Cover reveal! For fans of Never Have I Ever and Crazy Rich Asians, I Guess I Live Here Now by Claire Ahn is a journey to the place where trends are born—Seoul, Korea—where Melody Lee unwillingly moves with her family and must start a new life, a new school…and maybe a new romance.

Melody always wanted to get to know the Korean side of her Korean American heritage better, but not quite like this. Thanks to a tiny transgression after school one day, she’s shocked to discover that her parents have decided to move her and her mom out of New York City to join her father in Seoul—immediately! Barely having the chance to say goodbye to her best friend before she’s on a plane, Melody is resentful, angry, and homesick.

But she soon finds herself settling into their super luxe home, meeting cool friends at school, and discovering the alluring aspects of living in Korea–trendsetting fashion, delectable food, her dad’s black card, and a cute boy to hang out with. Life in Seoul is amazing…until cracks begin to form on its shiny surface. Troubling family secrets, broken friendships, and a lost passion are the prices Melody has to pay for her new life, but is it worth it?

Claire Ahn’s charming, effervescent debut lets you taste every bite of kalbi, bathe in the glow of Seoul’s neon lights, and feel every high and low of Melody’s journey across the world and within her heart.

Scroll down to see the cover and read an excerpt!

Cover art: Mozza

Cover/jacket design: Danielle Ceccolini 

Yura pulls me to the dance floor with her, and I’m dancing away my stress about school, my fear of being stuck in Korea forever, the distance between me and my parents, the weird unspoken rift between me and Soph. To be able to release my guilt like this, even temporarily, feels amazing. Eventually, Wonjae, Kimbeom, and Junghoon join us, and the five of us are cheering, drinking, and dancing together. This is unlike any night I’ve ever experienced . . . and it’s so much fun! When I finally wear myself out dancing, I wobble back to the sofa, where I plop down and pour my third or fourth glass of champagne.

Wonjae is back at the table already, alone and on his phone, sitting not too far from me. The alcohol makes me bold; I’ve seen this happen in movies and now I know it’s real.

“Hi,” I say, scooting closer to him.

He gives me a funny look. “Hey,” he says. “You okay?”

I nod and bring my hands to my cheeks. They feel warm. “Yeah. Just needed to take a break from the dance floor.”

“Feeling better from earlier today?” he asks.

“Mmhmm. Dancing really is a stress reliever. I think I’ll come to Octagon every weekend.” My words come out a little slower than usual. I inch in a tiny bit closer, close enough that I can talk at a normal volume and he can hear me perfectly fine. If I lower my head just a bit, I can smell his clean, fresh laundry scent.

“I’m glad you came,” he says. A warm, kind smile spreads across his face. It’s a smile that makes me feel like he only sees me right now, and there’s a glittering sensation in my chest as my heart rate goes up.

But that glittering has a side effect of apparently making me wild, because a moment later, my body is moving on autopilot and I’m leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. I pull back in shock, and he does, too. My eyes are big, my cheeks are burning, but the next second he leans in and our lips meet again. He wraps his arms around my waist, and our long kiss becomes several kisses, growing in intensity. He moves a hand up to my cheek and draws me even closer to him. My hands are on his shoulders and sliding down his back and I lean deeper into him, tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

My head is spinning now and I’m smiling a lot, and in between kisses, we drink more champagne. His lips taste sweet, and I can’t tell if my dizzy buzz is from this champagne or from kissing or both. My eyes flutter open for a brief second just in time to spot the others leaving the dance floor, though they don’t see us through the crowds. I pull away and scooch to a more friend-zone safe spot and pour myself another drink.

For the rest of the night, Wonjae and I sneak little glances at each other, but nothing more. I attach myself to Yura’s hip, and we weave through crowds and dance in different locations throughout the night. The club gets even more packed as the night goes on, and whether it’s the dizzying strobe lights flashing all over or that there’s barely any space to actually move or that I had three drinks too many, my mind keeps going back to the kiss, and I want to find Wonjae for more.

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