In the inviting Never Thought I'd End Up Here, Ann Liang (This Time It's Real) gives the classic enemies-to-lovers trope a fun, fish-out-of-water twist by forcing her Los Angeles-born heroine to take a trip to China with her (now handsome) childhood nemesis.
Seventeen-year-old Leah Zhang generally communicates with her Chinese relatives "via elaborate gestures" rather than the language she barely knows. This is a huge problem when she has to offer a toast in Mandarin at her superstitious cousin's wedding. Leah, stressed and nervous, accidentally wishes the happy couple a "depressing marriage." Leah's horrified mother signs Leah up for a two-week trip to China to immerse her in the language and culture. Unfortunately, "evil" Cyrus Sui, the boy responsible for a deeply humiliating betrayal that "permanently stained" Leah's school records, is also attending. The pair are repeatedly thrown together, and Leah decides she will humiliate Cyrus by grabbing hold of his heart and breaking it. But first, Leah will need to make Cyrus want her, and she's not immune to his "solemn, dark gaze." To her dismay, Leah becomes increasingly more affected by Cyrus's unexpected tenderness--and his "enviably long" eyelashes.
Liang spins her story with plenty of verve, as Leah develops from being somewhat lost and self-absorbed to a thoughtful young adult. While Never Thought I'd End Up Here is first and foremost a romance, Liang uses humor to explore cross-cultural disconnect and investigate the development of self-worth: as Leah's China trip proves an opportunity for an awkward, "uncultured" girl to learn she is actually worthwhile and "interesting" enough to make her own life choices. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author