Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the cover def threw me off but i actualky loved this book- it’s such a cute, fun read!!! the characters felt a bit.. flat ? at times and the writing was a bit disengaging at times. nevertheless i loved this book a lot!! vv cute and sweet and!! i think im still biased bc of the cover and how it touched in certain subjects but otherwise it was very very cute and i loved it!!
The book was very cute. Best friends bonding over boba? I can get behind that, no question.
What bothered me the most was lack of character development. **spoiler** James went from a nasty boy to the love of Liza’s life. That was it. Not a lot of description of how this happened, or how James changed.
The scenes were well-written, but the characters seemed two-dimensional.
What bothered me the most was lack of character development. **spoiler** James went from a nasty boy to the love of Liza’s life. That was it. Not a lot of description of how this happened, or how James changed.
The scenes were well-written, but the characters seemed two-dimensional.
Note: Not sure whether I'll be giving this 3 or 4 stars, so proper rating to come!
Liza Yang dreams of baking like her mother, who runs a bakery and a successful annual high school baking competition based on The Great British Bake Off. However, her Taiwanese parents want her to focus on school and get a solid career - and a nice Asian man - to support her. When Liza decides she wants to enter her mother's competition, they compromise and Liza is given a judging competition. Little does she know, however, that this is a ploy for her mother to set her up with a bunch of mom-approved Asian boys for her to date.
This was a really cute and fun read for me to breeze through quickly after slogging through my last read. I had to pick this up because it combined two of my favorite things - GBBO and Pride and Prejudice. I know that I've been learning that YA contemporary/romances no longer float my boat as much as they used to, so I decided to give it the genre one last try with a story that seemed made for me (excusing the fact that I'm white). I love the relationship we see between Liza and her mother; it's tense at times, but you can tell they really care about each other and only want what's best. I loved the love for baking that came right off the page. I'm a big baker myself, so that really worked for me. I enjoyed myself at every point of reading this; the writing style was very smooth and made turning the pages fast. I thought the translations of Mrs. Bennett, Elizabeth, and Jane were well done (Lydia wasn't half bad either). Liza's wit had me mentally high-fiving her throughout the whole book.
However, I did have a few issues that mainly came down to plotting/pacing. The baking competition doesn't start until halfway through the book. It's obvious by then that it's not going to last nearly as long as is planned. Then all of the "plot" stuff (mainly the stuff that makes it a P&P retelling) came about within a few pages of each other. I definitely feel like both the baking and P&P plots could have been more spread out. Because of this, the Elizabeth/Darcy dynamic was a little different, which wasn't a bad thing, just different. I do think that the Darcy character was a bit of a MPDB; I feel like I know nothing about him more than he's stoic, hot, and bakes. Which like, I guess you could do worse!
Overall, this was just what I needed after a read that almost sent me into a slump. I'd definitely recommend this highly to fans of YA contemporaries and P&P!
Liza Yang dreams of baking like her mother, who runs a bakery and a successful annual high school baking competition based on The Great British Bake Off. However, her Taiwanese parents want her to focus on school and get a solid career - and a nice Asian man - to support her. When Liza decides she wants to enter her mother's competition, they compromise and Liza is given a judging competition. Little does she know, however, that this is a ploy for her mother to set her up with a bunch of mom-approved Asian boys for her to date.
This was a really cute and fun read for me to breeze through quickly after slogging through my last read. I had to pick this up because it combined two of my favorite things - GBBO and Pride and Prejudice. I know that I've been learning that YA contemporary/romances no longer float my boat as much as they used to, so I decided to give it the genre one last try with a story that seemed made for me (excusing the fact that I'm white). I love the relationship we see between Liza and her mother; it's tense at times, but you can tell they really care about each other and only want what's best. I loved the love for baking that came right off the page. I'm a big baker myself, so that really worked for me. I enjoyed myself at every point of reading this; the writing style was very smooth and made turning the pages fast. I thought the translations of Mrs. Bennett, Elizabeth, and Jane were well done (Lydia wasn't half bad either). Liza's wit had me mentally high-fiving her throughout the whole book.
However, I did have a few issues that mainly came down to plotting/pacing. The baking competition doesn't start until halfway through the book. It's obvious by then that it's not going to last nearly as long as is planned. Then all of the "plot" stuff (mainly the stuff that makes it a P&P retelling) came about within a few pages of each other. I definitely feel like both the baking and P&P plots could have been more spread out. Because of this, the Elizabeth/Darcy dynamic was a little different, which wasn't a bad thing, just different. I do think that the Darcy character was a bit of a MPDB; I feel like I know nothing about him more than he's stoic, hot, and bakes. Which like, I guess you could do worse!
Overall, this was just what I needed after a read that almost sent me into a slump. I'd definitely recommend this highly to fans of YA contemporaries and P&P!
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want—nay, in need—of a daughter who will listen."
I AM SPEECHLESS. THIS BOOK IS A TOTAL MASTERPIECE.
I had a readalong with my best friend Nana and as she is still reading it, I am writing this review because I cannot hold this feelings in any longer. THIS BOOK WAS TOTALLY AMAZING. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I AM STILL HAVING THE WARMY FUZZY FEELINGS FROM THE BOOK OMG.
Liza is an aspiring baker, but growing in a typical Asian family, her family has high expectations of her and I felt that. THE AMOUNT OF THINGS I RELATE TO THIS BOOK OH MY GOOOOOOOD!!! So much, literally Asian vibes all around and I'm all for it. This book made me hungry. In fact, after posting this review I'm gonna make myself some food. The idea of a baking competition is so so cute. Sort of reminding me of The Princess Switch mixed with To All The Boys I've Loved Before sort of vibe. The element of love, friends and family in this book are just *chef's kiss*.
THE ENDING OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLS I HAVE NEVER FELT SO SINGLE IN MY LIFE BEFOREEEEE!!!!
If I'm not mistaken, this is the author's debut novel and for a debut novel this is stunning, amazing, beautiful, literally a masterpiece, I just love it. I'm not sure if this is a standalone or it will have a sequel but if there is a sequel to this, I would literally buy it like for realsssss.
Honourable mentions: LITERAL TOP 3. Jeannie, Ben and James. Jeannie was such a good sister to Liza. Love her. Eventhough they had a tiny conflict. Ben, literally a comedy king. LOVE HIM. James, where do I find a man like you? Seriously. Are you available on Amazon or Shopee or sumn? Let me know kay luv!
Sweet YA romance. Lots of twists, I loved seeing the drama fold out. Kind of cheesy, but not in a completely unbearable way. Liza was falling wayy too much though. Like why did she find it so hard to stay on her feet