“How did you change your life when you were trapped like this? Her history didn’t define her. Her origins didn’t define her. At least, they shouldn’t. She could be more, if she had a chance.”
This was my Book of the Month pick for May and I just hadn’t picked it up. But after a series of duds and needing something light filled with joy and love, I decided to pick this up. We have a review of the first book in this series – The Kiss Quotient– on the blog but I never read it. Taynement liked it and after I was assured I didn’t need to read the first book to get into the second one, I dove in.
Khai Diep is on the spectrum – he has to be touched a certain way, he doesn’t understand emotions and he is still struggling with the death of his best friend, Andy. When he avoids relationships with people besides his family, his mother takes matters into her hands and returns to Vietnam to find him a bride. When the opportunity arises for Esme Tran to go to America to meet a potential rich husband, it’s an opportunity she can’t turn down because this might be the break her family especially her little girl needs. She’s determined to seduce Khai and get him to marry her before the end of the summer so she can secure the green card she needs to stay in the country.
I picked up this book for the light and joy and even though it had all those things, it also had a whole lot of depth. It was amazing to see Esme trying to figure out the immigration system and a way to stay in America if her seduction doesn’t work. I think the author shined a light on America’s immigration system and the very few options people actually have, to migrate legally. I like that the author doesn’t lump every autistic character into one group and act like they all have the same experiences and all interact with the world in the same way. I also enjoyed all the background characters especially Khai’s brother, Quan, who I really hope gets the next book.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads because it delivered exactly what I ordered and got me out of my reading rut. If you decide to pick up this one don’t forget to read the author’s note at the end, it was fantastic and made me love the book more. The author’s mother was also an immigrant from Vietnam who came to America and married the author’s autistic father. She considers this story her mother’s story. Have you read this one? What did you think?
Leggy
TwoNightStands 