Never Thought I'd End Up Here

by Ann Liang

From the author of the instant New York Times bestseller I Hope This Doesn't Find You, Never Thought I'd End Up Here is another hilarious and romantic romcom from Ann Liang, this time following a former model determined to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.

Leah Zhang has spent her whole life in LA - it's all she's ever known. But after accidentally wishing her cousin ill health and a very depressing marriage at her wedding, her parents stage an intervention. She's forgotten most of her Mandarin, has zero regard for etiquette, and can't hold a conversation with her own grandparents for longer than a minute. Their solution? Send her on an intensive two-week travel program across China's most beautiful cities. To them, it's the perfect opportunity for Leah to get back to her roots. To Leah, it's simply a much-needed escape.

But before Leah can even begin to enjoy the luxurious hotels, stunning scenery, and mouth-watering cuisine, she finds that also on the trip is her former classmate and least favorite person cynical, sarcastic Cyrus, who's somehow only gotten more annoyingly handsome since they last saw each other.

While Leah might be tempted to shove him off the peak of the Yellow Mountain when nobody's looking, she can't get rid of him just yet. After all, she might never get another chance to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.

Yet the deeper they wander into China's provinces, the deeper Leah finds herself falling in love - with the boy she once thought she despised, the home she never thought she'd call her own, and the parts of herself she thought were already lost.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Romance

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2025

About the author

Ann Liang is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn't Find You. Her books have sold into over twenty foreign territories. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne, where she can be found making overambitious to do lists and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.

Reviews

[Maddy ✨ ~The Verse Vixen {AFK brb} · Rating 3 out of 5]

"From lost notes carried by the breeze,
Came new promises whispered with ease."

Ohk! I picked this up thinking it was going to be a cute travel romcom. You know, some giggles, some banter, a little scenic train ride. What I got instead was a direct emotional assault via ✨childhood enemies-to-lovers✨, a missing letter, a revenge arc, and so much longing I felt like I was personally being soft-launched into oblivion. Ann Liang has become shorthand in this house for soft chaos, cultural ache, and the kind of rom-coms that make you laugh while quietly wrecking you.

Never Thought I’d End Up Here is a tender, messy unraveling of what it means to grow up between two worlds... A story about the people we meet when we’re not looking. About detours that become destiny. And the kind of love that finds you in the ruins, not the fireworks.

Leah Zhang is That Girl— gorgeous, overachieving, trying very hard to keep it all together while being painfully aware that life is not going to plan. So naturally, she decides to fake it till she makes it… with a travel vlog, a model boyfriend, and a fake smile that hides a thousand academic disappointments.The girl who once believed in fairy tales—and now edits them for a living.Watching her slowly peel those walls down for Cyrus (even if it was through gritted teeth) made me want to hold her hand and high-five her at the same time.
—“She’s all thorns until you realize she’s bleeding too.”

And then there’s Cyrus Sui-Broody. Silent. Bookish. Annoyingly perceptive. And her worst childhood enemy. So obviously they get thrown together for a sponsored travel program in Shanghai. And obviously there’s only one bed. Because fate, my friends, is a C-Drama screenwriter on crack.Former childhood nuisance. Now? Too attractive for his own good and holding secrets.
He’s the kind of boy who used to pull your pigtails in 4th grade and then grew up into the man who’d carry your bags through a storm and remember how you take your ginger tea. Every time he said Leah’s name, I felt personally attacked. That monologue? The “I can be whatever you want me to be” monologue? I read it three times, cried twice, and wrote it in my diarywith the message: “Tell my future husband this is the bare minimum.”

"I never wanted you to hate me,
I never wanted you to leave. i only meant to tease you until you truly noticed me"

...
-YEARNING 101.

➤ The Setup:
Leah never planned to return to Shanghai, let alone with him — Cyrusc childhood nemesis turned insufferably hot travel partner. They were fire and ice at age twelve, and somehow... still are. But when fate (and a little family meddling) forces them into a travel vlog project across China, old battles turn into new sparks, and a revenge plan Lana cooked up years ago? Might just backfire into feelings.

"Qin ai de.”
“Did you just call me your worst enemy?”
He smiles against my lips. “I was lying.”
"What?”
“Qin ai de doesn’t mean my worst enemy,” he says. “It means my love.”

🔖𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧

What happens when the boy who teased you in class for years shows up in your adult life—tall, apologetic, and still staring like you invented starlight?

Leah never got the letter Cyrus wrote. Never knew the teasing was a twisted form of longing. So when they reunite years later (in an apartment in Shanghai, no less), all the tension, pain, and unspoken feelings begin to unravel.

Through forced proximity, deep conversations at 3AM, dumpling-fueled arguments, and a letter that surfaces at the worst possible time, they’re forced to confront:

What was real.

What was lost.

And whether forgiveness can feel like falling in love.

"Be my enemy. Be my friend. Be the person I get to love. Just don't be a stranger. I don’t think my heart would survive it."

-Cyrus Sui just redefined emotional devastation😭✨

🎬 The VIBES. The PINING. The ANGST.
This felt like a C-drama, a K-drama, a whole cinematic event. Longing stares across crowded Shanghai streets, bickering that hides bruised hearts, old wounds resurfacing in neon-lit nights… I swear the air between them crackled. It’s giving You Were Never Just a Childhood Rival to Me. It’s giving If I Hate You Any Harder, I’ll Kiss You.

🍜 What to Expect:💥 Let’s talk about the trope buffet we were served and how I devoured every single bite!

📍 Shanghai streets, noodle stalls, bullet trains
— A fake travel vlog series with real feelings
— Grumpy x Soft-But-Guarded
—Forced Proximity (Hi, flatmates. Bye, personal space.)
—childhood enemies to strangers to Almost-Friends to Soul-Tied Lovers
— Emotional Baggage Claim: Carousel Never Stops Turning
—Healing Through Quiet Moments and Sarcastic Teasings
— One bed. One plan. One suitcase full of emotional damage.
— That cursed letter no one wants to talk about
— Bubble tea-fueled banter
— So much tension I had to fan myself with a dim sum menu
— She likes everyone but him x He hates everyone but her!!
— C-drama vibes
— Revenge arc but make it emotionally fulfilling.
— Former model x literature nerd?? I’m listening.
— Overdressed GF and underdressed BF is a whole aesthetic.
—Travel romcom in China


💌

“I wrote you a letter—”
WHAT LETTER. WHAT. LETTER.

🫠 I have not known peace since...

There’s something achingly beautiful about watching Leah realize she’s been performing her life instead of living it — and seeing Cyrus quietly, stubbornly see her the whole time. She likes everyone but him. He hates everyone but her. It’s giving mutual destruction with a kiss.

➤ Writing Style:
Breezy but introspective. Cinematic and heartfelt. Every scene feels like a rom-com montage spliced with a diary entry you were never meant to read. It balances the wit with sincerity, giving each character space to unravel, grow, and fall — not just in love, but into themselves.


🔖What worked 💫

The setting is STUNNING. From the misty peaks of Yellow Mountain to bustling city streets, Ann Liang brings China to life in textured, vivid detail. The Mandarin contest? The food? The countryside vs city comparisons? Absolute chef’s kiss.

The romance was cute, even if not groundbreaking. Cyrus is quietly tender behind all the sass, and their banter? Genuinely fun.

➤ The Final Stop:
In the city where it all began, under a sky strung with red lanterns, Leah finds the letter. And Cyrus finds her. They don’t just forgive. They see each other — clearly, finally. And when he says:
“You were always worth the wait.”
…I threw my Kindle and hugged a dumpling plushie.
Because love, even the kind that starts with war, can still end in peace.

"That’s why I’m obsessed with enemies-to-lovers —
Because even at your worst, when you’re a mess,
They see you… and still choose to love you anyway. 💔➡️❤️‍🩹
It’s messy, real, and perfectly imperfect.”

🎧 “Letters, Grudges & Shanghai Skies” — Playlist

📌"The Archer" – Taylor Swift
 ➝ For Leah's quiet vulnerability beneath all her fire.
 “I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the prey.”

📌"I Hate You, I Love You" – Gnash ft. Olivia O'Brien
 ➝ For that push-pull tension they carry like second skin.

📌"Back to December" – Taylor Swift
 ➝ For the letter that was never read… and the apology that was never heard.

📌 "Youth" – Daughter
 ➝ For the melancholy of growing up side-by-side, but never together.

📌 "You're On Your Own, Kid" – Taylor Swift
 ➝ Because growing up was messy, and Cyrus watched her every step of the way.

📌 "Until I Found You" – Stephen Sanchez
 ➝ For that cinematic final stretch. The confession. The heartbeat. The jacket.



🎯 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:

-Better Than the Movies

-Loveboat, Taipei

-Taylor Swift’s You Are in Love + All Too Well (10 min version)

-Books that ache but heal you softly

-Long-lost letters. Long-lost boys. Long-held love.

💬 Verdict:-3.5 stars, 1 ruined eyeliner, 28 dramatic gasps, 17 minutes spent staring at the ceiling!! And a desperate need to see this adapted into a C-drama IMMEDIATELY!

If you’re in the mood for second chances wrapped in sarcasm, for travel and tension, for childhood memories reinterpreted with adult heartbreak, for “I loved you before I knew what love was” energy—this is your book. Never Thought I’d End Up Here is the rom-com you pack when your passport says “ready for chaos,” your heart says “not again,” and fate says, “Too late. He’s already here. If you’ve ever reread an old note, questioned someone’s silence, or wondered what if?, this book will gut you in the best way. It’s a Shanghai-set, letter-laced, enemies-to-lovers feast of emotions with a revenge subplot and awkward emotional cooking sessions. Iconic.
~Read if you love:
second chances drenched in emotional drama,The one bed trope but make it deeply awkward and romantic,witty heroines and lovesick men in denial
And a letter that could have solved everything if it wasn’t LOST IN THE SAUSAGE OF TIME, one who Still remember their first crush’s handwriting!!

This book made me want to text my enemies “just wondering if you ever secretly loved me” and then block them for dramatic effect. I’m unwell.

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 4 out of 5]

✧ NEVER THOUGHT I’D END UP HERE ✧
by Ann Liang
4.25 stars — and my entire heart tbh

this book is like a soft sunbeam hitting your face at golden hour.

there’s something about ann liang’s writing that just gets it. she’s writing for the girls who feel too much, for the ones who laugh while quietly breaking, for the ones who feel like they’re always halfway between countries, cultures, and versions of themselves.

leah zhang is the moment.
she’s imperfect in all the most real ways — trying to connect with her family, fumbling her mandarin, feeling disconnected from a place that should feel like home. she’s beautiful, thoughtful, a little lost, and so deeply human. every thought she had? it felt like someone held up a mirror to every insecurity and said “you’re not alone.”

and the way she learns to love her roots again? not in some flashy, perfect montage — but through awkward convos, embarrassing moments, and unexpected kindness — ugh. it made me tear up.

now cyrus sui… hello???

✨ childhood friends turned ex-best friends turned enemies turned maybe something more
✨ a boy who remembers
✨ a boy who regrets
✨ a boy who cares in the quietest, loudest ways

he is literally down bad in the most respectful, longing, softboy way.
and i’m sorry but he kneels down to put bandaids on her blistered feet??? buys her overpriced snacks because she stared at them for too long?? the standard is now cyrus sui or nothing.

plot?
yeah it’s got that ✈️🌸

think: revenge plan that slowly unravels, forced proximity, slow-burning feelings, unspoken apologies, rediscovered memories.
the scenery is STUNNING — every city felt like a character, every scene gave that delicious travel romcom energy. i could see it all, taste it, feel it. and now i want to book a flight to china like... yesterday.

ann liang does what ann liang always does:
she wraps a swoony, fluffy romance around a core of real, raw emotion.
identity. grief. diaspora guilt. first love. reconnection.
this isn’t just a romcom — it’s a whole journey of healing in disguise.

tropes:
🏮 childhood best friends to enemies to lovers
🌸 second chance romance
🏮 slow burn
🌸 forced proximity
🏮 the boy falls first (and harder)
🌸 travel romance
🏮 diaspora & identity exploration

i literally devoured this book in one sitting.
did i laugh? yes.
did i clutch the book to my chest? yes.
did i squeal? yes.
did i send voice notes to my bestie about cyrus? also yes.

alsooooo we’re getting Daisy and Oliver spin-offs right??? we BETTER be. because i need that dynamic. daisy is unhinged perfection and oliver gives “I pretend I don’t care but I actually care so deeply it hurts.” I want more. I need more.

final thoughts:
this book is for the girlies who feel in-between. for the ones relearning their culture, rediscovering joy, and maybe — just maybe — falling for the boy they never thought they’d see again.
ann liang is the queen of soft powerful YA and I will read everything she writes forever.

🩷 fun, fierce, meaningful — like if a heart had a passport and a revenge plan.
🩷 Cyrus Sui nation rise.
🩷 go read this and feel something again.

[Saranya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars!

What happens when your mother tongue feels like a foreign language? For Leah Zhang, the answer is a social disaster! After a catastrophic Mandarin mishap at a family wedding proves she can barely converse with her own grandparents, Leah is forced on a whirlwind re-education tour of China.

“You’re in love with me?” I whisper. “Since when?”
“Only the past seven years.”

Ann Liang has done it again. (drumrolls🥁🥁) This book is the gold standard for enemies-to-lovers. The angst, yearning- everything- it lived in my soul. The only reason I did not give it a full 5 stars is that it was far too short. I just wanted more time in this world and the ending felt really rushed.

⋆.˚ childhood enemies-to-lovers
⋆.˚ he fell first (and much harder!)
⋆.˚ misunderstandings & intense yearning

────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────
Leah hates Cyrus. He is the childhood enemy who dismantled her life piece by piece and with the Leah expelled, it changed everything. Leah’s plan is the ultimate petty-girl manifesto: make Cyrus fall in love, shatter his heart into a million pieces and serve up his public humiliation on a silver platter. It is a flawless strategy. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?

ᥫ᭡.ִֶָ𓂃 He bought her a Flower Crown. 👑˚.🎀༘⋆ (I still vividly remember being crowned in seventh grade. For an entire day, I wore a beautiful paper crown—a reward for a week of perfect discipline. Even now, I can see those vibrant, fluorescent colours. It felt like more than just paper, it was a badge of honor.)

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡
˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀ Ten years of shared history lived inside him. He remembered the logic of her silly games and the minor chats long forgotten by anyone else. He remembered her preferences, her likings. He even remembered the smallest details about her- like how she would wear a different scrunchie every day of the week or how she would always pick out the tomatoes from her sandwiches. He would drop to his knees before her, ignoring her protests and the crowd. He would produce a box of bandages bought specifically for the bite of her high heels, gently tending to her heels until the bleeding stopped and the pain was dull enough for her to walk again.
When she finally braced herself and showed him her swollen, infected eyes, she fully expected a laugh or a joke at her expense. Instead, his expression remained anchored and without a word, he disappeared into his room and returned with a pair of sunglasses, shielding her from the light with the same reverence one might show a wounded bird. ‎ꫂ᭪݁ 𓍯𓂃𓏧♡

(Someone point me to the direction where I can find a man like him.)

“The world becomes beautiful, as long as there's you.”

Leah is written with such a grounded, human touch. Even though I don’t personally relate to her obsession with makeup, I related to her. Her essence is so vivid that the differences in our interests didn't matter at all.

“I wasn’t good enough at the only thing I’m good at.”

ㅤ ׅ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞𝅄ㅤNow Playing: What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

I loved Leah’s journey from homesickness to belonging. At first, she is weighed down by homesickness, feeling adrift in a foreign environment where nothing seems familiar. But as she begins to reconnect with her Chinese roots through language, traditions and the quiet recognition of culture, her sense of isolation softens. What once felt like distance transforms into intimacy- she embraces the rituals and heritage- the feeling of home.

Seeraaa and I were praying for Leah to execute her revenge, but the ending was jaggery sweet nonetheless. I usually love a reasonable third-act breakup for the drama, and while there was potential for one here, the way it concluded still felt right.

Her internal monologue is heartbreaking. She is trapped in a mindset where beauty is the only currency she has to trade for love. She truly believes that without her looks, she would be a void. And cruelly, society acts as her mirror, reflecting that same shallow value back at her. Because as soon as she "becomes pretty," the shift in how she is treated is instantaneous. ── .✦

If there is a scene-stealer in this book, it is Oliver. I was obsessed! Between his sharp-witted humour and his rich kid antics, he was the perfect comedic relief in this book. He is a total diva! Initially, his character looked fishy. I thought he would be one of those characters whom I would despise. Turned out, he was a total opposite.

I also need to talk about Daisy, because my heart actually ached for her. Her bond with Leah is the definition of friendship goals. Just pure, non-judgmental support from start to finish. She was a sunshine. Her friendship with Leah was the heartbeat of the book for me. I felt such a personal connection to her She is the ultimate girl’s girl. In so many ways, she felt like a mirror to a younger version of myself. I just wanted to protect her at all costs.

I have actually made a whole list on my notepad of everything Cyrus did to show his devotion towards Leah. If gentleman had a picture in the dictionary, it would be him. He is the pinnacle of respect and cuteness and honestly, can I have a delivery of Cyrus Sui? Just point me to the direction. ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼
ᰔᩚ
Beyond the rom, I was absolutely captivated by the deep dive into Chinese culture. The story is steeped in such beautiful detail that I could not help but feel more connected to the heritage on every page. There were several phrases and terms that I loved seeing in the text, though my brain apparently has a "one-in, one-out" policy. Most of them slipped my mind the second I closed the book! Regardless, the cultural impact was unforgettable.

“I can promise to never bring this up again. But I meant it when I said that I can be whatever you want me to be: whether that’s an enemy for you to curse and hold a grudge against for the rest of your life; a friend you can trust to accompany you anywhere and drive you safely back home, the one you can call at any hour of the night and tell all your secrets to; or the person you fall for, who will always wear a jacket so you don’t have to bring yours, who will be the first to find you when you’re lost and alone, who will remind you how heart-wrenchingly, unfathomably beautiful you are even on days when you don’t feel it. The only thing I ask is that we don’t ever become strangers, because I really—” He breaks off. Clenches his jaw, fighting against some ineffable emotion. “I don’t think I could bear it, Leah. I don’t think my heart would be able to survive it.”- Cyrus Sui

I loved this book so much. It slithered into my heart with a quiet, devastating grace and it is going to stay in my heart for quite a long time now.

Lastly, a huge thanks to my bestie, Seeraaa, for doing this buddy read with me. I had an amazing time with you.
seeraaa's review
────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────

°˖᯽ ݁˖➴𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:🌷

I love stories with Asian roots, and I previously loved I Hope This Doesn’t Find You so I am really excited to buddy read this book with the sweetest and loveliest, seeraaa.ꨄ

[ivy ꕤ [mental health break] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
ann liang is the only author that can consistently capture my thoughts perfectly in every single book that she releases. leah reminded me of me so much that i was questioning whether ann liang snuck into my house, picked apart my brain, and wrote a book about it. this book follows leah and cyrus going on a trip to china to learn more about their culture; along the way they work out their troubling pasts and find friends that they can rely on forever.

ׂ╰┈➤ leah zhang. i am her and she is me. mesh her and sadie together, and you get me. the two of them are, out of all the 400+ books i’ve read, the most relatable characters ever.

i feel a spasm of self-consciousness, certain that i’m doing it wrong, that i look stupid, that i’m about to be made fun of. sometimes it feels like there’s an invisible comment section floating around in my brain, and with every mistake i make, every wrong thing i say, these imaginary spectators who vaguely resemble my classmates from my old schools flock forward to pass judgment.
⤷ not wanting to care about what other people think but deep down knowing that you still care immensely is so relatable. at the end of the book, leah finally gained her confidence and that was just amazing to watch 🥹 and i hope my girlies who feel the same way i & leah do are able to see that they are amazing and shouldn’t care what anyone else think.

But this doesn’t feel like I’m escaping—it feels like I’m returning. Like I’m reaching back in time for the person I used to be, before the tears stained my pillow and the blisters split my feet. The little girl who didn’t wince at the sound of her own laughter, who plucked wild daisies and braided them in her hair, who saw a secluded garden and imagined hidden realms, who wore sparkly tiaras and waved around heart-shaped wands, picked out dresses because she loved the color pink and not just because she liked how the material clung to her body. The girl I was, the girl I had forgotten. Not an ignorant foreigner, but someone wandering through new, familiar cities.
⤷ ANN’S WRITING 😭. at the beginning of the book, leah was someone who was significantly disconnected with her culture. by the end, we see how she becomes proud of her culture. as someone who is half chinese, i really enjoyed reading this because i was also born in california from immigrant parents. right now, i’m in the process of learning to read, write, and speak the language, so being able to witness that in a book was just truly spectacular.

I wanted to be astonished by my reflection in the mirror, to see myself in a new way. I wanted to be completely, irrefutably happy with how I looked, even though it seemed an impossible task: You stare at your own face long enough and you’ll inevitably find something to hate about it.
⤷ alexa, play ‘pretty isn’t pretty’ by olivia rodrigo please!!

And my heart swells at the silly, simple, human fact that when we stumble upon something beautiful, our first instinct is to show it to the people we love. It’s what we do with pretty seashells on a beach, a radiant sunset, a rare bird flitting through the trees, a herd of wild horses grazing in the countryside. Look, we say, saving these little pieces of beauty for each other. Do you see it too? Isn’t the world such a strange, lovely, breathtaking place?”
⤷ NO BECAUSE WHY DOES THIS BOOK HAVE ME TEARING UP

ׂ╰┈➤ cyrus sui. where is my cyrus 🫴🏻💗 if you want a yearner.. RIGHT HERE!!

”But I meant it when I said that I can be whatever you want me to be: whether that’s an enemy for you to curse and hold a grudge against for the rest of your life; a friend you can trust to accompany you anywhere and drive you safely back home, the one you can call at any hour of the night and tell all your secrets to; or the person you fall for, who will always wear a jacket so you don’t have to bring yours, who will be the first to find you when you’re lost and alone, who will remind you how heart-wrenchingly, unfathomably beautiful you are even on days when you don’t feel it. The only thing I ask is that we don’t ever become strangers, because I really—” He breaks off. Clenches his jaw, fighting against some ineffable emotion. “I don’t think I could bear it, Leah. I don’t think my heart would be able to survive it.”
⤷ OH. if a man said this to me i fear i would just evaporate

“Of course,” he says, watching me intently, his dark eyes serious, his hair tousled and soft around the sharp lines of his face. “There’s never been anybody else for me. There never will be.”


➤ leah & daisy. AW give me a friendship like theirs immediately please!! i hated how leah didn’t have any real friends that truly cared about her, but thankfully, she met daisy and learned that people could love her for more than her looks, or her social status. their friendship is truly precious.
Daisy nodding fast and clapping a hand over her mouth at all the right parts, I feel it rising up beneath my ribs. The delight of finding a real, true friend, someone you can talk to about anything, no matter how serious or silly.
⤷ 🥹🥹

➤ cyrus and oliver. OKOK i see the dynamic here.. black cat and golden retriever best friend trope will always be my favorite. i can sense that oliver is the type that uses humor to cover up his past trauma and i’m veryyyy intrigued 👀.

“There must’ve been a gross misunderstanding—I don’t believe the teacher was asking for photos of you,” Cyrus says, voice flat. He’s grabbed two cameras, and without a word, he walks over to me and presses one of them into my hand. “It’s meant to be a photography contest. A form of art.” “My face is art,” Oliver counters without missing a beat, shaking the photo in the air. “It deserves critical acclaim. Don’t you agree?”

➤ oliver and daisy. OKAYYY are we getting another book in this world? and is it going to be aboue oliver and daisy? because if it is.. 💳 ann, just take my money.

well, overall, this was a beautiful book filled with self-discovery and hauntingly relatable characters that i think everybody should read 🫶🏻

[fadheela ♡ (ongoing ME war hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・“𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓴𝓮𝓮𝓹 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓶𝔂, 𝓲𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽’𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓭 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓮𝓻. 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮.”・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

💌11/06/25
➸ 4.5 stars ~spoiler-free review💫~
⤿ br with my pookies aksh & sama 🥹🫶🏻💕

Alright everyone, buckle up, because we are in for an adventurous trip!!🤭 Yup, Ms. Liang did it AGAIN y'all!!🙂‍↕️🤌🏻💘 No need to be surprised there 😌✋🏻 I don't know what black magic Ann Liang does when she writes her books, because as always this one HIT, ATE & LEFT NO CRUMBS (I'm begging for more crumps 🤧), and also how come she always writes such relatable characters????🥺💖 You feel seen in a way through her characters that you can't explain by words alone. I first thought it was going to be another cute book, but alas I was wrong. This one hit so much with emotions (check the TWs at the end), I kept reading because I couldn't put the book down 😭💗 I'm literally OBSESSED with Cyrus Sui so much, he is THE key definition of standard besties!! Ann & her MMCs never fail to make my heart flutter!😩💓

Read this if you like 💌:
🎀 YA Travel Romcom
🎀 Childhood Enemies-to-Lovers
🎀 Former Model x Literature Student
🎀 Revenge Arc
🎀 “What Letter?”
🎀 He Falls First & Harder
🎀 C-Drama Vibes
🎀 Set in Shanghai, China

✨️ Let's meet the cast of NTIEUH 🎬✨️

“You’re so mysterious—except there’s nothing really mysterious about me. It’s just that I’m not very loud and open about the things I love, or I can’t be sure of what I love in the first place.”

Leah Zhang 💁🏻‍♀️~ a former model from LA. She has gone through a lot as a kid and became a model and then quit it, and she doesn't have any real friends to rely on 🥺 The story begins at the time when she goes to her cousin's wedding. Things start going downhill when she unknowingly curses her cousin instead of congratulating her due to her lack of speaking skills in Mandarin. Her parents decide that she has to go on a 2 weeks trip to China to revive her chinese roots. And guess what???? She meets her sworn enemy, the one who ruined her life, aka Cyrus again after 2 years 🤩 She plans to take revenge on him for what happened 2 years ago, by making him fall for her & then break his heart. (well...👀🤭)

“I didn’t know what I could possibly do to make you so much as look my way.”

Cyrus Sui 💁🏻‍♂️~ a literature student, Leah's nemesis. He likes tormenting Leah so much. He hates interacting with others, except Leah, because she's an exception 🙈💘 And he blushes & gets flabbergasted a lot because of Leah when she outwits him 🤭 Despite how cynical or sarcastic he was through out the book, when I got to know more about him, I just wished I could give the biggest hug to him for what he had to go through 🤧🫂

“He didn’t say good morning to me, and I greeted him, like, twenty times.”

“You have to believe that there are people who will genuinely like you, and care about you, and worry over you when something’s wrong.”

Oliver & Daisy 💞~ both of these side characters were literally the sunshines added to this wonderful world 🥹 Oliver was such a mood. Whenever he appeared, I laughed out loud as he was trying to befriend grumpy Cyrus—only to fail!😂🫶🏻 I was actually shipping their bromance 🤭💖 And Daisy, she's the most purest soul!! I loved her so much. She is the truest friend anyone could ever have, and I'm glad Leah met her!🥹🫶

I 1000% DEFINITELY RECOMMEND READING THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF WORK THAT ANN HAS BLESSED US WITH!!🥰 All I request Ann is to, please give us a book of Oliver too so that I can see him annoy the brain cells out of Cyrus when he was his roommate 🤭😂

TWs: Public Humuliation (on page), Bullying (on page-past), Heavy food diet, Body Image Pressure.

Also posted a mini review posted on my instagram, click here to see it!! Happy reading besties!!🥰💖

𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓯𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 💌:

“We know each other very well,”
“If by very well you mean that I have dreamed of murdering you,”
“So you’ve dreamed of me?”

“But for the first time in a while, I’m surrounded by people who know nothing about my history, and I want to keep it that way. I could be anybody here.”

“I’m here, I think to myself again, yet what I really mean is: I’m home.”

“Of course it makes sense, qin ai de,”
“What did you call me just now?”
“Hm?”
“Qin ai de, or whatever that was, it sounded like an insult.”
“It means my worst enemy,”

“You have a nice voice.”
“You must be tired.”
“What?”
“When you’re tired,” he says, “you forget to hate me.”
“I forget to hate you a lot of the time,”

“I suppose what I’m trying to say is that everything you touch turns beautiful. The world becomes beautiful, as long as there’s you.”

“You’ve always been beautiful—beautiful like the stars are, like Shanghai is. I could never get sick of looking at you.”

“He knows me in ways I wouldn’t have thought anyone ever could, or would ever even bother to. It’s like he’s reached into my brain and peered at the mess there and gently untangled everything.”

“He kisses me not like he wants to own me, but like he’s mine, and he’s desperate to prove it.”

“And suddenly I’m scared that I’ve gone too far with this little revenge plan of mine, that everything’s slipping out of my control. I’d wanted his heart, but I hadn’t wanted to give away mine.”

“What are you smiling at?” Cyrus asks me.
Nothing, I want to say. Everything.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

💌04/06/25
4.5 stars? rtc. ANN LIANG DID IT AGAIN Y'ALL!!!😌🙌🏻 I'm literally obsessed with Cyrus Sui!!😩💘 I'm literally so sad this book has ended, WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE NOW?🤧✋🏻 Leah & Cyrus were EVERYTHING. I MEAN IT!!😭💞

💌03/06/25
*screaming* OMGGGGG IT'S FINALLY HERE!!😭🤧💖 I was dying to read this for MONTHS, the wait was painful 😩✋🏻 Life is worth living again, because Ann has dropped another new MMC in town 🙈💘 Ditching my study books and locking in for the day to meet Cyrus, because guess who is back?😍 *mic drops🎤* *drum rolls please* 🥁🥁🥁

yes besties, it's finally happening after a year!!🤭 the chaotic trio— aksh, fadhee, & sama are back for the iconic br of the year 🥰💞

[jenoodle✮⋆˙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

── .✦ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 🌷₊˚⊹ ᰔ
🌿୧ ‧₊˚ 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘺𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.ᐟ ֹ 🍡 ₊ ꒱
︶︶︶︶Her Review 🩷୧ ⁺ׅ⊹

‧₊˚ ◟🌸༚ ˚₊· ⸝⸝ 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐩 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 ˚. ⵢ₊˚🐸.
🥝﹒˚ ₊ ︵ 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚: 14+ (𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤, 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨.), 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 14+ (𝙛*𝙘𝙠, 𝙨𝙝*𝙩, 𝙖*𝙨, 𝙗*𝙩𝙘𝙝, 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨.), 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩: 14+ (𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩.)💗˚₊ - °.•
‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹
◟now playing: 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙈𝙚🍃༉‧₊˚.
💕‧₊˚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙
꒰ 3:00 ——◦———— 4:18 ꒱
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ ﹕🧩⊹ ࣪ ˖
✿　.　˚　. 　 ˚　✿.　.　˚　. 　 ˚　✿.

˚ ₊ ୨ ☘️. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚" .💞 ୧ ₊ ˚

⭑.ᐟ When I see a book and it's written by THE Ann Liang, I already know I'm getting banter, drama, AND A NEW FICTIONAL CRUSH HELLOOOOO 😫😫😫 And this book did NOT sell short of any of that. From the vibes, to the characters, and even to the tragic backstory, IT ALL ATE UP! I feel like the fact I read this with my bestie Delusional made it even BETTER too 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ So without further ado, get your snacks, grab a seat, AND LETS GET INTO MY REVIEWWWW!!



˚ ₊ ୨ ☘️. "𝙎𝙤 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝" .💞 ୧ ₊ ˚

⭑.ᐟ The story starts off with our main girl Leah, who is a model who recently quit her career due to the pressure of the industry. (I MEAN NO SHOCKER HELLO? THEY TREAT MODELS LIKE MACHINES 😭) So now with all the free time she has, she decides to lock in and reconnect with her family by attending a WEDDING WITH THEM!! Because going to a wedding where free food is promised is always a need for the unemployed. (trust) BUT LET'S JUST SAY THIS WEDDING DOSEN'T GO AS PLANNED. Because Leah's family is Chinese, and her relatives are Chinese, SO OF COURSE EVERYONE AT THE WEDDING IS SPEAKING CHINESE. Everyone butttttttttttttt...... Leah 😭🙏 SO BASICALLY THIS IS WHERE OUR STORY STARTS, BECAUSE ON TOP OF LEAH NOT KNOWING PROPER CHINESE AND SAYING THE WRONG WORDS TO PEOPLE AT THE WEDDING 👀😭She also meets her childhood enemy because he SOMEHOW got invited. (we are just gonna ignore the fact that my guy snuck his way in.) BUT ALL IN ALL THIS WEDDING DOES NOT GO AS PLANNED AND HAS HER MOM SHIPPING LEAH OFF TO CHINA TO SOME KIND OF RETREAT/ SCHOOL FIELD TRIP THAT HELPS YOU PRACTICE YOUR CHINESE WHILE WE NEGOTIATE ONIONS 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ And I'm actually curious where I can buy tickets to this now... ANYWHOOO! And this trip is filled with a bunch of other kids as well including "childhood enemy guy that Leah hates" SOOO WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING. 😫😫 But honestly the plot of this book isn't anything crazy or anything extremely boring either to be fair. It was legit the perfect ratio between the both to keep it a cute, drama filled, enemies to lovers romance that I DEVOUUUUURED. I also really enjoyed all the cultural references in this book because while reading it I feel like I got to learn a lot about China as well! So that's a HUGE PLUS. I feel like the side characters in this book got to make it even more entertaining because they had such varying personalities yet all meshed SOOO WELL TOGETHER. LIKE WHERE CAN I GET A FRIEND GROUP EXACTLY LIKE THIS PLEASE?? I felt like this book was extremely humorous too which I loved so much! LIKE OBVIOUSLY GIVE ME MY JOKES TOO PLEASEE 🙂‍↕️🙏

˚ ₊ ୨ ☘️. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚" .💞 ୧ ₊ ˚

⭑.ᐟ NOW I FEEL LIKE THE ROMANCE IS SOMETHING THAT LEGIT NEEDS TO BE STUDIED. Because when I say we have a man that YEARNS in this book, I don't mean the buy you flowers and chocolates and call it a day yearning. I MEAN THE I WOULD REMEMBER EVERY THING ABOUT YOU FROM YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO HOW MANY EYELASHES YOU HAVE YEARNING. AND I LOOOOOOVED IT. Yes they were enemies, but when they became lovers I was so hooked. 😭 AND ANY GIRLIE WHO LOVES TO ANNOTATE WOULD HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS BOOK BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF QUOTES IN HERE ARE UNMATCHED! My guy was literally on his knees begging for her love like c'mon, that's already a 3 star addition to my rating.



꒰💓 .⺌ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: ⺌. 💓꒱

🍋‍🟩︵‧˚₊⊹ 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒉: Okay so I legit have the worst love-hate relationship with her because of SO many reasons. AT TIMES, THIS GIRL WAS LITERALLY SUCH A DIVA AND THE MOST RELATABLE PERSON EVER. I mean ok glow up girllll, I SEEE YOUUUUUU 😍 But other times she literally annoyed me and had me facepalming my face like UGHHHH. She was a little bit dramatic at times which I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE A GIRL NEEDS TO BE A GIRL BUT JEEZ. WE AREN'T AUDITIONING TO BE ON DISNEY CHANNEL TONE IT DOWWWNNN 😫😫 But other than that she was hilarious to read and I'm so glad that she met the love of her life in this book and learned some valuable life lessons.

🍋‍🟩︵‧˚₊⊹ 𝑪𝒚𝒓𝒖𝒔: SOMEONE GIVE ME A PEN AND PAPER, NO SCRATCH THAT GIVE ME A PEN AND A WHITEBOARD TO WRITE DOWN ALL THE THINGS THIS MAN DID TO SHOW HIS LOOOOOOVEEEEEEE. When I say he is a gentleman I mean it because he literally was THE most respectful and cutest thing to ever exist pleaseee 😭😭 LIKE WHERE CAN I BUY HIM?? IS THERE A STORE?? A LOCATION??? SOMEONE HOOK ME UP PLEASE!! And not only is this man respectful, BUT HE'S SMART ASF TOO?? BAES WE GOT THE WHOLE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE HERE HELLOOOOO 😫😫 brb while I go search my local Chinese restaurant for a man like this thank you.

🍋‍🟩︵‧˚₊⊹ 𝑶𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓: DEADASS I THINK HE MIGHT BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS FROM THIS ENTIRE BOOK 😭 HIS HUMOR?? HIS JOKES?? I COULD NOT EVEN DEALLL!! He was also a rich little spoiled kid which made it even funnier because he was always taking pictures like every second a day 😭 LIKE HOW CAN YOU BE SO PHOTOGENTIC TO TAKE THAT MANY PICTURES OF YOURSELF JEEZZZ!! But regardless he was an absolute diva and I need a book on him rn.

🍋‍🟩︵‧˚₊⊹ 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒚: OK WHY DID I ACTUALLY FEEL SO BAD FOR HERRR 🥹 SHE WAS SO SWEET AND HER FRIENDSHIP WITH LEAH WAS ACTUALLY EVERYTHINGGGGGGGG. I loved how she supported her and helped her and didn't even JUDGE HER?? Like seriously a true girl's girl and I loved that.

🌱 ₊˚ . There were a few other characters but they weren't that important to the story 👀 JUST HAD TO MENTION MY FAVES HERE HAHA!

˚ ₊ ୨ ☘️. "𝙎𝙤 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪" .💞 ୧ ₊ ˚

⭑.ᐟ 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍:
I really enjoyed this book so much! It was really cute and chill and the perfect read to bring with you on a picnic or EVEN AT THE BEACH! If your a fan of silly romcoms or any of Ann Liang's writing then you would love this one for sure! Nothing too special to be a 5 star but good enough for 4 😉

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
🌷 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Ann Liang the queen you are of heart melting romance books.. WILL THIS ONE BE A HIT OR MISS?! I guess I’m gonna have to find out 🍀🐸 BUDDYREADING WITH MY GIRL DELUSIONAL 💗

[joni ౨ৎ - hiatus · Rating 5 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 6 stars ⋆⭒˚.⋆

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✧.➛ it’s very easy to fall in love with you, leah.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the easiest thing in the world.

arc review 💌
release date: june 3

⁀➴ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
💗 childhood enemies to lovers
✈️ set in shanghai
💗 forced proximity
✈️ china travel romcom
💗 revenge arc
✈️ “what letter?”

𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠: imgonnagetyouback by taylor swift ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹


⤿ 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 may 27
⤿ 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 may 29


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
guys i actually ate this book up and devoured it. like what the actual hell. first i’d like to thank rajdeep at scholastic canada for being so generous and sending me this beautiful novel. forever grateful to you for that 💗

this review is going to be LONG so if you don’t want to read the whole thing - just one thing to take away from this review is that i 100% recommend this book and you should definitely go buy it tomorrow or whenever!!!!!!

this book is definitely more lighthearted and funnier than ‘i am not jessica chen’ so it’s PERFECT for the silly summer vibes book. that in mind it still does have the flawed fmc and mental health topics like in leah’s case insecurities, self loathing, and etc.

the book is marketed towards young teens/12+ but there are some very light innuendo and jokes. an example would be condoms in the hotel room but like it was an accident and none of them actually brought it. just something to keep in mind if that’s important to you <3

guys i literally yapped about this book to like 5 people sending paragraphs, voice notes, or just talking a lot because i actually adored this book SO SO much. i think it’s my fav ann liang book or at least tied with ‘i hope this doesn’t find you’

my book boyfriend list has changed after meeting cyrus sui 🤭

let’s talk about how FUN this was to read?!! like i don’t think i’ve actually enjoyed a book this much… since let’s say ‘beg borrow or steal’ back in JANUARY. 6 months damnnn. like obviously i found some new favs and 5 stars but those took such an emotional toll on me i probably need therapy.

this book is what you call a romcom!!!! there’s the pettiness of wanting to get your nemies back with a revenge plan and then avoiding falling for him while making him fall for you. the secret moments where maybe they don’t hate each other as much as they want to think. the moments you SCREAM into your pillow at how much you just want them to kiss and confess everything. the YEARNING of a guy who’s so obviously down bad. like guys the LITTLE things are freaking everything. acts of service >>

cyrus freaking sui.
loml
my husband
dream boyfriend like wdym he’s not real 😫💔

i don’t trust myself to not accidentally spoil you so

‼️ 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗 ‼️

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐳𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠
my model princess guys. in very much true beauty fashion (i watched like 3 eps but ann said it’s the inspo/she marketed the book inspired by it)

i literally loved her pov and character so much, it didn’t feel unnatural or artificial. like it felt like a real person and there were so many thing about her that i could see in myself. i love ann’s writing so so much, it’s definitely one of my favorites and she is my favorite author of all time because every single book is perfect and everyone can see a piece of themselves in each character.

❝when joy arrives, it catches me off guard.
i’ve always been used to happiness in snatches - happiness that felt stolen, happiness that was hard-won, happiness because. ❞
✧.➛ this quote. was felt deep in my soul - ann where are the cameras because how on earth do you describe through each and every one of your books who i am. i firmly believe that she’s the only person/author who could accurately write about my life. i don’t think anyone could portray in the way i would want and like to be seen.

leah is very much a teenage girl struggling to find herself and what brings her joy. if she’s not good at something she doesn’t think she should continue. i loved seeing her fall in love with her culture and language, her roots and finding herself once again. it makes me want to learn my language and learn my own history

❝it’s like you were making yourself go through all the motions without feeling anything…. ❞
✧.➛ tell me why my mom literally had this almost exact conversation with my a few nights ago. li wa shook when i read this because it’s exactly what i’ve been doing for… i don’t know the last 2 years i suppose.

i know i’m talking a lot about the emotional stuff about this book but it’s actu
ally way more lighthearted and funny. so many scenes where i giggling and smiling.

sadie is still my favorite fmc by ann but leah will forever have a special spot in my heart.


𝐜𝐲𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐢
SCREAMING BECAUSE THIS MAN IS EVERYTHING. LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

will never ever get over him and fully obsessed with him.

live laugh love breathe cyrus sui

officially a fan account for this man

like until i find my own cyrus i’m staying single because he has RAISED standards. we need yarning boys, this guy is SEVENTEEN and shows love better than some fully grown guys (100x better) -
➜ remembers everything from their childhood - every single game she made up at the age of 5 and they played together- over 10 years
➜ fellows her social media and current life even after she left the school 2 years ago and blocked his number
➜ recognized her after her glow up instantly
➜ calls her ‘qin ai de’ (might get spoiled if u search that up lol)
➜ bought her overpriced snacks after seeing her stare at them on the flight
➜ buys her bandaids when she’s wearing heels and her feets are bruised, takes her shoes off, puts the bandaids on, puts her shoes back on, all while kneeling on the ground after numerous protests from her (haha my dad alr does this type of stuff so this standard just got yk more important)

there is SO much more but i’ll let you have fun with the swoony moments

cyrus was a very raw and real character imo. he was flawed and portrayed himself more cold than he actually is. he has the biggest heart and loves so loudly when given the chance. he’s been through a lot and it shaped him into who he is today.

he also has an obsession with hand sanitizer and things being clean - #mecore. cant go a day without almost finishing my hand sanitizer bottle LMAO. like i go everywhere with hand sanitizer, lipgloss, and earbuds. as long as i have those i know i’ll be okay.

❝though i doubt it’s possible for anything to look ugly on you ❞
✧.➛ excuse me? i fear i’d never forget this, if my ENEMY told me i could never look ugly?!! and esp for someone who’s insecure

cyrus please marry me

❝ yet, cyrus is fake mean, almost as if he wants t lower your expectations of him, to make sure you stay away ❞
✧.➛ uh sounds kinda familiar…

❝ he looked like he was about to lose his mind if anything happened to you ❞
✧.➛ how does one hear this and still think he’s trying to cause your downfall

no, you don’t understand im OBSESSED like downright falling at his feet for him to look at me


anyways new fav book boyfriend alert 😙💖



‼ MAJOR SPOILER WARNING BECAUSE OF QUOTES ‼
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐡𝐜𝐲𝐫𝐮𝐬

❝ when you’re tired, you forget to hate me ❞
❝ i forget to hate you a lot of the time ❞

❝ i never wanted you to hate me,
i never wanted you to leave. i only meant to tease you until you truly noticed me. i would wait every day for the moment you walked into class with your polka-dot socks and your cute sweaters and pigtails- it was like my day didn’t even begin until i saw you. i loved the games you invented and the stories you came up with and your laugh, how it bubbled out of you and you could hear it from down the corridor. all i could think about was you, all the time, and how funny and sweet and beautiful you were- ❞

❝ you can’t, unless you’e absolutely certain you want to be with someone and you’re in love with them-❞
❝ i am.❞

❝ you’re in love with me? since when? ❞
❝ only the past seven years. ❞

❝ there’s never been anybody else for me. there never will be. ❞



my new fav couple ever?!!!
guys why don’t irl boys act like this 😭💔🥀
i’ll just stay single until cyrus sui becomes real


﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹
𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

but i'm gonna get you back
whether i'm gonna curse you out or
take you back to my house, i haven't decided yet
but i'm gonna get you back?
➵ imgonnagetyouback - taylor swift

no one wanted to play with me as a little kid
so i've been scheming like a criminal ever since
to make them love me and make it seem effortless
➵ mastermind - taylor swift

yeah, i don't know if you like me
sometimes i think you might hate me
sometimes i think i might hate you
maybe you just wanna be me
➵ girl so confusing - charli xcx & lorde

i know that i should hate you
i know that i should hate you
i know that i should hate you
➵ i should hate you - gracie abrams

i want you to know
i'm a mirrorball
i can change everything about me to fit in
➵ mirroball - taylor swift

uh-oh, i'm fallin' in love
oh no, i'm fallin' in love again
oh, i'm fallin' in love
i thought the plane was goin' down
how'd you turn it right around?
➵ labyrinth - taylor swift

full playlist linked <3
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥
will never be moving on because this book is engraved in my soul.

ann liang will forever be loved and cherished by me

if this book doesn’t get the popularity it deserves i’ll be crashing out

go read this asap please and thank you


mwah,
joni 🤍

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏



ahhhh this is so good yall

okay so this book is probs my #1 anticipated read, so I actually need to start it asap


thank you SO SO much to scholastic canada for sending me a physical arc

[Nancy •͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ {Ramadan hiatus} · Rating 5 out of 5]

──⟡⋆˙✩ 5 stars ✩ ⋆˙⟡──

꧁ᬊᬁ“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.”ᬊ᭄꧂ツ

CyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrusCyrus

Ahem. Not me pulling a Cardan. Forgive me. I was merely utilizing my... uh... freedom of speech. ༊*·˚

જ⁀➴ I've been afflicted by a condition common among the bookgirlies. I call it ✧Inktoxication✧: Intoxication by ink-born characters. More informally, drunk in love. Symptoms include sighing, rereading, and unrealistic standards.

(｡•́︿•̀｡) cringe at me, I DARE YOU

This book is everything I needed after weeks of D R O U G H T. I did not just read it. I FELT it ✧ IN MY BONES ✧. It washed over me. It clawed at me with its sharp little talons. It slithered into my heart. It made me cry. And I let it. ❀·˚ ༘

ㅤ ׅ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞𝅄ㅤ 𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕙 ℤ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘: ❝ I care too much about my appearance, and I overthink everything, and I can be annoying and dumb and indecisive, and I have no personality outside of my flaws. ❞

Leah is a former model, and right from page one, her internal monologue reached out and gripped me. I was instantly reminded of Alessia Cara’s Scars to Your Beautiful, particularly the lines:

ꜱʜᴇ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ
ꜱʜᴇ ɢᴏᴇꜱ ᴜɴɴᴏᴛɪᴄᴇᴅ, ꜱʜᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ɴᴏ ʟɪᴍɪᴛꜱ
ꜱʜᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴠᴇꜱ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ, ꜱʜᴇ ᴘʀᴀɪꜱᴇꜱ ᴀɴ ɪᴍᴀɢᴇ
ꜱʜᴇ ᴘʀᴀʏꜱ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ꜱᴄᴜʟᴘᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄᴜʟᴘᴛᴏʀ

So what does Leah do?

❝ 𝐈 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐮𝐩. 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞. ❞

જ⁀➴ She’s 5'10, always put-together, never seen without makeup or stilettos—gorgeous, yes. Like, woman of my dreams, whereabout hast thou been?

But her mindset? It’s killing her. She thinks her worth is tied solely to being pretty. If she wasn’t beautiful, she believes she’d be worthless. And tragically, the people around her keep proving her right. Because as soon as she "becomes pretty":

❝ 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. ❞

She became a model not because she loved it—but because it was shiny. It meant she’d be liked.

I love her. I love her. I love her. There, I've said it three times and everything! I cried for her and I felt for her. I admired her. I have a crush on her. Who needs dignity anyways

ㅤ ׅ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞𝅄ㅤ ℂ𝕪𝕣𝕦𝕤 𝕊𝕦𝕚: ❝ Sometimes I think I ruin everything I touch. ❞

Leah hates Cyrus. He’s her childhood enemy—the guy who got her expelled and flipped her whole life upside down. Naturally, she loathes him.

જ⁀➴ So why, you may ask, have I become unhinged over Cyrus?

Because he takes ONE look at her…

And he knows.
He sees.
And he speaks up.

(Okay yes, it backfires. LMAO. She gets offended. But I was moved. Because someone finally SAW her—the real her, not just the elegant, composed, glamorous exterior.)

❝𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰,❞ 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, ❝𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲…❞
𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬? 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭? 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬?
❝𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭.❞

Not the most charming line, I know—but he noticed. He didn't just say “you lookin’ hot today” like literally every other guy in her life, no. He looked beyond her high heels and perfectly styled hair.

જ⁀➴ He’s so quietly devoted, soft, respectful. Noticing when her heels hurt her feet, kneeling to put on a band-aid. Buying her overpriced snacks cuz she was looking at them too long... and he BUYS HER A FLOWER CROWN.

You can NOT get better than that. What, he saved your life? He sacrificed himself?

BUT DID HE BUY YOU A FLOWER CROWN?

NO?

THEN HE AIN’T THE ONE. (Ignore me. I’m being immature and unreasonable BUT WHY DOES NO ONE EVER BUY ME FLOWER CROWNS?) ಥ_ಥ

જ⁀➴ Cyrus didn’t raise the standard. Boy became the standard. It’s like, on a scale of 1 to CYRUS, how great is this man?

At this point, I’m concerned about myself. Am I okay?!

ㅤ ׅ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞𝅄ㅤ 𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕙 & ℂ𝕪𝕣𝕦𝕤: ❝ He kisses me not like he wants to own me, but like he’s mine, and he’s desperate to prove it. ❞

Leah plots a classic petty-girl revenge: make Cyrus fall in love with her, break his heart, and publicly humiliate him. And we know how perfectly those kinds of plans go in romance novels *insert heavy sarcasm*

જ⁀➴ So Leah is CONSTANTLY flirting with Cyrus (who is clearly down bad for her—it’s not a spoiler, it’s SO OBVIOUS). And he’s all bashful (CUZ HE LOVES HER), and blushing (CUZ HE LOVES HER).

𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦, "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞."
𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝."
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭?"
"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, "𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞."

I squealed. I kicked my feet. I screamed into my pillow. This dynamic? Chef’s kiss.

(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ・Ꮖᥒ Ꮯꪮᥒᥴᥣᥙ᥉เꪮᥒ・

If you’ve never heard of this book before, then—What rock have you been living under?!

But don’t worry—I’m glad to have pulled you out of literary exile. If you haven’t read this yet: GO. NOW. READ IT.

If you HAVE read it: REREAD IT. Feel it all over again.

જ⁀➴ This book will make you cry. It will make you laugh. It might even make you blush. Or maybe I’m just the weirdo here

Whatever. Just read it. Please.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 6,479 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦. ✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ≀ˍ̮ ❝᷀ົཽ₊✧

[Dawn Solaris]

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ⋆˚⋆｡˚☽˚｡✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

⭑𓂃꒰ 🅡🅔🅡🅔🅐🅓 ꒱

❥ What is life if not an excuse to reread Ann Liang books every day, hah? Again, I promise Ann Liang didn’t hire me to advertise her books (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞

Buddy-rereading this time with darling Giusy ⊹ ࣪ ˖ , hi hi! Cyrus Sui awaits us, let’s go •𐃷•

P.S. Delulu me, hoping for Julius Gong cameos despite knowing the answer this time around, be like:

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ (ﾟヮﾟ☜)

#FirstRead - June 18th, 2025 (BR with bestie Mira)

#Reread1 - December 9th, 2025 (BR with girlie pop Giu)

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ⋆˚⋆｡˚☽˚｡✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

[anh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I want a childhood enemy who's secretly been in love with me 😔

__________
so ready to giggle and swoon over the romance in this one 🤭 reading this with best girl cherie! 💓

[dawn ౨ৎ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

⋆.𐙚 ̊ 4.25 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 ⊹ ࣪
     Special mention to my gorgeous best fren jeneen for reading this with me, we had the best time yapping each others heads off ᯓ★

₊˚⊹ ᰔ See her GORGEOUS review here ˚࿔



. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ ˎˊ˗. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁



          “You’re in love with me?” I whisper. “Since when?”
     His smile is wry. “Only the past seven years.”

ฅ^>⩊<^ ฅ

          Bring back men who yearn ʚɞ
              Cyrus is giving me NEW STANDARDS



. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ ˎˊ˗. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁



⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
ＰＯＳＳＩＢＬＥ ＳＰＯＩＬＥＲＳ :
⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅



🌷 𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤: ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎˎˊ˗

     The second I knew this book was by one of my favee authors Ann Liang, I had high expectations. And guys... Ann delivered because this was such a fun, easy read that I literally devoured.

     ୨ৎ The plot follows Leah, as she tries to get revenge on her enemy (Cyrus) for ruining her life. Her plan is to make him fall for her, and then embarrass him by rejecting him in front of everyone when he confesses. But Leah doesn't expect the tension-filled moments between the two of them where she's not sure whether it's hate or love. ୨ৎ

     The only aspect that prevented this from being a 5 stars was the ending. Ok, as y'all know I'm a masochist and I LOVE LOVE LOVEEE the angsty, heartbreaking third act breakup and the REDEMPTION ARC AND GROVELLING THAT COMES AFTER !!
     I feel like third act breakups aren't really Ann's strength... but maybe I'm just stingy because I really REALLY wanted Julius to grovel for Sadie after he made her cry on the canoe, but we didn't get that. 😭😭 Also I feel like Cyrus REALLYYY needed to grovel after Leah revealed to us what he did to her....



. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ ˎˊ˗. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁



🌸 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤: ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎˎˊ˗

˚₊ · »-♡→ Leah:

˙✧˖°🎵 ༘ ⋆｡˚
now playing [𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 𝓲𝓼𝓷'𝓽 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂]
1:34 ————0—— 2:56

Bought a bunch of makeup, tryna cover up my face
I started to skip lunch, stopped eating cake on birthdays
Bought a new prescription to try and stay calm
'Cause there's always something missing
There's always something in the mirror that I think looks wrong

(ignore me being olivia obsessed 🤭)
˙✧˖°🎵 ༘ ⋆｡˚


     CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THIS SONG IS PERFECTTTT for Leah? What is it with Ann and her BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED female characters?! First Eliza (who is literally my twin lmao) and SADIE and now Leah. Reading her POV was super fun and I could see little pieces in her that I related to. She didn't feel like those fake fmc's that some romantasy authors create - the ones who "are skilled killers after having no training" and who are "not like the other girls" *gag*

     I do admit that she was kind of stupid and dramatic sometimes, which is why I am a much bigger Eliza and Sadie stan then a Leah one, but overall her personality was so sweet, and her and Cyrus together were perfection. My heart was hurting for her every time she thought she wasn't pretty enough, and when she thought she needed makeup to be liked. LIKE MY GIRL IS GORGEOUS THE WAY SHE IS.



˚₊ · »-♡→ Cyrus:

˙✧˖°🎵 ༘ ⋆｡˚
now playing [𝓲 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲'𝓶 𝓼𝓸𝓻𝓻𝔂]
1:34 ————0—— 2:56

'Cause that's just the way life goes
I push my luck, it shows
Thankful you don't send someone to kill me
I love you, I'm sorry

(THIS IS PERFECT FOR CYRUS IYKYK 🤭)
˙✧˖°🎵 ༘ ⋆｡˚


     If I could write a list about every beautiful thing he did for Leah, the list would go for infinity and beyond. HE IS SUCH A GENTLEMAN ! Here's a little taster of things he does to show his total OBSESSION and DEVOTION to her:

⤿ remembers everything from their childhood - 10 years of her making up silly games and every minor conversation
⤿ recognises her immediately even after her looks changed
⤿ calls her 'qin ai de' when their enemies (he is the loml i am literally blushing)
⤿ bought her over-priced snacks because she looked at them
⤿ buys her bandaids when she's wearing high heels and her feet are injured and bleeding and even though she protests he kneels on the ground and put on her bandaids for her
⤿ when she shows him her eyes after an infection and she expects him to laugh, he just runs to his room to get sunglasses for her all whilst keeping a solemn, devoted expression (WHERE CAN I FIND A MAN LIKE THIS?!!)

     There is actually so, so, SO much more that Cyrus does, but all I will say is that I 100% recommend EVERYONE to read this book so you can experience this delightful rom-com for the first time!


˚₊ · »-♡→ Oliver: Literally kenji kishimoto I LOVE HIM SFM 😭😭

˚₊ · »-♡→ Daisy: THE SWEETEST FRIEND EVER !!



. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ ˎˊ˗. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁



🌺 𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝: ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎˎˊ˗

     I love this book sososo muchhh !! Ann liang never fails to deliver. The ratio of enemies to lovers was PERFECTION, the angst was ANGSTING, the yearning was YEARNING and I recommend this book to literally ALL MY FRIENDS.


if you've read this far, i love you to the moon and back THANK YOU SO MUCH 💗🥹
xoxo
dawn





꒷︶꒷꒥꒷ ‧₊˚ ꒰ฅ˘ω˘ฅ ꒱ ‧₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷

💌 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Ann Liang, the creator of the most adorable, swoony, BEAUTIFUL romance books. AND IT'S ENEMIES TO LOVERS TOO?! 🤭🤭 PLEASEEE TELL ME I WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH CYRUS !!

BUDDY READING THIS WITH MY FAVOURITE GIRL JENEEN💗

*cough cough* are there Julius Gong cameos in this? 😭😭 feed the STARVING please

[cherie ^_-★ (busy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars ⭐
⤷ mini spoiler-free review!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

okay seriously, where are the cameras ann liang?! first jenna, now leah??? 🤨

this book was definitely a sign from the universe that i need to reconnect with my roots too (i’m chinese but i can barely read or write the language as well, and i’ll admit i’m pretty ashamed of that 😓).

anyhoo, i devoured the first half, but my excitement dipped a little as the story went on, and the second last chapter in particular felt unnecessary and kind of threw me off, so i ended up lowering my rating a bit.

that said, this was still such a cute and bingeable read. i flew through it in under 24 hours, and i’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a fun and light YA romance ~


pre-read 🚞
finally starting one of a few new releases i’ve been looking forward to this month!

br with my fav girl anh 💞

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

chinese anne shirley and gilbert blythe

“You’re in love with me?” I whisper. “Since when?”
His smile is wry. “Only the past seven years.”

“There’s never been anybody else for me. There never will be.”

“Letter?” The ground seems to wobble beneath my feet, my mind racing faster and faster like a bullet train, threatening to throw me right off its tracks. “What letter?”
“I wrote you a letter,��� he says.”

“I never wanted you to hate me,” he whispers. “I never wanted you to leave. I only meant to tease you until you truly noticed me. I would wait every day for the moment you walked into class with your polka-dot socks and your cute sweaters and pigtails—it was like my day didn’t even begin until I saw you. I loved the games you invented and the stories you came up with and your laugh, how it bubbled out of you and you could hear it from down the corridor. All I could think about was you, all the time, and how funny and sweet and beautiful you were—”

if you know, you know.

so me when??

thank you yumi for reading with me <3, i had lots of fun!

[°•*⁀➷ ellie]

WAIT WHAT, NO WAY. ann liang i love u sm <3
no one will ever understand how much she works and COOKS!! 2025 is going to be 😭

[Nour (FREE PALESTINE) Books]

I DONT THINK I CAN WAIT MUCH LONGERRRRR

GUYS I NEEEEED THIS RN
I stayed up till 11pm last night for the cover reveal hehe

and guess what? on insta Ann Liang posted some teasers of the cover and I put them together like a puzzle AND SHE RESPONDED SAYING "omg yesss 💗💗💗"
MY LIFE AS A READER HAS BEEN FULFILLED

update 3 june 2025
EEEEE YALL ITS OUT, ITS OUT, ITS OUT!!! AHHH

[seeraaa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆?”
“𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕? 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.”




Never Thought I’d End Up Here follows Leah Zhang, who has spent her whole life in Los Angeles and has almost forgotten her roots. After causing a bit of chaos at her cousin’s wedding, her parents send her on an intensive two-week travel program across China to reconnect with her heritage. But things get complicated when her former classmate Cyrus, sarcastic and cynical, shows up — and somehow he’s even more annoyingly handsome. Leah wants revenge for the past, but as they explore cities, scenery, and culture together, she starts discovering feelings she didn’t expect, falls for Cyrus, and reconnects with herself and her roots. 💚

Honestly, I never thought I’d fall in love with this story and its characters like this! 😭

The first thing I have to mention is Leah. 🥺 She’s beautiful and cheerful, despite what she hides inside — especially her constant desire for appreciation and to be told she’s beautiful. I loved her so much, my dear girl, but I was surprised by her behavior toward Cyrus. It’s true she was planning to get revenge on him, but when she first met him, she didn’t act as I expected; instead of avoiding or ignoring him, she behaved as if she had met a dear friend from the past, not someone she considered an enemy. I also have mixed feelings about her quick forgiveness sometimes — she seems way too comfortable despite everything he did to her in the past. If I were in her place, I’d probably question everything he says or does, which makes me think a lot about trust and forgiveness.

As for Cyrus, he’s such a complex character! 😏 Mischievous, charming, bookish, and incredibly fun. I enjoyed him even more when he teased Leah and messed with her, especially in the little moments like asking her to draw clouds ☁️😂. Still, I felt that what he’s doing now — trying to earn a second chance — isn’t enough to make up for his past actions. I sometimes felt sorry for him, especially after learning about his past and his beliefs about love, which explained a lot of his actions, and it’s clear he feels genuine regret. But I didn’t like how Leah couldn’t separate what he did to her in the past from his kind actions now.

The revenge part was one of the moments I was most excited about! I really wanted to see Leah get her revenge on him at the beginning, break his heart for a few minutes, and make him feel what she felt. This part made the story so much more thrilling for me, even if it ended with forgiveness later. No… I really wanted it to happen 😭

The emotional moments in the book were so touching. Their journey together, for example, was so much fun — full of playful moments, small jealousies, and mutual care that made their relationship feel real and believable. I loved how Leah wasn’t afraid of his gaze and stayed completely honest with him despite everything she went through. This journey showed different sides of their personalities — the teasing, the romance, and the small moments that revealed true feelings. 💚

As for the ending, it was sweet and satisfying, but I felt it was a little rushed in her acceptance of him, especially after all the trauma and difficult experiences she went through. I loved the story, but I can’t deny I wished Leah had shown a bit more seriousness about his actions and that Cyrus had put in more effort to prove his regret and love 😅

Overall, Never Thought I’d End Up Here is an enjoyable, emotional story full of humor and complex romance. The characters, the small moments, and their journey together made me love this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys slow-burn romance, complex characters, and second chances full of challenges! 😭💚

˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚𝑨𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆, 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈! 💚









⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ |𝑃𝑟𝑒-𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑🚃
Starting my second book by Ann Liang 💚
I really loved This Time It’s Real; it was so sweet and genuinely fun to read. I’m hoping this one is just as good… or maybe even better. ✨👘
And I’ll be reading it with my lovelyy friend Saranya, and I honestly can’t wait for us to start! 🧧🫶🏻

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

pre-read:

i think it’s safe to assume that this is the book that’ll win because of the huge difference in the poll that i posted yesterday. anyhoo, it’s timeeee!! FINALLY!! i have been wanting to read this one and y’all didn’t disappoint with your votes! i’m sooo glad i’m finally reading this because it’s one of my anticipated releases this year 🙂‍↔️🫶🏼

[veerali · Rating 4 out of 5]

live laugh love ann liang

[lydia ‧ ia]

everything that was once beautiful to me is now mediocre after seeing this cover

[clara bow (hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
⤷ minor spoilers (quotes)

”its very easy to fall in love with you, leah. the easiest thing in the world.”


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: i love this omg, like i’ve been feeling kinda down in the dumps and in a slump but this book brought me back up. i haven’t cried over a book in so long to the point where i was like ok what’s happening but this one made me cry so hard and i love it! page 277 is literally my national anthem and i wish i could keep being in this world forever and ever


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐡:
”sometimes it feels like there’s an invisible comment section floating around in my brain”

so i’ve never really struggling with being pretty before but this book helped me understand her. people aren’t always what they are on the outside. if i knew her, ugh i would want to be her so bad like soooo bad and even though i still want to be her, i see her. i see her struggles and i see what her life is like. she isn’t perfect and she isn’t flawless, which is why her character is so amazing.


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐜𝐲𝐫𝐮𝐬:
”looking back on the long course of human history and everything we’ve survived and haven’t survived, i’m actually very lucky”

cyrus’s story omg. i’m trying so hard not to spoil things right now. i love him so much omg he cares about leah so much and i want that soooo bad. he loved her in her best and worst and never once broke her trust (after the situation but yk) he is perfect for her and she is perfect for him


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥: read this. it changed my life (not exaggerating).


⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: hopefully this works in saving my slump, i need to recover before summer starts


⋆｡‧˚ʚ ❀ ɞ˚‧｡⋆


ೃ⁀➷ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: so i just found this at barnes and noble…that made me soooooo mad…i still bought it but like THIS SHOULD NOT BE THERE, it’s like the target fourth wing thing. i refuse to start this until its release date, i’m sorry ms.liang :(

[aira · Rating 2 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ an unexpected turn of events narrated by aira 😔

So, I think I will settle at 2.75 stars and I'll have to round it down.

Let me start with what I liked because there was things that I liked. First, I think I have to note that fact that I really loved seeing Leah make friends who are genuinely interested in being her friend, not like those "friends" she had. Then, we had the flower crown scene which was so freaking cute and quite literally had me giggling. Also, Daisy and Oliver were such cute additions to the story. Oliver was one of the carefree characters and Daisy was one of those shy characters, so to see side characters like that was definitely a treat.

However, if I were to talk about the two main characters, I would have to say that I thought the characters fell a little flat for me. It feels like they weren't developed enough and I don't know enough about them as I should know about a main character in a book. Then, the enemies to lovers was just there and it didn't consume me wholly like I thought it would. I don't love when characters in enemies to lovers have that dynamic where they say stuff like "I've been mean to you because I like you" because it rarely works for me. I think it is kind of over done and it makes the enemies to lovers not really enemies to lovers in its core. I also had to skim some of the bits in the last 25ish%. If I had to tell you the real reason I found a lot of problems, I would honestly say that it was because I felt a little too old for this book. Maybe if I were younger, I would relate more to this book, so I would have given this a higher rating.

In conclusion, do not let this review stop you from reading this book. A lot of people loved this so consider that for sure and know that I am part of the minority with this rating.

------------

pre-read: it's time, Ann Liang has never disappointed and the glowing reviews have me so excited!! 🤭

[saisha⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8✧!!
╰rounded up to 5 ofc! literally all of ann’s books have been 4.5 stars or more omg!! 💗💗mild spoilers up ahead!

♫ ~ close to you
“i’d burn for you
and you don’t even know my name
if you asked me to
i’d give you everything
to be close to you”

“i would imagine myself as anything and everything: a poet, writing to their one true love; a princess, standing up to retrieve her crown at long last; an artist, grieving over their lost muse. back when the future felt endless, expansive, and all the options delighted rather than terrified me.”

⊹my thoughts🌷

ann liang is truly incapable of writing a book that i don’t love🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ her writing feels like a breath of fresh air after being trapped inside for too long; like the way the first rays of sunlight feel on on your face🥺��this was a marvelous book and i enjoyed every single page of it! the banter was pure perfection as always and the characters were chefs kiss like always with all of ann’s books🫶🏻🫶🏻 i absolutely adored this book!! thank you ann for feeding us😽💗

⊹plot!💌

leah zhang is used to life in la. it’s all she’s ever known actually. but things take a complete 180 when she accidentally wishes her cousin a depressing marriage and ill-health. see there’s a little problem. leah is a little out of touch with her culture- she’s forgotten almost all of her mandarin and doesn’t know the proper etiquettes either. her mothers solution is to send her on a two-week long travel program across china to get leah back in im touch with her roots. leah is excited by the idea of a break until she finds that cyrus sui- her greatest rival is also going on the trip with her. leah’s plan? somehow enact revenge on the boy who ruined her life…without losing her heart to him on the way.

⊹characters!💗

⊹ leah zhang
╰ ࣪ ˖ once again ann liang has proved that she is the ultimate queen of writing relatable fmcs🥺🫂 at first i thought leah was vain and a little selfish but oh boy did i see how wrong i was after the first few chapters. reading about her and all her internal struggles was so eye opening and painfully relatable. acting like she didn’t care what others thought about her while internally constantly worrying about their opinions - my heart broke for her and also made me feel seen- there are so many girls who feel that way- i want all of u to know that u are perfect. just the way you are. leah constantly trying to change things about her to gain approval was something i could also empathize with💔 her growth throughout this book was so beautiful to watch- and her relationships with daisy and oliver were so heartwarming🫶🏻 and don’t even get me started on her and cyrus🤭💗
⊹“but so much of the pressure i felt was silent, unspoken, like being trapped inside a submarine thousand of miles underwater and feeling the oxygen slowly run out.”

⊹ cyrus sui
╰  ࣪ ˖ it’s very easy to fall in love with you cyrus. he’s not my favorite ann liang book bf(that spot will always be taken by julius💋) but he captured my heart nonetheless. from the beginning it was so obvious he was in love with leah and it was so fun watching him keep falling for her in this🥺💗 the things this man says, my future bf needs to take notes because my standards just went through the freaking roof. also his little thing with airplanes-how he’s scared of them and how he disinfected his seat-he might be even more of a clean freak than my mom😭 all jokes aside i absolutely loved cyrus in this and leahcyrus was just perfect🥺 the way i could tell he was down bad for leah after a few chapters of meeting him ahh!!! and ofc him and oliver were too funny i loved their ‘bromance’! cyrus completely captured my heart awe❤️
⊹“it’s very easy to fall in love with you, leah. the easiest thing in the world.”

⊹ oliver
╰  ࣪ ˖ oliver is legit one of the best side characters ever. he’s so funny and i love how he’s always everywhere that leahcyrus are🤭although his pick up line scene was a lil cringe loll😭😭
⊹”you’re, like, a bro. like, a very pretty bro, who i’m into platonically, and whose house i might crash at in the future, once you’re married and i’m named the most eligible bachelor of the century.”


⊹ daisy
╰  ࣪ ˖ daisy is literally the most precious character ever and i want to protect her from the whole world awe🥺🥺 she was so cutie and so sweet to leah and seeing her come out of her shell was so heartwarming💗 her and leah’s friendship was one of the highlights of this book!! i hope we see her again soon🙌🏻🎀

⊹romance!💐
“there’s never been anybody else for me. there never will be.”

⊹leahcyrus
╰  ࣪ ˖ leahcyrus were just incredible in this. the banter between them, the way cyrus was head-over-for her the whole time, the way she fell for him against her will🥺❤️ i was writing down quotes so often my hands started cramping- ann you really outdid yourself with this- i loved leahcyrus. i loved how cyrus was always watching out for her. i loved how cyrus showed he cared about her. i loved how he fell first and kept falling- and then she fell for him too🤭🥹 what else do i need to say? please read this for them🙏🏻🙏🏻
⊹ “leah. you remind me of the greatest sculptors, who can turn marble into the impression of billowing silk, the coldest stone into something soft. i suppose what i’m trying to say is that everything you touch turns beautiful. the world becomes beautiful, as long as there’s you.”

⊹quotes!💝

“you’ve always been beautiful—beautiful like the stars are, like shanghai is. i could never get sick of looking at you.”

“only later did i realize how completely, utterly wrong he was—how wrong i was to have resorted to tricks and childish teasing when i should’ve just gone for it. treated you like you were precious and perfect because you always have been.”

“i feel a spasm of self-consciousness, certain that i’m doing it wrong, that i look stupid, that i’m about to be made fun of. sometimes there’s an invisible comment section floating around in my brain, and with every mistake i make, every wrong thing i say, these imaginary spectators who vaguely resemble my classmates from my old schools flock forward to pass judgement…”

“maybe i don’t have to be the outcast, or the model—i can just focus on being a good person surrounded by other good people in beautiful places, and that’s more than enough.”

“but i meant it when i said that i can be whatever you want me to be: whether that’s an enemy for you to curse and hold a grudge against for the rest of your life; a friend you can trust to accompany you anywhere and drive you safely back home, the one you can call at any hour of the night and tell all your secrets to; or the person you fall for, who will always wear a jacket so you don’t have to bring yours, who will be the first to find you when you’re lost and alone, who will remind you how heart-wrenchingly, unfathomably beautiful you are even on days when you don’t feel it. the only thing i ask is that we don’t ever become strangers, because i really—[…] i don’t think i could bear it leah. i don’t thing my heart would be able to survive it.”

“no fantasy could ever live up to you.”

⊹a message for kella😽

omg thank u so so so much for reading this with me kells!! this was so much fun and perfectt for our first br! reading this with u made it even more special🫂 i loved yapping abt this with u!! and ofc fangirling abt cyrus was so much fun🤭🎀 im so happy we both loved this and i can’t wait for our future brs💋🫶🏻 i love u endlessly my invisible string!💗💗 GUYS GO SPAM HER GORGEOUS REVIEW!!!
╰  ࣪ ˖ kella’s stunning review🌷

this was incredible please read it💝

all my love,
saisha
“i don’t love you in the darkness; i love you in the light.”

- - - -

⋆·˚ ༘ * 🌊┆ post-read!

this was incredible. rtc<3

⋆·˚ ༘ * 🌊┆ pre-read!

it’s finally time to read ann’s new release omgg!! i literally can’t wait bc first; ann always serves and also a lot of my besties on here love this!🤭🙌🏻 and to make this even more special, i’m buddyreading this with my invisible string- kella!! ily so much kells and ik we’re gonna have the best time reading this! xx🫂💗🩷

[manas · Rating 4 out of 5]

ann, please marry me.

[ava (matching with gems) ⋆˙⟡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

|🌷| post~read |🍀|

SIX STARS. THIS WAS LITERALLY INCREDIBLE. (Cyrus is mine btw 🤭)


|☘️| pre~read |🌷|

buddy read with gems! I can’t wait to read this <3

[skylar ₊˚⊹♡ [less active] · Rating 5 out of 5]

‧₊˚🖇️✩ 𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ₊˚🎧⊹♡
⤿ where's the 6 stars..?

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW! READ WITH CAUTION!)

ᝰ.ᐟ “The world becomes beautiful, as long as there's you.”

ANN LIANG DID IT AGAIN. is this woman magical? i think she might be a goddess or something. there's just a different feeling when i read her books. they're so so so so perfect and her characters are SO layered, even the side characters!? like daisy and oliver ABSOLUTELYYY ate in this and they weren't even the mcs. i could talk about this book and all the other ann liang books for hours but i'll TRY to make this review short.

⤿ the writing was ofc BEAUTIFUL. i just knew when i read the synopsis that the scenery would absolutely devour AND IT DID. she delivered on that once again. she described china so well like now i wanna go...and she always manages to put in so much chinese culture in all of her books. like hello i learned so many words??? i now know "handsome" in chinese guys!! (because that was very much needed. it's "shuaige" btw.) but seriously, even though i could never know because i'm not in any way chinese, it was really cool to see and one of the things i love about ann liang!!

ᝰ.ᐟ "you're told to put your head down. stick it out. grit your teeth until they break. shut up and be grateful. remember that you're living out every girl's dream, and nobody wants to hear about the nights you lie awake hurting, so hungry you could gnaw on your own hand."

౨ৎ (📷) leah. how do i even talk about her? like EVERY SINGLE ANN LIANG FMC, i related to her so much. i could write an essay on everything about her that i care so much about. guys. i wrote notes. i wrote NOTES as i was reading of the things about her that make her unique. is this a new level of insanity? sure. but it was worth it. even the thing with her disconnection to her culture was so cutting to me. not even knowing how to speak your home language and making your parents feel bad for not teaching you. THAT'S ME. and her thing about friends? where she has "you can borrow my sunglasses" friends and not "i'll listen if you want to talk" friends. how it feels like you can't complain because you HAVE friends but you know they would judge you if they really knew you..STOP. if i keep going i'm gonna reveal way too much about myself but just know that yeah...leah is me, i am her. SHE IS PERFECTION. but perfect because she's actually not at all perfect <3

ᝰ.ᐟ "i feel a spasm of self-consciousness, certain that i’m doing it wrong, that i look stupid, that i’m about to be made fun of. sometimes it feels like there’s an invisible comment section floating around in my brain, and with every mistake i make, every wrong thing i say, these imaginary spectators who vaguely resemble my classmates from my old schools flock forward to pass judgment."

౨ৎ (🎹) cyrus. CYRUS CYRUS CYRUS CYRUS CYRUS. ann liang men OH MY GODDD. if only men like this were real. he's so perfect for her because he loved her even before her "glow up" and he knows she's beautiful even if she doesn't have a tight dress or makeup on. he's actually such a gentleman and treats her like a queen. but he also has his own personality!! i feel like we always forget to talk about it because we're all obsessed with the romance, but can we talk about how he loves books?? HE LOVES PIANO AHGSHAHHA HE'S MY MANNN. he's passionate about literature and casually thinks about how bad life is on a daily basis. he's afraid of feeling happy because there's a chance it'll leave him soon.

ᝰ.ᐟ ”looking back on the long course of human history and everything we’ve survived and haven’t survived, i’m actually very lucky”

౨ৎ (🧸) leahcyrus. they're. so. amazing. hey so can we talk about the amount of times leah would literally just look at something or want something and he'd get it for her? he'd take one look at her and know exactly what she wants. whether it's a choco pie, a flower crown, a jacket, he knows. and OMGOMGOMOMGOMG the confession???????? they were so obvious about it even before this but that was still like THE best scene. they're actually so cute!!

ᝰ.ᐟ ”but i meant it when i said that i can be whatever you want me to be: whether that’s an enemy for you to curse and hold a grudge against for the rest of your life; a friend you can trust to accompany you anywhere and drive you safely back home, the one you can call at any hour of the night and tell all your secrets to; or the person you fall for, who will always wear a jacket so you don’t have to bring yours, who will be the first to find you when you’re lost and alone, who will remind you how heart-wrenchingly, unfathomably beautiful you are even on days when you don’t feel it."

⤿ oliver and daisy. they were so cute!! i loved them as side characters sm and they were both such good friends. daisy is PRECIOUS but also sticks up for herself when it's necessary, and oliver is sooo funny and flirty but also really respectful. he for sure brought the comedy (especially when he's with cyrus) so i really loved him. and the scenes with daisy and leah HEALED ME because that's exactly what leah needed: a real friend.

⤿ bottom line is that YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK AND EVERY ANN LIANG BOOK THERE IS. that's all.

────୨ৎ────

💌┆𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝
⤿ never thought i’d end up here

ANN LIANG NEVER FAILS GUYS. i have no doubt that this book will be amazing. i’ve been in a slump for a long time now, but i’m logging this after reading more than half in one day?? that’s the most i’ve read in one day in a while. WISH ME LUCKKK 🤭🤭

[madi · Rating 1 out of 5]

⋆˙⟡ — 1.5 stars
sooo... the sadiejulius novella will be the last book i read by her 😞💔

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ pre-read ♡⋆°｡⋆𐙚
⤷ i'm going into this with low expectations, but i'm praying it surprises me!! br with pati 😽 we better love this!!

[lilly ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

: ̗̀➛ started on 2/8/26
: ̗̀➛ finished on 2/9/26

this was supposed to be my bday book but i started it a day later lmao😭😭

to be fair, i think the reason why i didn't enjoy this as much as ann's other books is because the fmc felt so different in a way from her other ones. i've read all of her books but dnf a song to drown rivers so i went into this with fairly high hopes expecting a 4 or more star read.

normally, we see ann's fmc's struggling with the need to succeed academically, but this one was fairly different. a formal model, who has said herself she has no talents. the main struggle with the fmc was her appearance (cue “pretty isn't pretty” by olivia rodrigo) which was not what i was expecting going into this. i really need to start reading blurbs more 😭

overall, i didn't think the book was bad by any means, but i feel like the romance subplots are starting to become very predictable. they don't get together till the last 30-50ish pages when the mc confesses he's been in love with her the whole time, then they live happily ever after.

the whole concept of the romance and her getting “revenge” to me was so boring because once everything was explained the fmc was just like “wait really? ok” then they started kissing then a few chapters later she was talking about how hes her boyfriend? like ma'am 😭 i feel like this needed to be a little longer to let us fully see everything play out but oh well, would recommend though

--

since its my birthday and i know ms ann liang will deliver, theres no better time to read this!! 🤭

[emelie &#x1d717;&#x1d71a;⋆₊˚ (exams!!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 𝟒.𝟓𝟎₊˚⊹🚊 𝟘𝟞/𝟘𝟞/𝟚𝟝—𝟘𝟞/𝟘𝟟/𝟚𝟝
an ann liang book has never disappointed me—but this exceeded my expectations by a million!! i thought i would just like this but i LOVED this!! (currently debating if this should be 4 or 5 stars so ignore if it’s constantly changing!)

ann liang is so good at making characters and couples and this was no exception. cyrus and leah were literally EVERYTHING and their romance was so adorable. the silent pining this man had 🥺!! he is such book boyfriend material!! the way everyone hated her in childhood until she got “pretty” but he always found her beautiful KILLED ME!!

again this served such cdrama vibes and i devoured this so quickly!! i will say it started out a tad slow near the beginning (before they got onto the train) but after that it was very quick pace!!

really the only reason this isn’t an immediate 5 stars is just because i wanted it to be longer!! i wasn’t ready to let go of this story and these characters. on this note, i wanted a little bit more of cyrus’s character. even though i ABSOLUTELY loved him—i wanted maybe a bonus chapter from his perspective just so i could understand a bit more about him and his motives.

but that being said—this book was actually SO adorable and every single scene of them especially near the end i was stabbing and highlighting! there isn’t much i can say without spoiling it but just please read it, it has one of my favorite tropes EVER!!

ALSO: p.s. please ann liang make a 2nd book (or even a novella but a novel is preferred) about daisy and oliver. PLEASE they would be absolutely adorable and their scenes together were so cute!!

╰┈➤ tropes to expect! (SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING!!)
✎ he fell first and harder
✎ miss-understanding/miscommunication
✎ “i sent you a letter?!” “what letter?”
✎ childhood enemies to lovers
✎ closed door romance

𐙚🧸ྀི || 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:
an ann liang book has never disappointed me so far so let’s hope this one doesn’t! i saw that the “what letter?” trope (ifykyk 🤭) so i can’t wait to start this. i’ve been feeling myself inch a little bit closer to a slump every day so i’m trusting ann liang to pull me out!
————————————————————————————————

[karolᵕ̈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I really did enjoy the relationships between the characters and the chemistry between Cyrus and Leah was amazing, I felt that compared to Ann Liang‘s other books, this one had worse writing. And parts of it just felt rushed, unfinished.

[shiloh · Rating 5 out of 5]

₊˚🚃‧𐔌 never thought I’d end up here | ann liang | 6✩ 𝝑𝝔 ꒱ ₊💌˚‧

↬ 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚💬‧₊⊹ ៸៸
What I would say about this book if someone asked me what I thought about it:
I couldn't put this down. Ann Liang always makes me binge read, I think this is her 3rd book I’ve read in under 24 hours?!?! How is that possible?
I truly resonated with this book so deeply I have no doubt I'll be thinking about it for years to come. I think it actually changed my perspective on life, and on myself, which an insane thing for a YA romance to do.
— ‧₊⊹ —
My actual inner thoughts when I think about this book:
AHHHH I FREAKING LOVE ANN LIANG SO MUCH AND THIS BOOK. THIS. BOOK. A MASTERPIECE, A TENDER, DEEP, HEART-WRENCHING MASTERPIECE OF A ROMANCE. I WANT TO INJECT HER WORDS INTO MY BLOOD AND TATTOO THEM ON MY FOREHEAD THEY’RE SO WONDERFULLY PRICELESS AGHHHHRIFHFJEJFJEIEHCJEJEJDJEKDO
— ‧₊⊹ —
After reading this book, I’m wondering if Ann Liang might quite possibly be my favorite author ever, and this book (although it comes really close to I hope this doesnt find you) has got to be my favorite of hers yet!

↬ 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚🚃‧₊⊹ ៸៸
“All I'd wanted was to run away: from the threat of the future, from everyone who expected something more from me, from the grave in my backyard where my potential had been buried, from the sadness that had leaked through my bedroom walls.”

Former model Leah Zhang disgraced herself and her family when she accidentally wishes her newly wedded cousin bad health and a horrible marriage. (Mandarin isn’t her strong suit)
So in an attempt to recover from the disgrace, her parents send her on a two week travel program to see China and reconnect with her roots.
Unfortunately for Leah, when she shows up for the trip at the airport gate, she sees the last person in earth she would ever want to see. Her former classmate Cyrus Sui.
Incredible adventures, delicious banter, beautiful self-discovery, and so much more ensue on Leah’s trip.
— ‧₊⊹ —
I really enjoyed the plot! It was the perfect mix of dialogue/character interaction, internal dialogue and thoughts, memories, and the narrative of the trip she was on. I never got bored, I was just constantly immersed.

↬ 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚💌‧₊⊹ ៸៸
”Everything you touch turns beautiful. The world becomes beautiful, as long as there's you.”

I don’t even know where to begin. It’s so perfect I feel like my words can’t even do it justice. The ‘what letter?’ scene? I just about died (in the best way)

”If he's the one saying it, anything could sound lovely.”

They’re perfect, so perfect

”You remind me of the greatest sculptors, who can turn marble into the impression of billowing silk, the coldest stone into something soft.”

I adore how in Ann Liang’s romances, their feelings for each other are built upon genuine admiration of the other person, fondness, trust, and so much more. It isn’t “Omg they’re so hot,” it’s “Why do I feel so safe around them? Like I can be myself and they won’t judge me. It makes me want to be around them for the rest of eternity.” It’s so refreshing to read a true romance instead of the lust-fests that are advertised as romance these days.

”With my eyes still shut, I tell him, "You have a nice voice."
He pauses. "You must be tired."
"What?"
"When you're tired," he says, "you forget to hate me."
"I forget to hate you a lot of the time," I whisper.”

I won’t say anything more cause if I do I might ramble forever.

↬ 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚🎋‧₊⊹ ៸៸
”But this doesn't feel like I'm escaping—it feels like I'm returning. Like I'm reaching back in time for the person I used to be, before the tears stained my pillow and the blisters split my feet.”

I love international settings, so this was such a treat! I really enjoyed reading about their travels and the different areas and cultures in China. The way she wrote the setting, as always, blends the perfect amounts of beautiful and meaningful descriptions with the rest of the story and creates the most enrapturing balance of everything.

↬ 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚🗒️‧₊⊹ ៸៸
”And in casual, unremarkable moments such as this one, I'm gripped by the novel idea that the people around me actually like me, for some bizarre reason I'm still trying to figure out—if only so I don't mess it up and make them stop.”

I could praise Ann Liang’s writing for eternity. Her writing is the best I’ve ever read, and I don’t say that lightly. Not only does she weave words together in a way I could only dream of doing someday, but she also infuses her writing with so much emotion and meaningfulness.

”When joy arrives, it catches me off guard. It sneaks up slowly through my rib cage like poppies pushing through soil after the rain, and then it's there, everywhere, warmth beating in my chest, spreading down to my fingertips as I sink back in the sunlight. It's like I'm thawing.”

It’s a blend of natural narrative, familiar cadence, whimsical and nostalgic descriptions, beautiful and unique similes, gut-wrenching commentary on the psychological state of many teenage girls right now, and a self awareness in the internal dialogue of the characters that sets her books aside from others.

”I've always been used to happiness in snatches—happiness that felt stolen, happiness that was hard-won, happiness because. I was only happy when someone said I was pretty, when I booked a new job, when a stranger approved of me, and then I would go home and feel the happiness seep out again, leaving behind a hollow pit in my chest.”

Even in her debut novel, If You Could See the Sun, Ann Liang showed these qualities in her writing, and in Never Thought I’d End Up Here, those same qualities have flourished and reached a whole new level of mastery.

”This happiness though—it's new. It stays without asking for
permission. It simply exists, like the water and the sky.
"What are you smiling at?" Cyrus asks me.
Nothing, I want to say. Everything.”

“If I were a soldier, I would be the very first to be dismissed from the front lines or killed on the spot for my weakness, because who else would run across the battlefield to their enemy, offering up bandages instead of bullets?”

↬ 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚💋‧₊⊹ ៸៸
(I would usually go into depth, but I don’t have the energy to right now)
Leah was such an incredible character to follow along with and to get to know. I feel genuinely so honored to have read her story and heard her deepest secrets. And Cyrus was incredible, I love him so much!

↬ 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚🫶🏼‧₊⊹ ៸៸
This was her cleanest book which I appreciate.
The swearing was definitely lesser than her other books.

↬ 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 .ᐟ.ᐟ ₊˚📗‧₊⊹ ៸៸
I 1000% recommend reading this book if you like travel, banter, amazing romance, or if you struggle with any kind of appearance based insecurities (that's everyone I know but everyone should read this) you NEED to pick this up

₊˚🥡‧꒰ no spice | minimal swearing | age rec: 14+ ꒱ ₊💄˚‧