I really, really wanted to love this one! It sounded like the most adorable thing, and I even share a name with the main character! But I just didn't love the writing style. Of course, that's just me and my opinion; purely a personal thing!

3 ⭐ for adult readers
4⭐ + for YA readers

As an adult reader, I would say this is a good suggestion for older teens and early 20's. The characters are fun and the premise is relatable. When the MC (Chloe) is dumped, her ex ships her back a shoe box full of her things. She is inspired to curate an art show with breakup shoe boxes, full of raw edges and emotion.

Moving from NYC to LA is hard enough without a breakup, but now she misses her friends and wishes she knew where things went wrong. When she starts making new friends, and realizes that being dumped is a universal feeling that connects people, she knows she is onto something.

Throughout the story of new friendship, self discovery, and young love, we also get to meet Ahma, Chloe's grandmother that has Alzheimer's. Her family is on a quest to perfect the pineapple cake recipe her Ahma used to make.

Sweet and age appropriate, this YA novel is a fun read for summer travel! (Or anytime!)

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

I thought this book was super cute. I really enjoyed it and the writing and cast of characters. I loved the idea of the exhibit being pieces of an old relationship. It would be something I would want to/go to see in real life. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

Chloe just moved to the other side of the country and gets a package from her boyfriend. Well it’s a breakup package and also her first real heartbreak. Chloe decides to start an art exhibits of “Heartifacts” which is memorabilia of breakups from different people. She meets a guy named Daniel, who is into film, during her first exhibit and they start a friendship. Feelings become stronger but Daniel isn’t really one to do rebounds. He also doesn’t think Chloe is over her ex. Can Chloe prove to Daniel that they would be good together or will this be another heartbreak in the book?


This was a cute and fun little read. It’s shows friendship and relationships. I liked the characters and the plot for this story. I found it unique and have honestly never read a book like this which was super fun. It was super fast pace and I really like that about a book. Over all it’s a fun book to read and I think people would really enjoy it.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Artifacts of An Ex was a well executed rom-com. I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the main story about the blooming relationship between Chloe and Daniel. Sometimes I wanted to stick my hands in the book and wring their necks and tell them they were being crazy, but then I remembered they are teenagers and they eventually figure it out. I liked the art nerd culture within the book- Chloe's pursuit of being an art curator and Daniel's interest in documentary film making- it took the book to another level for me. There was also a lot of great cultural content which I always appreciate and gravitate towards. I love that Chloe's family, and her grandmother's cake recipe- are a huge part of this story. If you love cute ya love stories, you will want to devour Artifacts of An Ex.

This is such a fun book! I wanted to eat all of the food that was talked about throughout this book. I adored this family, the way they work together for the shop and help Ahma with her memory.
The chemistry between Chloe and Daniel was definitely there.
I liked the new friendships Chloe makes too. I also liked how she is really learning what she wants and how to move on. Anyone who has had heartbreak can relate. I love that she wants people to see through art that they understand and have been there too.
I loved all her planning and organizing too.
I think the teens at my library will really like this one! Such a fun read!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

As someone who struggles in her own dating life. I've really been loving reading books about starting over again after a rough breakup. There was also a breakup museam in LA a couple years ago that had similar themes to Chloe's art exhibit. It was a lot of fun,.

The whole book was an absolute delight. I loved Chloe and Daniel as well. Also adore the fact that it was set in LA and following along with their dates.

A rom-com with a twist. This sweet romance starts with a move across the country and a breakup. Chloe takes her memories of her relationship and starts to throw them out, but has an epiphany. What about all the other "artifacts" people had thrown out from relationships before? She takes this idea and pours it into the idea for an art exhibit. Having a new project to focus on Chloe is sure she is close to getting over her ex, that is until she meets Daniel. Chen does a great job of adding real emotions to a breakup. This is a book that will connect with any reader that has gone through a heartbreak of any kind....so all readers. I love the setting of LA and finding the different aspects of the city that are not as popularized.

The author is an Angeleno with a couple of writing degrees from NYU, now married to a TV writer, and this Young Adult rom-com is her first published work. It suffers from some of the usual sort of freshman novel woes, but overall it’s pretty good.

At sixteen, Chloe Chang (who apparently Taiwanese-American, but maybe shares some other Asian backgrounds, too)is not an artist but she knows artists and she she understands their art and how their minds work. What she wants is to be a curator, the person who creates an exhibit of someone’s art -- who makes a show, which is an art in itself. She was beginning to make a mark in her native New York (though she messed up her boyfriend’s first solo show), but then her grandmother, who runs a coffee and shop and bakery in LA begins having memory problems and wandering around in the street -- and suddenly she and her parents have uprooted themselves and sped off to California to help.

She’s willing to give SoCal a shot, though it’s not an easy adjustment for a New York girl, but then her back-home boyfriend, Jake, takes the opportunity to end things and sends he a box of all their mementos via UPS -- a “breakup box.” Chloe quickly goes from devastated to angry at being dumped long-distance, and she’s about to chuck the box and its contents in the dumpster, when she has a thought: Other young people of both sexes and a variety of orientations break up all the time. Why not create a “found art” show of the memorabilia they get back, the stuff that reminds them of what they’ve lost and what it means to them? She’ll call it “Heartifacts.” There’s a community center near the family’s business that includes an exhibit space, and they’d love to have her -- and they’d even like to establish a small coffee and baked goods colony for those who attend. And she’s making some new friends who are interested in helping -- especially Francesca Cruz, who knows everyone Chloe needs to meet.

That’s the beginning of Chloe’s healing from her heartbreak, which is shortly helped by meeting Daniel Kwak, an apparently Korean-American filmmaker her age whose gay bet friend (who, naturally, is a dancer and gorgeous) has a breakup box of his own to contribute to the proposed show. Daniel has his own history, of course; every girl he dates ends up going back to the boyfriend she broke up with. He’s a “rebounder,” and he hates it, so he’s not in a hurry to date anyone anymore. (Well, you know that’s not going to last, right?) Anyway, Daniel has a suggestion about adding media to Chloe’s show, a short film that would run in the background, encapsulating what it means to break up with someone, and Chloe is immediately on board with that.

It’s s pretty good story, but, as I say, there are some problems. Chen sometimes tries too hard to make her characters very artistic-gay-Asian-teen hip, and it comes across as uncomfortably self-conscious. Chloe also doesn’t appear to know any “normal” people. Everyone in the story is ultra-talented in one way or another, which is also a frequent first-novel mistake because it’s unrealistic and makes it difficult for younger readers to relate to them. But by the same token, when they’re dealing with crushes and breakups and all that, Chloe and her new friends come across as typical teenagers. But when they’re talking about art and curating and museums and so on, they sound more like thirty-year-olds with MFAs. They’re simply too knowledgeable and too experienced-sounding about the details of the art world to pass for sixteen. But the actual writing is quite good and there’s enough thought given to what Chen wants to say about falling in love and the often resultant heartbreak that I will definitely be interested in whatever she comes up with next. The publisher is comparing her to Emma Lord and Jenny Han, but we’ll see.

I DNF'd this book because I found the first quarter of the book so cringey. The breakup between the main character and her ex felt emotionless. It felt like a very strange interpretation of how teenagers act. Maybe the book gets better as it goes on, but I just could not find the motivation to continue further.

Artifacts of An Ex is a cute, light romcom and coming-of-age story where Chloe experiences the aftermath of a heartbreak. I liked Asian American representation especially in the arts and how Chloe had such a supportive group of friends. The different dynamic between New York's art scene and California's creatives was an interesting addition to the story as well. Overall, there wasn't too much in the story that felt memorable or stood out. It was an easy read that I think younger girls will enjoy!

the first thing that really made me interested in this book was the cover. the cover is so beautifully done i just knew i had to read it! i absolutely loved all the diversity in this book and i loved the main characters. i felt really connected to both chloe and daniel, which made this book a lot more enjoyable for me. i felt the idea for this book was extremely originally and i had never even heard of something similar to this before. i just felt that this book wasn’t quite for me. it was lacking something for me but i still found it to be quite an enjoyable read.

This was cute and adorable and I loved every second of it. It took me back to my high school days in the best way possible and I loved the somewhat fake dating, somewhat slow burn aspects of the story. Chloe and Daniel were such fun characters, and their friends group was strong. I loved the familial relationships,as well as the aspects of culture and illness and caring for loved ones. I will definitely be checking out more from Jennifer Chen.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute, light-hearted story about friendships and relationships told through art.

And I don't have much more to say than that. This is a quick read that covers all of the basics and delivers exactly what the synopsis promises it will. Is it a bit surface level? Sure, but it's enjoyable fluff.

All in all, this has all the sentimental charm that lovers of contemporary YA fiction should enjoy.

Publishing Date: Nov 14, 2023

Artifacts of An Ex
Jennifer Chan
E-book ARC
Rom-Com
Teen YA
Pages: 222


Why aren't these kids in school? Only mentions a "school night" once then nothing else 😂

Basically, a group of teens who each have an artistic background - mainly focuses on Chloe and Daniel.

Chloe and her parents moved to LA from NYC for her ahma. I notice there is a language barrier with Chloe and her ahma. Another event that was major to Chloe was her ex boyfriend breaking up with her after the move!!

I wished she took the time to work on healing first before trying for another relationship. And taking criticism, yeah it's hard but it was needed to help her grow.

And her ex, what a douche! He should have ended things differently with Chloe. *rolls eyes* and his new boo, ughh!

I also wish there was more to the story than what was presented. It was all around a boy, art and not understanding her feelings. I would've loved it more if she actually maybe took the time to understand learn her language or something that helped her communicate with her grandmother more.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. It’s possible that I’ve just aged out of the YA rom-com genre, but I felt like this could’ve been much better. I didn’t feel like the two main characters had any real chemistry, and the dialogue didn’t feel realistic to me. I never felt like Chloe was actually that upset about her breakup, and I didn’t feel any sense of urgency behind her setting up her exhibit. The characters didn’t feel completely developed to me and the plot felt very surface-level.

This was really cute, but it was YA and while I enjoy reading YA, sometimes it feels young and this is one of those times. That isn't bad, it just wasnt for me. Overall adorable and if you are into "younger" YA this is for you!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for a review!

this was such a cute cozy read that was the perfect remedy for my week! I loved each and every character and the overall message of the story.

This book is so much more than just a rom-com or a story about teen angst. Chloe is a teen that is transplanted from the East to the West coast. She is searching for her place in California among the art crowd, as well as making new friends while trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. When her boyfriend dumps her by mail, she chooses to find an artistic expression for her heartbreak. She takes on a big challenge to create a showcase that goes through numerous revisions as her art reflects her own emotional development. The message is a wonderful one. The different art projects are described so well that I could see and feel them - I’ve never read text that held so much texture! The author has a powerful way with words. This novel was not only entertaining, but also shows you how to see the good in all stages of a relationship (even one that ends). Through it all there is hope and optimism and joy. I only wish it ended with a recipe for the pineapple cake!

This rom-com is as predictable as any other. Girl is annoyed with boy, then falls in love with boy, boy doesn’t want girl, girl fights for boy, boy comes to his senses, boy and girl start dating. The unexpected parts in this are in the art. Chloe aspires to be an art curator, and despite having had a disastrous show in New York City, being newly transplanted in LA has inspired her to come up with an exhibit about breakups and being in love. What doesn’t work very well is the one-sidedness of the story. While there is a bit of a side story with her aging grandmother, there is very little else about her family life, and her school life is non-existent to the point where I found myself wondering whether she even went at all. Not being someone who knows about art shows, I was left wondering at the plausibility of the story–would a space let you have it for free all year long without any ongoing exhibits or entrance fees? Do artists just give up their art pro bono? How many teen art curators are there? Minus the logistics that don’t add up, I love a good rom-com, so if you are looking for a light read, this will fit the bill.