Celebrating AAPI Month – Great reads by Asian & Pacific Islander authors
Back in February, we celebrated Black History Month by sharing recent DIKs from Black authors. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States, so it’s time to celebrate AAPI Heritage with a new list!
As with Black authors, despite the fact that this month is observed in the US, we didn’t limit ourselves to American authors here. Also, these are just the DIKs of approximately the past year. There are more great finds in our database!
Please join us in celebrating great writing by members of the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, wherever they live!
Romances:
You can find our reviews of these titles here:
[fusion_builder_column align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” valign_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” type=”1_2″ order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” render_logics=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Trashed by Mia Hopkins
Pregnant by the Playboy by Jackie Lau
The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin
10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan[/fusion_builder_column] [fusion_builder_column align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” valign_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” type=”1_2″ order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” render_logics=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai
Marriage by Arrangement by Sophia Singh Sasson
My Christmas Charade by Melanie Ting
Crushing On You by Jen Trinh
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee[/fusion_builder_column]
And some amazing reads that are not romances:
You can find our reviews of these titles here:
The Library of Legends by Janie Chang
Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Quiet in her Bones by Nalini Singh
Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas
What great books by AAPI authors can you recommend? Please share in the comments!
~ Caroline Russomanno
Just a year too old to include in this post: I loved Pintip Dunn’s Forget Tomorrow series (Forget Tomorrow / Remember Yesterday) which is an innovative spin on dystopia and possible the most thoroughly plotted time travel romance I’ve ever read.
Yay! There are so many great recommendations here but I have to give another shout-out for Sajni Patel’s The Trouble With Hating You; it was just a spectacular debut imho and was one of my favorite reads last year. More please, Ms. Patel.
And I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve yet to read any Jeannie Lin! How can that be? Adding her (and several other mentions here) to the TBR pile right now . . .
Keep the recommendations coming ;-)
I love Lin’s work. If you want to start small, I really recommend Capturing the Silken Thief. It’s a superb novella.
Thank you! I will ;-)
My favorite Jeannie Lins is her Lotus Palace Mysteries. The Jade Temptress only has a B+ here, but it’s an A for me for sure – the heroine is so unusual.
These are older books but I would recommend Tea Time for the Firefly by Shona Patel and A Good Indian Wife by Anne Cheria; Invisible Lives, Haunting Jasmine, Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee.The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award winning novel that was made into a movie starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan which has a great romance running through it. The Reluctant Matchmaker and Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal are both women’s fiction novels with a strong romance.
I can’t believe I didn’t include Mambo in China Town by Jean Kwok, one of my very favorite Cinderella stories although it ends with HFN not HEA
Here’s your DIK review of it for anybody who wants to check it out! https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/mambo-in-chinatown-jean-kwok/
Oh, here’s Tea Time for the Firefly! https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/teatime-for-the-firefly-by-shona-patel/
Pretty much every book Sherry Thomas writes is a winner. Little Fires Everywhere is a good time. We gave Severance a B+. Helen Hoag’s books are universally loved especially The Kiss Quotient.
One of my favorites by Sherry Thomas is her Mulan retelling: The Magnolia Sword.
Magnolia Sword got an A from us here! https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/the-magnolia-sword-a-ballad-of-mulan-by-sherry-thomas/
I adore that book. I like it much better than her fantasy trilogy which I like. But I love The Magnolia Sword.