#aaron cai

[rainforcsts]

'cause it don't matter how your love feels anymore, it will never be the cure

[liarzhangs]

boy wonder 🤝 girl failure

[y2kinnow]

collage no.2

[loveution]

no one understands the impact "if i'd kissed you, you would have wanted me for an afternoon and i'd have wanted you for the rest of my life" had on me

[shattered-twilight]

i need the i am not jessica chen and i hope this doesn't find you bonus material

[jessread-s]

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🎨🏫Review:

A love letter for those who think they aren’t enough.

“I Am Not Jessica Chen” follows seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen after she makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, she discovers that being the top student isn’t quite what she imagined. She must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever. 

Liang’s vivid prose, integration of magical elements in a seemingly ordinary world, and flawed characters come together to tell a cautionary tale about the cost of perfection. This is one of those books that I wish I could give my younger self. The younger me that, like Jenna Chen, judged my self-worth based on unrealistically high standards and feared failure more than anything else. The younger me that couldn’t celebrate her successes because she was always looking to the next thing. I hold this book close to my heart because Jenna’s experience made me feel less alone. 

I was captivated by Liang’s storytelling as she examines the age-old question “what if I could be someone else?” The longer Jenna navigates life through Jessica’s body, the more she realizes that everyone, no matter how perfect their life looks, is going through something—that perfection is a construct of our own making. Jessica—who supposedly has it all with the glittering mansion, doting parents, high marks, and respect of her classmates—reveals in her journal entries that striving for perfection has only led to burnout, self-doubt, and dissatisfaction. These words coming from Jenna’s “smarter, infinitely more successful” cousin only further emphasize the idea that we can’t fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. At the heart of it, this book is about being enough in spite of the competition culture in the education system, social hierarchies, and pressure from family. Failure only makes us more human and helps us grow. 

While Aaron and Jenna’s romance is more of a subplot, their love story is heart-stirring. He reminds her of her worth and helps her come back to herself when she gets caught up in Jessica’s life. Their development from childhood friends to strangers to lovers is truly one of my favorites.

This is a book that lives inside my head. I can’t wait for everyone to else to experience it for themselves. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[rainforcsts]

i love aarons

[rainforcsts]

ANN LIANG APPRECIATION INCOMPREHENSIBLE ESSAY!!!!! because she's an amazing author

i know so many people who don't usually read romance books who LOVED her romance books and i think that's such a good indicator of how good she is?? and i think a lot of it has to do with the fact that her fmcs are relatable and not just in a way related to the romance but also THEMSELVES(e.g. alice felt invisible, eliza felt like she didn't belong anywhere, sadie felt like she had to make everyone like her, jenna felt like she had to be the best or it was all for nothing)(obviously im cutting it short but yk)

and it's not just her fmcs, it's also her mmcs. even her mmcs AND side characters have depth (that a lot of romance authors tend to forgo because they're so focused on the fmc and the romance) like henry, he's claustrophobic because of his father's questionable methods of parenting. caz, he's lonely even though he's popular because no one really cares about HIM and has acting as his passion but people around him(mainly his mother) constantly tell him that it's not stable and all that shit. julius, he's used to being chosen last because his older brother is the standard he has to reach. and aaron, whose grief practically shapes him as a person. THEY'RE ALL UNIQUE!!!

also her plotlines don't take TOO long to start and maybe it's just me but personally i hate it when it takes the plot 45498537834 chapters to start. but also, she does it in a way that it doesn't feel TOO short because she knows how to pace it as such yk?

AND she really does know how to set the vibes with her writing. the whole time while i was reading ianjc(it's the most recent that i remember shutup) i felt like this melancholic vibe throughout even if it was set in the day.

and ALSO her ships are all so unique yet all so interesting. like, yes alicehenry and sadiejulius are academic rivals BUT they are NOWHERE near similar. alice and henry are this cutesy comfort ship that isn't really the main focus of the book. sadie and julius are this borderline obsessive nail biting DIScomfort ship that IS the main focus of the book. AND AARONJENNA OMG AARONJENNA AAAAA i love them your honour. the way she's the only one who notices everything about him and vice versa. yes i AM biased. i didn't forget about elizacaz, they're SOSO CUTESY the way they both felt a little invisible in one way or another and yet they both saw each other for who they truly were!!!!!

one last thing... the way she talked about platonic breakups and everything related to friendship in this time it's real. it WASN'T caz who saved eliza. it was ZOE. HER BEST FRIEND. AND THIS WAS A ROMANCE BOOK.

anyways. i love ann liang. 🥳