The Breakup Lists: 3/5

I was confused by the formatting throughout the sample with all the crossed out markings. It seems like that's an intentional part of the storytelling, but it's not obvious, especially in an e-arc format where it's possible that errors or weird formatting may happen.

Jackson is an okay main character from the get-go. A bit quiet and shy, but has a lot of potential. I love the dynamic he has with his sister, Jasmine and the love interest, Liam, is SO cute. I'm intrigued enough by him and his character to give the rest of this book a chance upon release.

The Never Ending Poem: 4.5/5

I'm not a huge poetry girlie, but this book is GOOD. The writing is stunning and our two main characters Bea and Mitra are what manic-pixie-dream-girls wish they were. I love a sapphic story with a religious setting, and this one is no exception. I am absolutely going to pick up a copy of this one at some point in the near future because I have a NEED to know what happens next.

Not Your Average Jo: 2.5/5

Definitely the least compelling story in the bunch for me. It felt a bit younger than the rest of the titles in this sampler. Additionally, the music school setting and musical journey is just generally not for me. I think this story has a lot of readership out there, but I think it's just not for me.

Rules for Rule Breaking: 4.5/5

The premise of this story is so cute. I love a forced proximity romance and road trips are a super fun trope as well. I love the fact that Winter and Bobby are rivals that basically everyone in their town sees as a perfect match. The idea of them making a set of rules to go on a college visit road trip and do "rule breaking" things before they are adults is so cute and wholesome. The chemistry between Winter and Bobby is absolutely off the charts and I definitely want to pick this one up ASAP.

Wish You Weren't There: 5/5

Erin Baldwin is a MASTER of banter and witticisms. I lol'ed my way through the waaaayyyyy too short sampler of this story, begging for more. Juliette and Priya are sort of enemies.... but really only from Juliet's perspective. And it's only because Priya is so darn perfect and annoying.... and maybe really really pretty? I love that th main setting of this title is at a summer camp-- it's a premise I haven't seen too many times before. This book just released less than a week ago, and I will absolutely be buying my own copy before the end of the week.

Overall, giving this sampler a 4/5. This title is not available to review on Goodreads or Storygraph.

I really enjoyed this contemporary YA sampler for AANHPI month. In particular, Wish You Weren’t Here (Erin Baldwin) and Not Your Average Jo (Grace K. Shim) were very interesting. The Breakup Lists (Adib Khorram) and Just Another Epic Love Poem (Parisa Akhbari) were new to me and I will definitely keep an eye out for the books to release.

Thank you to Penguin Group Young Readers Group and Netgalley for a free sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

These were all cool! My favorite was Parisa Akhbari’s book.
I can’t really comment of any specific, since they were all just few chapters of the books!
But very cool idea

So happy to check these titles out. Very excited for these books. Happy to find myself interested in books I had passed on previously. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for these excerpts.

A nice collection of stories by AAPI authors. I really enjoy stories like these where they highlight how Asian people face stereotypes and how harmful they are. I also like the LGBTQ+ representation within the Asian community because I feel like it isn't talked about a lot.

PENGUIN GROUP published five romantic and romantic comedy books this year by Asian American authors and in this sampler there are about 30 pages of each one. Great introduction.