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errorreads101's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-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? N/A
4.5
superfangirl818's review
I didn't DNF this book because of anything wrong with it, I just realized that I wasn't in the mood for it.
books4susie's review
4.0
Cute friends to more romance that deals with family issues taking place in Chicago's Chinatown.
curlymariareads's review
3.0
Super cute, loved all the Chinese culture and explanations woven throughout.
kimbyy's review
3.0
while the ending might have been more realistic or whatever, i didn’t like that they just gave up on the lantern store :(. because all the things about gentrification & the problems that come with it are real & i just thought of la’s Chinatown the whole time. & what happened to fighting back and all of that… idk. because it’s a book i wanted an inspiring ending where liya saved the shop AND gets to keep fulfilling wishes and kai got to go to culinary school AND run the bakery. like yeah good that they get to go to college & have other dreams but… preserving cultural history…
i have been kind of contemplating the best friends / childhood friends to lovers tropes recently (because i feel like the friendship to dating transition could get really weird, if you think about it. this is why i try not to think about it) and this reminded me why i liked it. they’re cute. i did not need the sudden random spicy but the way that kai cared for liya in ways that only someone who knew her so well could was cute.
maybe i wasn’t paying close enough attention but i don’t think we knew as much about kai besides the fact the the dude has developed muscles in his arms, he works really hard, and he likes baking. i think liya’s character was more fleshed out and i wish we got more of that with kai. this is a very late realization considering the fact that I've been reading YA romances regularly for over a year now but i’m starting to think that ya novels (generally) are written for women and so people try to write the female characters with more detail so that they relate to them, and then they just stick a physically attractive guy in there bc they assume that the women will like him so then they don’t have to actually characterize him well. sorry, this wasn’t supposed to be a callout for this book specifically, but more of the genre. kai is decently done and likely with more development people would complain that the book moved too slow. i read books that are not YA so i do not care how slow it happens.
in terms of other characters, i hate kai’s family and we really never got to hear about why jiao and the father guy are the way they are. also i’ve never experienced the Chinese people shipping people kind of thing
i have been kind of contemplating the best friends / childhood friends to lovers tropes recently (because i feel like the friendship to dating transition could get really weird, if you think about it. this is why i try not to think about it) and this reminded me why i liked it. they’re cute. i did not need the sudden random spicy but the way that kai cared for liya in ways that only someone who knew her so well could was cute.
maybe i wasn’t paying close enough attention but i don’t think we knew as much about kai besides the fact the the dude has developed muscles in his arms, he works really hard, and he likes baking. i think liya’s character was more fleshed out and i wish we got more of that with kai. this is a very late realization considering the fact that I've been reading YA romances regularly for over a year now but i’m starting to think that ya novels (generally) are written for women and so people try to write the female characters with more detail so that they relate to them, and then they just stick a physically attractive guy in there bc they assume that the women will like him so then they don’t have to actually characterize him well. sorry, this wasn’t supposed to be a callout for this book specifically, but more of the genre. kai is decently done and likely with more development people would complain that the book moved too slow. i read books that are not YA so i do not care how slow it happens.
in terms of other characters, i hate kai’s family and we really never got to hear about why jiao and the father guy are the way they are. also i’ve never experienced the Chinese people shipping people kind of thing
rwasher722's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Adorable cute story