😭💘 My heart was bouncing all over the place from my newest favorite literary love triangle (tied with Tessa/Jem/Will from The Infernal Devices), and these characters have become my children whom I must protecc(!!) **mild spoilers** On one end, we have golden boy Rick Woo, a Yale-bound/chess prodigy/football star who is everyone Asian mother’s dream son/son-in-law, and on the other end, we have mysterious, brooding bad boy, Xavier Yeh. Now, let’s talk about the romance in this story because I was LIVING for each and every second of it. “And as I lunge and whirl my bo staff, dancing to the ancient drum beats, I fell all the parts of myself coming together: glad that a part of me is Chinese, a part of me American, and all of me is simply me.” Most notably, I was blown away by how Wen captured Ever’s passion and heart for dancing with descriptions of movements that tell a story. For those who consider 400+ page books to be on the longer end, I found the story to be perfectly paced-there was never a dull moment, but I also didn’t feel rushed. 🏙 In some ways, it felt like reading a really good Asian drama with its subtle plot twists and intense moments where I needed to fangirl to the world.

Trigger/Content Warnings: drinking, sex, friendship betrayal (reconciled), depressed and suicidal side character, abusive relationship, abusive parent (off-page), leaked nudeĪbigail Hing Wen’s writing completely immerses you in the gorgeous setting of Taiwan and with each page, I felt closer and closer to home. When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget. Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.īoy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.Īnd under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit. 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.īut not every student is quite what they seem:Įver is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.

“Best kept secret. Zero supervision.”Īnd 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. “Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers.

Loveboat taipei characters