cheska ౨ৎ's Reviews > If You Could See the Sun

➵ ♾ ✰ 🌷
my full + more in-depth review can be read below! 💌

─ more ann liang ᝰ.ᐟ
i hope this doesn't find you
if you could see the sun
this time it's real
a song to drown rivers

─ ୨୧ the king and the ghost bonus chapters ୨୧ ─

WHAT THIS WAS SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED LIKE A HENRY POV WHAT? my sunli going on dates and being all cute-sy and domesticated is what i needed rn. henry's memories mostly being of alice?? he still has nightmares about her being taken?? the banter + competition?? forever alicehenry brainrot.

i absolutely adored this and idcidc if it's fanservice because i ate it up + here are my fave quotes:

⊹ she looks how he believes art should look like, the kind of beautiful that makes you feel something, that presses your heart too tight against your ribcage.

⊹ ... and he knows she would not hesitate to ruin him. the problem is if she were only to smile at him, he would let her.

⊹ it is a competition between only the two of them, just the way he likes it.

⊹ alice, the source of his richest, most indispensable memories...

- for my henry ethan who had to listen to me rant about this book constantly + how alike he and henry is, ily <3 [i know you're stalking my gr rn]

₊˚ ────── ୨୧ first re-read review ୨୧ ────── ˚₊

⤿ first re-read! 💌

🧷 ₊⊹ # “i would rather spend the rest of this train ride fighting with him than let him be alone with his thoughts and fears again.”

i don't think i can put into words the way that this book makes me feel. this is MY comfort book ☹️ i will never get over alicehenry and how they are the most perfect ever. i literally have over 200 highlights + notes for this book (that's how much i love it)

i just need a sequel or a novella or any kind of continuation like even a cameo crumb ann liang pls 🙏🙏

my full + more in-depth review can be read below! 💌

₊˚ ────── ୨୧ initial review ୨୧ ────── ˚₊

⤿ first read
~ might contain minor spoilers! 💌

🧷 ₊⊹ # “i hate everything about you. i hate you so much that whenever i'm around you, i can barely think straight. i can barely even breathe.”

going into this book i knew i would like it but i didn't know that i would like it THIS MUCH. i firmly believe that Ann Liang has perfected the ya romance formula because i haved loved all of her books so far. she writes in a way that still incorporates cliches and tropes but in an extremely nice way. also her characters? i don't think i've ever disliked a single Ann Liang character. i love the way she integrates asian culture without it being stereotypical ughh i just love love love her.

now i am convinced that this book was written by me because funfact my bf and i had, almost the exact same dynamic, as henry and alice. from the banter to the slow build. henry + my bf literally confessed in almost the exact same way which had me giggling and squealing like i'm back in hs. this book was just so cute and fun that i am willing to ignore all flaws and plotholes because this book was written for me.

⊹ "wait. we hate each other?"

➶ this quote alone was enough to send me into a spiral. it changed the trajectory of my life. my brain chemistry was never the same and ughh henry li 💌

⊹ "if i'm not swimming as hard as i can, feet trashing at the waves, i'm drowning."

➶ alice sun. i don't think you guys understand how much i love this girl. she got me rooting for her even through the kidnapping and the blackmails and every questionable decision that she's made. she's so the archer coded. academically driven girl who just wants to succeed in life.

- i think what made her extremely likeable was her very superficial ambitions. she's just a girl who wants to get rich and would do anything to have a successful life. does that make her a villain? maybe but it also makes her human. she's not this mc who's moral compass is always pointing at the right direction because that's simply not how it goes.

- also when she had a mental breakdown after the test?! it's so me coded. there was a time in hs when i also broke down in front of a history/social studies teacher because i thought i did bad on a test. she's literally me and i am her.

- no. 1 alice sun defender she can do no wrong! 💌

⊹ i sneak a peak at his spotify playlist... only to find Taylor Swift's latest album playing...

➶ henry "wait. we hate each other? li. this man is the standard. that's it. that's the review.

- poor boy is claustrophobic tho T_T the train compartment scene made me want to go on a train right now. i like how he has strict parents but they ended up apologizing and being better. yay for parent character development in asian fiction.
+ he's the perfect amount of tease and flirt. never crosses the line and is always willing to beyond fot alice. the fainting. the app itself. the kidnapping. the lawyers. the "i'm gay and in love with you" part. like what?!

⊹ "for one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, you can really be quite oblivious sometimes."

➶ sunli. alice sun + henry li my babiess. them being accomplices to a literal crime but it's ok because they're top students is so 😭 but it's ok i love them and i stand by everything that they did.

⊹ "to live well, you must learn to see yourself first."

⤿ overall. this book is not a literary masterpiece by any means but it means sm to me that i'm giving it 6 stars. i kind of wish that they gave an explanation as to why she does turn invisible but i do undersstand that it's a metaphor for finding yourself but IDC IDC ANN LIANG SUPREMACY. pls pls go read this rn and i'll love u forever <333

# all reviews are opinions of my own and you should experience a book before giving your own. happy reading! 💌

₊˚ ────── ୨୧ pre-review ୨୧ ────── ˚₊

5 STARS FOR MY HENRY AND ALICE

i might have stayed up all night at a decently good time just thinking about them instead of while studying for my finals.

i loved elcaz but my sunli now has a special place in my heart 💌

+ i'm convinced that Ann Liang wrote this book specifically for me i'm delusional.

rtc !! 💌