What's the worst way you've been dumped? Phone call? Text? I'm betting it wasn't via a box in the mail. But that's what happens to Chloe. And when she meets another girl at the dumpster and sees all the artifacts she is willing to throw away with her, an idea is born. An exhibit showcasing the items you have kept from an ex. Opening night goes well, until Chloe spots Daniel filming his friends reaction to finding his exes box, after they had to pass the no photo or videos sign she carefully put up. But their fight sparks an idea that has both of them working together on a creative endeavor and they quickly become friends. And a crush for Chloe. But Daniel is not willing to go out with her, see he's been the rebound guy for the last five girls he's been out with and he's not willing to let Chloe be the sixth. When her artist ex shows up with his new manager girlfriend she spirals and turns Heartifacts into a social media frenzy, and while it is successful, it's not at all what she envisioned. Chloe has to go back to basics, work with the artists, and learn all the facets of love. And maybe, just maybe, she can learn to get over her ex.

I think that the story line was super cute and a really neat idea. I'm not a huge understander of art, but I enjoy looking at artwork and appreciate what artists do. So this was a neat way to look at art galleries. I really like Daniel's character he knew who he was and what he was looking for. But I really struggled with Chloe. She was very artificial to me for the first half of the story and I didn't really connect to her until she took a break from social media and focused on her work and her family. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate her social media platform, but I got really annoyed with all of her upselling in the book. During SM posts, it made sense, but outside of that in the first couple chapters it seemed like I was reading a blog for notebook/sticker recommendations. This definitely cooled off throughout the book though, so maybe it was just a character definition kind of thing? I really enjoyed the family dynamic in this story though, I love that Chloe's family dropped everything and moved to California to be with her ailing grandma and take over the cafe. I love how Chloe interacts with her Ahma versus in other books she might have stayed away, unsure of how to handle her. I love the story of the pineapple cake, especially Daniel's point of view with it. There are a lot of things I like about this book, but I didn't love it, and it definitely wasn't for me, so take with that what you will and know that I really appreciate the author's work, voice, and unique vision.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This YA novel is a light-hearted story about teenagers learning how to navigate new relationships and feelings.

Chloe Chang has to move across the country from NYC to LA. Of course, as soon as she gets there her boyfriend from NYC dumps her via mail. He doesn't even have the decency to call her. She decides to jump into a new exhibit called Heartifacts. Anyone who has ever been dumped can show the items from their relationships. While working on this exhibit, she meets Daniel. The only issue with Daniel is that he will never date again because he is sick of being the rebound guy.

Chloe and Daniel slowly fall for each other but neither want to risk the struggles of a real relationship. Will young love overcome these emotions, or will they continue to dance around the idea of a relationship forever?

I really wanted more from this book. While it was a cute and easy read, there was a lot of fluff. There was little depth to the characters and I felt like the romance was very awkward at times. Everything happened so fast and it felt a little unrealistic. This book was just not for me, but I want to say a huge thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book!

This is a really engaging and original story. It is full of extremely likable characters. Even the ex-boyfriend is not a complete jerk and Daniel is so sweet and lovable that you just want to hug him right through the pages of the book. His relationship with Chloe is so adorable in a not cloying way that you just know they belong together.

The other relationships in the book are equally enjoyable. Chloe's friends and family are so supportive of her that it is a little unreal at times that it could all be so perfect but we definitely want to live in a world like that. Her relationship with her Grandmother is especially touching and a subtle reminder that even when the memories fade the person that you love and that loves you is still in there somewhere. All in all, it's just a charming and delightful read that we would highly recommend.

This book has the best breakup advice: the best way to get over your artist ex-bf after a cross-country move is definitely to befriend a hot filmmaker and make beautiful art together on the best not-a-dates ever. This is a friends to lovers, getting over their exes YA love story featuring influencers/artists/filmmakers which is reminiscent of the film 'The Broken Hearts Gallery'.

Overall this was a very cute and fun read with some good insight into young love and teenage heartbreak. My primary complaint is this one reads very YA, complete with blushing teens and OMG BFF texts. Additionally the conflict felt a little contrived at the end. What I did appreciate was the diverse AAPI rep and the exploration of the deep bonds of family, including what happens when a beloved grandparent starts to lose their memories. It was also so rich with mouth-watering descriptions of food that instantly made me hungry,

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my earc. A 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4 star read.

Artifacts of an Ex was not for me. The biggest problem I had with this book was the brand name dropping. Does the author have a brand partnership with Happy Planner? That plot point with Chloe felt confusing and out of place. I also found the characters to be immature and one-dimensional. Overall, I thought the book was lacking. Thank you to NetGalley, SLJ Day of Dialog, and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

this was such a cute ya read! it was a quick read, and i loved every second. i loved chloe!! and i loved the diversity of the characters.

This is a cute YA contemporary romance. Chole Chang is trying to process her breakup with her long-distance boyfriend who broke up with her through USPS and she wants her box of memories in the garbage. Instead, she starts buying other teenagers’ break-up boxes to create an art exhibit, when she gets the idea to make an art exhibit, a journey she needs to make, she meets some good friends along the way that help her realize she needs to get over her ex in order to move onto a new relationship.

First time reading from this author, Jennifer Chen, I believe you will enjoy it!! Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review thanks to Netgalley and the author, Jennifer Chen!

This was a lovely YA Romance. It gave me the nostalgia of older YA books I read “back in the day” and while the main characters were extremely driven, hard working individuals that did so much for their art they sometimes seemed like adults… they still acted like teens! It was refreshing and a lovely change of pace!

This book is officially available as of TODAY!! If you need a quick, light read — this is for you!

Thanks to #partner @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for the digital ARC of Jennifer Chen's Artifacts of an Ex. The book is out today!

Jennifer Chen’s Artifacts of an Ex is a thoughtful YA romance with a nuanced relationship at its center. Main character Chloe Chang has been dumped via U.S. mail after moving across the country with her family to take care of her ill grandmother.

Chloe’s taking out her rage and heartbreak on the box of mementos her ex sent along with the breakup letter when she meets Francesca, who has also recently ended a relationship. As they bond over their stories, Chloe gets an inspiration: a curated art show focused on “Heartifacts,” the artifacts of failed relationships. She puts out a social media request for people willing to share their own symbols of heartbreak.

On opening night, Chloe is outraged by Daniel Kwak who is filming his friend’s reaction to one of the pieces, but as Chloe and Daniel talk, they find common ground and a new friendship.

Chloe, however, wants more.

For Daniel, relationships are perilous ground: he’s been the rebound boyfriend who sends girls back to their exes five times, and he’s not eager to have a sixth such experience. So, Daniel and Chloe vow to keep things friendly, bonding over their art (Daniel is a filmmaker; Chloe sees herself as a curator) and becoming closer as they come to know each other more.

As their lives and hearts become more entangled, Chloe has to work through the feelings lingering from her own relationship, and Daniel has to deal with the vulnerability he has to embrace.

Artifacts of an Ex is such a thoughtful romance, one that focuses as much on Chloe’s need to understand her own identity as it does on the relationship at its center. Chen’s development of her characters is quite strong, and I thought the consideration of art and its goals for both Chloe and Daniel was an excellent part of the novel. Overall, this was a strong first novel by an author I’ll watch.

Cute YA contemporary romance.
Following Chloe’s journey from New York to LA, from heartbroken over a breakup to a crush to love, and from an idea forming from her break up box of love artifacts to a full blown art exhibit that gains big museum attention - this story covers a lot of ground. The strokes are broad, but also surprisingly detailed in Chloe and her friends’ idiosyncrasies. There is also a side component of her supportive family as they care for her ailing, but delightful, grandma.
In some ways I feel that the author tries to cover too much ground and throw in every type of relationship possible, as well as highlighting various foods, sites, art mediums, etc. It’s a lot. But I can also appreciate that the author is expressing inclusion, acceptance and a wide variety of experiences. A young audience might appreciate the expansive breadth that is covered. The friendships, love, and art appreciation are highlights of the story. I think this will hit well with young, open minded, artists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-arc. I loved this book so much. It was cute and everything I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can I first start off by saying this book was so stinkin’ cute?? It was absolutely such a cozy book to snuggle in bed with and just immerse myself in.

We follow Chloe, who is a high schooler that has her life together way more than me which…I don’t like admitting but it’s the truth. She moves from NYC to LA with her family in order for them to take care of her grandmother, who has dementia. She gets dumped via breakup box by her boyfriend as he sends her back her things which sparks an idea: creating an art exhibit featuring people’s break up boxes centering around themes of love.

One thing I have to say that I enjoyed was the gradual layering of the characters and story. Introducing characters in a way that doesn’t feel like they are being plopped into the story but rather like they were naturally a part of it from the get-go.

Chloe is a character that is so willing to do the work and has dedication and passion for everything she does throughout the book which I hope resonates with younger audiences that read this book. Let’s face it, I know I am not the target audience for this book but I still found Chloe endearing as a character.

Also, I have to say I like Daniel and not because he is an aspiring filmmaker that dabbles in documentary (👀) but his character is written super well. He doesn’t want to be a rebound which has hurt him several times in the past and in the story, we see how those past experiences make him react with logic rather than feeling (but also poor lad is trying not to get his heart broken again).

Let’s move to some things I did not like about this book: first I want to start with the fact that there were some parts where words that were exchanged or said were briefly explained where I would’ve preferred actual dialogue. Not only would’ve it added depth to some of the side characters but dialogue is more entertaining to read. On the topic of dialogue, I love how cheesy the dialogue was at times but it toed the line of being a bit cringe. Lastly, the resolution between Chloe and her ex boyfriend had be a bit confused because I still felt as there wasn’t proper closure in their relationship.

Aside from those aspects of the book, overall I enjoyed it. I found Chloe and Daniel’s shared geeking out over stationary so adorable. I think the way that culture was merged with the story was also really well executed, the food descriptions were stellar (and I want some pineapple cake now!), and honestly, it was a cute, light-hearted read.

4 stars
YA novel about very high-achieving kids. Overall, I sometimes had trouble suspending my disbelief that teenagers could pull off curating art shows and making art films. Also, when did they ever go to school or do schoolwork!?
Nonetheless, an enjoyable read. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

I could not get into this book as much as I tried. I love YA romance but there was something in this one that just wasn’t for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review

In solidarity with the SMP Boycott I will be withholding my review for this title until SMP addresses and denounces the racism and disinformation that one of its employees publically shared via social media and offers tangible steps of how it is going to mitigate the harm caused by said employee.

This is not a reflection of the author personally, nor is it a call to boycott buying this particular book.

This book takes getting over a break-up and turns it into an art exhibition.
It is a cute idea of taking relationship items and putting them on display, but the overall plot seemed a bit lackluster.

I felt like there was a lot of dialog that I wanted in different parts of the book. I would have liked the moving/family dynamic first instead of really starting the book from receiving the box.

Chloe and her crazy organization thing along with being so uptight bothered me a bit. Plus, Daniel and his rebound guy issues was a bit much too. I mean, this is like teenager level relationships, not forever.

Overall it was cute, but it just didn't pull out all the feelings.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

**Artifacts of an Ex comes out November 14, 2023**

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

There were plenty of things I wanted to love about this book: themes of heartbreak, new love, and the feelings they invoke in us universally. Perhaps some of it was too much to explore altogether in this one novel, or my expectations were too high, but it felt like it bit off more than it could chew.

Chloe quickly gets dumped early on in the book. Her idea to form an art exhibit from people’s shared experiences of heartbreak from an ex was unique and refreshing.

But too much focus was perhaps on the actual planning and replanning of the exhibit. She is apparently a big enough YouTuber who is known for, well, planning. As PlanItGirl, she utilizes a number of, what I guess to be, sponsored items from stationery brands for her planning journals and writing utensils. I never understood all of it as it’s not explicitly explained, so either this is a popular real brand I have absolutely no idea of or it wasn’t meant to be analyzed beyond its mention in the book.

Then we have her Asian family. There are a few side plots with them, namely the fact they moved to LA to be with her ill grandmother. Their search for the recipe ingredients in her grandma’s famous pineapple cakes was fun and I loved the dynamic with her Ahma when she could remember who Chloe was. However, nothing more substantial really takes place beyond this and it leaves me wondering if they were just plot filler to pad out the story. They all feel a little too two-dimensional for characters that did take up a certain amount of space in the book.

My biggest problem, though, was how hard it was to believe Chloe could just fall in love with Daniel so fast after such a breakup with her ex. She barely had time to process her feelings, and when her ex, Jake, popped back in her life post-breakup, she clearly had hoped to still give it another try with him if he also wanted that. This was after she had met Daniel and thought he could be someone of interest to date. With Daniel’s history and his concern as the “rebound” guy, her reassurances to him that she wouldn’t do that seems super hypocritical.

For a book about love, whether new love or loving yourself with your flaws and all, I didn’t really feel either of these things from Chloe’s journey. That, perhaps, is why it was so hard to love this as much as I had hoped from the synopsis. With more focus on this main theme, I may have learned to love it more but it just wasn’t for me.

Overall Recommendation:

Artifacts of an Ex touches on key themes of loving yourself and learning to let go before falling in love again. While I agree with these things, the execution was not as strong as I had hoped and it was hard to believe in Chloe’s newfound love for Daniel while her breakup was still so fresh. I had also wished for more about her family as they felt like filler rather than important side themes to explore in the book. Overall it was an okay read but it did take me a while to finish it.

I really really enjoyed reading this; it has all the feels. I scoffed, I laughed, I cried. Extra bonus points because I know the area (born and raised Angeleno!) and enjoyed seeing it through a fellow American born Taiwanese’ transplant’s eyes.

*I will not be posting about this book on my bookstagram until the publisher makes a statement about the disgusting remarks about Palestine*

Artifacts of an Ex Review
Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress for this eARC! This book comes out November 14th and it is a romance book for the art lovers out there!

The book takes place in LA and we get to see some parts of it through the eyes of our main character who has just moved from New York, which is cool!

Our leading lady and man are both Asian American, Chinese and Korean specifically, and the rest of the cast is diverse as well, which I love. There is non binary rep and different queer rep, as well as many cultures represented and celebrated. I especially loved how we learned about our main gal Chloe through her family’s food, like egg tarts and pineapple cakes.

I’m not much of an artist, but I still appreciated seeing the process of curating and creating works of art, as well as seeing how different interpretations are considered when putting an exhibit together.

I really enjoyed that this book is a romance book, but that kind of strays from many of the typical tropes and lets it be a slower burn. The whole premise of the book is what is love and what isn’t love, so there are a lot of discussions about love, heartbreak, and moving on from breakups.

Overall, I really liked being able to jump into a world/hobby/career/passion that is very different to mine and learn so much through the characters. The romance was slow but very sweet and consistent, so it keeps you hooked.

Recommended: sure
For a surprisingly entrepreneurial young adult novel, for a character who DEFINITELY fails and then learns from it, for heavy emphasis on being honest with yourself

Thoughts:
There were things about this book that annoyed me, but overall they were minor and the larger themes and beats were strong. The biggest detractor was that I didn't really like the main character, but I think that's a me-problem.

Starting with the bad, the small things were minimal, like her calling Los Angeles La La Land more often than not. That just felt really... touristy and tacky to me? Like living in Chicago and calling it your Windy City or Boston and calling in Beantown. One of those things that's like, tell me you aren't from here. Cringy, you know? 🙄

The larger issues with Chloe are how the things that she feels are world-ending are so bafflingly not. She's a young teen so it's not unbelievable that something incredibly minor could feel, to her, like the worst thing that has happened in her life. But I didn't feel that way, and it put a lot of distance between me and her as I started to feel like she was a bit of a willful idiot. The Big Incident at her ex's show is incredibly underwhelming and it made everything else feel weaker. The other choices she makes just seem so clearly bad and incorrect. I guess age and hindsight help, but boy it was tough to get on board.

On the plus side, though, the focus after her mistakes is her learning from them and actually changing the way she does things. I'm all about that message, especially for a younger audience, but I think everyone can use that reminder to do the same every now and then.

The art aspect was interesting to see some of the setup and behind the scenes, but the art itself, both from Chloe and from Daniel was kind of... meh. Since the art plays such important parts in this story having it fall a little flat for me took the whole story down a bit. In particular, one of the Big Gesture moments at the end hinges on art and at the end of it's scene I was just like, wow that was really shitty and poor. Sorry. 😅 Instead of making me smile or tear up at how sweet it was, I felt almost indignant thinking "THAT was the best you could come up with??" No thanks. But again... age differences... maybe that's mattering for me right now. 😅

So overall I didn't like Chloe very much and I didn't care for anyone's art very much, but the themes of the story were strong and that's what I enjoyed more than the actual characters. It was sort of a meh read for me, but if you're more interested in art and okay with characters who do truly act their age (read: naive, inexperienced, often wrong) then this is probably a hit for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.