On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong

Published: 2019
Publisher: Penguin Press
Genre: Literary, Poetry, LGBTQ, Asian American, Vietnamese, Connecticut
Hardback: 246
Rating: 5
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First sentence(s):
Let me begin again.

Zombie sighting:
Mai, who had driven all night from Florida, shuffled through the rooms, cooking food and making tea in a zombie-like daze.
-page 198

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

My two-bits:
Gorgeously done in epistolary form with beautiful and moving passages filled with painful memories of the past.

~*~
* part of Books and States challenge (here): Connecticut

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

The Bride Test
by Helen Hoang
narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

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Published: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance, Asian American, Vietnamese
Paperback: 320
Rating: 5

The Kiss Quotient series:
The Kiss Quotient
The Bride Test
The Heart Principle -tba

First sentence(s):
Ten years ago
San Jose, California

Khai was supposed to be crying. He knew he was supposed to be crying. Everyone else was.

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

My two-bits:

Loved the male perspective with this couple. Also loved how quirks and differences were handled between this pair.

This series have a great set of characters that bring about a cozy family setting.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient
by Helen Hoang
narrated by Carly Robins

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Published: 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance, Asian American, Vietnamese
Paperback: 352
Rating: 5

The Kiss Quotient series:
The Kiss Quotient
The Bride Test
The Heart Principle -tba

First sentence(s):
"I know you hate surprises, Stella. In the interests of communicating our expectations and providing you a reasonable timeline, you should know we're ready for grandchildren."

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

My two-bits:

Loved the portrayal of diversity in this story with sexy Asian American characters in steamy scenes. The gentle push and pull between the couple was just right.

~*~
* Per Helen's website...
Film rights for The Kiss Quotient have been sold to Pilgrim Media Group, and Lionsgate has signed on to develop the book into a feature film!

* Listened to audiobook version.