The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Never Thought I’d End Up Here

Series: Standalone

Author: Ann Liang

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

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. -summary from Goodreads

Never Thought I’d End Up Here is a cute, childhood enemies to lovers, young adult rom com!

I enjoyed this book, and it was fun to read, though it was missing something. Ann Liang is a master at writing characters that are easy to relate to. I felt like I could relate to Leah, but not as much as Ann Liang’s other protagonists. Ann Liang is also a master at balancing heart and humor. I felt like that was a little off this book. The tone was just a little different from everything else she has written.

Again, I did enjoy this book. It had a really fun premise, and I really enjoyed the characters. Leah was interesting. She had obviously gone through some things in her childhood, which I enjoyed the exploration of. She also didn’t feel like she brought a lot to the table, so I really like how throughout the story she realized her worth. I liked the exploration of the modeling industry through this book- it was fascinating and realistic. There was also an exploration of how people will perceive you based on looks that was done in a subtle, but hard-hitting way.

One of my favorite parts of the story was Leah getting more than a relationship. She made friends, which you don’t see too often in romance books. I liked that her newfound worth wasn’t just tied to her romantic interest.

Speaking of the romantic interest, Ann Liang nailed it again. I loved Cyrus! I started out disliking him, but he kept getting better. He was sassy, but sweet and caring. I felt like he also had a nice storyline, which was a nice addition to the story. He had made some mistakes in the past, which he took responsibility for, is trying to be better, and apologized for! He was also shy, which I just loved!

A lot of talk is happening about how Conrad from The Summer I Turned Pretty show is bringing back yearning men. While this is true, so is Ann Liang! All of her men yearn, and Cyrus is up there with the best of them!

I loved Oliver and Daisy! Oliver was just your classic teenage boy- goofy and flirty, but sincere and fun! I just loved reading all of the Oliver scenes. And Daisy was just so sweet and the perfect match for Leah. I’m hoping there will be a future book of Daisy and Oliver, but we’ll have to see!

The storyline was actually really good. Leah accidently messes up her Mandarin at her cousin’s wedding and curses her cousin’s marriage. Her parents decide she needs to reconnect with her culture, so she is sent on a two-week travel group whose entire purpose is to explore China. I love a good travel book, and I love books that explore Asia, so this was right up my alley! It was a lot of fun, and I loved all the different descriptions.

Ann Liang does it again! Another wonderful, fun, emotional young adult contemporary romance! This book had realistic characters, finding your worth, healing from past traumas, finding love and friendship, all in Ann Liang’s classic writing style that makes you fall in love with the characters!

Quotes:

“On a bad day, books offer a language for your pain, and on a good day, books remind you just how precious your life is.”

“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.”