company’s culture. While I do not deny that there are still individuals who hold misogynistic beliefs in our society, as women working in the corporate world, we are daily made aware of the laws in place to protect us and these international branches in question are located in LA and NY, two of the most progressive states in the country. I may have been more forgiving of this oversight if the female characters in the story had taken any steps to address and resolve the issue. However, to my disappointment, no such remedies were done.

And dear mother of god! to call the interns who were studying in such prestigious colleges as UCLA, Stanford and Harvard pathetic who would go back to their pathetic lives once the internship was over? What were you thinking? Those are some of our greatest minds who would go out to change the world. Not all of those who are at those colleges are billionaires’ kids. Most of them are from middle class families, especially from families of color. Knowing that even children from South Korea would be honored to be accepted into these colleges, this comment from one of the Asian American female character was so uncalled for. Also what was that about middle class people needing recommendations from people and have connections to get into a good college? We are given plenty of opportunities during school time to build our resumes. True they don’t just hand them out. It takes determination and hard work. It’s about you carving your own path without waiting for opportunities to land on your lap. This was like an unnecessary slap on our education system.

Furthermore, let me address the other feeble explanation as to why Jessica couldn’t apply for a good college despite her lack of “connections” and “recommendations”. It was because her father couldn’t afford it. Yes, there are a millions of parents who cannot afford to send their children to college but Jessica wasn’t one of them. According to the author her father formerly worked at Microsoft as a Finance Director before joining the current company at which Jessica interns at. Do you even know how much a Finance Director at Microsoft earns and what kind of a remuneration package the current company had to offer in order for him to jump ship? Also, Jessica is an only child and there is no mention about any debts that her parents have that would prevent them from enrolling her in college. Also there are plenty of financial aid programs, no matter how blood thirsty they are, available to us.

None of the supporting characters had any depth to them and even the female friendships were lackluster. There was absolutely no character growth in Jessica and I found Elijah to be too American. I understand he was used to a luxury lifestyle which allowed him to travel as he wished however coming from a family of color, I do know, no matter how many times you travel back and forth, you don’t get that American. I didn’t find the plot credible at all.

The Name Drop had so much potential and could have turned out to be a great book, if the author put in more time to research the themes of the narrative properly. I mean some K-dramas at times, lack a touch of reality but not this much though. Disappointed.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was definitely both a K-Drama and a Hallmark movie rom-com classic. I will say the story was overall pretty predictable but it was still a fun ride. I liked the two characters although I did want them to be fleshed out a little more in depth. Jessica Lee is excited about her summer internship for the giant corporation her father works for so she can make some connections and get letters of recommendation to help her get scholarships for college. Elijah is grudgingly headed to spend the summer doing an executive internship because his father is making him. Unfortunately they share the same Korean name and it turns out that everyone from the airline to the drivers meeting them at the airport gets the two of them confused. It doesn’t take Jessica long to realize the giant Brownstone isn’t truly for her or for Elijah to know the bunk beds and 9 other intern roommates isn’t for him. The two of them decide to stay switched and have the best summer they can but is anything like that ever as simple as it seems? Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars which I rounded up because it was a quick and fun read.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I liked the premise, the characters themselves fell flat for me. They are one-dimensional and relationships is just had drama for drama's sake. I know, that is very common for K-dramas but it did not worked here or me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Clarissa Labue-Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica and Elijah are both characters I can root for. I liked their different perspectives and povs. The book is like a fast-paced k-drama. This fun rom-com was a quick read, and even at 34, I enjoyed it.

[Mella aka Maron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to BookishFirst and Inkyard Press for the finished copy!

1.5 for now, rounded up to 2.

I always feel so sad when I have to give an ARC a low rating and I may lower this even farther after release because I was just ultimately so frustrated with this book and its lack of any amount of realism. If you can ignore unrealistic plots and unlikeable characters, then maybe give it a shot and stop reading my review. If you want more info, please read on.

First, let's start with the big one: the completely unrealistic plotline. I sort of get where this disregard for reality comes from - K drama. In a K drama, you get these outlandish stories and because it's a big drama and you WANT a little fantasy, you can kind of get past that. But this was not even set in Korea. This was set in America. And although the company is Korean, the branch involved is in NYC and should be subject to American laws and standards.

How does a company completely mix up two people with the same name when one of them is the CEO's SON? I know that Elijah wanted his identity to be a secret, but it makes zero sense how the maid, the assistant, the bosses, etc all just didn't CARE one bit that a woman came when they were told he was a man? Also, how did the paperwork go through?? How did these kids get PAID? You have to sign paperwork BEFORE showing up to your job. And yet Elijah was getting Jessica's paycheck. It seriously makes ZERO sense.

What else makes zero sense, you ask? How did Jessica not have money for college? Her father is the Finance Director for the company. He previously worked as Finance Director at Microsoft. The CEO LITERALLY KNOWS HIS NAME. You have to be VERY VERY VERY high up in a company for the CEO of an INTERNATIONAL company to know your name. He isn't some cog working the daily grind. He has to be important. And if he's not being paid enough for his position, GET LEGAL HERE. This is NOT legal.

Also, can we talk about how Jessica thinks she won't get any financial aid because her dad makes "too much"? And she just never discusses this with him at all? Hell, this plotline isn't even RESOLVED. We see it a little near the end and then poof, just doesn't matter anymore. Oh and scholarships? Apparently, you need fancy recommendations for those? ...... Um, no, actually, most scholarships are merit-based. And you're looking at a female woman of color. Colleges in this day and age will eat that up. They'd be giving her money - especially if she decided to go into technology or something.

While talking about Jessica, how about we talk about her total lack of self-awareness? She's dumb. She is a smart dumb person. And I hate those characters. At the very beginning the airplane clerk says "To the right is the Preferred line" to which she responds, "Oh it's so nice she told me which line she preferred." ....... This girl has lived in America her whole life. ... Please don't tell me she's never heard of Preferred Parking.
Then, "I wonder why my dad splurged for first class."
"I wonder why the company sent me a car when I read that we'd get a bus."
This girl would get KIDNAPPED SO FAST.

But apparently, she's a great organizer. And a great leader. So great. :)

Great enough that we SKIPPED THE ENTIRE HACKATHON - the event that the group plans for the entire book is just completely skipped in favor of some really bland and annoying resolution that makes negative sense.

Oh, right, Elijah. I honestly have nothing to say about him because he was not interesting at all. He is a rich spoiled kid who wants to hang out all day instead of work. Oh, I'm stereotyping him? Actually, that's literally what he does until Jessica brings the project up. He does suggest the Hackathon - which I will give him credit for - but after that he literally says he has nothing to do and only generously offers help because he's BORED. He grows a bit during the book, but ultimately, a lot of what he does is for his own selfish gain. Even the ending.

This was my second chance to Susan Lee. I read Seoulmates and while I disliked the miscommunication, I liked the beginning. With this, I hated 90% of the book and definitely rage read it. If you want to read a book of hers, go Seoulmates instead.

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a cute rom-com that combines the vibes of a sweet K-drama and a cheesy Disney channel film. Basically, if you enjoy either of those things you’ll enjoy this.

Also, naturally, this book requires a little suspension of disbelief.

The story kicks off with a case of mistaken identity because Elijah and Jessica have the same Korean name. While they both suspect something is amiss. It isn't until they come face to face in an elevator that they put two and two together. But, after talking it through, they decide to stay in the positions they were placed. That way Jessica can get professional experience and Elijah can have a summer free from his dad's control to truly figure out what he wants for his future.

From there it's your classic office romance. The two work together with their fellow interns to put on an event corporate doesn't care much about but is their passion project. In between they grow close, transversing the city to arrange for the event, visiting famous NYC tourist destinations, etc.

Nothing in this book is decidedly new. But it's done in a way that is enjoyable and realistic. Such as its approach to sexism and classism in the workplace. By the end those things are addressed, however, they aren't magically solved. I appreciated that let's be honest those issues still exist today and unfortunately will likely persist for time to come.

Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read for those who like classic romantic comedies.

Thanks to Inkyard for sharing a copy with me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heirs is one of my ALL TIME favorite dramas and this book is basically the YA version of that drama. I LOVEEED ELIJAH. This boy. I wanted to kill him and kiss him. I flew through these pages and swooned the entire time. It’s fun and pacey but I also loved what it said about classism and and misogyny.

Because that’s the core of a Susan Lee novel. It’s sweet and funny and fast paced but there are so many deeper themes and heart woven against every page.

I’m a fan forever.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like k-dramas then this is a book you should read. Especially if you like ones with an office setting. I am not the biggest fan of this setting, but the book made it work and I didn't even notice.

The romance was soooooo cute, the plot fun, I loved the mix-up, I thought it was so well done and I was anxious to see how it would be resolved. I wasn't expecting there to be a twist near the end and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it, but I'm glad it ended happily.

[Erik Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANOTHER perfect romcom from Susan Lee. There is SO MUCH right in this book. First off, the premise? Unbeatable. The characters? Perfection. THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY ON THE 1% AND THE MISOGYNY INHERENT IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY? The Devil Wears Prada wishes. Truly, this book does better for its characters than that other one ever could. With The Name Drop and How Maya Got Fierce by Sona Charaipotra it's clear one of my favorite niche genres is teens taking advantage of a Corporate clerical mixup to get what they deserve. More this please!

I want a movie version of this ASAP. So in the immortal words of Ella: "This entire thing is gold. Get that Netflix money, girl."

[Yusra ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

how the hell is it possible to write perfection like this?

ann liang, watch out, susan lee is coming!


rtc when im done with school!

[bookishcharli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this cute book so much. I adored seeing Jessica and Elijah develop as characters throughout the book and see their growth as humans just trying to make their own way in a busy controlling world.

Like when I say I just kept smiling to myself while reading this, yeah that’s how damn cute it was. I loved Seoulmates by Susan so I already knew going into this one that I was going to love it too. Susan just seems to write the cutest books that you just can’t help but adore. They’re good for my soul.

This one has made me want to read more office romance books.

Thank you to Harper360ya for sending me a proof of this one.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Format Read: Ebook from NetGalley (9/12/23)
Review:The first 25% of this book had all the feels of a great YA romance. Drama, secrets, and mystery. Then it got so perfunctory I got bored. Still a refreshing read with a great story line and great characters.
Recommended For: Anyone who wants a cute YA romance.

[Lyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes… that’s really what all of my thoughts boil down to. The Name Drop had an amazing premise, but issues occurred when I found out the characters are extremely unlikeable.

Jessica has earned a spot in a cutthroat internship program at the bottom level of Haneul. Elijah is the son of the CEO of Haneul and will be working in a more executive role. However, both of them have the same Korean name, Yoo-Jin Lee, and due to this their lives essentially get swapped for the summer. And obviously romance builds.

So the book starts out at the airport. Where Jessica receives Elijah’s ticket and gets to reap the benefits of a first class ticket. As she’s going through security we are privy to her inner monologue where she contemplates turning in a TSA agent for not doing their due diligence in securing the safety of the airport. Why is Jessica thinking this? Well, she’s thinking about reporting this TSA agent for slacking because Jessica was told to keep her shoes on while she went through security. YUP. You read that right. And this isn’t even her first time flying, so that’s not even an excuse she could use for acting so ridiculous.

At the end of the book, Jessica makes herself EVEN MORE unlikeable due to how she interacts with Elijah’s dad. The whole book Elijah points out how horrible his father is, how misogynistic he is, and how cruel he is. Jessica’s dad works for Elijah’s father and has also spoken about how much he dislikes the man. After hearing all of this and experiencing the misogyny in the Haneul company first hand, Jessica decides she actually knows Elijah’s father better than Elijah or her dad and they must just have a misconception about his personality. Because “no one could be that bad.” I don’t know, I feel like if my boyfriend talks about how awful his dad was (and my boyfriend had been living with his dad for 18 years) maybe his opinion and impression of that man would be more accurate than mine considering I had only ever met his dad ONE TIME. Obviously after one conversation Jessica knows Elijah’s dad much better than he ever could and all the abuse Elijah’s family faced at the hands of his father was just them overreacting.

Elijah was not much better. He was so astronomically rich that he didn’t know how to do anything for himself. He couldn’t do his own laundry, he didn’t know what an AC unit looked like, and he didn’t know any clothing brands outside of designer labels. Maybe these don’t seem like the worst qualities, but when I am constantly being told how incapable and out of touch Elijah is, it doesn’t make me want to like him.

Elijah also gave a lot of mixed signals. At one point he was talking about how he hated not knowing how to fend for himself and how he felt like an outsider from another planet. Then how ever many chapters later, he’s saying that he never wants to work a day in his life and wants to live off his family’s money playing video games. Have I had similar thoughts about not wanting to have a job? Yes. The difference is that I’M NOT ALREADY FILTHY RICH. His character just seemed like someone I would want to punch in the face.

Overall, I loved the concept but disliked the main characters.

Thank you to Edelweiss for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Анђела Јанковић · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much! It has amazing characters, cute friendships, lots of development and finally ELIJAH MF RI! This book deserves all the hype in the world and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over it~

[hannah! · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was fine and enjoyable but nothing special

[Nofreeusernames Nofreeusernames]

Čtěte, pokud vás baví contemporary romantiky ve stylu XOXO, stopro, pokud vás bavila autorčina předchozí kniha Seoulmates. Hele, já to mám tak, že nejsem hardcore fanoušek k-dramat, ale pokukuju po tom a sem tam si něco na Netflixu dám. Úplně ale nedávám tu přehnanost, která je s tímhle žánrem spojená, takže mě nakonec baví nejvíc ty věci, které nejsou #toomuch Třeba jako knihy Susan Lee.

V téhle jde o záměnu identity. Do New Yorku totiž přilétá Elijah, jemuž bohatý tatík zařídil letní stáž v managementu své technologické firmy, a Jessica, která do té stejné společnosti nastupuje taky, jen do spodních, zapomenutých pater. A protože mají oba stejné korejské jméno, na letišti si je popletou. Elijah skončí s ostatními neplacenými stážistky v miniaturním bytě s hromadou bezvýznamných povinností, zato Jessice se dostane královského přivítání. Ti dva brzy zjistí, co se stalo, ale dohodnou se, že to nechají být. Pro Jessicu je to kariérní příležitost, která jí může změnit život, pro Elijaha šance užít si léto na míle daleko od svého přísného otce a všech jeho nároků.

Nooo, takže je to vlastně office romance, od přátelství k lásce, trochu grumpy-sunshine, odehrává se to celé v New Yorku a dohromady to funguje jako dost dobrá letní městská romantika, která se sem tam dotkne i nějakého vážnějšího tématu a směřuje ke konci jako z pohádky (jestli nastane, to se nechte překvapit). Ten lehký k-drama vibe tam jde cítit, ale není to cringe, není to přes čáru, fakt se Susan daří pracovat s těmi klišéčky hodně svěžím způsobem. A Elijah byl dost v pohodě, líbilo se mi, jak se v průběhu té knihy změnil a celkově byl ten jeho charakter dost zajímavý.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophomore slump? Pfffft. Susan Lee doesn't know what a sophomore slump is. She's gone straight to fourth book status and you know what that means? Her next book will be even better (is that possible?) I didn't think she could top Seoulmates, but here we are!

I would love for this to become a tv show because that was exactly how it was pictured in my head. After realizing a massive mixup at their summer internship, Elijah and Jessica decide to stay the course. Him in his apartment, bunking with several others and she in a gorgeous brownstone getting waited on and pampered. They've both traded their old lives for something exciting, including falling for each other.

This is a fast-paced book set in NYC. Both characters jumped off the page. I loved how even the B characters were great people just living life and going with the flow. I think Elijah's sister was definitely my favorite.

Susan Lee has solidified herself as an auto-buy author for me. If you're looking for a sweet romance, this is the one for you.

Also, can we get an Ella and Jason novel? Pleeeeease.

Thank you, Netgalley for the arc!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt very clumsy to me. The writing was a little awkward and the characters felt very flat. Very disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[K-Lanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I just love, love.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd love to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book! I was really involved in it and and I marathoned it in one entire sitting.

Originally, I gave this book a four star review, but after reading another review by a different reader (one who is an Asian Regional Director in a multinational gaming company with a branch in Seoul itself, as quoted by her), I had to drop my grade down another star on how the reviwer pointed things out that broadened by views and empathized more on the concerns that I had which made it originally a four star review instead of a five.

The reviewer Nochu_Dee pointed out that the misogyny in the workplace is heightened to an abnormal level and none of the female characters did nothing to change it. Jessica is made to take notes and sit there and be cute during meetings, not given real attention to her work, etc. She and the ML's sister point this out how its unfair and yet... they do nothing to stop it, or bring it up to those who protect things like that from happening. They just kind of shrug their shoulders and 'oh well' it when you can see it's eating them up on how they're treated.

She points out that at one point the FL's father was someone high up at Microsoft. ... Yet, they're still living frugally and woah-oh-no-ing about spending money. So is he still not making a lot of money at this new job? It was just strange to me that he has a high up position still and yet still acts like he doesn't make a lot of money.

There was also the fact that Elijah was too American for someone who never traveled much and g0t much exposure outside of Korea. He adjusted way too fast from his sheltered life-style and there wasn't a lot of talk or comparison to America and Korean to make me believe he was just a fish out of water rich boy from Korea.

Still, I've been watching a lot of K-Dramas' and this was a cute idea and it did keep me interested, just after reading the review I wished the author actually did some better research and or spoke to the above reviewer about their book before completing it.

[Mandy Sickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received The Name Drop in return for an honest review from the publisher Inkyard Press. 

Elijah has it all the rich family, the bright future, he's never had to work for anything in his life and this summer is no expectation as he is trained to step into his fathers shoes. Which is the last thing that Elijah wants. Jessica has worked hard for everything and when she get's an internship for her fathers company she's hoping it will give her the bump she needs to further her future. Due to a mistaken identity Elijah and Jessica end up in each others roles what will happen when they figure out the mistake? 

I loved both Jessica and Elijah right form the start they are just characters I really felt like I could connect with. I really love stories where we are given both pov because Elijah's story was just as important as Jessica's. I love the chemistry between the pair while they come from different worlds they found common ground to bond on it was very sweet. 

The Name Drop is a lovely story it captured my attention right from the start and I wasn't able to put it down till the last page. I ended up devouring it in just one afternoon because I was so invested in the characters and the story. I ended up in a little book hangover because I didn't want it to end I wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet to the pair. 

This is my first book by the author but I'm obsessed I loved every moment of The Name Drop. The characters are easy to connect with I just loved them all even the side characters. The author has a beautiful way of creating a captivating story that captures the heart. I loved every moment of The Name Drop and can't wait to read more from the author. One of my favorite books of 2023 it was just perfectly done. 

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Name Drop was a cute and typical young adult romance comedy. The upbeat and quirky main character was very relatable but sometimes a smidge annoying when she was overzealous. I liked how the akternating point of views flowed together. I usually struggle with and dislike alternating point of views but it was performed very well here and was necessary to be able to see both sides to compare. The story started out strong, and pacing was consistent throughout. I like that there wasn't any extra fluff - or filler as overdescriptiveness for the sake of adding to the page count. The cover is very cute but doesn't stand out in a crowd. A solid three stars but did not pack a strong emotional punch. Thank you to Bookish First for offering this title in their catalogue.

[Mei ☽︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounding up since I did read this in one sitting. Cute premise, and I liked the commentary on Korean vs. Korean American culture and also on class differences. My major problem is that the ending was waaaaay too rushed. The conflict was also absolutely not resolved sufficiently, imo. I don't really see how Jessica would want anything to do with him after that, tbh, no matter how much they connected and had fun in the summer. 😅 I know it's YA, but I didn't quite buy the relationship, and there should've been at least like a chapter more in the end to ease things through before the epilogue.

[⋆୨♡୧⋆ jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's an okay book. no hizo nada innovador en el género. es algo que hemos visto numerosas veces en otros libros o películas, pero es bueno como algo ligero y entretenido.