Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

Loveboat, Taipei
Series: Loveboat, Taipei
Author: Abigail Hing Wen
Expected Publication Date: January 7, 2020
Check it Out: Goodreads

“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.

I really wanted this to be as beautiful as that cover, but I was sadly disappointed. I seriously felt like I was maybe too old for this and most of the scenarios that take place in this book.

I was all for our main character Ever for about 40% of the book. From there I went from being hesitant about what her character would do to straight up disliking her. That’s right, I don’t like our main character. She does a few things that rub me the wrong way and I have no shame saying that I wanted to slap her. Some of her actions were completely selfish and she treated some characters so terribly.

The only character I liked and cared for was Xavier. Everyone else was either cookie cutter, forgettable, or terrible characters. Which leads me to my next issue. So many things that happen in this book are glossed over. We have situations such as nude photos, cheating, depression and even talks of suicide. And when I say glossed over, I mean that everything worked out so easy or was never brought up again. I’m sorry what? You can’t just bring that up and not say anything else about it.

I do feel like the author did a good job of talking about racism and parents’ expectations. I’m not Asian but I do have Asian friends who tell me how stressed they feel about letting their families down. So many of these kids were feeling that stress and reacting in different ways.

All in all, I feel like maybe this book wasn’t for me. The characters were terrible and immature and I didn’t like how a lot of issues were glossed over. I see that there will be a second book but I’m really confused about what else there is to write about.

I received an ARC via Edelweiss for an honest review.

---

There are so many other great bloggers participating in this Blog Tour! Pop in on their day and see their creative posts! 

Blog Tour Schedule

January 1st

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club – Welcome Post

January 2nd

We Live and Breathe Books – Review

Read.Sleep.Repeat. – Review + Favourite Quotes

Kayla Reads and Reviews – Review

Young Adult Media Consumer – Review

Write, Read, Repeat – Promotional Post

January 3rd

Library of a Book Witch – Review

Bookishaestha – Review + Favourite Quotes

Jinxed Reviews – Review + Playlist

Mahkjchi’s Not-So-Secret Books – Review + Favourite Quotes

Heart’s Content – Review + Favourite Quotes

January 4th

Sometimes Leelynn Reads – Review + Favourite Quotes

The Layaway Dragon – Review + Favourite Quotes

Cluttered Books – Review + Favourite Quotes

Yna the Mood Reader – Review + Favourite Quotes

My Bookish Escapades – Promotional Post

January 5th

Novelishly – Review

String of Pages – Review + Favourite Quotes

Fanna Wants The World To Read – Review

Playita reads – Review

Kait Plus Books – Promotional Post

January 6th

The Mind of a Book Dragon – Review + Playlist

The Baroness of Books – Review

Words of Hannah Kay – Review

Utopia State of Mind – Promotional Post

January 7th

Books and Blends – Review
Magical Reads – Playlist

Confessions of a YA Reader – Review

Reads and Thoughts – Review + Favourite Quotes

biblioxytocin – Review + Playlist

To All The Books I’ve Read Before – Promotional Post

Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads