About The Breakup Artists: Adriana Mather, New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch, brings her signature wit, wild imagination, and all the feels to her new YA novel, The Breakup Artists—perfect for fans of Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

Who doesn’t love a good meet-cute to swoon over or giggle about? Just in case you’re not familiar with this endearing term, a meet-cute is a playful, amusing moment when two characters meet and sparks fly! As someone who just crafted one for The Breakup Artists (number 3 on this list!), I can vouch that they do in fact lead to sigh-worthy romantic journeys. These memorable first encounters will melt your heart like ice-cream on a hot summer’s day!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

To say it went badly is an understatement. Dimple and Rishi’s first encounter is a classic case of miscommunication. Their parents have decided to arrange a marriage for them, and while Rishi is all for it, Dimple is not, but that’s partly because she didn’t know anything about it. So when Rishi refers to her as his future wife, you can’t blame her for throwing her drink at him!

Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

What is more romantic than a tackle? Well for Rowan, every little. He sees Addie tackle her older brother in a parking lot in Ireland and is immediately smitten. Sure, it’s a wee bit complicated considering Rowan is actually Addie’s brother’s friend. But he’s also attractive with an Irish accent, and drawn to her spunk and determination. Besides, he seems to understand her in a way very few people do.

The Breakup Artists by Adriana Mather

August has been secretly hired to break up Ella from her awful boyfriend. He devises a plan to bump into her at her fav coffee shop, but his timing is all wrong and at the exact moment he takes the top off his coffee, her elbow swings around, leading to a coffee-soaked Ella and a horrified August. Besides her never wanting to see to him again, August has another problem, he kinda really enjoys her. Maybe too much? Which is the last thing that can happen, not only because she’s his newest case, but because everything he’s told her so far has been a lie, including his name.

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

Catherine “Lucky” Nam is a huge K-pop star who just performed in Hong Kong for her many adoring fans and is now trying to fall asleep in her fancy hotel. A not so great mix of sleep and anxiety medication and a deep desire for a hamburger, has her in the lobby in her slippers moments later where she runs into Jack Lim—a gifted photographer and tabloid paparazzo. What could possibly go right? Maybe everything?

Meet-Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Noah Ramirez has a super popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily-ever-afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. Then in comes Drew, who agrees to fake-date Noah to convince everyone that the stories are true and save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow, he realizes that dating in real life isn’t the same as finding love on the page.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

The first time Sana asked out a girl (Rachel) it was such a disaster that she never did it again. Meanwhile, Rachel was furious because she thought Sana was trying to prank her by asking her on a date. Now Rachel is an aspiring director and when it comes time for Rachel to cast her senior project, she knows without a doubt that there is no one more perfect for the lead than Sana. They have to try to get past their failed meet cute and make something beautiful together in this enemies-to-lovers romance.

I Love So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

Fashion-obsessed Kimi takes an impromptu trip to Japan and meets a handsome local, Akira. Only he’s dressed as a costumed mochi mascot! Costume aside, he’s actually a med student, and the best part is he helps her rediscover her passion for creating clothes—and maybe something more.

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Gia’s prom plans go awry when her boyfriend dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom. Desperate and frustrated she recruits a random stranger (who is just waiting to pick up his sister), Hayden, as her fake date. The task is simple: two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. But could fake feelings turn real?

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

In the real world, Eliza is shy, awkward, and friendless. However, Eliza is also the anonymous creator of a hugely popular online comic. Wallace is its biggest fan. Online, Eliza flirts with Wallace. But when he transfers to her school, he doesn’t know who Eliza is in real life and they have the opportunity and the challenge of meeting all over again!

Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet

And last, but never least, a collection of diverse short stories by some amazing YA authors who have a love for hilarious and heart-thumping meet-cutes that will certainly make you smile and sigh!

These charming and unforgettable meet-cutes remind us that love can be found in the most unexpected and comical of circumstances. So, the next time you’re strolling through the park, swapping phones with a stranger, or even battling your professional rival, keep an open mind—you might just stumble upon your very own hilarious love story!

The post 10 Hilarious and Swoony Meet-Cutes In YA Novels appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From Little Tokyo, With Love is a modern fairytale that is wholesome and hilarious. It is a story centred around family, discovering yourself and where you belong, and what it means to embrace your roots.

Rika Rakuyama’s life is what you would call a fairytale in today’s world, but she would rather reject that notion at all costs. Despite being orphaned and having little knowledge of her parents, Rika lives with her two cousins (who are pretty much her stepsisters) and her two aunts in Little Tokyo, whom she loves dearly over everything. It just so happens that her cousins are named after Disney characters and even fit the personalities of princesses, but Rika’s biracial roots, hot headed temper, and superb judo skills aren’t what you would call “princess-like”.

However, Rika’s world is turned upside down when she makes a connection with ultra-famous Asian-American rom-com actress Grace Kimura, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From this point on, everything about her unknown familial background begins to unfold. Along with the cute and upcoming actor Hank Chen, Rika embarks on a journey of discovery, one that unravels Little Tokyo’s gems and secrets, and connecting the dots that Grace is actually Rika’s mother.

For Rika, fairytale endings aren’t exactly something that comes her way. With a Hollywood star potentially being her mother and a potential shot at love right in front of her, she might be setting herself up for disappointment. But does Rika take the risk to find true happiness for herself, or is it really all just a fairytale?

The two main characters really sold me for this novel. Rika and Hank were some of my absolute favourites to read about, especially through their differing yet similar personalities. Their uniqueness also comes from their cultural and ethnic heritage, where Rika is half Japanese and half Caucasian and Henry (Hank’s real name) is half Filipino and half Chinese. You get a cultural glimpse through Rika’s perspective, especially in the settings of Little Tokyo and the restaurant, Katsu That, which both of her aunts own. Her personality shines because she has no problems being utterly blunt and straightforward while interacting with other characters. This is interesting because having such an opiniated and outgoing demeanour can be against the grain within Japanese culture. Being half white has also labelled her as not being “Japanese enough”, which can have her at odds with some of the residents within Little Tokyo. Henry stands out as a character because of his East and Southeast Asian roots. Although from the same race, he is ethnically different from Rika in a familial sense. He wants to make his family proud but is afraid being a disappointment to them. As an actor, his personality is a bit egocentric, but deep down he is the soft-hearted and fun-loving guy virtually anyone would love to date. Other likeable characters include all Belle and Rory (Rika’s cousins and adoptive sisters), Auntie Och and Aunt Suzy, and Craig Shimizu because who doesn’t like a good book villain?

The plot and pacing were set quite nicely. As for plot, I liked how clever the hunt for Grace was planned out. It virtually takes you all throughout L.A., from tourist spots you see in the movies to local ones, and ones that were quite relevant to Rika herself. I thought the build up to certain scenes and events was done quite well, and this is done with the help of strong characters. The biggest takeaway for pacing I could put into words is Rika was literally made to be the narrator of this book and I loved how some of the chapters had fairytale-like narrative to go along with the main story. Triggering topics such as racism and anxiety make themselves known in the plot, and this definitely adds a significant amount of traction to the narrative.

The issues I had with this book was how it ended and the romance. It was a bit of a fall off given all the events that Rika and Henry went through to find Grace, it seemed more like a young adult romance novel instead of what the novel advertises itself as. The romance aspect was a bit rushed as well since I thought Henry and Rika were simply going to stay good friends. There was nothing wrong with this, however, I think it should have been made a bit clearer in the synopsis.

Overall, From Little Tokyo, With Love is a fun story for the YA genre that centres around a character whose motives pertain to discovering herself and where she comes form. With the help of a friend and a potential love interest, it is exciting to see the direction the plot goes for the character. The rating for this book is due to who the characters are initially, and who they become in the end. I recommend this to readers who love YA contemporary novels and have an interest in themes of self-identity, multiculturalism, and an overall eye-opening experience into Asian culture. This will show you what it means to have an open mind and understand that change is often necessary to move forward!

From Little Tokyo, With Love is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up From Little Tokyo, With Love? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Celebrated author Sarah Kuhn reinvents the modern fairy tale in this intensely personal yet hilarious novel of a girl whose search for a storybook ending takes her to unexpected places in both her beloved LA neighborhood and her own guarded heart.

If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale–being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business–she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn’t quite fit the princess mold.

All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness–searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo’s hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe…finally finding a sense of belonging.

But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn’t so kind. Rika knows she’s setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don’t happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?

The post Review: From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn appeared first on The Nerd Daily.