#Asian YA Romance

[james-stark-the-writer]

19:45 into the absolute rom-com classic Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na bc i wanted to feel good today and revisit a little bit of nostalgia and i was in the romcom mood so. here we are. anyway, this movie is like Camp Excellence, and also astonishingly well directed, i'm glad young me had great taste, this movie is very much from the year 2008, but, along with Mamma Mia! which somehow also released in 2008, nothing else even comes close to making me love love and life as this does.

[opal-stars]

they might or might not have to fake date, and they might or might not be salty about it 🫣

🍧 Sarang and River from “Bingsu for Two” by Sujin Witherspoon

instagram 🍧 @ opal.stars

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Welcome, Caller

a cute small town m/m romance

a 20-something trans man whose routine and comfortable life with his friends starts getting disrupted when a guy he had a vague rivalry with in uni keeps running into him

he finds some stability by regularly calling in to a late-night radio show, which becomes a strangely comforting relationship, despite the anonymity

explores mental health (adhd, autism) & friendship

[wahlpaper]

Forget Me Not Review

Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick - 5/5 - Contemporary YA WLW

Having recently met Alyson Derrick at a Rachel Lippincott event (pictures of me and the couple below!), I was made aware of a book Derrick had written without her wife. That book is called Forget Me Not. It's an amnesia love story for two young adult women in a small town. I had assumed it would be too serious for my liking, but I was hooked from the very start. I'm happy to report that this story is not a tragedy! 

Stevie and Nora are going to get out of their bigoted small town, escape to California, and leave their past completely behind. Except, just a few months before, Stevie falls and hits her head. When she wakes up in the hospital, she can't remember the last two years! When she starts trying to fill those gaps, she's shocked to find how many secrets she's been keeping and how much life has changed in just 2 years. Stevie doesn't remember her relationship with Nora or discovering that she isn't straight, but she's drawn to her anyway. Will Stevie get all the answers she's looking for or will she be stuck in that town forever? 

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[mekatrio]

somebody left me an annoying reply which i hv blocked cuz i dont need that but i will not ignore bc yes actually i do mean it when i say narumayo is misogynistic (more specifically heteronormative but that is often a facet of misogyny such as in this context) like no i dont just dislike narumayo cuz it 'rubs me the wrong way' 🙄 narumayo perpetuates harmful sexist ideologies bc there is nothing romantic about a 26+ year old employed adult man being romantically involved with a high-school aged girl who he's 7 years older than, the age gap and power imbalance of such a relationship creates circumstances that are ripe for abuse, specifically towards the younger girl who is disenfranchised by such a scenario, and idealizing such a thing even in fiction helps to normalize these harmful ideas in the real world. Narumayo Is Misogynistic. for the love of god do not say stupid shit on my blog 🤦

[byvishanti]

honestly why is it so hard to find poc/desi (specifically bollywood actually) male faceclaims below 40-50 age.

[desdasiwrites]

One thing I love about Nora is that she oozes passion. Pure unfiltered passion, for all kinds of things. It’s easy to get excited when you’re around her, even about stuff you never cared about before.

– Alyson Derrick, Forget Me Not

[princessofbookaholics]

currently reading 🎮

[qbdatabase]

Boy at the Window by Lauren Melissa Ellzey After jumping off the roof in the middle of the night, Daniel Kim wakes up far from his dreams of Neverland. Thrust into a brand-new high school, he struggles with his very-present past and his never-present parents. But when he joins the cross-country team, he meets another runner who might make a difference. View the full summary and rep info on wordpress!

[balletbookworm]

Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Summary from Edelweiss: **A New York Times Best Romance Book of the Year** A swoony, heart-melting YA romance from beloved author Rebekah Weatherspoon about two awkward teens who decide to practice dating in order to be good at the real thing. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene, though confident and self-assured, is what they call a late-bloomer.…

[dead-not-done]

koral hunter // monsters born and made by tanvi berwah

[jessread-s]

Thanks to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✩🎨🌄Review:

Rogers’ debut is a beautifully devastating novel that demands to be read. 

“I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom” follows Marisol Martin, a Filipina-American teen who tragically loses her mother to a car accident. Haunted by the an argument they had in their final moments together, Marisol clings to her anger to escape her sadness. She is determined to burn until the start of a new friendship convinces her otherwise.

This book really made me feel a wide spectrum of emotions, though I must confess that for the most part I was in a perpetual state of bawling my eyes out, which just goes to show how powerful this book is. Part of what makes it so powerful is the way the novel’s timeline is organized. Rogers alternates between the “then” and the “now,” dedicating whole chapters to Marisol’s memories of her mother. It was devastating to read about their tumultuous relationship in raw detail, but at the same time, I felt further connected to Marisol in learning about her past. 

An aspect of the novel I appreciated is the ways in which Rogers familiarizes her readers with Filipino culture. She does this through religious customs, but also primarily through food. Rogers describes the preparation of specific dishes and the community that is established during this process at length when Marisol’s mother was alive. As a result, the absence of Filipino food and the reliance on microwave meals after the passing of Marisol’s mother is jarring, so much so that Marisol questions whether she has lost the Filipino part of her identity entirely in losing her mother. 

Marisol’s story in “I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom” contributes to the conversation surrounding racial imposter syndrome in today’s society. Rogers did a fantastic job in shaping my understanding of this phenomenon— specifically who it impacts and what can be done about it. I highly recommend this book and intend to implement it in my classroom curriculum. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[opal-stars]

Eliza and Caz from “This Time It’s Real” by Ann Liang (aka my new best friend bc I’m in love with her books!!!!!!!) 💖🌸☁️✨

instagram • @opal.stars

[lisboeta1]

Spin the Dawn- Book Review

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked up this book on a whim since it was on sale and the cover was truly lovely. Turns out a really liked it. Great story along the likes of C-period fantasy dramas, a weakness of mine. The characters were well developed, the world building was great without being overwhelmingly detailed, and the romance was beautiful. An easy but…

[wahlpaper]

Café con Lychee Review

Café con Lychee by Emery Lee - 5/5 - Gay Contemporary YA RomCom

I decided to read Café con Lychee by Emery Lee because I've read one of eir books before (Meet Cute Diary), I'm on a cultural food queer romance kick, and lychee is delicious. I absolutely treated myself to a lychee and strawberry slushie in honor of this book. The book itself was a treat! Sweet and wholesome, with a few tender parts within. I devoured it, scarfed it down!

Theo's and Gabriel's (aka Gabi) families own rival restaurants. Although Gabi's family has a Puerto Rican bakery and Theo's has an Asian-American café, cultural food is a novelty in their Vermont town. Customer traffic shows that there can only successfully be one. When a new world-fusion restaurant opens up, both families find their businesses in trouble. The boys want to team up to save both restaurants. Without the knowledge of their parents, they start selling the products at school and just claim to be making normal deliveries. Theo and Gabi will have to come to terms with what they can change and what they can't. Along the way, they might find there's another reason they like working with each other. 

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