Did you know that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? In 1977, Congress declared the first ten days of May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage week. This was then expanded to a whole month in 1990. According to The Library of Congress, the month of May was chosen to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to America in May 1843. To celebrate, I would like to share with you some of my favorite recent reads by Asian Pacific American authors. 

This was a cute read (or listen, I guess, since I chose the audio version). Liv is all set to take over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. Lunar Love matches candidates based on their Chinese Zodiac sign. Liv herself is all about compatibility, and as a horse, knows exactly who would and would not be a good match. Not that she’s looking. But when she runs into Bennett O’Brien, creator of the latest dating app - Zodiac Cupid - she may have to rethink her plans. I’ll be honest, I know very little about the Chinese Zodiac. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying this one. No matter what your sign is, this one is worth your time. If you like this one, make sure to check out her newest book, Red String Theory.

I know that it’s been done before, but I enjoy the seven deadly sins trope. I mean who doesn’t love, as the author herself puts it, “steamy billionaire romances themed around the seven deadly sins.” Right? So far this first book has been my favorite. Billionaire CEO Dante (because of course) Russo is blackmailed into marrying jewelry heiress Vivian Lau by her father (unknown to her). This means he has to chose between getting revenge on this latest enemy or falling in love with such an intriguing woman, no matter how hard he tries not to. This one is pretty hot, so if you are looking for a gentle read, maybe keep looking. That said, I couldn’t put it down once I got into it. The second book in the series is King of Pride. Book 3, King of Greed is also out, but once you are caught up with those you will have to wait with the rest of us.

This is not a romance in a typical sense. This is more four friends take on the world and a couple fall in love along the way. Gemma is on her way to San Francisco to sing in the chorus at the Metropolitan Opera House. Its 1906 and the great Caruso is coming as well. The morning after her debut, a massive earthquake destroys the city. Gemma and her friends are caught off guard and struggle to survive. I really enjoyed this story. A) you know how I love a good natural disaster story and B) I thought the characters were very well written. I’ve been to San Francisco and seen Chinatown. It’s different now, of course, because the original was razed after fire burned for three days following the earthquake, but it still gave me a good sense of the setting. If you are looking for a romance that is light on the schmoopy and heavy on the history, this is the choice for you.

Zoe Zeng has an ok job writing for Chic magazine in New York. But her editor doesn’t want anything but listicle after listicle. So when a new tech start-up from Silicon Valley offers her a marketing position, she jumps at the chance, even though it means moving halfway across the county. But Zoe really believes in the Fit Pick app, where people can crowd source their OOTD (outfit of the day - remember that, it will come up in the book). I enjoyed this read. I liked how it was more about Zoe’s journey than a schmoopy love story. There was a bit of romance, don’t fret, but it wasn’t the whole focus. Zoe is a strong, confident woman and it was fun to read about her journey.

I read this one after I finished Valley Verified. Its fun, because this also has some corporate takeover aspects as well. It’s set in Chicago (one of my favorite cities) instead of Silicone Valley. However, this one is much more focused on the romantic story line, which I enjoyed with these characters. It’s a classic enemies to lovers plot. I’ll admit I had a little trouble buying them as lovers until I got into it a little more. The author did such a good job of convincing me that they were enemies. My favorite scene involved a dinner meeting and two hellishly hot bowls of ramen. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I must say that I hope this becomes a series.

So those are some of my favorite recents reads by Asian Pacific American authors. Check one out today!

Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

:) Amanda