REVIEW & BOOK TAG || Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen // 5 reasons why you MUST read this beautiful book + a fun book tag to spread the love

Hello friends! I am so excited to be a part of the Loveboat Taipei Blog Tour hosted by Karina @ Afire Pages. This is one of my most anticipated 2020 releases and I am so glad it lived up to my expectations and beyond.

Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, and praised as “an intense rush of rebellion and romance” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber, this romantic and layered Own Voices debut from Abigail Hing Wen is a dazzling, fun-filled romp.

“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.” And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.
But not every student is quite what they seem:
Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.
Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.
Boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.
And under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit.
When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget.

Goodreads ||  Book Depository 

Series: Loveboat Taipei #1 

Publication Date: January 7th, 2020 (Harper Teen)

Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Ratings: 4.5/5 

Loveboat Taipei is a story about a teen, Ever Wong who is forced by her parents to come to Taipei as a part of an educational program. But this book is so much more than that. It is about friendship, love, self identity, strength, passion and staying true to yourself. I loved this book and here are 5 reasons you should read this book:

Cultural Representation 

Even though I am not Chinese, the cultural representation in this book is so well-written and beautiful. It is also relatable as an Asian because the representations are applicable to a lot of Asian kids. The way the parents constantly push for better grades, better colleges, better future, comparison with other kids and the difficulty to stay true to your passion while juggling all these emotions is wonderfully expressed. It really warmed my heart reading about such experiences I could relate to.

Wonderful characters  

I loved the characters. They were all different with their own thinking, morals and lives and all these characters coming together made for a delightful read. I loved Ever and her passion for dance was so fun to read. Rick, Sophie and Xavier were all well fleshed out and well written characters with their own unique individual personas and their stories were just as good and important. All the other side characters were also super fun to read about.

Lots of emotions and feels

This book explores feelings of friendships, romance, jealousy, ridicule, hate, guilt and all of this is very relatable. I loved reading about it and as a reader you will go through all of the these emotions with the characters.

A Love Triangle which was not cringe or lame

As you’ll know, I am not the biggest fan of love triangles. Most of the books either make it too cringe or too lame. I am surprised to say that I liked the love triangle in this one. I did not love it because this is a trope I am not much into, but it was so well done and at no point did I feel like stopping the book because of it and that for me is a big win.

Expressive Writing

I absolutely loved the writing. The author does a beautiful job of describing the locations and the beauty of Taipei and it makes me want to fly there right now and go to all the places mentioned in the book. These small expressive details about the sights and architecture of the museums and other places made me fall in love with this book even more.

Overall, I loved this book and it’s not even 2020 yet but this is already one of my top reads. It’s a book filled with lots of emotions and the reader will always be able to relate to some part of it. If you’re a fan of coming of age contemporary romances with exceptional cultural representation and beautiful writing and want to tour Taipei through words, then make sure to pick up Loveboat, Taipei!! 

I want to thank Harper Teen, Edelweiss and Afire pages for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own. You can check out the rest of the stops on the #LoveboatTaipeiBlogTour as well. 

For this blog tour, I have prepared a special Loveboat Book Tag to celebrate and spread the love about this awesome book! 

Rules:

• Link back to the creator, Bookathon.
• Tag 4-5 friends to spread the love about the book

Ever Wong- A Character who is passionate about something

Mehr from Empire of Sand is a character who is passionate about dance. I also love Laila from The Gilded Wolves as she is also a very passionate dancer and baker.

Rick Woo- A character with a heart of gold

Redford Morgan from Get a Life, Chloe Brown is a guy with a heart of gold and I absolutely adore him. Another character with a heart of gold was Antonio from The Black Veins, he was absolutely awesome.

Sophie Ha- A chirpy character and/or who loves fashion 

Pez from Red, White and Royal Blue is a chirpy character I remember the most. He did have a small part but I loved reading about him.

Xavier Yeh- A character who is silent and/or an artist 

Amu from Empire of Sand is a silent brooding kind of character and is a dancer and I absolutely adore him and if you haven’t read this book yet, do so now!!!

Loveboat- Your favourite squad/ group of friends

The Guardians from The Black Veins, the squad from Red, White and Royal Blue and the squad from The Gilded Wolves are my favourites!

I am tagging :Afire Pages || Artsy Draft || Sometimes Leelynn Reads ||Lori’s Bookshelf Reads || Fanna Wants the world to read || Utopia State of Mind || Read by Tiffany || Not Just Fiction || Ambivert Words|| Flipping Through the Pages

Everyone else who loved this book, you’re tagged too! You must do this and link back so that I can see all your answers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Abigail Hing Wen is a Silicon Valley venture lawyer working with AI startups. She is a Vermont College of Fine Arts graduate, Wild Things blogger, and YA writer of her debut, Loveboat, Taipei.

Website || Twitter || Instagram

INTL GIVEAWAY 

Click HERE to enter in the Rafflecopter giveaway. 

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