10 Must-Read Books By Asian Authors Releasing in June 2025
The start of summer means…more time to read! Get ready to tackle your TBR, or at least watch it growth with June’s incredible line-up of new releases.
Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang
From the author of the instant New York Times bestseller I Hope This Doesn't Find You, Never Thought I'd End Up Here is another hilarious and romantic romcom from Ann Liang, this time following a former model determined to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.
Leah Zhang has spent her whole life in LA - it's all she's ever known. But after accidentally wishing her cousin ill health and a very depressing marriage at her wedding, her parents stage an intervention. She's forgotten most of her Mandarin, has zero regard for etiquette, and can't hold a conversation with her own grandparents for longer than a minute. Their solution? Send her on an intensive two-week travel program across China's most beautiful cities. To them, it's the perfect opportunity for Leah to get back to her roots. To Leah, it's simply a much-needed escape.
But before Leah can even begin to enjoy the luxurious hotels, stunning scenery, and mouth-watering cuisine, she finds that also on the trip is her former classmate and least favorite person cynical, sarcastic Cyrus, who's somehow only gotten more annoyingly handsome since they last saw each other.
While Leah might be tempted to shove him off the peak of the Yellow Mountain when nobody's looking, she can't get rid of him just yet. After all, she might never get another chance to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life.
Yet the deeper they wander into China's provinces, the deeper Leah finds herself falling in love - with the boy she once thought she despised, the home she never thought she'd call her own, and the parts of herself she thought were already lost.
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Why should you read it? When former model Leah Zhang is sent on a whirlwind trip through China to reconnect with her roots, the last person she expects to see is her annoying (and annoyingly attractive) ex-classmate Cyrus…but between scenic cities and family revelations, old grudges start to shift into something softer. What starts as a revenge mission turns into a journey of self-discovery, culture, and unexpected romance, perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers romances.
Flashlight by Susan Choi
A novel tracing a father’s disappearance across time, nations, and memory, from the author of Trust Exercise.
One night, Louisa and her father take a walk on the beach. He’s carrying a flashlight. He cannot swim. Later Louisa is found washed up by the tide, barely alive. Her father is gone, presumed drowned. She is ten years old.
In chapters that shift from one member to the next, turning back again and again to that night by the sea, Susan Choi's Flashlight chases the shockwaves of one family’s catastrophe. Louisa is an only child of parents who have severed themselves from the past. Her father, Serk, an ethnic Korean born and raised in Japan, lost touch with his family when they bought into the promises of postwar Pyongyang and relocated to the DPRK. Her American mother, Anne, is estranged from her family after a reckless sexual adventure in her youth. And then there is Tobias, Anne’s illegitimate son, whose reappearance in their lives will have astonishing consequences.
What really happened to Louisa’s father? Why did he take Louisa and her mother to Japan just before he disappeared? And how can we love, or make sense of our lives, when there’s so much we can’t see?
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Pages: 464
Why should you read it? Flashlight by Susan Choi is a haunting, multilayered novel about a father’s mysterious disappearance and the emotional aftershocks that ripple across generations and continents. Through shifting perspectives and richly drawn characters, it explores memory, identity, and the hidden costs of family secrets, asking how we navigate love and loss when the truth remains just out of reach.
The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa, Allison Markin Powell (Translator)
Welcome aboard the Hankyu Line train!
Come along on a heartwarming, funny, and perfectly cozy voyage with the charming and relatable passengers—including one dashing dachshund—whose lives intersect and affect each other on one of Japan’s most romantic railway lines from international bestselling author Hiro Arikawa.
Between the two beautiful towns of Takarazuka and Nishinomiya, in a stunning mountainous area of Japan, rattles the Hankyu Line train. Passengers step on and off, lost in thought, contemplating the tiny knots of their existence. On the outward journey, we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters, and on the return journey six months later, we watch them find resolutions.
A young man meets the young woman who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can check it out himself, a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad, a university student heads home after class, a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend, and an old lady discusses adopting a dog with her granddaughter.
With stories that crisscross like the railway lines, the Hankyu train trundles on, propelling the lives and loves of its passengers ever forward.
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Japanese Literature, Contemporary, Short Stories
Pages: 256
Why should you read it? The Passengers on the Hankyu Line is a cozy, heartwarming novel that follows a group of strangers—each facing their own quiet struggles—as their lives briefly intersect aboard a scenic train between two picturesque Japanese towns. With gentle humor, emotional depth, and a touch of romance (plus a memorable dachshund), Hiro Arikawa weaves a tender story about everyday encounters, second chances, and how even the smallest moments can spark connection and change.
Celestial Banquet by Roselle Lim
Iron Chef meets The Hunger Games in Roselle Lim’s dazzling YA fantasy debut, following a young noodle chef who competes in a cutthroat cooking competition for the gods.
Once every generation, the Major Gods hold a Celestial Banquet, inviting chefs from all over the Continent to prepare mouthwatering fantastical feasts. The winner is awarded the fabled Peaches of Immortality, along with a lifetime of fame and fortune. The losers perish per the whims of the fickle gods.
Hot-headed noodle chef Cai enters the competition with dreams of owning her own restaurant and supporting her impoverished Peninsula town. Along with the drunken Minor God Kama, her childhood crush-turned-friend Bo, and dreamy noble Seon, Cai must now compete against the Continent’s finest culinary masters in trials that range from hunting and serving up mystical sea serpents to preparing a magical omurice from the eggs of the legendary Jian bird.
Battling impossible odds and inconvenient feelings for both Bo and Seon, Cai is determined to prepare a feast fit for the gods—even if she loses her life. Set in a spectacular world inspired by Chinese and Southeast Asian folklore, Celestial Banquet is an ode to food, home, and family, wrapped in an epic and thrilling adventure.
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology
Pages: 321
Why should you read it? Celestial Banquet is a thrilling, high-stakes fantasy where a fiery young noodle chef competes in a deadly culinary tournament judged by gods. Blending the intensity of Iron Chef with the danger of The Hunger Games, Roselle Lim’s young adult fantasy debut is packed with mouthwatering magic, rich folklore, and heart—making it a must-read for fans of food, fantasy, and fierce ambition.
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!
Truyan Saigas didn't choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.
Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father's disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King's inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 483
Why should you read it? From the author of Six Crimson Cranes comes a lush, romantic fantasy where a gifted artist who can paint the future strikes a dangerous bargain with a cursed dragon lord. Blending Beauty and the Beast vibes with high-stakes intrigue and rich mythology, this story is perfect for fans of magic, slow-burn romance, and heroines who fight for both love and family in a world ruled by gods and deception.
Always Be My Bibi by Priyanka Taslim
Clueless meets Jenna Evans Welch in this young adult rom-com about a spoiled American teenager who faces some major culture shock—and potential romance—when she jets off to Bangladesh for her sister’s wedding.
Bibi Hossain was supposed to get her first kiss this summer.
Too bad her father finds out and grounds her for breaking his most arcane rule: No boys until your sister gets married.
Just when Bibi thinks she’ll be stuck helping him at their popular fried chicken chain until school reopens, her oh-so-perfect older sister Halima drops a bombshell: she’s marrying the heir of a princely estate turned tea garden in Bangladesh. Soon, Bibi is hopping on the next flight to Sylhet for Halima’s Big Fat Bengali Wedding, hoping Abbu might even rethink the dating ban while they’re there.
Unfortunately, the stuffy Rahmans are a nightmare—especially Sohel, the groom’s younger brother. The only thing they can agree on is that their siblings are not a good match. But as the two scheme to break their siblings up, Bibi finds it impossible to stay away from the infuriatingly handsome boy.
Could her own happily ever after be brewing even as she stirs up trouble for her sister’s engagement—or is there more steeping at the tea estate than Bibi knows?
Publication date: June 10, 2025
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 368
Why should you read it? Set against the backdrop of a lavish Bengali wedding, this charming YA rom-com follows Bibi Hossain—a bold, boy-crazy teen grounded for breaking her dad’s rules—as she navigates family drama, cultural clashes, and unexpected sparks with her sister’s future brother-in-law. Perfect for fans of Clueless and Love & Gelato, Always Be My Bibi a fun, heartfelt story about growing up, falling in love, and finding your place between two worlds.
The Dallergut Dream-Making District by Lee Mi-ye, Sandy Joosun Lee (Translator)
In this bestselling follow-up to The Dallergut Dream Department Store, beloved characters must visit a special dream-making district to unlock new secrets about the customers they lost and hope to bring back.
It's been a year since Penny first walked through the doors of the Dallergut Dream Department Store, and surviving a year at the store means one thing… She is now an official employee of the dream industry! She can finally take the express commuter train to the Company District, where all the dream-production companies are located, and discover how all raw dream materials and testing equipment are produced.
But the Company District is not quite what she expected. Instead it hides a secret underbelly of the magical industry that Penny thought she was a part of.
Penny discovers the Civil Complaint Center, full of people filing complaints about their dreams. She also learns about the regular customers who have stopped coming to the store. As she gets to the bottom of each complaint, she begins to expand her horizons, moving beyond the role of dreamseller to understanding what lies in the hearts of their lost regulars.
The Dallergut Dream-Making District delves deeper into the dream industry and its customers. Why do some of them buy a dream and never return? And can Penny and her colleagues bring their regulars back?
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Genres: Translated Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism
Pages: 304
Why should you read it? The Dallergut Dream-Making District is a whimsical and thought-provoking journey into the hidden corners of the dream industry, perfect for fans of cozy fantasy with heart. Now a full-time employee, Penny explores the mysterious Company District and uncovers the stories of customers who’ve stopped dreaming. Blending magic, mystery, and emotional depth, this charming sequel invites readers to reflect on hope, healing, and what our dreams reveal about us.
The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-yeon, Janet Hong (Translator)
In this million-copy international bestseller from Korea, the owner of a corner store takes in an unhoused man who does a good deed, a kind soul whose presence will transform the whole neighborhood—a heartwarming tale of community and redemption reminiscent of the bestselling novels of Matt Haig and Gabrielle Zevin.
Dok-go lives in Seoul Station. He can’t remember his past, and the only thing he knows for certain is that he could really use a drink. When he finds a lost wallet filled with documents, his life is drastically changed.
Mrs. Yeom, a retired history teacher and current owner of her neighborhood’s corner store, is distraught over the loss of her purse, until she receives a mysterious call from the person who found it. To thank this down-on-his-luck stranger, she offers him a free meal from the convenience store. Seeing the joy the food brings him, Mrs. Yeom impulsively invites him to stop by for lunch every day.
In a twist of fate, Dok-go saves the store from a robber—a brave act that propels Mrs. Yeom to offers the bear-like man a job working the night shift, despite the objections of her wary employees. The store’s new employee quickly wins over the quirky denizens of the neighborhood, becoming a welcoming ear and source of advice for his coworkers and neighbors’ problems, and helping his new boss save the store from financial ruin. But just when things are looking up for Dok-go, Mrs. Yeom's good-for-nothing son, eager to sell the store, hires a detective to dig into the mysterious man’s past and what he seems to be trying so hard to forget.
The Second Chance Convenience Store is a moving and joyful story of a woman fighting for her community and a man who has lost everything except the will to try again.
Publication date: June 17, 2025
Genres: Translated Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 208
Why should you read it? The Second Chance Convenience Store is a tender and uplifting story about how one small act of kindness can ripple through an entire community. When a man with no memory and nothing to his name returns a lost wallet, he’s offered a meal—and slowly finds a sense of purpose, connection, and belonging behind the counter of a neighborhood shop. Warm, hopeful, and quietly profound, it’s a reminder that everyone deserves a fresh start.
The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao
In this laugh-out-loud murder mystery, three women dating the same man band together to get revenge, but when they discover his body, they'll need to solve his murder before they go down for it.
The body in the closet was going to be a problem. Kathryn Hu knew it. Yes, Tucker Jones was a cheating scumbag, and yes, she’d agreed to meet Olivia and Elle—Tucker’s other girlfriends—to exact revenge for all he’d put them through… But then they found him. Dead.
Do they look guilty? Yes.
Do they feel guilty for having wished him dead just hours before? Maybe a little.
But—solid motive and a crime scene covered in their DNA aside—they’re innocent. They swear.
To clear their names, Kat, Olivia and Elle team up to find the real killer. But as they go undercover and lie to everyone, including the hot detective working the case, they realize that every person in their ex's life had a reason to want him dead. Will they uncover the truth before they go down for a murder they didn't commit?
Filled with humor and shenanigans, The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club is a romp of an adventure by award-winning author Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It and John Tucker Must Die.
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Adult, Thriller
Pages: 320
Why should you read it? The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud mystery where three women team up to clear their names after discovering their cheating ex dead—and themselves as the prime suspects. Full of chaos, charm, and unexpected twists, it’s a wildly entertaining ride perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, and anyone who loves revenge plots with a side of murder.
The Blood Phoenix (Fall of the Dragon #2) by Amber Chen
The sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, a thrilling and epic silkpunk fantasy inspired by the legendary Qing dynasty. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Xiran Jay Zhao.
Two years after Ying leaves the Engineer’s Guild and the ghost of her father’s unjust death behind, life seems to regain a semblance of normalcy. But the winds of unrest continue to stir within the Nine Isles, and the aftermath of a horrific pirate attack by the mysterious Blood Phoenix fleet forces Ying back into the tense political world of the new High Commander, Ye-yang. And soon, Ying, Ye-yang and her former friends from the guild must work together to find a way to outsmart the cunning pirates who terrorise the straits—and the elusive mastermind who’s controlling them.
Meanwhile, Ying’s sister, Nian, now lives in the capital, awaiting the day she will finally marry the High Commander. While her relationship with Ye-yang remains distant, she finds company in her friendship with the fourteenth prince, Ye-kan, and discovers her unexpected affinity for governance and strategy. But the capital is more dangerous than she expects, and when a dark conspiracy arises, Nian and Ye-kan must unravel the mystery in time to prevent the High Command from collapsing from within.
New dangers arise at every moment, threatening to tear the Nine Isles apart. In order to sail through this storm, Ying and her loved ones must make difficult choices amidst terrible betrayals. With the world on the brink of destruction, will they find a way to defeat their enemies and survive? And will it be worth the cost?
Publication date: June 17, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 464
Why should you read it? This action-packed sequel to Of Jade and Dragons dives deeper into a richly imagined silkpunk world inspired by the Qing dynasty, where pirates, political intrigue, and betrayal threaten to upend everything. As sisters Ying and Nian navigate war-torn seas and a treacherous imperial court, they must uncover conspiracies and make impossible choices to protect their people. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Xiran Jay Zhao, this epic fantasy is filled with heart, strategy, and high-stakes adventure.
