Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen: Book Review

If you have followed my blog for a while, you probably know that I am not an avid contemporary reader. I tend to go towards fantasy and science-fiction. However, this past month, I joined a virtual book club alongside some wonderful bookish friends. We went through many options, trying to find a book everyone had access to during this time of social distancing. In the end, we landed on Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen.

While contemporary isn’t my favorite genre, I ended up surprisingly enjoying this novel. This is mainly due to one specific reason, dance.

Disclaimer: Clicking on the title of the book will bring you to book depository where you can purchase the book. This is an affiliate link, meaning I will make a small commission with every purchase made, with no extra cost to yourself.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

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Content Warnings: suicide ideation, aerophobia, partner abuse, latrophobia, injuries, racism, slut shaming

Disclaimer: As a white person, I am unable to comment on the representation in this book. I recommend searching out own voice reviews.

Listen, I was planning on enjoying this story as much as I usually enjoy contemporary reads. I think they are cute and I like the characters, 3 stars. However, this is not how my reading experience went…

Instead, the author added one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE topics to read about. I will literally read any and all books that include this topic.

You are probably wondering… what is this topic?

Dance!

I am a dancer. I have a degree in dance, and the art form has always amazed and intrigued me.

Anyway, I saw absolutely no indication that this book was about dance. Why did no one tell me? I feel like there needs to be some sort of bat signal or something. The summary on Goodreads did not reveal this very crucial piece of information. (By the way, I am planning on making a list of dance books, so stay tuned for that.)

Okay, let’s get to the actual review part of this book review…

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The main character, Ever Wong, is sent to Taiwan by her strict parents to study Mandarin, and she is all but happy. All she wants to do is stay home and prepare for a dance audition for a scholarship to her dream college.

As a dancer, nothing breaks my heart more than the struggle Ever goes through with her parents over her dance career. I was rooting the whole time for Ever to follow her dreams. I was so thrilled to learn that dance was a huge part of this story, not just a throwaway detail. Obviously, this made me enjoy this novel all the more.

I also really enjoyed the relationships that came up in this book. Rick was such a sweetie and I loved watching his relationship with Ever grow. Of course, there is the wonderful trope of fake dating in this book, which makes it all the better. Ever didn’t always enjoy Rick’s company, but he was always there for her. The relationship between Sophie and Ever was not my favorite, but I found it intriguing to read, and it was an asset to the characters and story overall. Sophie helped Ever grow a lot, but I struggled to forgive Sophie for the choices she made throughout the story.

I liked this book… a lot. The characters were well developed and the story was interesting. I just learned that the author is writing a sequel, and I will be reading that as soon as I can get my hands on it! I just hope it is all about Ever following her dream!

It was a surprise, how much I enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone who loves a good contemporary or dance book!

Pro tip: the audiobook is wonderful!

Is there a topic you absolutely love to read about?

Let me know in the comments below!