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A review by kindredbooks
A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I received a gifted copy from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
In A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen, a young Taiwanese American high school student, Liza, loves to bake and she is trying her best to finish her finals while thwarting her mother’s attempt to matchmaker her with the Asian boys within their vicinity. At the fifth annual baking competition hosted by her mother’s bakery, Liza is invited to be a judge and she soon realizes that it is an elaborate scheme set up by her mother. All the accepted contestants are Asian - some with very questionable abilities in baking for a baking competition. While Liza wants to rebel against her mother, there perhaps may be a chance for love with one of the contestants.
I absolutely loved all the mention of bubble tea - that bonding of friendship over boba feels too familiar to me. There were also a lot of cultural and pop culture references that made the story and characters feel real to me. I did feel that there were quite a number of HP references - which I could have done without to be honest. Jennifer Yen’s story writing and themes remind me a lot of Gloria Chao - and so if you are a fan of Gloria Chao, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy Jennifer Yen. Both draw a lot on the first generation Taiwanese/Chinese experience and while it is quite refreshing from most YA novels, I’m still waiting on a novel that has a Chinese mom like mine, one who has shown no tendency to those matchmaking ways. Though depending on how you may look at it, perhaps I’m missing out on my chance of love and baked goods, as Liza’s mom’s scheme seems to have worked out in the end for Liza.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the copy of the book. I am very pleased to see the diversity in authors and books available to readers.
In A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen, a young Taiwanese American high school student, Liza, loves to bake and she is trying her best to finish her finals while thwarting her mother’s attempt to matchmaker her with the Asian boys within their vicinity. At the fifth annual baking competition hosted by her mother’s bakery, Liza is invited to be a judge and she soon realizes that it is an elaborate scheme set up by her mother. All the accepted contestants are Asian - some with very questionable abilities in baking for a baking competition. While Liza wants to rebel against her mother, there perhaps may be a chance for love with one of the contestants.
I absolutely loved all the mention of bubble tea - that bonding of friendship over boba feels too familiar to me. There were also a lot of cultural and pop culture references that made the story and characters feel real to me. I did feel that there were quite a number of HP references - which I could have done without to be honest. Jennifer Yen’s story writing and themes remind me a lot of Gloria Chao - and so if you are a fan of Gloria Chao, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy Jennifer Yen. Both draw a lot on the first generation Taiwanese/Chinese experience and while it is quite refreshing from most YA novels, I’m still waiting on a novel that has a Chinese mom like mine, one who has shown no tendency to those matchmaking ways. Though depending on how you may look at it, perhaps I’m missing out on my chance of love and baked goods, as Liza’s mom’s scheme seems to have worked out in the end for Liza.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the copy of the book. I am very pleased to see the diversity in authors and books available to readers.
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident