Chloe and the Kaishao Boys follows a recent high school graduate on the summer before leaving her country and pursuing her dreams in animation at USC. She has never had a boyfriend, and has no plans to find one with her leaving so soon. But her family has other plans. In preparation for her debut, a celebration of her eighteenth birthday, Chloe's aunt and father begin involving her in a series of kaishaos. They set her up with boys in the area, hoping to possibly find her a match. At the very least she will get closer to the eighteen dancing roses that a debut often requires. We follow Chloe on her kaishao journey, watching as she discovers new things about herself and her family. Will any of these kaishaos be a success?
Although the first few chapters of this book were a little slow, taking me longer to get through, by the end of the book it had me reading in all the spare moments I could find throughout the day. The author had great pacing, so something new would happen frequently and nothing felt like it was dragging on forever. The ending was satisfying, and it was nice seeing Chloe do what she was meant to and wind up happy.
I wanted to commend the author because one thing she did very well in this book was create a love triangle. Given the series of kaishaos Chloe gets set up on, she has various romantic options to choose from. She made the right decision in the end, which I was glad for. But even for the boys who were not the ultimate pick, Coyiuto is sure to give them happy endings as well. Not only that, but they are never made out to be villains like you would see in other stories. I think having such a conventional element but doing it with a little flair made this book so much more enjoyable to read.
If I have to give one little criticism about the book it would likely just be in the main character's personality. I can't really fault the author for this one because Chloe was who she was. I just felt that as a reader her inability to catch onto things when they were glaringly obvious was sometimes a little frustrating. That said, I think that was the intention of the author, just something I didn't really love.
I would definitely recommend this book to ya romance fans out there. There aren't too many books I can compare it to because it was different than a lot of the other things available right now. If you have the chance, definitely give it a try!

Needless to say, this book was beyond incredible. There was a never a dull moment through this book and I haven’t laughed while reading a book in so long. I almost cried at the end and I loved learning more about the Chinese-Filipino community. Overall it was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Chloe Liang is so wonderful. The voice of this book caught my attention right away and didn't let me go. I thoroughly enjoyed each page and loved watching Chloe grow. She faces a lot of dilemmas that teens and even adults face--especially when it comes to knowing what you want to do and doubting yourself. This book is so full of heart and gives will-they-won't-they vibes that make you want to scream "kiss already!". I cannot wait for people to read this book and fall in love with Chloe.

This book sucked me in and I never wanted it to end, between Chloe's quirky Instagram-obsessed dad, and her best friend Cia who's absolutely hilarious their bond was so cute and the comedic timing and banter throughout the book was perfection. Chloe's Kaisho boys were the sweetest and I definitely have a favorite.

This summer romance was so much more than just that, it had a great representation of having a family who wants the best for you but never sees what you actually want when their expectations blind them. This book is a fantastic book to get to learn more about another person's culture, I learned so much about Chinese Filipinos and I got a pile of movie and music recs. I was also pleasantly surprised with the Queen Bee references (Beyonce of course)

This is definitely one of my favorite books I've read, Mae did an incredible job writing this book and I can't wait to read more of her work! The few LGBTQ+ characters made my heart happy and had to be my favorite part of the book because who doesn't love a good queer couple?

Throughout the book, I definitely got some butterflies (especially on a certain scene) that I just had to pause and smile because this was one of the cutest YA romance books I've read in a while

Thank you penguin teen for providing the arc all opinions are my own

Chloe lives in the Phillipines but is going to USC to study animation. Her family sets her up on blind dates to try to keep her home. Will their plan work? You have to read this fun Ron com. While the book is very predictable, it’s still one of those fun romances that you just want to gobble up. I enjoyed the characters.

Chloe is a Chinese-Filipino in the Summer before she goes off for college abroad. Chloe has a close knit-family and is torn between leaving to study at her top choice USC or staying home and studying in the Philippines. Chloe finds herself meeting men her auntie set her up with on "dates" to participate in a traditional 18 roses for her 18th birthday (debut). As Chloe grapples with the choice of staying or not staying, dating or not dating certain boys, and what her friendships and familial relationships mean to her, we get to see Chloe's life during the Summer unfold.

I was able to read this book during a plane flight and I could not put it down. I was easily sucked into Chloe's world, trying to figure out which boy she'd eventually or potentially end up with. I truly think any reader would enjoy this book, but as a Filipina American, I think it's a needed Summer romance perfect for those living in the Philippines! There are a lot of cultural movies and music references which I LOVED! Especially since I watched and listened to a couple of the artists and movies mentioned. A great way for readers to learn more about another person's culture and get new movie and music recs. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I learned about Chinese-Filipinos and the nuance of not being ethnically Filipino yet living in the Philippines and how this perspective could be different.

I think Mae did a beautiful job at writing this book. It was easy to follow along and I felt like the writing really flowed together. There are some progressive themes in this book and has a couple of LGBTQ+ characters. I'd easily read this again and recommend it to others.

On my plane ride, there was a certain scene (no spoilers) where it had me feel so KILIG (giddy/butterfly-type feeling) that I had to put my hands on my head and just soak up what I just read and a moment where I just started tearing up because I could feel the feelings of a particular scene. a very solid read and I hope this is only just the beginning!