Books by Asian American and Pacific Islanders Out this Year
Book Roundup - Books by Asian American and Pacific Islanders Out this Year
I want to note that I do not get paid to do these posts, I just love authors and the book industry. However, they do take time and energy to create. If you want to donate a few dollars to my coffee fund, which keeps this blog going, you can do so here: https://venmo.com/AshleyHasty or here: http://paypal.me/hastybooklist.
Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel
A perfumer in Paris is forced to return to her California roots in an exhilarating novel about family, self-discovery, and taking risks by the author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.
The daughter of proud Napa Valley hoteliers, Asha “Poppy” Patel chose a different line as a Paris perfumer, gifted with a nose for fragrances and business. Until her heightened sense of smell disappears. Her career in jeopardy, her world now muted, Poppy returns home. Maybe tending to her grandmother’s massive aromatic garden, where Poppy’s gift first flowered, will bring restorative hope.
But when she arrives, Poppy discovers that the land upon which the beautiful garden once thrived has been uprooted and destroyed. She realizes that the years she spent away from her home have loosened so many ties with the past. Torn between a mother who lives vicariously through her and a father who wants her to embrace her family’s legacy, Poppy is determined to chart her own path of rediscovery.
Poppy must juggle family drama, childhood friendships, and a former love to forge a future of her own choosing and, in time, heal an unscented life.
Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling
Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel and her first to be written directly in English, WHERE WATERS MEET brings much-needed attention to the suffering women endure during wartime and their extraordinary resilience in extreme circumstances. Mo Yan, winner of the Novel Prize in Literature, says “Few writers could bring a story about China and other nations together as seamlessly as Zhang Ling.” Zhang vividly portrays historical events in modern Chinese history that are not well known to the Western audience, including the recruitment of “comfort women” during the Japanese occupation; the famine of early 1960s; and the exodus to Hong Kong in the 1960s-70s.
Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice by Annika Sharma
Payal is a girl on the verge—of living a life she's always dreamt of, becoming a rising star in fashion, and...of marriage?!
When her parents insist she marry fellow Londoner and serial dater Ayaan Malhotra in order to save their company, Payal has a choice: stick it to her dysfunctional family but put her hard-earned fashion success on hold...or get engaged to save her family's fortune and rescue her own dream-come-true life.
Ayaan has always been seen as the reckless spare to his brother, the golden child heir to their parents' company. A little wild, a little broken, and desperate to prove himself, Ayaan agrees to get engaged to Payal—on the condition that he gets 50 percent stake in his parents' company.
Neither Payal nor Ayaan anticipate the challenges of keeping their respective agendas behind the engagement to themselves: a meddlesome grandmother, a spurned ex-girlfriend, two families with stakes of their own, a fashion brand on the line, and, unexpectedly, actually liking each other. But as the two race toward an impending engagement ceremony date, they realize that maybe they aren't just in this for business…and perhaps, love is in the cards after all.
Wings Once Cursed & Bound by Piper J. Drake
My wings unbound, I am the Thai bird princess, the kinnaree, and no matter the cost, I will be free.
Peeraphan Rahttana lives her life in Seattle, unaware of the complicated magical world spinning just beyond the shadows and mist…until a violent clash outside her dance rehearsal has her literally whisked off her feet. Her darkly brooding rescuer, vampire Bennett Andrews, claims to represent a secret organization dedicated to locating objects of myth and magic, tucking them safely away where they can do no harm—but he's too late to save Peeraphan from a deadly curse.
Yet Peeraphan isn't what she seems. Wings unbound, she's a Thai bird princess of legend...and while the curse won't kill her outright, it's only a matter of time. Determined, Bennett sweeps Peeraphan deeper into a supernatural world far beyond anything she ever imagined in a desperate bid to find a solution...and an explanation for the powers even she doesn't know how to define.
Her world may have changed overnight, but Peeraphan knows one thing for certain: she can't go back to living as a human anymore. Not when she's felt what it's like to fly with Bennett by her side. She's determined to keep her wings and her freedom…and defy anyone who would try to take them from her again.
What would you save if the world you knew disappeared and you could open your eyes to what exists just beyond?
The Comeback by Lily Chu
Ariadne Hui thrives on routine. So what if everything in her life is planned down to the minute: that's the way she likes it. If she's going to make partner in Toronto's most prestigious law firm, she needs to stay focused at all times.
But when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day to find an unfamiliar, gorgeous man camped out in her living room, focus is the last thing on her mind. Especially when her roommate explains this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin freshly arrived from Seoul to mend a broken heart. He just needs a few weeks to rest and heal; Ari will barely even know he's there. (Yeah, right.)
Jihoon is kindness and chaos personified, and it isn't long before she's falling, hard. But when one wrong step leads to a shocking truth, Ari finds herself thrust onto the world stage: not as the competent, steely lawyer she's fought so hard to become, but as the mystery woman on the arm of a man the entire world claims to know. Now with her heart, her future, and her sense of self on the line, Ari will have to cut through all the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship…and discover the Ariadne Hui she's finally ready to be.
WHO IS ARIADNE HUI?
Laser-focused lawyer climbing the corporate ladder
"Perfect" daughter living her father's dream
Shocking love interest of South Korea's hottest star
The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen
From acclaimed author E. L. Shen comes a sun-drenched, cinematic YA novel about three Asian American girls, their unbreakable bond, and one life-changing summer, perfect for fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Best friends Jia Lee, Ariel Kim, and Everett Hoang are inseparable. But this summer, they won’t be together.
Everett, aspiring Broadway star, hopes to nab the lead role in an Ohio theater production, but soon realizes that talent and drive can only get her so far. Brainy Ariel is flying to San Francisco for a prestigious STEM scholarship, even though her heart is in South Korea, where her sister died last year. And stable, solid Jia will be home in Flushing, juggling her parents’ Chinatown restaurant, a cute new neighbor, and dreams for an uncertain future.
As the girls navigate heartbreaking surprises and shocking self-discoveries, they find that even though they’re physically apart, they are still mighty together.
Once Our Lives by Qin Sun Stubis
Once Our Lives is the true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions, historic upheavals, and a man whose fate – cursed by an ancient superstition – dramatically altered their destinies. The book takes the reader on an exotic journey filled with luxurious banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings by pirates, and a desperate flight from death in the desert – seen through the eyes of a man for whom the truth would spell disaster and a lonely, beautiful girl with three identities.
Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
Hugo Award-winning Series | Crawford Award-winning Series | Locus Award-finalist Series | Ignyte Award-nominated Series
"A remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR on The Empress of Salt and Fortune
"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen
The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.
Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve.
But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate. . .
Always Orchid by Carol Van Den Hende
He almost let her go. Her trauma could tear them apart. But a love like theirs is worth fighting for…
Phoenix Walker will never be the same. Nine months after a heroic act leaves him forever changed, he refuses to hurt Orchid Paige ever again.
Orchid is ready to forgive. Convincing her guy she still loves him, no matter his injuries, she works to rebuild their intimacy. But their move to her family’s ancestral country unveils China’s superstitions against people with disabilities. Worse, their friend’s life has been upended by those prejudices.
Will Phoenix and Orchid find a way to beat the odds and turn discrimination into acceptance?
Always Orchid is the captivating third book in the Goodbye, Orchid contemporary fiction series, and can be read as a standalone. If you like complex characters overcoming trauma, heart-warming stories, and compassionate connections, then you’ll adore award-winning author Carol Van Den Hende’s emotionally satisfying page-turner.
King of Greed by Ana Huang
Glimpse into the lives of Manhattan’s elite with BookTok sensation and bestselling author Ana Huang’s newest diverse romance series. Seven steamy billionaires inspired by the seven deadly sins fall in love with captivating women in the KINGS OF SIN series. KING OF GREED is the fourth installment.
Crazy Bao You by Lyn Liao Butler
Can an Etsy shop owner in Oklahoma and a FDNY firefighter make things work when he doesn’t know what she really looks like?
Kimmie Park has finally met a man who gets her and laughs at her jokes. Matt West is kind, compassionate, and he’s a smoking hot FDNY firefighter. There’s just one (or many) problem. They’ve never met in person because he lives in New York and she’s in Oklahoma. He also doesn’t know that her life recently imploded when she very publicly quits her retail job and becomes a meme in a viral video, known as the woman who twerked as she tells off her boss. And he has no idea what she really looks like.
After quitting her job, Kimmie focuses on her Etsy shop designing purses and accessories. She’d posted pictures of her best friend Alicia with her merchandise, not realizing people would assume Alicia was Kim from My Crafty Bao. That’s fine with Kimmie since she’s still hiding out from her recent unwanted internet fame. But as the chemistry between her and Matt sizzles and their every interaction threatens to set them both on fire, she knows she needs to tell him the truth. Especially since Matt’s father, the CEO of a huge retail store, sees Kimmie’s shop and wants to partner with her.
As Kimmie prepares to visit New York City for the first time, she grapples with the sorrows of her past which have kept her in Oklahoma ever since her parents died when she was sixteen. Will she be able to let go of her fears and embrace who she really is, or will it cause her to lose the man of her dreams and the opportunity of a lifetime?
The Evening Hero by Marie Myung-OK Lee
Dr. Yungman Kwak is in the twilight of his life. Every day for the last fifty years, he has brushed his teeth, slipped on his shoes, and headed to Horse Breath’s General Hospital, where, as an obstetrician, he treats the women and babies of the small rural Minnesota town he chose to call home.
This was the life he longed for. The so-called American dream. He immigrated from Korea after the Korean War, forced to leave his family, ancestors, village, and all that he knew behind. But his life is built on a lie. And one day, a letter arrives that threatens to expose it.
Yungman’s life is thrown into chaos—the hospital abruptly closes, his wife refuses to spend time with him, and his son is busy investing in a struggling health start-up. Yungman faces a choice—he must choose to hide his secret from his family and friends or confess and potentially lose all he’s built. He begins to question the very assumptions on which his life is built—the so-called American dream, with the abject failure of its healthcare system, patients and neighbors who perpetuate racism, a town flawed with infrastructure, and a history that doesn’t see him in it.
Toggling between the past and the present, Korea and America, Evening Hero is a “soulful, melodic, rhapsodic novel” (The New York Times) about a man looking back at his life and asking big questions about what is lost and what is gained when immigrants leave home for new shores.
Love & Resistance by Kara H.L. Chen
Moxie meets Mary H.K. Choi in this funny, whip-smart YA debut about love, resistance, and the enduring friendships that make it all worthwhile.
Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when infamous it-girl Mitzi Clarke makes a pointed racist comment in class. Tired of ignoring things just to survive, Olivia defends herself.
And that is the end of her invisible life.
Soon, Olivia joins forces with the Nerd Net: a secret society that's been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at school.
But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first.
A cheeky, thought-provoking force of a book, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.
Of White Ashes by Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto
The bombing of Pearl Harbor propels America into WWII and two Japanese Americans into chaos. Separated by the Pacific, each embarks on a tumultuous path to survive childhood and live the American dream. Ruby Ishimaru loses her liberty and is uprooted from her Hawaii home to Japanese American incarceration camps on the mainland. Koji Matsuo strains under the menacing clouds of the Japanese war machine and Hiroshima atomic bombing while concealing a dangerous secret—one that threatens his family’s safety. When destiny brings Ruby and Koji together in California, their chemistry is magnetic, but wounds of trauma run deep and threaten their love as another casualty of war.
Inspired by the true stories of the authors’ family, Of White Ashes crosses oceans and cultures, illuminating the remarkable lives of ordinary people who endure seemingly unbearable hardship with dignity and patience.
Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
A boozy Bourbon Street flirtation with a charismatic stranger turns a pragmatic woman’s world upside down. But maybe, an unexpected shakeup is exactly what she needs most… Neely Tubati Alexander’s bighearted novel Love Buzz tracks the messy journey of self-discovery that follows when a serendipitous meet-cute derails a levelheaded accountant’s best-laid (life) plans. Smart and swoony, this lively romantic comedy evokes the witty sizzle of Emily Henry, the inclusive spirit of Jasmine Guillory, and the breezy charm of Ali Hazelwood with winning originality. Readers will fall hard for the relatable tale about healing old hurts, chancing new love, and seizing control of your own narrative.
In The Heart of the Linden Wood by Ekta R. Garg
How do you overcome a broken heart?
For generations, the magic trees have supported the kingdom of Linden. The wood is prized in kingdoms everywhere for its special properties. It’s one of the few good things King Christopher inherited from his late father, the evil King Vincent.
Vincent also gifted Christopher a lack of confidence. The only person who believes in Christopher is Queen Lily. When he loses her and their only child, Christopher’s grief threatens to undo him. The love of his life has returned to the fates, and now all he wants to do is spend his days mourning her.
Then word comes that the trees are dying, and no one knows why.
Despite the urge to hide in the castle forever, Christopher meets the mysterious Keeper of the Wood to find out what’s killing the trees. The answer demands he go on a quest with old friends and new allies. Along the way, they’ll try to save hostages and mend another broken heart by putting it back together piece by piece.
Through it all, Christopher will fight to conquer his doubt and prove to his people, the memory of Lily, and himself that he deserves the crown.
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone winters in the same high-rise building, in this gripping debut by Academy Award–nominated screenwriter Iris Yamashita.
When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own reasons for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
After an avalanche causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by a gang from a nearby reservation who are seeking shelter from the snowstorm.
Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town is keeping secrets. If there is anything as elusive as the residents themselves, it’s answers.
