Heiress Apparently | ARC Review

Synopsis

Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing.

When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.

Review

This was not the book for me. I was really excited for the fun, royalty aspects of this book, but they just didn’t pan out like I hoped they would.

First, this book is classified as YA, but felt more adult. The main character is a recent high school graduate and all of her friends are adults living their adult life. I didn’t mind that it was more adult; I just went in thinking I was getting something different from this book.

Second, it was just kinda boring…I hate saying that about books, but I didn’t know how else to describe this one. There just seemed to be a lot of filler information that was unnecessary and not very interesting. Much of this book could have been done away with really. It wasn’t even the pacing really. Things seemed to move pretty swiftly throughout the book. It was just the content.

Lastly, the romance was just lacking. I don’t really have much to say about this other than I expected more.

I appreciated the diversity and liked that it pointed out some important flaws and things that are being done wrong in society. Other than that, I wasn’t a fan of this book.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Diana Ma, go to her Goodreads profile.

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.