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srredd5's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ekateclark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
bandherbooks's review
3.0
absolutely enchanted with Chin's prose, and I was gliding along famously with this slow-burn romance (with pay off! ! !) but the character choices at the end made me so frustrated! I will definitely read more from this author, as the small-town setting that doesn't turn away from the small minded racism and economic woe problems that can come with them.
Do also want to note there is a lot of grief in this book, both main characters have at least one deceased parent (one from cancer) and it also took me a minute to settle into all of that. I wish I had finished before fathers' day. these plot points are all alluded to in the back matter and i just ran out of time to read for my book club.
Spoilery details about ending:
Also, for the heroine to pack in her entire career to move back home, i guess i expected it, but it still felt not quite the right choice as well as her rapid pivot to defending her small hometown after so much anger and ire at it (and her high school boyfriend who destroyed her heart).
All in all, this is a ME thing, and i otherwise really enjoyed reading.
thank you to the publisher for the ARC
Do also want to note there is a lot of grief in this book, both main characters have at least one deceased parent (one from cancer) and it also took me a minute to settle into all of that. I wish I had finished before fathers' day. these plot points are all alluded to in the back matter and i just ran out of time to read for my book club.
Spoilery details about ending:
Spoiler
i wish that we had a better take down of the racist white girl who ended up sleeping with the hero and bragging about it to the heroine (after bullying the heroine in the past). I especially wish the hero had not sort of apologized away the white woman's horrible behavior as part of her own "complex grief emotions." that should have been on the part of the woman herself. I dunno, complicated all around.Also, for the heroine to pack in her entire career to move back home, i guess i expected it, but it still felt not quite the right choice as well as her rapid pivot to defending her small hometown after so much anger and ire at it (and her high school boyfriend who destroyed her heart).
All in all, this is a ME thing, and i otherwise really enjoyed reading.
thank you to the publisher for the ARC
adammm's review
4.0
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Return to Cherry Blossom Way but I find myself pleasantly surprised. A short summary: May is a travel writer tasked with covering her hometown of Blue Cedar Falls—the same place she has done her best to avoid ever since she was 18 and broke up with her high school boyfriend. So who does she very quickly get entangled with upon returning? You guessed it: Chinese restaurant owner and chef Han—AKA her ex. Shenanigans occur.
I really enjoy this book. It’s rare that we see Asian protagonists and love interests in romances, and it’s even rarer to see them living in a small, rural town. Author Jeannie Chin does a great job of exploring the positives and negatives of this setting on her characters. May, for example, is traumatized by racist classmates in high school, and she is open and frank about her experiences with friends and family. It’s fantastic that we get to see such honesty in an otherwise pretty chill romance. I also really enjoy how realistic May and Han’s relationship is. They meet up, they know they’re making a mistake, and yet they can’t help themselves from getting involved again. I can’t even explain how much I understand and relate to this, and I appreciate that Chin manages to describe this struggle so well.
I have two critiques. First, I struggled a bit with the character of May through much (though not all) of the book. She’s honestly pretty selfish and unpleasant, focusing on her own feelings and desires at the expense of those around her, and it is to Chin’s credit that May experiences real character growth as the novel progresses. Second, the characters spend a lot of time in their heads. There’s a lot of thinking and contemplating and pages and pages of dwelling that honestly doesn’t add much to the book.
That being said, the book is quite lovely and ends on such a high note that it still has me smiling as I write this review. I haven’t read any other books by this author (or in this series) and I absolutely intend on reading more. Recommended for fans of second-chance romances; books with small, diverse towns; tortoises; honestly really dreamy male love interests.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoy this book. It’s rare that we see Asian protagonists and love interests in romances, and it’s even rarer to see them living in a small, rural town. Author Jeannie Chin does a great job of exploring the positives and negatives of this setting on her characters. May, for example, is traumatized by racist classmates in high school, and she is open and frank about her experiences with friends and family. It’s fantastic that we get to see such honesty in an otherwise pretty chill romance. I also really enjoy how realistic May and Han’s relationship is. They meet up, they know they’re making a mistake, and yet they can’t help themselves from getting involved again. I can’t even explain how much I understand and relate to this, and I appreciate that Chin manages to describe this struggle so well.
I have two critiques. First, I struggled a bit with the character of May through much (though not all) of the book. She’s honestly pretty selfish and unpleasant, focusing on her own feelings and desires at the expense of those around her, and it is to Chin’s credit that May experiences real character growth as the novel progresses. Second, the characters spend a lot of time in their heads. There’s a lot of thinking and contemplating and pages and pages of dwelling that honestly doesn’t add much to the book.
That being said, the book is quite lovely and ends on such a high note that it still has me smiling as I write this review. I haven’t read any other books by this author (or in this series) and I absolutely intend on reading more. Recommended for fans of second-chance romances; books with small, diverse towns; tortoises; honestly really dreamy male love interests.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
readerpants's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Yay: interesting family dynamics, small town, Asian MCs. Second chance romances are a fave trope of mine normally, but this one makes me understand the perspective of a reading buddy who hates them. I'm not sure they *should* get back together so precipitously? I'm just concerned for them as a couple and for each of them and their mental health individually.
Also, ok, this is probably silly BUT. in the final chapter before the epilogue, there's a throwaway description of her NY apartment with big windows, including how she hand-selected sea glass and slate and a five star showerhead for her bathroom renovation. WHAT. does this mean she owns an apartment in Manhattan? Is she hand selecting a custom shower as a RENTER? what kind of money is she making for this magazine???? And if she owns (and can now presumably rent or sell) a recently renovated fancypants Manhattan apartment, why is she concerned about finances at all? She could sell it and make bank, or at least enough bank that she doesn't need to worry about her finances in small town NC for a good long while. This kind of reminds me of my least favorite ending of a movie of all time, where after following this hipster couple across the country visiting friends and checking out different cities they might want to live in it turns out that they actually owned an empty, gorgeous beach house the whole time. WTF I'M STILL MAD.
Also, ok, this is probably silly BUT. in the final chapter before the epilogue, there's a throwaway description of her NY apartment with big windows, including how she hand-selected sea glass and slate and a five star showerhead for her bathroom renovation. WHAT. does this mean she owns an apartment in Manhattan? Is she hand selecting a custom shower as a RENTER? what kind of money is she making for this magazine???? And if she owns (and can now presumably rent or sell) a recently renovated fancypants Manhattan apartment, why is she concerned about finances at all? She could sell it and make bank, or at least enough bank that she doesn't need to worry about her finances in small town NC for a good long while. This kind of reminds me of my least favorite ending of a movie of all time, where after following this hipster couple across the country visiting friends and checking out different cities they might want to live in it turns out that they actually owned an empty, gorgeous beach house the whole time. WTF I'M STILL MAD.
wellactjoally's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Second chance romance. Love for a long time. High school racism and learning to ignore the haters.
cyireadbooks's review
5.0
May Wu desperately needed to leave hicktown Blue Cedar Falls to pursue greener pastures in New York. In doing so, May left behind the love of her life, Han Leung
Han had dreams of following May, but those dreams were dashed when his father passed leaving Han to run the family restaurant.
Thirteen years later, both May and Han have each forged new lives. Han is the co-operator of a Chinese take out and May is a successful travel writer who has pretty much shunned her hometown. But May is forced to return to Blue Cedar Falls for research on a blooming story that has potential to be a cover feature on the magazine she writes for. That’s when May runs into Han and the sparks re-ignite the embers hidden in their hearts.
Return to Cherry Blossom Way is the second book in the Blue Cedar Falls series. Though is is possible to read as a standalone novel, I would recommend that the first novel, Inn at Sweetbriar Lane, be read in advance as a lot of the narrative in Return to Cherry Blossom Way refers to the past histories of many of the characters in the first novel.
The story follows a second chance at romance between former sweethearts in a small town. But it is much more than a romance since family relationships come into play. The Wu family and the Leung family dynamics are on display and their interractions to me were so relatable.
The characters are well developed and I liked each and everyone of them. I especially like Han as he still had his dry humor, but he also shows his softer side in this novel. I had to warm up to the other main character, May since she had that New York chip on her shoulder in the beginning. I did enjoy the minor character of Elizabeth the youngest of the Wu sisters as she still retained that quirky style of hers from the previous novel. And as fate would have it, the third book in the Blue Cedar Falls series will showcase Elizabeth. I can’t wait.
Overall, Return to Cherry Blossom Way was a very enjoyable and entertaining read. It is the perfect and must read novel for second chance romance fans and own voices readers. Five stars.
I received a finished paperback copy of the novel from Forever (GCP.) The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Han had dreams of following May, but those dreams were dashed when his father passed leaving Han to run the family restaurant.
Thirteen years later, both May and Han have each forged new lives. Han is the co-operator of a Chinese take out and May is a successful travel writer who has pretty much shunned her hometown. But May is forced to return to Blue Cedar Falls for research on a blooming story that has potential to be a cover feature on the magazine she writes for. That’s when May runs into Han and the sparks re-ignite the embers hidden in their hearts.
Return to Cherry Blossom Way is the second book in the Blue Cedar Falls series. Though is is possible to read as a standalone novel, I would recommend that the first novel, Inn at Sweetbriar Lane, be read in advance as a lot of the narrative in Return to Cherry Blossom Way refers to the past histories of many of the characters in the first novel.
The story follows a second chance at romance between former sweethearts in a small town. But it is much more than a romance since family relationships come into play. The Wu family and the Leung family dynamics are on display and their interractions to me were so relatable.
The characters are well developed and I liked each and everyone of them. I especially like Han as he still had his dry humor, but he also shows his softer side in this novel. I had to warm up to the other main character, May since she had that New York chip on her shoulder in the beginning. I did enjoy the minor character of Elizabeth the youngest of the Wu sisters as she still retained that quirky style of hers from the previous novel. And as fate would have it, the third book in the Blue Cedar Falls series will showcase Elizabeth. I can’t wait.
Overall, Return to Cherry Blossom Way was a very enjoyable and entertaining read. It is the perfect and must read novel for second chance romance fans and own voices readers. Five stars.
I received a finished paperback copy of the novel from Forever (GCP.) The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
aharper07's review
4.0
Return to Cherry Blossom Way is a small town second chance romance.. May returns to her small town for her travel job. She runs into Han, ber high school sweetheart whom never left. He shows her what has changed in the 13 years that she's been gone.
This was a cute story that not only talked about romance between May and Han. But it also talked about pressures of family, how people treat you because you are different than them.
I felt it was a little Hallmark-esque, you know the formula I'm talking about. But like with Hallmark movies, we still watch then because we love them. I loved the aspects of it being Asian Americans as the main characters. I felt May was a little childish at times, but she grows and after some discussions, she grows up.
Overall, I liked it and would recommend for small town lovers.
This was a cute story that not only talked about romance between May and Han. But it also talked about pressures of family, how people treat you because you are different than them.
I felt it was a little Hallmark-esque, you know the formula I'm talking about. But like with Hallmark movies, we still watch then because we love them. I loved the aspects of it being Asian Americans as the main characters. I felt May was a little childish at times, but she grows and after some discussions, she grows up.
Overall, I liked it and would recommend for small town lovers.
opheliabedilia's review
4.0
I really wish Goodreads would allow half-stars. Because I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series, but it's not quite a five star read for me, just because I reserve five star ratings for my most favorite reads. So really this would be 4.5 stars if I could.
Again, Chin has shown that something she really knows how to do is create a conflict between a couple where the reader can understand where both people are coming from, and where neither character is being ridiculous. In this case, it's just life getting in the way, and neither person being willing to sacrifice everything they both want and need to do with their lives in order to be together, along with a dash of their initial break-up happening when they were simply very young.
Although I think this book is just a bit better than the first in the series, I do recommend starting with the first. Both because it's also quite good, and also because starting with this one would give you a few spoilers regarding how things were resolved in the first one.
I really hope Chin is able to find a larger audience, her books are worthy of it.
Again, Chin has shown that something she really knows how to do is create a conflict between a couple where the reader can understand where both people are coming from, and where neither character is being ridiculous. In this case, it's just life getting in the way, and neither person being willing to sacrifice everything they both want and need to do with their lives in order to be together, along with a dash of their initial break-up happening when they were simply very young.
Although I think this book is just a bit better than the first in the series, I do recommend starting with the first. Both because it's also quite good, and also because starting with this one would give you a few spoilers regarding how things were resolved in the first one.
I really hope Chin is able to find a larger audience, her books are worthy of it.
karenmsecrest's review
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A cozy, small town romance with a heroine who faces some big issues: returning home, bullying from a high school nemesis, and racism. A little heat, a lot of family drama.
You’ll love it if you’re in the mood for:
You’ll love it if you’re in the mood for:
- A sweet love story
- Return to a small town
- First-generation family
- restaurant/cooking
- North Carolina
- A little heat, a lot of emotion