kerasalwaysreading's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you so much to Ana Huang for my DRC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I truly loved this book!
This painted such a great picture of what studying abroad in China may look like through the eyes of young, impressionable college kids. The writing was beautiful and I really got caught up in it all.
In Shanghai, a group of American college students from all over the country become part of FEA (foreign education academy). Among them is Farrah, who wants nothing more than to become an interior designer. Blake is a Texas boy who left his football career, ex girlfriend and his father’s respect behind when he joined this group.
The two of them shouldn’t work. According to Farrah, they will never work, since he is anything BUT her type. But he eventually charms her and so starts their whirlwind romance. Everything is viewed through rose colored glasses for a few months, but after a holiday trip home to Austin, Blake does something that changes everything.
I loved how supportive Farrah and Blake were of each other. They encouraged each other to seek their dreams and not what other people wanted for them. There were times though, when I would get annoyed at the naivety of Farrah... but would always remind myself that she is a young college student and she has every right to be a little naive.
I absolutely cannot wait for the next book! This one ended with a short excerpt of the next book and I am totally hooked!!!!!
This painted such a great picture of what studying abroad in China may look like through the eyes of young, impressionable college kids. The writing was beautiful and I really got caught up in it all.
In Shanghai, a group of American college students from all over the country become part of FEA (foreign education academy). Among them is Farrah, who wants nothing more than to become an interior designer. Blake is a Texas boy who left his football career, ex girlfriend and his father’s respect behind when he joined this group.
The two of them shouldn’t work. According to Farrah, they will never work, since he is anything BUT her type. But he eventually charms her and so starts their whirlwind romance. Everything is viewed through rose colored glasses for a few months, but after a holiday trip home to Austin, Blake does something that changes everything.
I loved how supportive Farrah and Blake were of each other. They encouraged each other to seek their dreams and not what other people wanted for them. There were times though, when I would get annoyed at the naivety of Farrah... but would always remind myself that she is a young college student and she has every right to be a little naive.
I absolutely cannot wait for the next book! This one ended with a short excerpt of the next book and I am totally hooked!!!!!
leah_3's review against another edition
2.0
i was really hoping to like this book because ana’s one of my favourite authors, but it just wasn’t the best
hannahmcl394's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
threemorechapters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a big fan of anything written by Ana, I was so excited to start this series!
I felt an immediate connection with the storyline and characters since I have studied abroad myself. At some points it felt like I was reliving my experience abroad.
However it wasn't all good, unfortunately. The pacing needs some work. At times I couldn't really follow what was going on. One moment they were in Shanghai at school and the next they were on a holiday and before I knew it they were back at school.
There were also some plottwists that I disliked and that would under normal circumstances cause me to dnf a book. But since I felt so close to the studying abroad storyline and since it's a book by Ana Huang, I continued.
This book does make me feel excited to read the other books of this series, since I want to see how Ana Huang evolves in her writing during this series.
I felt an immediate connection with the storyline and characters since I have studied abroad myself. At some points it felt like I was reliving my experience abroad.
However it wasn't all good, unfortunately. The pacing needs some work. At times I couldn't really follow what was going on. One moment they were in Shanghai at school and the next they were on a holiday and before I knew it they were back at school.
There were also some plottwists that I disliked and that would under normal circumstances cause me to dnf a book. But since I felt so close to the studying abroad storyline and since it's a book by Ana Huang, I continued.
This book does make me feel excited to read the other books of this series, since I want to see how Ana Huang evolves in her writing during this series.
acbailey's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kirsberry's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
4.5
kayla0713's review against another edition
3.0
Wasn’t a huge fan on the pov, instead of saying “I thought she was gorgeous” it would say Blake thought she was gorgeous