Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review. I think this one is more of a 2.5 star read for me. It did take me quite a while to read through even though it was actually such a fast paced and quick read, just because I'd put it down frequently and not pick it back up. The strongest parts of this book for me were the storylines about family, and those were really more of background. The art talks were initially super interesting but the more the artist characters talked, the more pretentious they came across - more for show than for passion. The romances were also very slow and forced even though the whole book is about honoring the ways we commemorate relationships. I did think it was a fun and creative concept that readers who are particularly into the crossover of social media and art would enjoy!

The blurb for this book really drew me in and the book did not disappoint! This was a very sweet, light-hearted read. Just what I needed. It was very fluffy, and very feel good. I chuckled a bit at the way Chloe was dumped. If you’ve seen “Overnight delivery” you’d understand. Chloe using her breakup in the form of an art exhibit was *chefs kiss*! Of course this is where things take a turn for her that she doesn’t see coming because she meets Daniel. These were two characters that you really couldn’t help but like. This gave me Netflix YA romcom feels which I have to say is my favorite!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I love anything Jennifer Chan writes. She has a way of making her characters and their struggles so relatable. Chloe is suffering from being dumped, and she does what we wish we would have done, which is be productive! She creates an art exhibit called Heartifacts, Along the way, she starts working with Daniel, and she, of course, has a crush on him, Since he's unwilling to be a rebound, Chloe has to settle for friendship, and also needs to learn how to help others while she examines her own beliefs about love. This is a really sweet book with lots of moments of humor. It felt original and fun. I recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Doesn’t everyone have an ex box? When Chloe gets dumped she gets the idea to buy other ex boxes and create an art exhibit. What a unique concept and such a fun story!
Thank you #wednesday and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This was an adorable and heartfelt story following Chloe after she turns a breakup into a project. It was so fun following her journey as she regains her confidence and independence with a potential new romance sprinkled in.

This book was one that left me with many conflicting feelings.

The good: reading about Chloe and David's cultural backgrounds and how that tied into their perspective of both dating and how they perceive the world.

The bad: the romance. Seriously. The romance was dragging on its feet for most of the novel, with Chloe claiming she was over her ex when she clearly wasn't, followed by Daniel rejecting her for those reasons. At some point it got tiring, plus the incredibly boomer-trying-to-sound-youthful was hard to read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

When her family moves across the country, Chloe’s boyfriend breaks up with her via a package he sends in the mail. The breakup inspires her to start an art exhibit featuring other items that remind other teenagers of their breakups. On opening night, she tries to stop a boy from filming his friend’s reaction to his ex’s box, which leads to a creative partnership and a huge crush for Chloe. But Daniel does not want to be Chloe’s rebound, and does not believe in love. As they work together, Chloe puts everything she has into the exhibit and into proving to Daniel she is ready to be with him.

I’ve been in a bit of a YA romance era lately, and this one was a good one. At times it was hard to believe Chloe was so young because of all she was accomplishing with her art exhibit. There was a lot of information about art and museums which was interesting, but did make the story move slowly at times. The romance itself was cute and exactly what you expect and want from a teen romance. Overall, this was a cute read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

While I'm not really a romance fan, every now and then a romance book will catch my attention and I'll just go for it. This was one of those books. Between the interesting plot and that beautiful cover, I just couldn't help myself.

Artifacts of an Ex is about a young girl named Chloe who moves across the country to help to care of her grandmother and then gets dumped via a USPS package. We then follow along as she heals her heart and figures out where she belongs in the art world.

I really liked how fun this book started out and how quickly I was able to fly through it. The art aspect of this book was really well done. It was interesting to see the relationship between artists and curators and how those roles could go if the relationship became romantic.

What I didn't like was how typical of a romance this was. Once it hit that point where the main character was figuring out who she was, it was all textbook from there. It also jumped from conflict to solution very quickly at this point.

If you are someone who enjoys friends to lovers romance that is light and airy check this one out. Even though I didn't really enjoy it that much I'm still really happy I took the chance on it.

Very interesting read! The book pulled me in from the start and I wanted to see how it ended. Try it and see if this book is for you!

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded to 4

Lovers of Emma Lord, Sophie Gonzales, and Julie Abe will fall in love with this charming debut 'Artifacts of an Ex' by Jennifer Chen. After getting dumped and having her things mailed back, Chole Chang decides to turn her heartbreak into art instead of wallowing. She starts buying other teens' "break-up boxes" and creates an exhibit based on them. Chole catches Daniel's eyes during the exhibition, sparking a creative partnership and blossoming friendship. There is only one problem: Daniel is done being the rebound. Can Chole convince him to take a chance on something real? Although I struggled to finish this one, I felt that the art, the food, and the representation this offers are essential and should be read by teens.

Tropes:
-Friends to Lovers
-Post Breakup
-Art

I love a good YA romance, but this one didn't do it for me. It was a sweet story, but it just didn't grab my attention like I wanted. However, I did love Chloe's relationship with her grandma and how her friends interacted with her as well. That was my favorite part of the story.

I really enjoyed the premise of this one. Of course, it sucks to be dumped, but I love that the main character used that to fuel her passion, and to help others by collecting the items and making the piece she did. It's something I would go out of my way to see in person if I knew it was in town. However, the book as a whole isn't memorable. Even after finishing, I struggle to remember character names and what happened throughout the book, despite reading it. I think maybe there was just a lack of depth with the character development that made it so everyone felt very flash in the pan.

I just finished Artifacts of an EX by Jennifer Chen and here are my thoughts,
When Chloe and her family had to move from NYC to LA to take care of her Grandmother, she never expected to be dumped via USPS. A box full of memories and her heartbreak. Instead of throwing it away, she decides to see if other teens got dumped with a break up box and wants to display them as art.
When she spots a teen filming his friend's reaction to his box, Chloe tries to stop him only to end up with a huge crush and someone who knows art like she does. Trouble is…. Daniel is no one's rebound boy.
Knowing she isn’t over her ex, he doesn’t want her to become another girl who runs back to her ex. Their friendship blooms but after a failed launch where influencers take away from the magic of her display, Chloe realizes her mistakes and has to make amends and listen to the other artists to really find what she was missing.
This was a really cute YA book. I actually didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I couldn’t imagine being dumped the way Chloe was but I could feel how hurt she was thanks to how gifted the author is.


I loved how the book took a completely different kind of art and let us fall in love with it too. I really loved the characters and felt they all had a beautiful cohesion. The ending was superb too.

I did feel the book lulled in a few places and I would have been happier had those parts just been cut. I did, however, loved the part about the pineapple cake. That really bought it all together.

4 stars thank you @netgalley @wednesdaybooks @stmartinspress for my gifted copy

#wednesdaybooks #netgalley #arc #YA #artifactsofanex #jenniferchan #bookreview #bookish #booklover #bookstagram #readtome

This book was adorable! The perfect fluffy romance that highlights the importance of understanding yourself and getting over heartbreak. I read this book about a month ago and still think about it. Any romance fans should make sure they pick up this book.

This was a light and quick read. If you’re in the mood for a typical YA romance, then this is something that you should pick up. It follows Chloe Chang as she moves across the country, where she gets dumped, sparks inspiration for her to create an art exhibit with boxes inspired by people’s ex-lovers and past relationships known as Heartifacts. Through this exhibit, she meets Daniel Kwak, a guy hellbent on not being another person’s rebound.

I liked Chloe’s character, but the characters and the romance lacked depth. I’m not sure if it was because the novel was a YA novel or just the story's pacing, but I feel like there could have been more chemistry between them to make the romance a bit deeper. But I did enjoy the nods to both Chloe’s and Daniel’s heritage and how the author incorporated that into the story and their love story (especially the pineapple cakes!).

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC to read!

I received an e-galley of Artifcats of an Ex by Jennifer Chen from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of this novel - Chloe is broken up through a box of memories and this inspires her to collect other people's boxes of memories to curate a collection called Heartifacts. But as she delves into using this method to get over her relationship, while also trying to get back to her ex-boyfriend, she must also figure out her reasons and motivations for doing so. When she meets Daniel and starts developing feelings for him, she needs to figure out whether her feelings are genuine if she is still hung up over her ex. This was definitely an interesting story that explores the process of relationships and break ups.

I don't think this book was my taste. I had a hard time visualizing all of the art, which made enjoying the book really difficult. I think Chen has talent but this was a miss for me.

This is a very cute and sweet story about friendships and relationships. It is told through art.

This is perfect if you would like a nice quick easy and enjoyable fluffy read. You'll whiz through this book and enjoy it if you like sentimental charm in a YA Novel.

Give this novel a try!

Thank you to st martins press, NetGalley and Wednesday book for this arc.

What a cute take on a YA romance!

Mini synopsis: inspiration strikes when newly dumped Chloe receives her breakup box in the mail from her ex. The idea? An art display of relationships. Can she pull it off? Will she ever get over her ex?

This was cute! I want to say I enjoyed the story and the characters. The plot moved along smoothly and i think everything the characters went thru together made a lot of sense. I really enjoyed the mix of physical art with Chloe’s project along side a short story filme with Daniel’s project. I liked seeing the intersection of two art forms. I also enjoyed the idea of the art exhibit. I think it’s a genius idea and i could totally see myself going to that!

Now for my critics. There was alot going on and i think some of the plot lines kind of got lost in the mix. My example here is the group working together to figure out what the missing recipe was. Maybe it’s just me but i didn’t love that storyline & it felt kind of thrown in for no real reason. Another thing that i didn’t enjoy was the scene where Daniel took Chloe to a performance art show. She was very judgey and a little rude with him and talked a lot of crap about that art form. For someone so into art and wanting to make sure everyone was seen, it felt like a weird take away that didn’t fit with her personality.

Overall, i enjoyed this author and their writing style so I will keep my eye out for their next book!

When Chloe gets dumped in the worst way ever, she decides instead of getting rid of her box of memories, she’s by other heart broken individuals memory boxes and make an art exhibit for all to see. But when Daniel decides he thinks it’s funny to film his reaction to his ex’s box, Chloe and him hit an intense standoff. He isn’t ready to add another ex to his list and she isn’t ready to see her ex with another girl, so these two decide to help each other out and put aside their hate for each other.

This was a cute light hearted YA romance. It definitely felt fitting for characters having boxes of exes just collecting and wondering what to do with them. Chloe is very artistic and taking broken things and making it into art was really unique and cool. Daniel is very guarded in himself but also a little competitive in ways.

This was my first book by this author and I honestly can’t wait for her next. It felt real and imaginative. Thank you so much to Wednesday books for a copy!