My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Title: The Jasmine Project

Author: Meredith Ireland

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 9/7/21

Publisher: Simon Schuster Books For Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Family, Coming of Age, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jenny Han meets The Bachelorette in this effervescent romantic comedy about a teen Korean American adoptee who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a competition for her heart, as orchestrated by her overbearing, loving family.

Jasmine Yap’s life is great. Well, it’s okay. She’s about to move in with her long-time boyfriend, Paul, before starting a nursing program at community college—all of which she mostly wants. But her stable world is turned upside down when she catches Paul cheating. To her giant, overprotective family, Paul’s loss is their golden ticket to showing Jasmine that she deserves much more. The only problem is, Jasmine refuses to meet anyone new.

But…what if the family set up a situation where she wouldn’t have to know? A secret Jasmine Project.

The plan is simple: use Jasmine’s graduation party as an opportunity for her to meet the most eligible teen bachelors in Orlando. There’s no pressure for Jasmine to choose anyone, of course, but the family hopes their meticulously curated choices will show Jasmine how she should be treated. And maybe one will win her heart.

But with the family fighting for their favorites, bachelors going rogue, and Paul wanting her back, the Jasmine Project may not end in love but total, heartbreaking disaster.

This one is cute! It definitely gave me Jenny Han vibes and I love Jenny Han so this was definitely up my alley.

Jasmine Yap is Korean and adopted. Her adopted mom is Italian-American and her father is Filipino-American which makes for a big family. I can relate to the big Filipino family – I have so many first cousins, it’s not funny! I loved the big family parties in the story, and the family meddling and drama is on point, too.

So Jaz is at a crossroads. She’s graduating high school with plans on going to community college and follow in her mom’s footsteps to become a nurse. Also, Jaz is supposed to move in with her high school boyfriend, Paul, until plans change and he gets caught cheating on her. Jaz’s family, and I mean all of them, decides it’s time for her to start dating other guys – guys who would actually show Jaz she’s special.

I could relate to Jaz on the family side of things and going after a dream that seems unattainable. She wanted to stay safe and surrounded by family and I know that feeling because I grew up with so many people around me, it was sometimes scary to leave that. But Jaz grows a lot from dating the other guys, having conflict with the family and resolving those issues. By the end, she’s ready to spread her wings and fly.

As for the dating show part of the story, yes she is dating these boys but she doesn’t know the whole story about how they came into her life. Right off the first meetings I felt the sparks between her and Eugene! He was my choice for her all along for sure. They have a love of food and cooking and he really brought her out of her comfort zone.

Triggers: bullying, low self-esteem, toxic relationship, cheating

Jaz had low self-esteem when she was with Paul. She seemed to go along with everything he wanted, just to please him and it was nice seeing her find out what she wanted and go for it without him in the picture.

Jaz was rightfully mad when she found out what her family did – especially her sister, who had a chance to stop the podcast she made about it. Jasmine really is a sweetheart for taking time to realize why they did it (out of love for her) and forgiving them. I don’t know if I would have been so easy to forgive that quickly.

I couldn’t put this book down because it was entertaining and I related so well to Jasmine. This is a wonderful, heartfelt coming of age story that has a sweet romance, friendship, family and food – so much amazing food that it made me hungry! So if you like food and romance, you will definitely enjoy this one.

📚 ~ Yolanda