Good! Cute! Fun!

This book teaches us many positive lessons about self-acceptance blah blah blah. It also teaches us that someone can ruin your life but if they’re hot enough we can just get over it and fall in love with them.

Plot: Chinese girl somehow with zero mandarin ability becomes practically fluent after being in China for two weeks. She is a super hot 5’10 ex-model with crazy issues. Stanford-bound Chinese superboy has been in love with her for 7 years and bullied her a bunch to show her he liked her. He also goes to China, sticks to her like glue, and fesses up to his obsession with her.

Likes: The boy isn’t scared of his own feelings. Hard to find in a guy these days (no no love makes me weak). Positive depictions of female friendship (more Daisy time would have been appreciated). China Chinese CHINA (I’m a fan of China if you can’t tell). The uber-rich hot guy friend he was hilarious.

Hates: No hates except how did she become fluent in two weeks??

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC. Hoping and praying that Ann Liang ventures into New Adult one day.

Leah Zhang is a protagonist that you want to root for on her journey to self-love and reconnecting with her roots.

When she makes a terrible mistake by wishing her newly wed cousin a depressing marriage and poor health, her parents decide to send Leah on a travel program that takes her across China's most beautiful cities. While they hope she is able to reconnect with her roots, Leah sees it more as an escape from the life she cultivated as a model and popular high school student.

Enter Cyrus Sui, the boy that ruined her life in elementary school by telling a lie.

As a whole, this book was just an okay read for me. There was something about the pacing that just felt rushed and slowed down at the same time. It was like the author had these bursts of ideas that she really wanted to get to, but she also wanted to focus more on other scenes. For example, there are tasks that they need to accomplish throughout the trip. So much time was spent on the first task and it really drew me in because I thought it was a great way to showcase these two characters potentially reconciling and learning more about what has been affecting them since the lie was told. Each progressive task just did not have that same appeal. After that, it just kind of fell off for me. It seemed like Leah was less this likable teenager going through complex issues and more about her questionable "revenge" and bouts of miscommunication with Cyrus.

The ending also just felt rushed and like the author was trying to get to the goal without giving the readers time to really sit in any sort of additional conflict. It was like everything needed to be tied up in a nice bow.

All in all, it was just an okay read. I hope it does find the right audience for it, since I am just not really there.

Thank you to the publisher and author for granting my wish to read this book.

It hits shelves on Jun 03, 2025.

5 phenomenal stars.

"It's very easy to fall in love with you, Leah. The easiest thing in the world."

ann liang just has a WAY with hate to love relationships, she does them so well. the characters have a true reason for why they hate each other, its not just because "oh ew i don't like him/her" it stems from things that have happened in the past which provides a valid base for the hatred, and this was no exception.

i love how the universe kept pushing cyrus and leah together on more than one occasion thank you universe haha all of the moments were SO wholesome and we also got to unpack the things that happened between them in the past. every chapter, cyrus made me (and leah) fall in love with him more and more. we love a man who speaks with his actions (the words he said were also absolute perfection he's truly the whole package.

the other characters were such fun characters too i loved oliver and daisy. the four of them were a great group and those two (oliver and daisy) were the best cheerleaders sometimes hehehe.

"I'm here, I think to myself again, yet what I really mean is: I'm home."

💋 ₊˚⊹ leah lost touch with her culture, and this trip opened up a new side of herself. i love how this book spoke about reconnecting with your heritage; each place she went to she learned new things about china, its culture, the language, and she felt comfortable in it all for the first time. she has also gone through things as a kid that have been traumatic insidences. ann was able to write such that the trauma pain felt so real; it wasn't just some tragic backstory written to make her 'seem' interesting, it truly felt heartbreaking and realistic. there were so many times when i related to the pain she felt, how she had to change herself in order to appear 'beautiful'. this trip was able to help leah understand that she is a great and likeable person just from being how she truly is. cyrus knew leah before her 'transformation', so whenever he said certain things it allowed leah to believe him because he knew her with the parts she tried to hide.

"But I look so ugly right now," I whisper, my skin burning. "Impossible," he says firmly.

📖₊˚⊹ cyrus is truly in a world of boys he's a gentleman. he has further raised my already impossible standards. he wishes to major in chinese literature, and he's a man of few words, but whenever he does speak, everything he says hits. his relationship with leah starts out rough because of how they were when they were kids. but as the book progresses, we see the reason for why he was the way he was and you then feel like just giving him a hug. his world revolves around leah, everything he does is for her and it makes me want to cry. he, too, is such a brilliant well rounded character who has gone through so many hardships; those hardships made him keep everyone at arms length, but this trip allowed him to lower his walls a little.

"On a bad day, books offer a language for your pain, and on a good day, books remind you just how precious your life is."

everytime i think of every leahcyrus moment it truly makes me want to cry. because what do you mean he bought her band aids when he saw she was limping? what do you mean he told her that he loves her not in the darkness, but in the light? what do you mean he's been in love with her for seven whole years?!?!

they have destroyed me like no other and they might just have become my new favourite ann laing couple.

This author is all the rave and I GET IT NOW!!! We have 2 characters who don’t “like each other” but I think it’s more one sited, this is a YA so there are levels are immaturity here of course. Leah us holding a grudge bigger than her ego, so when she is sent off to China so she can reconnect with her culture, her parents set everything up, it’s a group trip and of course Cyrus is there as well. The one take away from this whole book aside from the romance being so adorable is the growth in Leah, I loved how she was KNOWS that she is self-centered, relied on her looks to get her by, her ego because she was a model was clouding the REALITY, and how with also the support of Cyrus she was able to really get out of its mentality. I love YA books that teach little lessons within the characters and their lives.

If Miss Ann writes a book, I read it! Never Thought I'd End Up Here was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, and it totally lived up to my expectations; actually, it exceeded my expectations.

The book follows Leah (a former model), who is sent on an intensive two-week travel program across China to get back to her roots. As she is about to get on the flight to China, she finds that her former classmate and least favourite person, Cyrus, is also going on this trip. Leah decides that it is her time to finally take revenge on Cyrus. While she is taking her revenge, Leah starts falling in love with the boy she once thought she despised (SHOCKING🤭). She ends up finding parts of herself she never knew on this trip to China.

Characters
Leah— pretty isn’t pretty coded
Leave it to Miss Ann Liang to write the most relatable female main characters ever. I loved Leah, and I related to her so much. I know for a fact that a lot of girls will resonate with her and feel comforted through this book. Leah has such a witty personality that you can’t help loving her. Cyrus was right when he said it was extremely easy to love her.

Cyrus—21 coded
Another great love interest!! Miss Ann has truly mastered the art of writing an excellent YA romance novel. Cyrus is a well-crafted character, and he is a reader???!!!! (Miss Liang should drop a list of books he would read ☺️). Also a man who sanitises everything??!!! I RELATE.

Romance✨
OH GOD🤚 The romance was very Cdrama coded; it had all the key elements – humour, yearning, fireworks, etc. Mr Cyrus was blushing so much throughout the book because of Leah; I loved them so much. I really liked how they treated each other; this was an excellent representation of a healthy relationship that one should aspire to have in real life.

I love books that are set in places I’ve never been to; I felt like I was exploring China with Leah, Cyrus and her new friends Daisy and Oliver. I love the care Ann poured into Daisy and Oliver; I WANT THEM TO BE MY FRIENDS TOO😭. The dynamics of this friend group of four were insane, and Oliver and Cyrus getting a honeymoon suite accidentally was immensely fun. This book was a great reminder that not everything will work out as you envisioned it, but it will all be okay.

Two ex classmates reunite on a travel program to China have to deal with the "incident" that caused the rift between them as well as the feelings growing. Leah Zhang is a former model who has worked hard to to be perfect and try and reconnect with her heritage. She is still scarred from the "incident" involving her classmate Cyrus that forced her to transfer schools and transform herself to try and forget. Yet now he's back in her life and also on the same travel program to China that she's going to... and he's determined to talk to her. Cyrus and Leah have so much between them but for some reason he's determined to explain himself to her and try and win her over... but is she ready to open her heart up to the boy who destroyed her in the first place? I think this was an interesting read and liked how it focused on Leah's journey to healing and trying to reconnect with her own heritage. I didn't care so much for the second chance romance but that's just me, I just didn't feel like it worked for me however it wasn't terrible. Overall it's a okay read for YA readers but it just kind of missed the mark with me.

Release Date: June 3, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Scholastic | Scholastic Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

what to expect:
✧₊⁺ incredibly relatable fmc who struggles with her own worth and confidence
✧₊⁺ A BLUSHING MMC!! I REPEAT. BLUSHING MMC!!!
✧₊⁺ endearing friendships (loved loved daisy & oliver 😭)
✧₊⁺ childhood enemies to friends to ???!!

Ann Liang is the QUEEN of YA romance, and I will absolutely eat it up every. single. time. And she always does an amazing job of writing such a relatable fmc 😭 I was not expecting to have tears falling down my face towards the end of this book?! While this is a romance novel, it was also so much more than that. It was also a story about Leah rediscovering her own culture, and finding herself along the way, and realizing that it IS possible to be loved for who she is as a person, and whoever that person is, is more than enough.

And CYRUS? This guy needs a dang hug 😭 I love the depth that was added to his character, and I really just wanted to wrap him in a blanket. I loved how he was with Leah, and how you could just tell that he was so down bad even from their first encounter. AND THE BLUSHING?! I don't know when I started to love this so much for a mmc, but it absolutely gets me every time, and Leah does not go easy on him with any of the teasing 😂

ALSOOOOO, I just want to mention (which I don't think is a spoiler since the author has mentioned this on her page), WE GOT AN EPILOGUE?! I was so shocked to turn the page and see epilogue?! It also got me really emotional, since none of her other novels have included one before. 🥹

ANYWAYS, if you are looking for another giggling, kicking your feet fun time, with a dash of tears this would be the absolute perfect book for you. And I am so so grateful I got to read it early. I literally was shaking when I got this arc into my hands 🥹

And if you haven't read a book by Ann Liang yet... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

thank you SO much to scholastic and netgalley for this arc! <3

Rating: 4.25⭐- really liked it!

Ann Liang's books always manage to completely pull me in, there's something about the way she writes and describes scenes, places and feelings that makes you feel like you're seeing everything unfold right in front of you! Never Thought I'd End Up Here was no exception - it felt like a perfect coming-of-age story.
I liked Leah and how real she felt, with all of her flaws and insecurities. She feels lost and like she doesn't really know herself or what she likes anymore, like she can't be herself in front of other people, like she doesn't belong anywhere. She was relatable in so many ways and it was nice to see how she starts to overcome all of those feelings, starts to reconnect with herself and her culture and finds hope again!
I was unsure how Ann would redeem Cyrus given his history with Leah, but I really shouldn't have doubted her. He was the sweetest being ever and the things he said to Leah healed some part of me too. I loved how Leah was set on getting revenge on Cyrus but instead found herself falling in love with him.
Ann Liang chooses such meaningful themes to write about in every one of her books and I can't wait to see what she writes next!
～Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for the ARC!

Five books in, and Ann Liang only gets better and better at making me feel a million different feelings in the span of several hours. Leah is quite different from many of her other YA protagonists, the first one who’s not so obviously focused on academic success, and I love her so very much. What a touching story with such an adorable romance. I love to see a boy/man who’s been pining for years.

dnf @ 25%

i can’t believe i’m saying this about an ann liang book but… this is a no for me. i found the characters and their dynamic to be deeply uninteresting and even though i am a bit curious about leah’s *literal* journey, it’s not enough for me to keep going. it’s definitely a me thing though and i’m sure many readers will love this story!

Thanks so much to Scholastic Press and Netgalley for providing me with a complimentary eARC of Never Thought I’d End Up Here in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Review:
When she accidentally wishes her cousin a dreadful marriage and poor health, Leah’s parents decided she needs to reconnect with her culture. After all, she wouldn’t be in this predicament if she could still speak Mandarin. In a last ditch effort to fix the train-wreck she caused, Leah begrudgingly agrees to go on a two week trip throughout China with other kids who have lost touch with their culture. But hey, maybe the trip won’t be so bad. That is until she realizes that her arch-nemesis, Cyrus, will be attending the trip with her…
Never Thought I’d End Up Here is so much more than a fun-filled book about an adventure, Never Thought I’d End Up Here explores the complexity of race and beauty in incredibly thought provoking ways. Liang expertly questions the impact of the loss of culture many people experience, toys with the idea of being too assimilated and too alien at the same time, and examines the brutalness of that come with beauty.
Liang analyzes the impact of losing touch with one’s culture when being part of a minority. As Leah grew older, Leah began to lose touch with her own Chinese heritage, and eventually forgot her Mandarin as she grew older. Liang uses this concept to allow the reader to think deeper about the impacts that loss of culture can have on so many people, as well as how this is a very common occurrence. Furthermore, through Leah’s character, Liang sheds light on the difficulties of staying true to yourself as an “outsider” when society deems you too assimilated and too alien at the same time.
Not only that, Liang truly explores the idea of beauty, and how you can be falling apart on the inside whilst you look your best. Liang analyzes the difficulties of being a woman in such a harsh world that quantifies a woman’s value based on the beauty they hold. Through Leah’s character, Liang shares with the reader the realities of being a minority in a variety of situations, and how you inevitably always become foreign. Leah, an ex-model has always been an outsider
Lastly, the character development was flawlessly executed, and the pacing was near perfect. Leah’s growth was amazing, and she truly is a multi-faceted character. The pacing also allowed for the slow, heartfelt moments when necessary, and also kept the reader hooked for the entirety of the novel.
Never Thought I’d End Up Here is a truly flawless, powerful novel about acceptance of oneself, exploration of culture, willingness to change. A must read for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

Never Thought I'd End Up Here was a great read about rediscovering your roots and learning who you are along the way. This is the first book I've read by Ann Liang, but I highly enjoyed it and I will check out additional works.

Leah Zhang ends up making a scene at her cousins wedding by cursing the newlyweds and her parents decide it is time to take action. Her parents decide to send her on a trip to Shanghai to rediscover her Chinese roots. While she is not exactly looking forward to the trip, she decides to look at it as a way to get some distance from the life she's been living lately. That is until she discovers that her childhood enemy, Cyrus, is going to be on the trip as well.

When Leah and Cyrus end up getting paired together as a team, Leah decides she's going to exact some revenge on Cyrus after what happened when they were kids. As time goes on, Leah realizes that Cyrus is not the enemy she thought him to be. Will they be able to rekindle their friendship? Or maybe more?

I really enjoyed how Leah reconnected to her roots and realized that a lot of what she knew was still there, it was just lying dormant. It was nice to see Leah regain some of her confidence after the way her modeling career ended. I also liked the part that Cyrus played in her regaining her confidence.

This was an enjoyable read and one I would highly recommend!

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

ANN LIANG MY BELOVED!!! I love Ann Liang's work so much—if she has no fans, I am no longer in this world, truly. I loved this travel romcom and the True Beauty vibes with Leah's relationship with herself and her modeling. Cyrus took a while to grow on me, but by the time the ending rolled around, I was in the palm of Ann Liang's hand. I do have to say that this romance ranks lower for me in Ann Liang's universe, but that's not to say it's bad in any way! I think I just connected more to Sadie/Julius and Alice/Henry, and found their interactions more humorous. However, Ann still made me laugh out loud with Leah and Cyrus' banter; I read a lot of this during breaks at my job and found myself trying to hide a smile at all times!

In my ranking for romances, this falls below IYCSTS and IHTDFY, but above JESSICA CHEN and TTIR
In terms of books, I'd put Jessica Chen above this just because I related to it more, but I know a lot of people will relate to Leah and Cyrus, especially Leah's relationship with herself and her wanting to be other people.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

4.5 star

Never Thought I’d End Up Here is another instant Ann Liang YA classic. Following Leah Zhang, a former model, as she ends up going on a trip to Shanghai with Cyrus, her ex-best friend and the boy that she believes ruined her life, in order to get in touch with her Chinese roots. Along the journey, she discovers the truth about Cyrus’ actions all those years ago, and learns more about herself and the language she thought she lost forever.

I absolutely loved this one, and I think I related so much to Leah’s struggles with Mandarin and connecting to her Chinese heritage because as someone whose Mandarin skills definitely aren’t the greatest either having slowly lost it over the years. While I think it takes a while to fully understand Leah’s insecurities about herself and how others view her, Liang definitely doesn’t disappoint in drawing out these universal teenage experiences in her characters. Also I am such a sucker for a childhood best friend turned lover storyline and Cyrus Sui is slowly becoming one of my favourite Ann Liang characters after finishing this one.

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours and Scholastic for this arc. All opinions in this review are my own.

Never Thought I’d End Up Here has everything from rivals-to-lovers with A+ banter, forced proximity, slow-burn yearning, and swoony moments that made this perfect. Leah Zhang, a former model with a lot of insecurities hidden behind a confident exterior, ends up on a two-week cultural immersion trip across China after a very awkward wedding moment with her family. And guess who’s also on this two week trip? Cyrus—the boy who ruined her life. Beyond the romance, what really stuck with me was Leah’s journey of reconnecting with her culture and identity. I grew up feeling sometimes disconnected, but my family would take us back to Taiwan twice a year for almost 10 years. I hold those trips close to my heart. Basically, this book has it all: tension, tenderness, travel, and two loveable characters that you cant help but root for. If you loved Loveboat, Taipei, you need this on your June TBR.

Thank you to @netgalley and @scholastic for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book! The romantic tension was built so well, and I liked the characters a lot. there were points that felt repetitive, but I ultimately found the development of the plot very engaging. The premise of the trip to China was a fascinating way to learn a bit more about Chinese culture as someone who is unfamiliar, and the competition aspect of the trip was so fun. Overall this was a great read, and I totally recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

Leah used to be a model and she used to have friends, but after a disastrous modeling job she quits and now fears she will be dropped by the popular crowd who only let her join them because she's famous. To make things worse, she attends her cousin's wedding and is not only seated next to her childhood friend turned nemesis Cyrus, but her Chinese language skills have abandoned her after lack of use and she embarrasses everyone by accidentally cursing the newlyweds. So her mom sends her on a summer language and culture immersion trip to China. Leah at first is just happy for the escape from her downward spiraling life, but after discovering Cyrus is on the trip as well she's sure it will be awful. Especially because he's still somehow so attractive, despite the "incident" involving him that ruined her life years ago.
Wonderful depiction of a young woman plagued by self doubts and in desperate need of some friends who see her for who she is...if she will let down her guard long enough to let her true self show.

i loved it so much, ann is one of my favourite author, whatever she write somehow always resonates with me, her female main characters are always so honest to their core.
never thought i'd end up here, was very different from her other books, almostv all her books (excluding a song to drown rivers) has a lot of academic backdrop, their motives, wants and validation revolves around academics, literary areas, however this was so different and rooted so much in chinese culture and reconnecting with it.
i love this a lot and i would be reviewing it later since i got the e-arc through a book tour company and am designated to review it on a specific date.

I read A Song To Drown Rivers a few months ago, and it destroyed me. I wanted to read more works by Ann Liang, so I requested this e-arc.

I loved this story. Teens are often struggling with figuring out who they are and trying to meet other people’s expectations so they can be accepted. In Leah’s case, this is quite complicated because of a past event that made people hate her. We don’t know what, exactly, happened, but we do know it had something to do with Cyrus, and that she’s never forgiven him.

When the two end up on the same group trip to China, Leah plots her revenge. But as events unfold, she’ll have to decide if she wants to get even with the person she blamed for ruining her life, or if it’s time for everyone to get a second chance.

This is an excellent exploration of the complexities of exploring and preserving your cultural heritage while figuring out who you are. It’s also a great story about forgiveness and second chances. And it’s also a great story about friendship. I found it really inspiring, and I loved the chance to explore China through this story.

While the story focuses on Leah’s perspective, I felt there was a great cast of supporting characters who added to the story. Sibling dynamics are also explored through Leah’s mom and aunt, and the rivalry felt real to me.

This is a fast-paced story. I flew through it, and I will definitely read more by this author.

I received an e-arc of Never Thought I’d End Up Here from the publisher.

This one is so beautiful. A story of a Chinese American girl finding herself after her life falls apart on a Chinese culture trip with her childhood enemy who maybe isn't quite as evil as she thought. It is dreamy and heart wrenching and makes you want to hug your teens.

If you like growth, travel, romance, and overcoming old impressions, check this one out.