Love and Other Moods is here for a trip to Shanghai

Love And Other Moods

By Crystal Z. Lee

This is my stop during the book blitz for Love and Other Moods by Crystal Z. Lee. Love and Other Moods is a standalone coming-of-age "own voices" story set in contemporary Shanghai, about falling in love, learning to adult, and discovering one's place in the world.

This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 10 till 23 March. See the tour schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/book-blitz-love-and-other-moods-by-crystal-z-lee

And don’t miss the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a Love and Other Moods gift basket at the bottom of this post!

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Multicultural Romance, Coming of Age

Age category: New Adult

Release Date: December 10, 2020

About the book:

Love and Other Moods is a coming-of-age story set in contemporary China, about falling in love, learning to adult, finding strength, and discovering one’s place in the world.

Naomi Kita-Fan uproots her life from New York to China when her fiancé’s company transfers him to Shanghai. After a disastrous turn of events, Naomi finds herself with no job, no boyfriend, and nowhere to live in a foreign country.

Amidst the backdrop of Shanghai welcoming millions of workers and visitors to the 2010 World Expo, we meet a tapestry of characters through Naomi: Joss Kong, a Shanghai socialite who leads an enviable life but must harbor the secrets of her husband, Tay Kai Tang. Logan Hayden, a womanizing restaurateur looking for love in all the wrong places. Pan Jinsung and Ouyang Zhangjie, a silver-aged couple struggling with adapting to the ever-changing faces of their city. Dante Ouyang, who had just returned to China after spending years overseas, must choose between being filial and being in love. All their dreams and aspirations interweave within the sprawling web of Shanghai.

This multilayered novel explores a kaleidoscope of shifting relationships—familial friction, amorous entanglements, volatile friendships—in one of the most dynamic metropolises of the twenty-first century.

Star Rating: 4/5

Review:

If you are stuck at home in the pandemic, I'd suggest getting this book right now. Love And Other Moods is a perfect book to provide a change of mood and a change of scenery for you. It describes the perfect thrill of moving all alone in a new country. The book will take you on a journey to accept changes and the importance of personal and spiritual growth. More than that, it beautifully describes Shanghai through the eyes of Naomi. It focuses on important issues such as racism, identity crisis, assault, etc. The writing style of the author makes it a quick and admirable read. Crystal Z. Lee captured the essence and wrote it beautifully in a book.

A short excerpt:

Naomi had packed four suitcases from New York, and right now they were stacked unevenly on top of one another in the hallway, forcing the front door to open only halfway, just tight enough for her to slide in sideways. She couldn’t remember the last time she had lived by herself. The lonely apartment was mildly depressing.

She felt like walking aimlessly. She passed by wrinkled men playing a game of Chinese chess, teenage girls in designer sunglasses taking photographs of each other, a woman gesticulating wildly as she yelled into her cell phone, tourists examining a guide book, a cloud of second-hand smoke drifting from outside a cafe, Uighur men selling kebabs, well-heeled shoppers clinging to their purchases, two men in yarmulkes talking heatedly, shrieking children competing with the racket from honking vehicles, and the sea of commuters gushing out of the Huangpi Nan Lu metro stop. Naomi let herself be swept up into the human river, bodies crushing against each other, arms brushing and shoving, no apologies no offense taken. Being in this city meant your senses were constantly accosted.

A man approached her with a flier featuring images of iPhones, Rolexes, LV handbags, and said that their shop was just ahead in an alley. She declined and quickened her pace. She spotted an empty bench by a bus stop and flopped down. Barely noticing as the traffic whizzed by, the racy selfie on Seth’s phone resurfaced in her head. A steady stream of downpour coaxed pedestrians to open a colorful array of umbrellas or duck into convenience stores, boutique shops, mall entrances. Naomi felt wholly unequipped and unprepared, again, by this city.

Her hair was stuck to her face and her forehead was damp. She was relieved that the inclement weather matched her mood, for tears had started forming and slithering beneath her eyes, blending with the droplets of rain running down her face. She wiped it away with her sleeve. She just wanted to throw up all the fury and regrets that were lodged in her stomach, she wished it could all be flushed out of her head.

It was starting to hit her, the reality of having no boyfriend, no job, and nowhere to live.

She wondered if the sprawling metropolis of Shanghai was too small to co-exist with her ex-fiancé.

Author Interview

Topic: Meet the Characters from Love and Other Moods

Q. Why Shanghai? Why was the novel set in this city?

I adore rom-coms, in books and in films. But it bothered me that the majority of romantic stories I read or watched growing up were almost always with the same American or European backdrop. Sure, Paris or Rome will always be iconic cities of love, but I believe Shanghai, Taipei, or Tokyo can be just as romantic. In Love and Other Moods, the city of Shanghai itself can be seen as one of the central characters.

Q. Introduce us to Naomi.

The main character of Love and Other Moods is Naomi Kita-Fan, a Japanese-Taiwanese-American who moves from New York to Shanghai with her fiance. Her wedding dreams are soon dashed and she must learn to step out of her comfort zone. This is a coming-of-age story, so we journey with Naomi as she experiences growing pains, discovers her place in the world, and along the way, falls in love.

Q. If you could have dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and where would you go?

Dante Ouyang. He is one of the dreamiest Chinese men you'll ever meet. Dante is an architect and also a culinary enthusiast. For dinner, we’d go to Xin Jesse in Shanghai, one of the best restaurants that serves authentic Shanghainese cuisine. After dinner, we'd go on an architectural tour. He'd point out all the art deco elements in the city because that is his specialty.

Q. If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

I would want to meet Naomi’s grandmother, Nai Nai. She tells Naomi about a real-life love story between a famous Chinese couple who lived a hundred years ago. I love history so would ask her for more stories like that.

If you were to write a spin-off about a side character, which would you pick?

If I were the reader, I’d love to hear the backstory of Naomi’s parents, Reina Kita and Wesley Fan. Or hear about Trina Akersten’s adoption story in Taiwan. Those are two spin-offs I might develop one day.

Q. Why did you decide to write the story in multiple third-person point-of-views?

I struggled whether to write the novel this way, but ultimately I wanted this book to mirror a city, with viewpoints from the multitude of characters you would meet in a sprawling metropolis. Therefore, in Love and Other Moods, there are POVs from the ex-pats, the Shanghainese socialites, the corporate executives, the working class, the entrepreneurs, the doorman, the maid, the millennials, the aging parents. To me, all of their perspectives are essential to the story and are what makes a city like Shanghai come alive.

Q. What are some tried-and-true writing techniques for transporting the reader?

I'm a firm believer in personally visiting any location or backdrop you're writing about, or at least conducting very thorough research. When I travel to a new place, my routine is to take a massive amount of photographs and videos, buy local artisan crafts and memorabilia, and if possible, I try to visit the region's bookstore to find unique reads sold only locally. When it comes to writing the scene, I gravitate towards setting the atmosphere with descriptions of the location's five senses--sights, sounds, scents, touch, and tastes. Sometimes I create a mood board that helps me to visualize a setting. And when in doubt, have someone that lives there or has been to that location read your work.

Q. Were the romantic relationships in the book based on people you had known in Shanghai?

Somewhat. Almost every character or situation was inspired by something that had happened in real-life. For example, I had known people in China whose families were opposed to dating a Japanese person because of what had happened during World War Two. I knew some Joss and Tay types, where the second generation was loosely connected to the government in some capacity yet decided to date outside of their circle. I also knew many Logans in China—western men who had moved to Shanghai and treated the city as their personal playground. Although many foreigners have left China recently ahead of the pandemic, there is still a sizable expatriate contingent in Shanghai. Many of my friends are still there, and have married or are dating somebody from China.

Q. Explain the Chinese characters on your book cover and on the photos inside of the book.

The four characters on the book cover literally translated, means “romantic journey in the neon city.” Inside the novel are four photos, which serve as dividers to the four parts of the book. So each Chinese character is represented in each part of the book: “romance,” “journey,” “neon,” “city.” Indeed Love and Other Moods is a romantic story about journeys and voyages, both literally and figuratively for the characters. Naomi crosses oceans and borders, and in the process, learns and grows as a person.

A fun fact about the city photographs inside the novel: my husband took them! We first met in Beijing (although he had seen my photo from my mutual friend in New Jersey, but that’s another story). In Shanghai my husband was always taking photos of the city wherever we went, so I had a treasure trove to choose from!

Q. One unique thing about Love and Other Moods?

I'd say the Asian male characters in my novel are all pretty dreamy, which is an element I don't see too often in mainstream English-language literature. I for one, would love to see more Asian men as lead characters in English-language fiction, and in the romance genre at large.

Links:

- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56120911-love-and-other-moods

- Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/love-and-other-moods-by-crystal-z-lee

- Amazon ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Other-Moods-Crystal-Lee-ebook/dp/B08NTL2PGR

- Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1913891011

- B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-and-other-moods-crystal-z-lee/1138082526?ean=9781913891015

- Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Other-Moods-Crystal-Z-Lee/9781913891015

- IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781913891015