You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this one!! It was a quick and fast read. The romance was fun, I loved the relationship between Gemma and her cousins, the way she learned more about her families history and the culture in China. I love how she grows and the relationship between her and her parents.
If you are looking for a cute, rom-com in the realm of Crazy Rich Asians meets American Royals, look no further. This is Diana Ma's debut and I absolutely ate it up. I am a sucker for cute stories where the main character is fresh out of high school and starting life, and this is exactly what this story was.
This book follows Gemma Huang, fresh out of high school and ready to take the acting world by storm. When she moves to LA to start acting and taking a year off from college against her parents best wishes, she could have never seen what was coming. Gemma's mom is very secretive about her past and her family, and makes Gemma promise that she will never step a toe in Beijing, China. There is just one problem... Gemma has secured a role in a remake of M. Butterfly with her favorite actress as co-director. AND it is being filmed in Beijing.
Among the arrival of Gemma in China, when she jumps off the plane she seems to cause a bit of a frenzy. Everyone is staring at her, and taking pictures of her not realizing that she is the twin of a major influencer in China named Alyssa Chua. After a stark warning from Alyssa to leave things be and to not let anyone in the family know she's in town, Gemma meets her families rival son.
The book follows Gemma as she tries to discover why her mother is shunned from the family and Beijing, while also teaching Gemma about the importance of family. This book also covers topics like racism and homophobia, but I feel like it was handled nicely. Overall, I feel like this was a solid debut YA novel, and I am excited to read more from this author in the future.
This book follows Gemma Huang, fresh out of high school and ready to take the acting world by storm. When she moves to LA to start acting and taking a year off from college against her parents best wishes, she could have never seen what was coming. Gemma's mom is very secretive about her past and her family, and makes Gemma promise that she will never step a toe in Beijing, China. There is just one problem... Gemma has secured a role in a remake of M. Butterfly with her favorite actress as co-director. AND it is being filmed in Beijing.
Among the arrival of Gemma in China, when she jumps off the plane she seems to cause a bit of a frenzy. Everyone is staring at her, and taking pictures of her not realizing that she is the twin of a major influencer in China named Alyssa Chua. After a stark warning from Alyssa to leave things be and to not let anyone in the family know she's in town, Gemma meets her families rival son.
The book follows Gemma as she tries to discover why her mother is shunned from the family and Beijing, while also teaching Gemma about the importance of family. This book also covers topics like racism and homophobia, but I feel like it was handled nicely. Overall, I feel like this was a solid debut YA novel, and I am excited to read more from this author in the future.
hmmmmmmmm... looking back at this book now...... in retrospect it was..... hmmmmm
“After all, the women in my family are descended from royalty. So maybe it’s time for me to rule.”
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley
I stayed up until after 3:00am reading this straight through. It's a fun rom-com that has a bit of a family mystery twist. The movie making aspect is interesting and the romance is sweet. It's the proper amount of unbelievable for a romantic comedy. A little bit, but not too much. It's a book that made me smile and decide that I didn't care if it was a little far-fetched.
This is a lovely summer read or book to pick up when you need a few giggles and sighs.
I stayed up until after 3:00am reading this straight through. It's a fun rom-com that has a bit of a family mystery twist. The movie making aspect is interesting and the romance is sweet. It's the proper amount of unbelievable for a romantic comedy. A little bit, but not too much. It's a book that made me smile and decide that I didn't care if it was a little far-fetched.
This is a lovely summer read or book to pick up when you need a few giggles and sighs.
This is the queerest book with a hetero romance I've read and I love it so much. I think part of me kind of thought the premise reminded me of The Princess Diaries but it's really not like that at all. There's a lot of mystery to it and themes of finding yourself and your confidence. I feel like some stuff tied up a little too nicely, but honestly, as someone who has met my own family after a long estrangement, I kind of get where all that outpouring of love and wanting to make things right comes from.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sometimes felt a bit unbelievable that the main character was 19, so much happens to her.
Also how did her parents call her if she had a new foreign sim card???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Car accident, War
If there’s one rule Gemma knows not to break when it comes to her parents, it’s to never step foot in Beijing. The only issue is, she’s been cast in her first lead role in a movie co-directed by one of her idols and it’s set in the exact city her parents and forbid her to go. What can be so bad that she isn’t even really allowed to talk about it around them? But what they don’t know won’t hurt them right? Right? Gemma takes the gig and she thinks it’ll be smooth sailing until she gets off the plan and is swarmed by fans. Obviously not her fans since she’s still an up and coming actress. She realizes that she looks exactly like one of Beijing’s number one social media influences and this movie is going to end up a lot more interesting than she thought.
I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Definitely gave me the rich people problems of Crazy Rich Asians (which was mentioned in the book) but provided a lot more commentary on social issues which I loved. The discussions of gender fluidity, the influences of westernization on China, racism and so much more made this great book that’s very timely while also not letting the reader feeling like they’re being lectured to. I feel like I learned a lot more about Chinese culture and it makes me want to look more into it.
I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Definitely gave me the rich people problems of Crazy Rich Asians (which was mentioned in the book) but provided a lot more commentary on social issues which I loved. The discussions of gender fluidity, the influences of westernization on China, racism and so much more made this great book that’s very timely while also not letting the reader feeling like they’re being lectured to. I feel like I learned a lot more about Chinese culture and it makes me want to look more into it.