This was an adorable teen romance with a nice twist. I appreciated the conversation about tradition vs innovation and how it's nuanced (it makes me want to go back to my class about food rhetoric to bring this point into the conversation) and how the two balanced learning the truth about each other. It was realistic without being cheesy.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I just could not get into this one. The story was a bit odd, and the pacing felt off, as well as I just really didn’t like the MCs. I wanted to like this story but I struggled and eventually it was a DNF for me.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Harper Collins. All opinions are my own.

DNF- 58%

I’m sorry I just can’t with this book. I could never really get into it because of the very slow pacing. The romance was very odd. It felt like all of a sudden they just started having feelings for the other. Also, Danny is such a mean person at times. What’s the point of releasing your anger on an anonymous blogger. This book wasn’t for me.

This is such a cute story, and yet, I’m hesitating to call it cute because I feel like that undersells the deeper, more thought-provoking parts of the story. The internet-enemies-to-lovers part of the story is super cute. The exploration of what it means to celebrate Chinatown, Chinese heritage, and how to do that in an authentic yet modern way was very cool. I loved that we got to see both Clementine’s heart as a blogger writing about tea shops in Chinatown and also how some of the thoughts in those posts made Danny, the son of tea shop owners, feel.

Having both Clementine’s and Danny’s perspectives added complexity and nuance. It allowed us to see both the good in their intentions and the harm in their flaws. I’m sure that was not easy to write in such a natural, genuine way, but Livia Blackburne really succeeded at that.

The descriptions of tea and all that Danny and his dad would do in order to find the right suppliers, to store, prepare and serve tea in a traditional way… I loved learning about that. And the descriptions of the tea also made me really want to try things. (Okay, maybe not the Mocha Iced Oolong Cinnamon Latte, but some of the other things!)

I think readers who enjoyed THE CHARMED LIST by Julie Abe or middle graders who liked IT’S BOBA TIME FOR PEARL LI and are ready to age up into young adult books should add this one to their lists!

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

In short, this was a little underwhelming for me. I was expecting a lot more to happen both from a character/romance standpoint as well as from the standpoint of the cause they were fighting for.

While a lot of the reactions and outcomes in the book (does that sound non-spoilery enough??) probably mirrored reality very well, that’s not why I picked up the book. I was looking for a spine tingling young romance with a charitable foundation power couple. Instead, I got two people who sniped at each other more than they liked each other and very little progress on the charity front.

Danny was straight up a jerk to Clementine sometimes always being on the defensive. It was like, 'dude, you’re right but do you have to be so belligerent about it?' That’s a no go for me in my MMC. And Clementine very much had a Mary Sue thing going on for most of the story. She excelled at everything she did, she had a bunch of extra-curriculars, and she had a great group of supportive friends. Towards the end she did get the swift kick she needed, but I also felt that her realization of that was pretty glazed over. She ended up doing better, but it was almost like the character development there was a passing reference.

They weren’t super likeable characters for me, but they were fine enough for the overall story.

For the nonprofit, we saw a lot into the day-to-day boring aspects (ie, canvassing), but I didn’t feel enough really came out of the nonprofit being involved. They were definitely involved throughout the whole story and were the overarching reason our MCs started hanging out, but I was hoping for more success from the efforts, even if it was more detail into their goings on at the end of the story. Perhaps an epilogue could have been used here to state the fruits of their labor around the foundation a bit more.

Another criticism I have is I was expecting more communications to happen via their online personas than actually did, especially once one of them found out who the other was. I was a bit disappointed in how little they interacted online throughout the whole thing as I thought this would be a main feature of the book.

What I did really like was the comradery from their friend groups, as well as their internal monologues. Their friends were total MVPs! No matter what was thrown at them, their friends always had their backs and were always cheering them on. Their monologues had me dying at times! They were funny, realistic, and self-deprecating to the max, and were honestly just so good. I remember thinking a lot of the same things when I was young.

I also liked the sense of community the author built, which was a large part of the overall story. All the Aunties and Uncles, all of the various shop owners with different backgrounds, and the whole Chinatown backdrop was captured very nicely.


Final Thoughts:
Overall, I liked the idea behind this, but it lacked in execution for me. A fine read for anyone looking for an introductory to the world of YA romance.


Rating: 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Quill Tree Books, and Livia Blackburne for the opportunity to read this book. The review expressed above is honest and my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books as this eARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First, I want to say, while this book isn't perfect by any means, I LOVED IT! I also read it incredibly fast (for me)! I think I finished it in less than three days.

4.5 / 5.0 !!

Could the romance be deeper? Sure. Could the political causes around gentrification have been more in-depth? Maybe, if you wanted. Could Danny have been less pushy and/or Clementine less in pursuit of a picture-perfect Instagramable life? Maybe! But that's not this book, and that's not what I expected from it.

If you want a book that feels light and cakey, but still has some texture, this is great. It's not going to challenge any deeply held conventions, but if it's what you're in the mood for, it works.

And what I was in the mood for from this book was community building and a light romance, with the bonus of tea shops as a thematic setting. And it does all of that incredibly well.

The plot follows Clementine and Danny as they both grapple with a large corporation wanting to buy a local shopping plaza which would displace many local Chinatown businesses. One of which is the tea shop owned by Danny's parents. The pair have to work together to support the community, and each other, while also not realizing their online personas hate each other.

Now, I'm not sure if it's the tea shop aspect or Danny himself, but Danny does remind me in parts of Zuko in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" arc as Danny flip-flops from being nice to more stand-offish to nice again because he's a frustrated teenager who wants to do what's best towards both his parents and his priorities for his own life.

Danny, I would say, is a bit more practical, and Clem is more idealistic and probably leans a bit naive but still deeply cares about her community, even if she goes about it in a way that, from her online personality, the other students at her school says, comes off as inauthentic.

But honestly? The online personas part is not a large focus of the book, and while it briefly comes up near the end as part of what would be a "third-act breakup," the characters move past everything very quickly. And I think that's where this book loses a tiny bit from me because I wish that part, at least, had more depth to it.

Regardless, the ending was realistic and satisfying, and I would be happy to try another book by the same author.

I would rec this book to people who are looking for:
- Themes around building communities
- A light YA begrudging friends to dating romance (forced proximity)
- Supportive friend groups

TWs: Racism, Bullying, Food

Social media review to be posted to Instagram on 7.13 (pending), and StoryGraph soon after.

Loved this sweet story of Clementine and Danny!

These two are out to battle big corporations to save their neighborhood ..and apparently each other.

In the course of trying to save Chinatown and Danny’s family restaurant they learn a lot about themselves, each other, and humanity.

I know many kids will find this book relevant and inspiring. Definitely recommending this in my library!

good premise for the story, but the characters fell a little flat for me

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.

This was an enjoyable read that touched on topics like gentrification, culture, family and community in a really touching way, while also remaining overall fun and lighthearted. The story is set in Chinatown, and it almost feels like its own character with the level of passion it fuels in the characters and the way it brings its residents together. The story is told in alternating POVs of Danny and Clementine, and I like how they both experience and look at things differently, but also both very clearly love their community. I found myself easily invested in their joint effort to save their community from a corporate takeover, and I feel like the story realistically showed the difficulties and setbacks of that kind of activism, while maintaining a strong air of hope. And I won't spoil anything, but there's a moment at the end with Danny that just warmed my heart so much. I really liked the overall plot of the story.

I do have to say the romance element was a little more underwhelming than I was hoping for. It felt a little rushed and convenient. Like, I'm not sure what it was that made the characters feel drawn to each other romantically, aside from noticing the other as good looking. For me the romance sort of took a back seat to the rest of the story, which I actually don't mind, though if you're looking for more intense or more focused romance, you might not get what you want here. The blog identity drama also felt a little silly and not as engaging for me. It's a great way of showing how Danny and Clementine have different outlooks on a similar passion, so it was overall fine, just not as exciting as I wanted. But the overall story still engaged me, and the story is full of sweet, funny, and realistic high school moments with the characters and their friends, which adds to an overall fun tone.

What I loved the most about this story is everything taking place in Danny's family's tea shop. I loved that through these scenes I got to learn more about what a traditional Chinese tea shop can be like. I loved all of the interactions with the Aunties and Uncles and the intense mahjong games. I loved learning about Danny's history growing up with this shop as his second home. It's a central place in this story, and I think there's something special about a setting in a story shows such significance, like it's its own character. For me that setting feels like the real heart of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story. I wouldn't rate it as a top romance for me, but as a contemporary fiction? It was sweet and enjoyable and I think has a lot to offer. I would recommend.

I can commend this book for its bravery. It directly discusses gentrification and the complex problem of cultural preservation, creating space for these important topics all while maintaining its lighthearted YA tone. I really liked how the protagonists had different perspectives and how both were, in some ways, wrong, but still good-hearted and wanted the best for Chinatown. Although there was some complexity that I thought the book could've reached for in its conclusion, overall the presentation was mature! And it's a good way of introducing the topic to YA readers who might not know about it normally.

I struggled with getting attached to the characters, and the entire romance plot seemed a little rushed to me - it's as instalove as instalove can be without being completely instant. Genuinely, if I have to read another mention of some teenager's "well-defined" biceps, I will lose it. I thought that Danny was well-written, and I could relate to a lot of his internal conflicts, but I think there was just a lot of lost potential in his interactions with other characters.

In general, I felt that there was a lot of lost potential everywhere. The "secret identity" trope is so fun to play with, and it was almost never brought up. The blog subplot honestly felt shoehorned in, and imo, it caused more problems than it needed to. Clementine is always talking about how successful her blog is and how big her audience is, but then why does nobody talk about it at school? Danny casually hates on Clementine's blog in private but then suddenly his friends also hate on it too?? Clementine says she's been running this blog for YEARS, so has she been reviewing tea since she was in middle school??? I was too confused about a silly little blog for the entire book.

I think it was mostly just a clash of style: Blackburne writes about a very serious issue, and manages to introduce the complexity of it, but I didn't feel like there was any major insight delivered. Part of this, I believe, is in how the narration is also lacking. I am not joking when almost every chapter ended abruptly on some random dialogue, without internal reflection or monologue. I genuinely felt like I was missing something in my ARC. But I really admire the concept, and I think activism in YA is definitely a subgenre that can be more explored!

I thought this was a really precious teen fictional coming of age novel. Though this is meant to be a romance, what stood out to me most were the friendships each lead had. I appreciated the reality of how slow moving charity/nonprofits/any org. operates and loved the internal monologues of Clementine especially.

This was my first novel from the author and I'll be seeking out more from her!

I've been reading a lot more YA these past few months, and I've gotta say, it hasn't let me down. We've had some really good books so far, and this one definitely made it onto the list. I really liked the premise of this book and was happy to find that the characters and writing did a good of bringing it to life.

I enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for more by Livia Blackburne.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.

(Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for giving me an eARC.)

The story was a quick read about two Chinese-American teenagers who try to preserve their neighborhood community. The chapters alternate between the two main characters' perspectives. The writing flowed well, and the dialogue between the characters was realistic. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the Chinatown and the people/places that make up its community.

I feel like Danny's character is explored more in comparison to Clementine. From Danny's perspective, there's his connection to his family's restaurant, his interactions with the restaurant's regular customers, and his complicated relationship with his parents. From Clementine's perspective, it's mainly focused on her school's newspaper committee duties, her blog writing, and her work on community outreach. There's barely any interaction with her parents, and she only briefly mentions her older sister (there's no mention of their relationship besides Clementine feeling like she's living in her sister's shadow).

There was also a minor detail that did make me pause while reading. Clementine makes a flyer to recruit fellow students to join her in community outreach activities, but she makes a flyer with black text on red poster paper?

Overall, the writing was good and it was an enjoyable read.

A sweet story of community, friendship, and acceptance.

When tea blogger, Clementine, discovers that her Chinatown community is about to change, she finds an unlikely ally with Danny. Together, they will attempt to stop the corporate takeover of the neighborhood's market.

I adore how Clementine and Danny discover each other will standing up for their community. Friends, family, and community are everything, and I truly appreciate who the author incorporated all three within the story. I even love the various outcomes as the story concludes.

Two rivals find themselves coming together to help save the small businesses in Chinatown while also falling for each other... but when the truth comes out about how they actually know each other.. will their blossoming relationship survive and can they save their community before it’s gentrified? Clementine Chan runs a blog under the name Hibiscus, she reviews tea shops and larger issues within her Chinatown community... but there is one person who has it out for her and that is BobaBoy888. Clementine doesn’t know who he really is but all she knows is that he is consistently leaving sour comments on her blog posts. Danny Mok hates change and when the gentrification starts happening in Chinatown and when his own family’s tea shop might be impacted he has begun to take out his frustration through his internet alter ego, BobaBoy888, to argue with the local blogger Hibiscus. Danny thinks that Hibiscus doesn’t know what she’s talking about and goes against everything that he stands for meanwhile Clementine thinks that BobaBoy888 is just grumpy to be grumpy. What neither of them know is that they both go to the same school and are in classes together. When a major corporation reveals plans to shut down many stores in Chinatown to build a mall and other new stores, Clementine and Danny find themselves joining forces to save all the small businesses and people in their community that they adore. While working together they also begin to fall for one another.... but they still don’t know who the other truly is and when the secret is revealed, can they make their relationship work despite their differences or was it doomed from the start? This was such a cute read and it definitely had me craving some tea and basil pop corn chicken! Danny and Clementine might both have different views but they both want what’s best for their community and despite their differences, they were so cute. I had a blast reading this and would definitely recommend it!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A fun YA romance with lots of substance and originality, I would recommend this for high school book clubs. Alternating between Danny and Clementine's voices, both which come through as unique and genuine. While hitting all the beats of the rom-com genre, Blackburne brings lots of substance to the courting of Clementine and Danny without falling into moralizing. This book incorporates issues that are important to teens, including alternatives to capitalist and corporate driven community investment, cancel culture, digital citizenship, ethnic and racial stereotyping, classism within immigrant communities, and the art of tea. Yet, the compelling authenticity of the characters -- both the main and supporting characters -- is what keeps us engaged. It is hard to not fall for Clementine and Danny and root for both of them to the end..

Clementine Chan believes in the power of the written word. Under the pseudonym Hibiscus, she runs a popular blog reviewing tea shops and discussing larger issues within her Chinatown community. She has a loyal, kind following, save for this one sour grape named BobaBoy888.

Danny Mok is allergic to change, and the gentrification seeping into Chinatown breaks his heart. He channels his frustration into his internet alter ego, BobaBoy888, bickering with local blogger Hibiscus over all things Chinatown and tea.

When a major corporation reveals plans that threaten to shut down the Mok’s beloved tea shop, Clementine and Danny find themselves working together in real life to save this community they both love. But as they fall hard for this cause—and each other—they have no clue that their online personas have been fighting for years

This book is totally precious!! Clementine and Danny are budding activists trying to save Chinatown from a big corporation coming in. Clementine also has a big secret. What will happen when Danny discovers it and will they be able to save Danny’s family’s tea shop?? This book has everything you could want! It was a very cute and enjoyable read! 10/10 would recommend!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Clementine Chan has a full schedule on her plate, what with her school work, college applications, the school paper, and her popular blog. Dealing with a rogue troll, BobaBoy888, is one thing, but when she learns that a popular strip mall is about to be destroyed, and a chain move in to take it's place, Clementine joins forces with the Chinatown Cares community group, and an unlikely volunteer, Danny Mok. Danny has worked in his parents tea shop for as long as he can remember, and he hates the idea of change. Working with Clementine was not what he expected, but the more time he spends with her, helping the community, the more he thinks of his future. But he is hiding the fact that he is BobaBoy, and if the two discover just what the other has been hiding, it'll change their relationship for good.

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover, but once I started reading it, I was gripped by Clementine and Danny's story. Both have flaws, and strive for perfection, though it's not easy to find. Clementine runs herself ragged trying to be the best she can be, and takes on more and more responsibility without really considering the cost. I liked that she wobbled, and had moments of self doubt. It made her feel like a real person. She was an idealist though, and didn't always consider that her experience in life might be different to that of others. Danny felt very different to Clementine, and he relished in tradition and the old way of things. He hated Hibiscus's blog, and the way they wanted to get Chinatown to modernise. Venting his frustrations in whatever way he could, usually via comments on Babble Tea, he felt slightly better, but still, he knew that his parents way of thinking, and the Kalecorp takeover, was inevitable. I knew that there had to be moments of angst, and it definitely came, but the solution and conclusion was well worth it. A great YA contemporary!

Clementine and Danny are both students at the same high school in China Town, but don't really know one another in person. Online is another story. Clementine blogs about different tea spots in China Town, while Danny, who's parents own a teahouse in the area haaaates Clementine's blog and critiques each of her posts in the comments. But when a Wholefoods-type superstore wants to buy out the strip mall where Danny's parents' tea shop is, both he and Clementine feel passionate enough to fight the gentrification of their beloved China Town. Pairing up in real life, all the while not knowing they are online rivals, the two work side by side developing a friendship along with maybe something more.

This very much is a YA take on the movie You Got Mail and I was very here for it. The characters were charmingly imperfect and the story was delightful. I read this in almost one sitting and couldn't put it down as I was simply enchanted by the world the author created and wouldn't have minded living there a little longer. Even though the characters did deal with an array of real issues that will certainly resonate with readers, overall it left me with a light, happy feeling overall.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.