The Donut Trap: A Novel

Written by Julie Tieu

Narrated by Natalie Naudus

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.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Nov 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063069824

Julie Tieu

Julie Tieu is a Chinese 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 for The Donut Trap

[Priyanka Taslim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the audiobook narrator! I think she did a great job, adding personality to each character, and the book was excellent too!

[geauxgetlit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a sweet Romcom that took place in a donut shop. Graduated from college with no prospects of a career, ABC turns to working around the clock at her families donut shop; however her mom is pushing her for marriage.
It was almost a cliché romance but nonetheless the characters were like able and it was a HEA.

[Kourt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Starting off strong, it was quirky and fun. Reminded me of the show Kim's Convenience with similar culture and characteristics of the parents. The reader does well to express the tone of the main character. But the story did feel a bit rushed and I wasn't swooning over the males as much as I'd hoped.

[Candice - Books Bacon Glitter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was very sweet and just what I needed to read during the last part of the year.

[Ava Mary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very mediocre - I felt like the two mains didn’t have great chemistry or anything to really sell me on their relationship. The resolutions to the novel’s main conflicts felt very superficial, and it would’ve been nice to see the main character do some more self-reflection and growth over the course of the novel.

On the other hand, I liked that this book portrays a more realistic romance scenario for 20 somethings compared to others in this genre!

[SerendipityReads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had high hopes for this book in the beginning, but it got slow in the middle, and then just ended weird. Would definitely give this author another chance, though.

[Kimberlee Patton · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Narrator was very gaspy.
Book was rather dull and completely missed the mark on the Com in RomCom.

[shazjhb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sweet romance

[jynell-71874 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sitting down to think on this one... I have to say that I loved watching the main character grow throughout the story, but I wasn't absolutely in love with the book. The mini love triangle, if that's what you call it... some misunderstandings... I didn't feel the connection as strongly as I'd have liked with the main characters... But I laughed at their banter, loved the father and the best friend... I loved the plot. I wished it had been steamier!

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had a good time with this book! I am somewhat impressed by the fact that I was able to resist the call of donuts despite being the fact that they were mentioned frequently throughout the story. And I do like donuts! I picked this book up because I was in the mood for something fun and light and this book fit the bill. I found this one to be a very enjoyable book.Jasmine has always worked at her parent’s donut shop. She started helping out when she was young and now that she is out of college she is there all the time. Her parents are immigrants and have always worked hard and expected a lot of Jasmine and her brother. When it is announced that the rent on the donut shop is going up, Jasmine knows that they need to increase their revenue so she comes up with some new ideas with her brother’s help. When her path crosses with her college crush, Alex, sparks fly right away. But is he too good to be true?I liked Jasmine a lot. The romance in this book is cute but it is just a small part of Jasmine’s journey in this story. Jasmine grows a lot in this book. She takes a lot of initiative with the donut shop and has some really important conversations with her parents. She also is working to find a job and move on from the donut shop. I did like the romance in the book and thought that Jasmine and Alex made a great pair once they worked through a few things.Natalie Naudus did a great job with the narration of this book. I thought that she did a great job with these characters and I found her voice to be very pleasant to listen to for long hours at a time. I believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment f the story.I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a very well done and entertaining story with fantastic characters. I will be looking out for more books by this talented author.I received a copy of this audiobook from HarperAudio via Libro.fm.

[dilowrosas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After college, the heroine returns home to work at her parents' donut shop. The daily grind makes the heroine yearn of freedom, but when a financial situation arises that brings trouble to the family business, her parents turn to the heroine for help. Along the way towards finding a solution to the financial crisis, the heroine encounters love interests and other issues throughout the story.This is the debut book for Julie Tieu. It features characters that dealt with familial and societal expectations in a diverse community. The family aspect of this story is very relatable to experiences that differentiates generations and their expectations. Though the romance aspect wasn't as strong, which it needed a bit more details to in my eyes. This book has a mixed set of characters that I was partial and impartial in likability. Overall, it's an entertaining story and I look forward to reading more Julie Tieu books in the future.**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

[twink_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Are you looking for your next listen? Julie Tieu's debut novel, The Donut Trap, is it's a sweet choice - in more ways than one!It was this descriptor from Harper Audio and Avon Books that caught my eye..."Julie Tieu sparkles in this debut romantic comedy, which is charmingly reminiscent of the TV show Kim’s Convenience..." I love that show and just knew I would enjoy The Donut Trap.Tieu gives us an eminently likable protagonist in Jasmine Tran. She's finished college and just doesn't know what's next for herself. Until she's figured things out she works in the family business - Sunshine Donuts. And tries to fend off her mother's attempts to find her a husband. And then Jasmine meets Alex - or should I say re-meets? The burgeoning relationship between the two is well written although it did feel a bit accelerated to me. Now here's where that Kim's Convenience comparison comes in. Both Alex and Jasmine are first generation immigrant children. The respect given to their parents, their values and their culture is there, but so is the desire to step outside the expectations put on them. This is an important part of The Donut Trap and I think Tieu's exploration of this rings very true. It's also a coming of age for Jasmine as she finally sets her own goals, desires and path. This thread does seem to take precedence over the romantic plot line.The other thing that needs to be addressed is - donuts! Oh my gosh, I had some serious donut craving while listening to the descriptions!I chose to listen to The Donut Trap. The reader was Natalie Naudus. She was a great choice. Naudus's voice is pleasant, easy on the ears, well paced and she enunciates well. The voice for Jasmine matched the age of the character and the mental image I had created. There's lots of internal dialogue for Jasmine and the slightly sardonic tone used was just right as well. She does a great job with the male voices as well, deepening her tone to a believable level. Alex's voice has a nice gravely tenor to it that really works for the character. Naudus also reads the part of all the parents with accurate and convincing accents. Jasmine's best friend is Linh and her voice is bouncy and upbeat. Naudus captures the dynamics, happenings, thoughts and emotions of the plot with her interpretation of Tieu's work. A great performance and a narrator I would definitely enjoy again. I enjoyed all aspects of The Donut Trap. I'm looking forward to Tieu's next book, Circling Back to You, due out in summer 2022.

[sdbookhound · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed Julie Tieu's debut novel The Donut Trap. In this book Jasmine is working for her parents in their donut shop. She feels stuck and is trying to figure out what to do with her life. While this book does have a romance between Jasmine and her college crush Alex, it is so much more than that. It was the struggles between Jasmine and her traditional Asian immigrant parents that really made the book for me. I could feel the strong love Jasmine had for her parents and they for her even through the struggles. It was all very believable and well written. There were a few things that I felt were a little rushed, like Jasmine getting her new job and progression of her relationship with Alex, but overall it was a great read and a solid 4 stars for me.My sincere thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager as well as NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it. I was truly impressed with this debut and look forward to what Julie Tieu does next.