Book Review: Bonjour Shanghai by Isabelle Laflèche



**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre:  YA
Release Date: November 26, 2019  
Description:
"Clementine Liu, the super-stylish fashion student behind the Bonjour Girl blog, is about to finish her first eventful year in New York City. Ready to put all the drama behind her, she’s about to embark on a prestigious exchange program — in Shanghai!

Before Clementine actually sets foot in China, though, a whole bunch of problems put her impending departure in jeopardy. Despite it all, Clementine flies off to Shanghai, where she immerses herself in the new, exciting fashion world and cutthroat blogging scene. Then there’s Henry, a charming classmate who’s on a mission to capture her heart, despite her New York boyfriend.

Even halfway across the world, Clementine can’t escape her problems. But can she find a way to survive and thrive while staying true to herself?"

Well, this was a rather quick read. When I requested for this ARC I was not aware that this was a sequel. Fortunately, I was able to grasp the gist of the story and what happened in the previous book. On the downside, I wasn't able to experience the character development that may have occurred in the previous book and any drama that was glossed over in this book. 

 Overall, I was not much of a fan of this book. I found myself skimming through the pages because of how bored I was. None of the characters appealed to me, and so many stupid mistakes were made. For example, Clem catches feelings for a boy she met online from Hong Kong, but she has a boyfriend. She is aware that her boyfriend is uncomfortable with this surprisingly budding friendship, yet she doesn't completely stop herself from catching new feelings. Another thing is how so many uneventful things begin to happen to Clem, all of which I did not care about, but at least it was all fixed by one simple blog post, thus clearing all the drama. 

 I feel like even if I had read the prequel, I probably still wouldn't have enjoyed this series because of the weak plot, weak characters, and the overall juvenile tone.

Overall rating: 2 /5

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