fandomsandfiction's reviews
576 reviews

I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that this is a book by a DEBUT author. The writing is that of a seasoned author! Sunshine Kisses is a cheesy, spicy, friends-to-lovers romcom feast (the last time I enjoyed such a feast was Emily Henry's You and Me on Vacation) Who needs Mc Donald's chilli cheese fries when I have this book serving me all the cheese and spice? 😍 #BoycottMcDonalds #BuySunshineKissesInstead 😋

Abby and Erik are my parents.
No, seriously. If you combine the two of their histories, personalities, and overall lifestyles... you'll get me! I relate to both these characters at such an intrinsic level - from the small things, like Abby's love for cinnamon and Erik's big soft heart, to the deeper and bigger things like Abby switching from following the path of her parents (doctors, just like my mom!) to pursue literature and Erik's issues with sensory overload and overstimulation. It's remarkable how similar we are in so many ways.
It's also proof, once again, that no matter what you're going through, you are never going through it alone. There will always be someone who understands. You just have to be lucky enough to find that person (or people). My dear sweet Abby and my lovely angel Erik had that luck!

To anyone reading this: I hope you have the same luck as them! May you find the person(s) who understands you ❤️

P.S. the accompanying playlist is CHEF'S KISS ✨✨✨ Ms author, you have excellent taste in music and playlist-making (this comes from someone who considers herself a high standard music and playlist connoisseur) 😌🤌 
P.P.S. I NEED A BOOK ABOUT ALEX PLEASE I LOVE HIM 

I want to live in this comic <3 

I was so excited to read this book! The premise is exciting: 6 young (and rich) social media influencers on an exclusive weekend getaway to market a gothic island resort before it opens are met with murder and mystery as they get stuck on the island while a killer runs loose. Sounds like it could be an exhilarating read!

Unfortunately, I was quickly disappointed. The characters were all flat cliches and incredibly dislikeable. The writing appeared juvenile and did not grip me like a mystery/thriller should. The overused stereotypes frustrated me to no end, and I couldn't wait to be DONE. 😩 (I likened parts of reading this book to having a tooth extraction - a necessary pain that you're just desperate to be over with.)

The only reason I read to the end is because I wanted to know who the killer was. The ending was actually going quite well! It made me think that the author might be bad at characterization, but she's nailing the suspense and trepidation building up to the climax! But then the ending came... and I was once again frustrated. It felt not just anti-climatic, but ridiculous. (But that could be attributed to my already sour mood over the full reading experience.)

If this was the author's first book I might have viewed it a bit more favourably. But seeing how this author has already published multiple books in the same genre, it has me asking: WHAT STRINGS DID YOU PULL? WHO DID YOU PAY TO GET YOUR WORK PUBLISHED? I NEED TO KNOW.

Great idea, poor execution.
1 star for a good premise and 0.5 star for some actually riveting parts. 

It's XO, Kitty but the adult version (and set in China instead of Korea)

Ah, what can I say... As I read this book my rating went from 3 stars to 2 stars to an eventual sad and lonesome 1.... The writing itself is not particularly bad, it's just not my taste. Perhaps I would've enjoyed this in my younger days. It does read like the Wattpad novels I ate up back in my tweens/early teens. Adult me unfortunately grew bored and annoyed very quickly.

I like lists, so let me make a list of the reasons why I disliked this book:
- It starts with a lie (in the prologue). That was already a red flag for me.
- There are too many characters. And they're all introduced around the same time. It's dizzying.
- The characters are all exaggerated cliches. Their unrealistically inflated personalities and overemphasized characteristics did help a bit with identifying them though. "The controlling friend", "The rich friend", "The nice guy friend" , that's how I ended up keeping track of them.
- I found the descriptions of sexual attraction icky. I found the sex scenes themselves icky. I only really read one, hated it, and then skipped all the others.
- After passing the second half mark of the book, I was just so tired and frustrated that I glazed over the rest of it. I could not finish it fast enough.
- Lots of tropes I don't particularly care for. I won't name them because *spoilers*.

It's not all bad though! I got a small glimpse into the life and tourism of Shanghai, which was lovely! I would much rather read Ana Huang's travelogue of her own study abroad program than this fictional recount.

I am cognizant of this being the very first book Ana Huang wrote at the young age of nineteen. I may have rated it 1 star, but I do feel like this book is the writing of a budding talent on the verge of bloom! Not quite there yet, but it has the potential. I can only imagine that Ana Huang's writing blossomed from here - which is why she is such a well-loved author today! 

It became a Daily Pass series before I could finish it 🤷‍♀️