Hey y’all! In contrast to Throwback Thursday, I like to use Fridays to look forward to an upcoming release that I’m excited about! Today’s is From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn.
Expected Release: May 11, 2021
Why wait on this one?
- I get I Love You So Mochi vibes from this, and that book was terribly adorable so I can only hope for the same here! It seems like it will be a little bit sweeter than reality, and maybe I’ll need to suspend cynicism to enjoy it, but I look forward to that. (Edit: I’m such a dope. Just realized this is THE SAME AUTHOR that wrote ILYSM so it’s not a surprise I get similar vibes! 😅)
- There are bound to be plenty of identity and family woes as Grace is an orphan and biracial. The blurb highlights those facts, so I can only assume that they will become fairly central to the story in some way as she explores with Local Cutie Celeb. ^.^
- The setting seems quite whimsically light, what with the meet-cute at a festival with a high-profile cutie. (K-Pop Confidential, anyone?). I guess I’m into the “secretly/accidentally dating someone famous” trope, who knew?
Summary
If Rika’s life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale–being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts’ business–she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn’t quite fit the princess mold.
All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America’s reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness–searching for clues about her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo’s hidden treasures with a cute actor, and maybe…finally finding a sense of belonging.
But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn’t so kind. Rika knows she’s setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don’t happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?
My Book Joy 