Absolute banter between the two main characters. They are both college students studying abroad, who have mutual friends. The development of their relationship was great

Didn’t love this book. The characters kind of sucked and didn’t have me rooting for either of them. It was a struggle to get through

I was able to read this because NetGalley provided with an arc. I loved this romance. Ana Huang is a staple on my tbr list. Great Read. I would read more by this author.

Unfortunately, this fell flat for me. I did not enjoy one of the tropes in here, but that wasn’t a deal breaker. It was a bit boring, but I might continue and read the sequel!

I struggled with this one. It was a bit tough to get into the story but maybe I wasn't in the right mindset. I liked the setting and authentic voices.

This is my first Ana Huang book and omg I have been missing out on her story telling and her writing. I know understand why the world loves her books the banter and the characters chemistry

I have really enjoyed reading Ana Huang books, and have had high expectations from her. I was shocked because this book did honestly frustrate me some of the time with Blake

This book was awful. I enjoyed the twisted series by this author so I saw her name and grabbed this book. But wtf did I read. The mmc is an asshole and very much a man slut. The mfc is of course a virgin and the mmc just walked all over her. This was not enjoyable at all. The plot was just as bad.

Such an amazing book. I have not one bad thing to say about it! I need more! So good! Ana Huang made me feel all the emotions and she has a beautiful writing style!

I was hoping for more with this one. I've read Ana Huang's more recently published books and they've been so engaging but this one didn't quite do it for me. Not to say it was something that was a disappointment to read but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I had to keep reminding myself that this was Ana Huang's debut and I shouldn't have my expectations be so high. Still looking forward to reading the rest in this series - feels like I committed now!

This fell short for me, which was unexpected. The plot wasn’t bad but I wasn’t loving it. And there were some tropes I really didn’t love that I also didn’t think were totally necessary to the plot. I’d be interested in the next book for the happy ending however

This is Ana Huang's true debut and it shows. It's not perfect but it reflects her roots as an author and I enjoyed seeing her growth since! I wish the characters were developed more and the romance wasn't so back-and-forth, strife with elements that tend to frustrate most romance readers like miscommunication and cliffhanger break-ups. But it's nice to see the beginning of an author's illustrious career like this!

Honestly, I didn't have too many opinions on this book for the most part. The beginning was okay. The characters were okay, flawed teenagers who are slightly spoiled but hard-working. And it was nice to see a book set in Shanghai which is one of my parent's hometown. HOWEVER, towards the end of the bok, it contained two tropes that I did not really like and while I understand that the inclusion of said tropes were to set up the next book, I felt like it wasn't completely necessary and that the ending could've just been reworked.

But since this book was a fast read and okay overall, I'll rate it a low 3 stars

I was afraid to start this book because I knew it was a two parter and was going to break my heart, but once I started I didn’t want to stop.

Farrah Lin and Blake Ryan are both in Shanghai for a year of study abroad, but they have completely different ideas of what they want from this year. Farrah wants to fall in love for the first time and is excited to spend time with the friends she makes while in Shanghai, while Blake is excited to have freedom from his family, who are not happy with recent decisions he has made for his life, and is not looking for anything serious in his year abroad. When Blake meets Farrah he can’t stay away from her. He ends up hanging out with her and her group of friends, asks her to tutor him, and pushes her to get out of her comfort zone. When the tension between them becomes too much, they eventually give up on being friends and start a relationship. They only have a year and the study abroad program may be a perfect backdrop for love, but it’s not their real lives; it’s an extended vacation from their problems back home. And their problems back in the states may be what pulls them apart.

This story was absolutely heartbreaking. I loved Blake and Farrah’s relationship until the end; then it was like a car crash that you can’t look away from. I did cry at the end and had to immediately start the next book because I needed to know how Ana was going to resolve that ending. I really enjoyed Shanghai as the setting. The way it was described was absolutely beautiful; and makes me want to visit eventually. I loved the found family in this book! They were all so different and that makes for an interesting group of people since they don’t always get along or feel the same way about things. Overall it was an interesting read and not what I was expecting from Ana. It’s a quick read and definitely made me feel a lot of things. I enjoyed the reading experience for the most part and am looking forward to finishing the second part to see how this gets resolved.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have typically liked Ana Huang's books but this one fell really short for me. The writing and the cadence of the story was good but the subject matter and the characters I was meh about. A miss for me, butwill probably read book 2 for the HEA.

Book Name: If We Ever Meet Again
Author: Ana Huang

ARC
Thank you to **SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books | Bloom Books and Netgalley** for an ARC of If We Ever Meet Again

Stars: 3
Spice: 3

Series:
Fast Paced
Contemporary Romance

- Thoughts.
- Trope college romance
- Jock and Nerd
- Bad boy & good girl
- Study abroad
- Fight the feelings
- Not a love triangle
- Not as strong as king series
- Miscommunication

Anna Huang has a way of creating enthralling and unique characters that come to life both on the screen and through audiobook. Blake particularly was a fun, fun, complicated character who I greatly enjoyed being in his head. The male narrator, however, had a very deep voice and was not my favorite because it lacked inflection, especially at higher speeds and drama. Dramatization Anna's narrator however was very enjoyable. I love how she changed voices for each character. Dramatization 10 out of 10 engaging overall fabulous book did leave on a cliffhanger book 2 is available. It is a finish series

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: no, cliffhanger
POV: dual 3rd person
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: cheating, death of a loved one (recounted), manipulation, OW/OM drama, off page sexual assault/r@pe (sex with blacked out character who could not give consent), threats of violence to a minor
Kinky Content:
standalone: book 1 in the If Love series, book 1 in a duet
final thoughts: this book had some really great imagery, descriptions of foods I need to try, and a LOT of drama.
The characters felt a lot younger than they were and there was so much unnecessary messy drama between all of the characters that left me feeling bored. Both MCs felt unreliable and made questionable decisions. I didn’t feel like their whirlwind love made any sense... and then to find out the duet takes place 5 YEARS LATER?! Come on… that’s insane. No way.
This is great for people who love moderate heat, high drama, and intricate friendship groups.

read this book if you love
🔎 adventure (study abroad)
😬 angst
😆 banter
🫡 big MMC
🏫 college setting
🏝️ forced proximity
🤜 frenemies -to-lovers
🫦 girl next door/playboy
🤫 hidden secrets
🤓 jock/nerd
🗺️ long distance relationship
🤐 miscommunication
🔀 opposites attract
🌀 plot twists
💓 slowburn
🏈 sports romance (football)
💔 third act breakup
💳 virgin

Had very high expectations because I devoured Ana’s twisted series!
Sadly there were multiple tropes in this book that I’m not fond of. It wasn’t a bad read and it wasn’t a good read.

If We Ever Meet Again is the first book of a series and follows as the two main characters (Farrah Lin and Blake Ryan) navigate their lives, friendships, family, and past in their study abroad year in Shanghai. Farrah and Blake couldn't seem to be two more different people but due to their shared friend group that includes many fun and interesting characters, they end up spending a lot of time together and their flirty banter turns into a full blown love and romance. As the title hints, this book does not have a happy ending- but leaves a lot hanging for the next book.

This story was told in both Farrah's POV and Blake's POV- which can be so infuriating sometimes because you hear what they are both thinking and you just really want them to grow up and talk to each other during some points of the story. SPOILERS and possible Trigger Warning- The scene where Blake talks about New Years and running into his ex- I'm not sure if I'm being too analytical but I got vibes that she drugged him since she basically called him chicken to drink after he didn't want to and the next morning she seemed completely fine while he was feeling physically terrible. Again could be totally off the mark here but the way I interpreted all of this is that she was newly pregnant at that time by someone else and felt that she knew that she could trap Blake by convincing him they slept together (which I don't think they actually did!!!!) and passing the baby off as his (since she either doesn't know who the real father is or thinks he wouldn't step up to help her). She knows that Blake would drop everything and take responsibility for a baby he believed is his. Honestly if this isn't the storyline of the next book and what we discover, I'll be shocked to be wrong.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

NetGalley Review -- my rating 4/5

This book just tore my heart out!

It started off a little YA and sometimes the voices of the MCs also were immature (but let's be honest, they're in college) but overall, I really enjoyed this one! Immediately starting the second one because I need a HEA!