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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick middle of the road read. Nothing profound or revolutionary but also nothing offensive. It’s obvious (to me at least) that Anna Huang grew immensely as a writer between this book and her Twisted series. I like the “falling in love while studying abroad” idea because, let’s be real, a lot of us fantasized about what that would be like during our semester or year abroad in undergrad. The characters were fine, the romance was fine, and the conflict didn’t make my eyes roll. This is under 300 pages so I read/skimmed it in a few hours. I probably won’t remember much about this book in a month’s time. A true 3 star read.
Predictable, cheesy, enjoyable. Think the narrators of Ana's books make the plot more cringe than it really is but still a fun book to disconnect with. The ending did have me feeling the character feelz tbh
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
fast-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:
Complicated
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this book. We followed Farrah and Blake, two American students (and 7 others in their friend group) studying in Shanghai for a year. Blake seems to instantly like Farrah, and while he knows that sleeping with her would be a bad idea (he doesn’t sleep with virgins), he figures flirting is fine. Farrah likes Leo, who is seeing her friend, so she’s just trying to coast and have fun.. and maybe wait for them to break up.
While Blake annoys Farrah, he grows on her as they start hanging out more (studying together, learning Mandarin), and suddenly Farrah realizes her crush on Leo is gone and she’s instead falling for Blake. Blake is anti-relationship, so while they clearly both like each other, he pulls out the “I love you..like a sister” card.
They seem ok together, and their relationship is quick and verging on insta-lovey. I found that both characters were pretty immature, and the main conflict that separates them near the end of the book is frustrating for the reader since Blake keeps Farrah in the dark and won’t give her the benefit of the doubt to trust him and keep an open mind.
Will I read the second book? Yes. I must know what’s going to happen.
The writing is not Ana’s best, as she keeps getting better with each book. You can tell this is a debut. I found it to be a little cheesy (especially with how often Blake points out that he’s being cheesy). I also had a hard time with the transitions between chapters. I didn’t think it was as seamless as she is now in her writing, and they were not smooth - to the point where I was a little confused at the beginning of each chapter about what was happening and what POV we were in.
I enjoyed this book. We followed Farrah and Blake, two American students (and 7 others in their friend group) studying in Shanghai for a year. Blake seems to instantly like Farrah, and while he knows that sleeping with her would be a bad idea (he doesn’t sleep with virgins), he figures flirting is fine. Farrah likes Leo, who is seeing her friend, so she’s just trying to coast and have fun.. and maybe wait for them to break up.
While Blake annoys Farrah, he grows on her as they start hanging out more (studying together, learning Mandarin), and suddenly Farrah realizes her crush on Leo is gone and she’s instead falling for Blake. Blake is anti-relationship, so while they clearly both like each other, he pulls out the “I love you..like a sister” card.
They seem ok together, and their relationship is quick and verging on insta-lovey. I found that both characters were pretty immature, and the main conflict that separates them near the end of the book is frustrating for the reader since Blake keeps Farrah in the dark and won’t give her the benefit of the doubt to trust him and keep an open mind.
Will I read the second book? Yes. I must know what’s going to happen.
The writing is not Ana’s best, as she keeps getting better with each book. You can tell this is a debut. I found it to be a little cheesy (especially with how often Blake points out that he’s being cheesy). I also had a hard time with the transitions between chapters. I didn’t think it was as seamless as she is now in her writing, and they were not smooth - to the point where I was a little confused at the beginning of each chapter about what was happening and what POV we were in.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes