Heiress Apparently 

by Diana Ma 

4 out of 5 

Synopsis 

The first book in an epic and romantic YA series following the fictionalized descendants of the only officially recognized empress regent of China

Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.

Review 

Gemma is an actress struggling to make the rent, when a new job whisks her away to Beijing, and she learns there's more to her family history than she realised.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gemma Huang is a Chinese American who has never been to her parents' homeland of Beijing. They refuse to tell her anything about their lives before they came to America, and Gemma is banned from ever going to Beijing.

Aside from the secrets, Gemma loves her parents and knows how lucky she is to have them. They are both intelligent, in well-paid jobs, and have provided a comfortable life for themselves. They love and support Gemma, even when she wants to postpone college so she can follow her dream of acting.

Gemma goes to live in LA with her friends, and starts to date Ken, a handsome Asian actor she met when they both went for the same toothpaste commercial.

After a few months of struggling to make the rent, everything is looking up when Gemma gets the leading role in the new M. Butterfly remake.

I enjoyed this little book. The romance with Eric was very cute, and the plotlines had a comfortable predictability about them. You kinda knew what would happen, and just sit back and enjoy Gemma's story.

I think the real strength of this book was the representation, with mostly people of colour, and LGBTQ characters and themes.

I loved reading about Gemma's opinions on being a Chinese American, she's made to feel like she doesn't belong in either America or China, despite having a claim to both.

There are many moments for Gemma to reflect upon, when people have been mildly racist without realising it, where they see her ethnicity before they see her.

As an actress, she's passionate about her love of film, but she's resigned to knowing that white Hollywood rarely cast Asian actors. And when they do, they're just perpetuating stereotypes and what they want to believe is real.

Gemma has her idols, women that have made it against the odds, and now it's her turn.

I loved the exploration of LGBTQ in media and history. How it evolved in China, reflecting the way American media was manipulating peoples' ideas.

Gemma identifies as straight, but there are gay and lesbian couples too.

Whilst Gemma is in Beijing, and during shooting in male drag, she gets to experiment with gender roles.

I'm not sure where the series is going to go next, as all the storylines came to a close, but I'm intrigued to find out.

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