Artifacts of an Ex
DNF - This book just wasn’t for me.

I tried to enjoy this story, I loved the cover and the concept. I also enjoyed the representation. But unfortunately, I just could not connect with any of the characters. One chapter in, and I found the writing and voice of the main lead to be cringy. Though this is a YA, there was not really much depth to the characters or plot. I did try to enjoy it but unfortunately, I am not the right audience for this read. My review reflect my personal experience with this book, and it might be different for readers.

**I received a complementary electronic copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the gifted arc.

The cover was stunning. The synopsis sounded so promising. But the book ultimately didn’t deliver.

If you’re looking for a fluffy, surface-level romance, this one is fine. There’s not much to it. You can read the synopsis and you’ve pretty much read the book.

The writing isn’t terrible, but it definitely isn’t great either. There’s no tact to the descriptions, and it’s incredibly dialogue heavy. I don’t mind a book that’s dialogue heavy—but it needs to have really good banter, and this one just did not deliver.

Overall it’s fine, but it’s not one I’d ever recommend.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All views reflected are my own.

This was a standard, but still cute, contemporary YA romance. I liked the concept of the "Heartifacts" exhibit and Daniel always being a rebound. A bit too standard and straightforward for me to really love this, but I think this would work well for younger YA audiences.

Artifacts of An Ex-a standalone
by Jennifer Chen-1st time read author

✔️ YA, Contemporary Romance
✔️ Artists
✔️ family
✔️ clean romance

This is the story of 17-year-old Chloe Chang who moves with her family from New York to LA to care for her grandmother Ahma who has dementia. Her long-distance boyfriend Jake breaks up with her via a Dear Jane letter mailed to her with a shoebox full of memories of their relationship. She turns her pain into an art exhibit for all the teenagers who have been devastated by a breakup.

The world building is Chloe learning to embrace LA life. Living in New York made her a little jaded. She learns that friends and connections are a necessary part of the making her dreams come true. When Chloe meets and befriends Francesca and Daniel, she is introduced into the local art community. She gets the idea of creating an exhibit out of the shoebox mementos.

The characters- Chloe is 17 years old but very driven and knows what she wants. It's a true luxury to know your purpose and have the passion and courage to follow through with it. She even has a YouTube channel "Plan It Girl" where she shares life hacks. Daniel agrees to work with her on a collaboration project Heartifacts but wants to keep things professional. He knows Chloe recently broke up with someone and she still has feelings for her ex. He doesn't want to be the rebound yet again. This reminded me of the movie Good Luck Chuck where Dane Cook dates a woman, they break up, and she finds her soulmate. Daniel has been the rebound guy at least 5 times where the people he dates end up back with their exes.

Overall, I liked the idea of Heartifacts with Chloe and Daniel working together but I would have liked some more steam. I did like the relationship between Daniel and Ahma. It showed how to honor and respect elders. It showed how a community is supposed to help each other, just as Ahma did before she stopped working at the cafe.


Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐

~•~•~
Published 11/14/23, Read 11/11/23.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC 🩷! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Chloe moves across the country from NYC to LA with her mom and dad to help take care of her Ahma. Soon after she arrives, she receives a box from her boyfriend in NYC, Jake. Inside the box, she sees a letter from him telling her that he was dumping her and returning all of their cute little relationship things. Her first reaction is to throw the whole box away but she soon gets the idea to buy other teenagers' break-up boxes to create her art exhibit, Heartifacts. On opening night, she sees Daniel Kwak filming his best friend's reaction to his ex's box. When she attempts to stop him, an intense argument ends up launching a creative partnership and friendship. Chloe quickly starts crushing on Daniel because he is such a nice guy.

However, there is one problem: Daniel will not be another rebound for another girl.

He explains to Chloe that he has been the guy who makes the girls that he's dating realize that they want to get back with their ex five times. FIVE TIMES. He refuses to let this happen a sixth time. Chloe denies this all and tells Daniel that she is over Jake but when Jake shows up with his new girlfriend, it turns out that Daniel was right. She was not over Jake at all.

Chloe throws herself into making Heartifacts successful, but flashy influencers who don't care about the message of her exhibit threaten her original vision of it. Chloe decides that she needs to start living for herself and reevaluate how she wants her exhibit to be and decides to go back to the basics.

This was such a cute little romance. I really liked how Jennifer Chen went into a lot of detail about Chloe so that I could really understand her as a character. I was rooting for Daniel the whole time and thought it was a great story. If you want a quick cute read, then this book is for you and it is out 11/14/23. Get you a copy then!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lighthearted feel good YA story that explored relationships with art, and while the concept was cute, it didn’t quite deliver like I had hoped.

While this book is certainly YA, there were times it felt simultaneously cringy and like the characters were older than their teenage selves. More often than not Chloe felt like she was older than 16 due to her many connections and life experiences like working at the MET and yet her constant pining after Daniel before quickly hopping back to wanting Jake then back to Daniel when Jake wasn’t working out like she wanted was like whiplash. I wanted to like her character more but the inability for her to stop going back and forth between the two boys drove me crazy.

I did really like the overall cast of characters and the diversity of them, even if they were all pretty superficial and needed more depth. Lots of cute moments amongst the cringe and I liked the value placed on friendships and relationships as well as family.

The concept itself was really cute and I liked the intricacies of the art and differing perspectives while staying true to the overall message of the rollercoaster that is love. I just would’ve liked the characters to be more fleshed out and a stronger plot.

When your ex dumps you by sending you a box of your stuff, whats a girl to do except create an art exhibit based on it? Chloe Chant gets dumped after moving across the country from NYC to LA via a box of her stuff from her ex. She decides to start buying other teenagers' break-up boxes and create an art exhibit, Heartifacts. On opening night she meets Daniel Kwak, an aspiring film director illicitly filming his best friend's reaction to his ex's box. Chloe tries to stop him, but what start off as an argument turns into a partnership as they decide to work together... and Daniel might just be Chloe's new crush. Daniel refuses to date Chloe though, he tells her that he's always been the rebound guy for the girls he dates, he's the guy girls date and realize they want to get back with their ex and he refuses to let it happen a sixth time. Chloe insists she's over her ex but when he shows up unexpectedly with a new girlfriend... Chloe's beginning to realize that she might not be ready for a new relationship. Daniel and Chloe will spend time working together and bonding but their feelings will also grow and Chloe will have to find a way to convince Daniel they're perfect for each other. This was an okay romance read it just didn't really spark much interest for me. I liked the idea of making something out of a breakup and how two creatives come together and fall for one another but I just felt like there wasn't much going on and I kind of wish there was a bit more depth. Overall it was okay it just wasn't amazing. If you're looking for teen romance then give it a go maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really liked the premise of the book, but I think that's where it stayed: a cool premise. From the opening pages, the book steamrolls all the way to the end. I get that it's supposed to be a romance, but not once do we get to pause and learn more about why Chloe wants to be an art curator, what Daniel's home life is like (beyond cursory mentions of his umma and halmeoni,) or what anything/anyone at school is like for Chloe in LA. She keeps talking/thinking about how much she hates Los Angeles and how she misses NYC, but then she's using slang like a stereotypical Californian (and my own two teenagers would say that no real teenager uses "totes" and "obvi" in actual conversation. They talk like that to make fun of the movies/TV/books poking fun at teens in California.)

I kept wondering, as I was reading, what the rush was. Why do we need to zoom through Chloe's breakup and into her friendship/relationship with Daniel, their little tiffs, and the setup/breakdown/rebirth of Heartifacts? This book is a perfect example of the term "breakneck." The story starts from the first page and doesn't let up until the end. It doesn't let its characters or readers linger in any of the sweet moments long enough, which makes all of them as well as everything else Chloe does feel superficial and artificial at best.

Also, for all her talk of making videos and having connections to a social media fan following, I'm still not clear at all what kind of influencer Chloe is. I think it has something to do with staying organized...? Not sure. All I know is that there are a lot of stickers and highlighters and planners involved. Which is all well and good, except that I don't see what that has to do with art curation. We know, because the narrative tells us, that Chloe cares about curating art, but we have no clue why it matters so much to her. If we don't know, it won't matter to us as readers.

Another reviewer asked where Chloe's parents fit into her life as an influencer (especially financially,) and I wondered the same thing. I'm so grateful that Jennifer Chan chose to depict Chloe's parents as normal people with a loving relationship, but they feel so hands off that I would often forget they were there along with her grandmother. And her "disaster" with her ex-boyfriend's gallery showing really didn't sound so awful. It got built up to be something so bad that people would have left the gallery angry or crying or something; when we finally get details on what went wrong with the showing, it just sounded so underwhelming that I kept expecting there to be more information later on.

All in all, the main goal of this book seems to be twofold: to share a cool art exhibit idea and to include every kind of diverse character possible. The intention is noble, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to make a cohesive, thoughtful novel on young love and heartache.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jennifer Chen and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Chloe cannot believe she was dumped through the mail after moving from New York to LA. She wants to throw the box away but then is inspired to use it to create an art exhibition. Using hers and buying break up boxes from other teens, she creates an exhibition called "Heartifacts". During opening night she meets, Daniel who is filming his best friend's reaction to his box. Chloe tries to stop him but it turns into a discussion, crush and a partnership.

Will the popularity of the exhibit cause others to try to change it? Will Chloe be able to heal Daniel's broken heart?


A cute and fun YA read! It would definitely make a cute Netflix romcom.

This book started out strong, I liked the initial meeting between Chloe and Daniel and was excited for their story. The little fake dating storyline was also good and could tell that they liked each other. But then it felt like everything stopped and slowed down after the first couple of chapters. Chloe and Daniel ended up becoming repetitive in this will they won’t they relationship. And the big I Love You moment just felt out of place. Yes, they were friends but I didn’t see enough of them together with the kind of chemistry and tension and feelings that would make be believe they love each other (maybe Chloe but not Daniel). Beyond the relationship, everything else including the characters felt kinda surface level. I didn’t find myself caring for the characters or the art show.

Overall, this was a cute ya romance but wasn’t really for me.

Read if you like…
•ya romance
•fake dating
•love triangle
•art

Budding curator and full-fledged teenager Chloe moves from NYC to LA with her family to take care of her aging grandmother and finds herself dramatically dumped via the mail by her artsy-oh-so-dreamy boyfriend.

The breakup sparks an idea of an art exhibit about breakups, which leads her to meet the one who doesn’t want to be her boyfriend, as well as her new west coast best friend. Together, they fumble through numerous iterations of the exhibit, with some painful failures and adorable rom-com moments. Chen captures the awkwardness and dramatics of being a teenager, without being condescending.

I appreciated the casual and natural diversity within this book, as well as the artistic failures. I’m definitely not used to the simplicity of YA anymore; however, it was an adorable and heart-warming read for anyone who’s ever been on the bad end of a breakup.

Another short review from me!

What got my attention for this one was the cover. It’s adorable! I also thought the blurb was unique since it centered around exes. I don’t think I have read many other books with something along the same line. I was definitely intrigued.

The book is on the shorter side and so it is easy to get through in one sitting if that is what you are looking for. Everything is very light and surface level. It’s for sure a popcorn read, but sometimes that is what you need. Something that is light and will give you a good feeling when finished. There isn’t much that happens that the blurb doesn’t cover. I liked the relationship between them and Chloe learns a lot about relationships throughout.

Overall, this was a good book.

I found Chloe to be a bit over the top and irritating. The whole influencer culture is a bit much nowadays. Obviously I am not the target audience for it but I do feel like Chloe even regretted jumping into the extreme influencer vibe. Chloe comes across as a character that should be much older than 16. This seemed like it could have been more realistically set in her college age and felt more connected than a 16 year old that has had her first break-up then within a couple of weeks is in love with someone else. I did like that Chloe was willing to listen to constructive feedback as was Daniel. They are wise beyond their years. I like that the main characters are diverse. I also liked how the author handled Chloe's grandmother's dementia. Those interactions were the most real ones during the story. I do think the target young adult audience will find a lot to like about this book but even some of them may find it a stretch for a 16 year old to do all of the things Chloe does without income (maybe she's getting income from her videos but I don't recall that being mentioned).

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This is a cute, coming-of-age rom com about a high school infuencer who gets dumped by her boyfriend when her family moves from NYC to LA to take care of her grandmother with dementia, and she decides to create an art exhibit from the artifacts of relationships that have ended. I enjoyed much of the story - the art and artists were fascinating, and the side story of the grandmother's dementia was interesting. There were times that I felt that I wasn't the intended audience, and the whole influencer culture wasn't for me (I'd hate to be a teenager today!), but overall it was a heartwarming story about moving on and opening oneself to love again. I'd definitely read more by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the advance digital copy!

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I think YA contemporaries are slowly no longer becoming a genre I enjoy. Yes, there are rare instances but the more I read newer release, I almost feel a bit of a disconnect... I know I'm not the target audience, so blame me if you want to.

I couldn't get over how pretentious the main character, Chloe, was. She was accomplished, don't get me wrong, but she simply had a lot going on and it seemed so overkill for a 16-year-old in high school. Chloe plans very extravagant things as well but all the while I kept thinking, "Her parents are just giving her money like this? She doesn't have a job! Where is she getting the money?!" Is this too...adult of me to say? lol She claims so soon to be in love with Daniel and I'm like, "Girl, it's only been a couple of weeks!" I almost felt like this would do well as a new adult novel with Chloe in college, and trying to see her balance these things she enjoys with the newness of college. The constant stereotypes or cliches regarding Los Angeles and New York City made me roll my eyes. It's as if she's living in two different countries rather than two different states. Chloe's best friend, Selena, wasn't helping either.

What I did like that we have an East Asian main character with parents who actually showed affection to one another AND didn't pressure their daughter to become a doctor of some kind. I appreciate the scenes with Chloe's grandmother as well, and how her family has become caregivers to her as she is in the early stages of dementia.

Perhaps I would relate to this book more if I had dealt with a lot of breakups and heartache when I was a teenager, but to be honest I didn't, and it wasn't something I actively sought out either.

I immediately wanted to read Artifacts of an Ex based on the cover. The synopsis sounded interesting and I wanted to "buy in". However; the writing felt juvenile to me and I couldn't connect to anything happening. Unfortunately, I "did not finish" this book at the twenty percent mark.

I really enjoyed this book. Chloe was adorable and so passionate about everything. I liked Daniel, Vincent, Francesca, Serena, and Chloe’s parents and grandmother. The story did a good job with side characters who weren’t flat. This was a quick read. It was familiar to read about Ahma’s dementia having gone through that personally and it was done well. This was such a cute read and I had a blast with this book!

I thought this book was so cute and sweet. Sure, it did have moments when the story seemed to slow down and sometimes there was a bit too much detail. Still, I thought it was a good read with characters that were fully fleshed out and story that felt realistic. I loved that she was a planner and how she and Daniel connected. I also liked how it highlighted her adjustment to LA (cuz I’m sure that I would have been the same way.) This was a nice read that I would suggest others give a try. I will lookout for more books from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

🦇 Artifacts of an Ex Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ Welcome to Heartifacts. I didn't intend to start an exhibit of my ex-boyfriend's objects, but when we broke up, it inspired me to find out what other people saved from the ruins of their relationships. Like fossil excavating, but for the lost bones of love. ❞

❓ #QOTD What items have you kept from a past relationship OR what reminds you of an ex? ❓

🦇 After moving from NYC to LA, Chloe Chang never expected her boyfriend to dump her, let alone via a box of her belongings. Instead of chucking those memories in the trash, she uses her heartbreak as inspiration and begins an art exhibit; a collection of break-up boxes from other teens. At the opening of the Heartifacts exhibit, Chloe meets Daniel, who offers to enhance the exhibit with a film reenactment of a relationship's progression, with Chloe and Daniel as the stars. Their fake dates lead to real feelings, but Daniel doesn't want to be the rebound. Can Chloe make Heartifacts successful, and prove to Daniel her feelings are real?

❝ When you're in love, you figure out how to express it. ❞

💜 On the surface, Artifacts of an Ex is a cute friends-to-lovers young adult romance. If you look beyond that, you'll find a story about healing and community through art, letting go of perfectionism, finding your tribe, and recognizing your self-worth. Chloe develops so much as a character, not only as she heals from her heartache, but as she finds a new home for herself in LA. The strongest component of the story is through the art pieces themselves. Each one conveys a different version of love--how we heal from it, how it changes us, how each person we meet and interact with becomes another paint stroke on the canvas that is our story. I also adored the friendships, how the community comes together to help Chloe's grandmother, and all the heartwarming fluff.

🦇 While this is a cute, layered debut novel, the pacing was a little exhausting. Between the fake dates, navigating her heartache, trying to help her grandmother, and curating the exhibit, Chloe stretches herself thin--which stretches the story thin as well. I also wish we learned more about Daniel outside of his passion for filmmaking and history as 'the rebound guy.' There's immediate chemistry between Chloe and Daniel, but Chloe's attraction toward him feels so immediate (thank you, mutual organizational stationery obsessions) that we don't really experience the transition from friends to more. There's a little repetition as well, which further causes the pacing to drag.

❝ You want to control everything. Plan it all out. Love isn't planned. It's messy. It's full of mistakes and stupid things you say. It's dopey as hell. ❞

🦇 Recommended for fans of cute YA romances with (sort of) fake dating! Ideal for fans of Emma Lord and Jenny Han. Get ready for some serious heart eyes.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🫖 AAPI FMC & MMC
💌 Friends to Lovers
🩷 YA Contemporary Romance
🎨 Power of Art
🏳️‍🌈 Queer Side Characters

🦇 Major thanks to the author @jchenwriter and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #artifactsofanex

This book follows Chloe who's just experienced her first break up in a new city, and as part of her healing process, she decides to put together a gallery exhibit that highlights meaningful objects (artifacts) of anonymous relationships. I did find the premise very interesting but the book was a little slow paced for me. With that said, it was still interesting and a cute read and I think it may be more suitable for the YA readers. Her cast of friends was enjoyable and there is representation of LGBTQ+ and disability in this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.