The Donut Trap, Julie Tieu
The Donut Trap, Julie Tieu
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

The Donut Trap
A Novel

Author: Julie Tieu

Narrator: Natalie Naudus

Unabridged: 8 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 11/09/2021


Synopsis

Julie Tieu sparkles in this debut romantic comedy, which is charmingly reminiscent of the TV show Kim’s Convenience and Frankly in Love by David Yoon, about a young woman who feels caught in the life her parents have made for her until she falls in love and finds a way out of the donut trap.

Jasmine Tran has landed herself behind bars—maple bars that is. With no boyfriend or job prospects, Jasmine returns home to work at her parents’ donut shop. Jasmine quickly loses herself in a cyclical routine of donuts, Netflix, and sleep. She wants to break free from her daily grind, but when a hike in rent threatens the survival of their shop, her parents rely on her more than ever. Help comes in the form of an old college crush, Alex Lai. Not only is he successful and easy on the eyes, to her parents’ delight, he’s also Chinese. He’s everything she should wish for, until a disastrous dinner reveals Alex isn’t as perfect as she thinks. Worse, he doesn’t think she’s perfect either. With both sets of parents against their relationship, a family legacy about to shut down, and the reappearance of an old high school flame, Jasmine must scheme to find a solution that satisfies her family’s expectations and can get her out of the donut trap once and for all.  

About Julie Tieu

Julie Tieu is a Chinese-Cambodian American writer, born and raised in Southern California. When she is not writing or working as a college counselor, she is reading, on the hunt for delicious eats, or dreaming about her next travel adventure. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her high school crush husband and two energetic daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Meg on June 01, 2021

Loved this book! Such a cute romance, but the main character navigating her way through life after college was what REALLY hit home for me! So dead on. And her family was to die for. I want to live in LA and run a donut shop now (but with her family, not mine. Love you fam, but no).......more

Goodreads review by emma on April 12, 2022

This book's crimes were twofold: 1) It made me drastically need to eat a donut, in the donut desert that is my current world, and 2) I didn't like it. Hard to say which was more difficult to endure. This involves a very annoying protagonist with very little to offer who is still somehow out-annoying'd a......more

Goodreads review by Lacey (laceybooklovers) on November 24, 2021

3.5 stars! The romance could've been stronger but I really enjoyed reading about a 2nd-generation Chinese-American immigrant heroine, her mess of a life, and her parents' donut shop.......more

Goodreads review by aarya on June 14, 2021

2021 Spring Bingo (#SpringIntoLoveBingo🌷): Flowers Content Notes: (view spoiler)[references to Khmer Rouge and alcoholism (heroine once fainted due to alcohol poisoning during college). (hide spoiler)] Not recapping the premise or plot, but here are my main takeaways: I went into THE DONUT TRAP with completely wrong expectatio......more

Goodreads review by Katie on December 06, 2021

The Donut Trap is a decent read but I think it would have benefitted from fully developed storylines. It's a shame because the author brought some interesting things to the table but it just didn't have a top-notch presentation. Part of the problem is it is difficult to define whether the book falls......more