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Yannes's Reviews > Loveboat, Taipei
Loveboat, Taipei (Loveboat, Taipei, #1)
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Please tell me I'm not the only one who realize Xiǎo péngyǒu does NOT mean little friends. It means children. It pains me to see the author keeps calling these 18+ y/o adults LITTLE CHILDREN.
I am Asian myself and I do speak Chinese (mainly Cantonese, but I also know bits of Mandarin). I couldn't help but notice that quite a few of Chinese references are in fact, inaccurate. For example, the one I mentioned above and our main character's name Ai-mei. The author explained her name means love and beauty. Yes, it is right if you view those two words (ai and mei) separately. But if the two words are put together, it has a different meaning to it. It means the love of beauty. It is usually used to describe people being fussy (maybe a little more neutral) about whether they look good or not. So NO, it does not mean love and beauty when the two words are put together. I understand Chinese is a broad language with many dialects and the author may not be all familiar with it. But wouldn't it be nice if someone who knows how to read Chinese read it before publishing? Becuase I'm sure Xiǎo péngyǒu does not mean little friends. If you believe in any interpretation Xiǎo péngyǒu can mean little friends, please tell me.
Outside of the fact that I am disappointed by the Chinese references, I am not a fan of the writing and the characters as well. The writing is cringy and over-dramatic. The characters are flat and bland as well. The only character who is slightly more well-written is Xavier. Rick has no personality at all and that leads to the romance and love triangle that doesn't even make sense. The side characters are interchangeable as well. They do not have any personality and after reading this book for days, I still couldn't tell apart who is who. But if the main love interest isn't even well developed, I can't say I'm surprised.
(* Since I'm born and raised (and still currently live) in Hong Kong, I do not have any experience of what the main character go through as an Asian-American. Therefore, I can't comment on the immigrant aspect of the book.)
(Detailed video review is in progress)
I am Asian myself and I do speak Chinese (mainly Cantonese, but I also know bits of Mandarin). I couldn't help but notice that quite a few of Chinese references are in fact, inaccurate. For example, the one I mentioned above and our main character's name Ai-mei. The author explained her name means love and beauty. Yes, it is right if you view those two words (ai and mei) separately. But if the two words are put together, it has a different meaning to it. It means the love of beauty. It is usually used to describe people being fussy (maybe a little more neutral) about whether they look good or not. So NO, it does not mean love and beauty when the two words are put together. I understand Chinese is a broad language with many dialects and the author may not be all familiar with it. But wouldn't it be nice if someone who knows how to read Chinese read it before publishing? Becuase I'm sure Xiǎo péngyǒu does not mean little friends. If you believe in any interpretation Xiǎo péngyǒu can mean little friends, please tell me.
Outside of the fact that I am disappointed by the Chinese references, I am not a fan of the writing and the characters as well. The writing is cringy and over-dramatic. The characters are flat and bland as well. The only character who is slightly more well-written is Xavier. Rick has no personality at all and that leads to the romance and love triangle that doesn't even make sense. The side characters are interchangeable as well. They do not have any personality and after reading this book for days, I still couldn't tell apart who is who. But if the main love interest isn't even well developed, I can't say I'm surprised.
(* Since I'm born and raised (and still currently live) in Hong Kong, I do not have any experience of what the main character go through as an Asian-American. Therefore, I can't comment on the immigrant aspect of the book.)
(Detailed video review is in progress)
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