LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI By Abigail Hing Wen

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
Series: Loveboat,
Published by HarperTeen on 1/7/20
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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“Our cousins have done this program,” Sophie whispers. “Best kept secret. Zero supervision.”

And just like that, Ever Wong’s summer takes an unexpected turn. Gone is Chien Tan, the strict educational program in Taiwan that Ever was expecting. In its place, she finds Loveboat: a summer-long free-for-all where hookups abound, adults turn a blind eye, snake-blood sake flows abundantly, and the nightlife runs nonstop.

But not every student is quite what they seem:

Ever is working toward becoming a doctor but nurses a secret passion for dance.

Rick Woo is the Yale-bound child prodigy bane of Ever’s existence whose perfection hides a secret.

Boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed Sophie Ha turns out to have more to her than meets the eye.

And under sexy Xavier Yeh’s shell is buried a shameful truth he’ll never admit.

When these students’ lives collide, it’s guaranteed to be a summer Ever will never forget.

Short and Sweet

Ever Wong’s parent send her to Taiwan to attend Chien Tan an education program for the summer, but when Ever arrives she ends up finding love boat instead. Loveboat is where hookups take place, night clubs are attended, and all the adults turn a blind eye. For the first time in Ever’s life she has freedom and she plans on trying things that she wouldn’t be able to back at home.

Characters

Ever: Ever is our main character and her parents expect a lot out of her which is essentially why they sent her to Taiwan. Ever just wants to dance but her parents want her to be a doctor. Chien Tan isn’t what Ever expected, she has more freedom and she plans on breaking all the rules that she would have back at home. I liked Ever as a main character she was smart and she cared about the people she met in Taiwan and I’m glad that she was able to explore and do things that she normally wasn’t allowed to.

Sophie: Sophie is boy crazy and in her head she needs to find a man. Sophie is excited about all the hookups and she even has her eyes set on a guy. I think that Sophie was a good character she’s smart and is very persuasive and could run a business, she was just a bit much when it came to the boys.

Rick: Rick is Sophie’s cousin and to Ever he’s “Boy Wonder” It’s almost like Rick is good at everything he does. Rick is more cautious then some of the other people at Chien Tan but he does have a good personality and I think he’s a good person.

Xavier: Xavier is like a player. He has a reputation but honestly he’s not that bad. I think he’s actually so sweet and he has learning disability which he’s been hiding from people.

Romance

Ever and Rick: When they met Ever and Rick had a connection but Rick already had a girlfriend. The more time these two spent together the more their feelings for each other developed. I liked that they started as friends and we can see their feelings for each other mature.

Ever and Xavier: There’s a bit of a connection between the two but in the end it didn’t work. But they were good friends and I’m glad that they stayed friends even though things didn’t work out romantically.

Sophie and Xavier: This was a fling but honestly Sophie was more interested in Xavier than he was with her. There’s not much about them except for the short amount of time they spent together.

My Thoughts

~ Loveboat was interesting I think my favorite part of it was how the students would sneak out and explore the city and also go to the clubs.

~ Ever got to explore more of her passion for dancing and even found a studio to attend. I liked that she got to see what it would be like if she did decide to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer instead of a doctor.

~ I was also happy that Ever got to do things that made her happy and for once did things for herself instead of her parents.

~ Besides sneaking out and exploring, Ever also got to learn more about her asian heritage and in the end she had more of an appreciation for it.

~ At one point something happens to Ever (I don’t want to spoil it) but the way she handled it was very impressive but at the same time I felt so bad for her because she didn’t deserve it.

~ I really enjoyed this book there wasn’t a dull moment or a time when I wanted to put it down. I think everything came together and it made for an amazing book!

Overall

This was such an amazing debut novel! I loved all of the characters and how they interacted and I enjoyed the setting of Taiwan and the nightlife. I’m excited to read the sequel! This book was so much fun and I was hooked from the very first page.