Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

This is a sequel to Loveboat, Taipei (which I LOVED), so I was excited to read this sequel which follows up on Sophie and Xavier. I probably should have reread the first one, but I quickly remembered most of the main plots that had occurred. For once, I LOVED the dual points of view between Sophie and Xavier as their story grew and their own individual character development occurred.

I also love the rep in this. Think Crazy Rich Asians with Xavier and Sophie and all the other casts. Xavier has dyslexia (severe) and Sophia has a 'tornado brain' and her personality reminds me of ADHD with her hyper focus and other traits. The culture and traditions are integrated - both the good and the bad (boo, the patriarchy) and I loved how the ending brought light to the power of women and how it went ignored in the culture and tradition of the business.

Also, Xavier and Sophie are literally the cutest. oh my god.

I loved this. So much.

I was so happy when loveboat, Taipei came out to learn that we would get a sequel following Sophie and Xavier. The sequel did not disappoint! I loved seeing both of these characters grow and truly reflect on themselves in the process. The characters are all deep and none of them felt flat or unoriginal. It was truly refreshing and the author does a fantastic job of changing perspective throughout the book. And the overall story has a fast pace which also makes the book so much harder to put down

This novel picks up where Loveboat, Taipei leaves off, but this time the focus is on Xavier and Sophie. Sophie plans a love boat reunion weekend that spirals out of control when a lot of people join in the festivities. The character development for Xavier and Sophie is really great to read. A satisfying read!

Loveboat Reunion, the fun, frothy sequel to Abigail Hing Wen’s 2021 Loveboat Taipei, provides a stand-alone, satisfying, well-paced romantic comedy certain to appeal to fans of Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. For those not in the know, “Loveboat” refers to the Overseas Compatriot Youth Taiwan Study Tour to Taiwan, a three-week Chinese language and cultural study program, targeting high school seniors and college-aged Canadian-Chinese and Chinese-Americans, in order to foster friendly Taiwanese-Canadian-American political relations. The tour acquired the moniker, due to the matchmaking/romantic possibilities that inevitably spring from gathering a number of highly-educated, single, college-aged students in one place. Sophie Ha, newly-minted freshman at Dartmouth College, has sworn off boys after a disastrous, awkward summer fling with the smoldering Xavier Yeh, scion of an affluent Taiwanese business magnate, while both were Loveboat participants. In the meantime, Xavier’s father has sent his son, the black sheep of his family due to chronic academic underachievement and fecklessness, to prestigious Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, in hopes that his son will settle down enough to pass his senior year and acquire the prep school cachet that’ll launch him into a prestigious college. No surprises, but Sophie and Xavier still haven’t forgotten each other, and sparks rekindle, when Sophie reconnects with Xavier, as she’s working on a fashion coding project for school and hopes to establish a connection with Xavier’s aunt, who has a business model that Sophie wishes to emulate. Their Taiwan trip, thanks to the wonders of social media, ends up spurring a spontaneous Loveboat Reunion and many hilarious mishaps. It’d be wrong, however, to dismiss Wen’s novel as fun, fluffy beach reading—beneath its dishy veneer lies a serious dual coming-of-age story, arguably more akin to Austen’s Emma, due to Wen’s keen observational eye for social dynamics, and refreshing addressing of socioeconomic and class issues, gender and power dynamics, misogyny, and sexism, weaving social commentary into a satisfying story. The main characters, Sophie and Xavier, are both likeable, relateable characters on the voyage of maturity, who’re establishing self-confidence and adult identities while also navigating the complexities of family and peer relationships. Highly recommended.

Where Loveboat, Taipei took a turn towards typical in a place outside of ordinary, Loveboat, Reunion brings into the familiar, then breaks free. Sophie, who we knew as the one on the hunt for a husband, is looking to change her ways and start building herself into something more than a party girl hunting for love. And then bad boy Xavier, what makes him a magnet for drama? Is there something behind his self destructive ways? The characters build from their terrible images, and there are times when they are unlikable, but push through - the turning point is worth it. The strength in this story is how the shiny layers can be swapped out for different appearances, but when we are left to show someone who we are, without the projection of image, we might find what we should never hide.
The world of private plans and privilege Abigail Hing Wen shows off is flashy and fun, but she makes us see the human beneath the clothes, the person behind the phone, the child stepping outside of the shadow of their parents. So good.

An outstanding second installment to the Loveboat series.

I always find it hard to fall in love with new characters in a second book, and confess it did take me a bit to get used to the idea that this was about Sophie and Xavier not Ever (who was a huge part of the reason I loved Loveboat Taipei). However, I quickly fell in love with these two characters who are compelling and imperfect. Throughout the story they both grew so much, and not just towards each other, but into their own people.

I also really appreciate the representation of women in tech—including the judgement and double standards Sophie experiences and works to overcome—as well as dyslexia—the challenges Xavier faces as well as the unique way he sees the world. These aspects brought depth and nuance to this lovely contemporary story.

And of course, there is all the wonderful fun of teens on private jets and romantic pining.

I look forward to Wen’s next work!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. This second book gave readers more of Sophie and Xavier. The more layers of each of them the readers got to see, the more the readers got to love. The list of resources in the back was especially helpful and did not make Xavier's dysgraphia just a plot device.

I read Loveboat, Taipei and fell in love with the setting and characters almost immediately so when I had the opportunity to read the arc of the companion novel I was very excited. Loveboat Reunion follows Sophie and Xavier after they return from their summer and their whirlwind (and not in a good way) romance.

I enjoyed Sophie and Xavier's different storylines Sophie and her determination to succeed as a woman in STEM, Her internal and external struggle of figuring out who she is was very relatable. Xavier's family tree and their business was very engaging. My favorite interactions were the ones where we met Xavier's family members and their family history.

Unfortunately, Loveboat Reunion didn't give me what the first book did. Throughout the entire book I felt very detached from the characters and it read like a draft. Sophie and Xavier read like completely different people than the ones in the first book. I felt like I was reading an entirely new cast altogether. These personality switches really threw me off because although Sophie kept referring to herself as a "tornado." she wasn't giving me any of that. Xavier, in the first book, came off as broody and mysterious. All of a sudden he's an extremely open badass.

All in all I enjoyed being taken back to Taipei during The Mid-Autumn Festival. Abigail Hing Wen does an amazing job at creating realistic settings and making me feel like I'm there, like I can taste the mooncake. I most likely will be picking up the physical copy once it releases in January.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, Loveboat Reunion was so different from Loveboat, Taipei and not at all what I was expecting after reading Loveboat, Taipei. Both books had the same jaw-dropping moments involving our protagonists, but to me Loveboat, Taipei seemed more serious and grounded compared to Loveboat Reunion, which felt more over-the-top and whimsical. Not to say that Loveboat Reunion doesn’t have serious themes. Xavier’s storyline is quite serious and deals a lot with physical and emotional abuse (major TW for these). I think it was mainly Sophie’s POV and storyline that felt super crazy and over-the-top, which honestly matches her personality and the “tornado” that she describes herself as. The characters in general, though, felt so different from Book 1 to Book 2. I came out of Book 1 thinking about how flawed Ever, Sophie, Rick, and Xavier were and how horrible they all were to each other over the summer. Then, to read Book 2 and see all these characters somehow be super nice and close friends again was kind of jarring, not going to lie. It almost felt out of character, but not quite. For example, seeing Ever and Rick in love, and Sophie and Xavier falling in love again, and Ever and Sophie being BFF's after Book 1 was kinda strange LOL. I think the only relationship that seemed accurate after the events of Loveboat, Taipei was Ever and Xavier’s.

I did like the parent-child theme of Xavier’s storyline, as it’s something that I think many children of Asian parents can relate to--the theme of having tumultuous relationships with your parents and feeling guilty about still caring about them because they have given up so much for you. I don’t think that it was an excuse for the abuse that Xavier suffered, but it was definitely relatable nonetheless. There were also some discussions about identity (i.e. being Asian-American vs. Asian), but I don’t think it was as prominent as it was in Loveboat, Taipei. I think it would have been more interesting to see this theme explored further, especially when considering that Xavier considers himself as Asian-American and Sophie considers herself Asian. I’m also glad that the disability rep was more prominent in this book--I know that this was a common critique of Book 1. Overall, if you loved Loveboat, Taipei and its characters, I would definitely recommend picking up Loveboat Reunion!

Minor spoilers for Loveboat, Taipei (first book).
I adored Loveboat,Taipei and will be publishing my full review on pop-culturalist.com on the release date. Loveboat, Reunion is even better because we get Sophie’s perspective. I have to admit, I hated her in Loveboat,Taipei but it was so interesting to see her in this one. I love Xavier and I enjoyed getting to see more of him in this book! For anyone who’s wondering : you won’t be disappointed by this one!!

LOVEBOAT REUNION picks up right after LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI. It's definitely a sequel and it's better to read this after reading the first book to have a better understanding of our two main characters, Sophie and Xavier. They were together for all the wrong reasons in the first book and I really enjoyed their journey together in Loveboat Reunion.

Xavier is an heir to a big famous rich family in Taiwan and Crazy Rich Asians-level family drama to come with it. Sophie manages to wrangle the gang back in Taiwan for a school project and Xavier agrees to fly people over to collect his trust during his family's big Mid-Autumn Festival celebration. Once they're back in Taiwan, we get treated to luscious settings, parties, and mooncakes. We really get to know their ambitions, their insecurities, how they resolve their past and how they move forward together as friends.

It's a jam-packed, whirlwind reunion. It's not one to miss!

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperTeen for the ARC.

This broke my heart. In many ways a very touching way. I really loved and enjoyed this. It was perfect. It can be pretty terrifying, to see people you love get hurt and of course surrender themselves to a darkness you wish they would never subject themselves to. That’s why I appreciated this book so much more. Xavier has quickly become one of my favourite characters of all time. Flawed and realistic, he was perfect. There are many attributes about a character that make me want to love them for a very long time. And that’s exactly what Xavier did. The characters in this book hurt each other, they went on a journey and they survived. And that’s all that matters. This was an honour to read and I absolutely adored this! 5 out of 5 stars!

Xavier and Sophie definitely made mistakes, but that’s what made this book so much more touching and I absolutely loved it and devoured it! After reading book 1, I knew book 2 was going to leave a huge impact on me. But I didn’t know just how big that would be.

Both Xavier and Sophie hurt each other, they are human and make several mistakes in both books. But I appreciated the way the author executed everything.

This book was about growth, mutual understanding and building character and I absolutely loved every second of it. I was eager to read the next page and was absolutely stunned at how much I loved this book. This was an absolute pleasure to read and I cannot wait to see where the author goes with whatever she writes in the future. This was an easy 5 out of 5 stars!

Abigail Hing Wen has done it again! A smart, albeit soapy, YA romance that made me devour it in a day or so. Loveboat, Taipei was a standout book for me in 2020 and Loveboat Reunion is just as good--I would say better, even. Where her first novel had some inconsistencies with characterization and plotting that made me...not love it, Reunion shows a much more mature and confident writer.

I don't read YA often anymore, but I have a feeling that whenever her next novel drops, I'll be there to read it :)

This was a fast, enjoyable read! I appreciated Xavier and Sophie coming to accept themselves, and realizing how the other person brought out the best parts of themselves. The relationship between Xavier and his father was especially heartbreaking, and I loved seeing him grapple with how to define his place in his family. Sophie's love of fashion (and how it was a strength, not a weakness!) was also lovely and refreshing. I found the threads of the story sometimes got a little too numerous, however, and especially as we hurtled toward the ending, I sometimes got confused as to what exactly we were building up to; there were some moments that felt like they ought to be very dramatic but ultimately ended up not mattering, and other moments that were suddenly extremely significant out of nowhere. That being said, though, this book was thoughtful in its development of the core relationship between Xavier and Sophie and the return to this world was full of drama!

This was a great follow up to Loveboat! I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters and seeing how things played out after the summer. There were a few times when characters had a change of heart a little too quickly but it didn't take away from the story. Overall, I really enjoyed it and will be purchasing it for my high school ibrary.