Beautiful cover, sweet characters, a heartfelt love story, and inspirational representation of LGBTQ+ identity, language barriers, and embracing cultural heritage make this surprisingly adorable book a hidden gem that fully deserves my five stars! I lost count of how many times I sighed and smiled while reading about the love language lessons and the blossoming romance between Catie and Toby. It’s so refreshing, honest, and engaging!

The story centers around a young Taiwanese girl, Catie Carlson, who is raised by her stepmother and struggles to communicate with her brooding stepsister, still grieving the loss of their father to cancer two years ago. On top of that, they are forced to move from their home in San Diego, which they can no longer afford, to Utah, where they will live with their conservative Mormon aunt, uncle, and cousin, whom they barely know. Leaving their old life behind to live under their aunt’s strict rules—such as attending church every Sunday and facing criticism about their clothes and makeup—is tough. Catie also misses her biological mother, who may still be in Taiwan. She has no idea why her parents divorced, or why her father got custody, and though she loves her stepmom, she doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by talking about her mother.

When Catie starts looking for jobs and is hired as a receptionist at a popular spa, she befriends Toby, the son of the spa owners. When she learns Toby has a huge crush on one of the customers, she offers to help him in exchange for free Mandarin lessons, which she hopes will help her reconnect with her cultural heritage. Pretending to be more experienced in love than she is, she even lies about having a boyfriend to avoid seeming inexperienced.

Fortunately, she finds her father’s favorite book, The Five Love Languages, and uses it as inspiration to create special “practice” dates with Toby, teaching him how to approach his future crush. They also begin their Taiwanese lessons and start spending more time together after work, growing closer as they share their secrets and family issues, walking the fine line between friendship and something more.

Catie knows she needs to come clean about her relationship status and stop lying to Toby, even if it risks their friendship. But what if she's also risking her heart?

Overall: This is an inspirational read about embracing culture, heritage, language, and sexual orientation, alongside a heartwarming young adult romance that I highly recommend as one of the best upcoming YA fiction novels of 2025!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group/Penguin Workshop for sharing this lovely YA romance’s digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the copy.
Stefany is a stunning writer—I loved that she drew inspiration from her own life and crafted a romantic dramedy about finding love, reconnecting with one’s heritage and culture.

Well done! Can’t wait to read more books by this author.