Single Sashimi (Sushi Series, Book 3)

by Camy Tang
Author Website: http://www.camytang.com/

Available in paperback. Zondervan, 2008; ISBN: 0310274001; 336 pages.

Sometimes the best really is saved for last. The final book in the Sushi Series centers on Venus. A brilliant computer programmer and video game designer, she has worked hard to get where she is. She's beautiful, thin, intelligent and hard as nails, but no one in her current company gives her any respect. A coworker breaks into her apartment to steal a secret program Venus needs to start her own company, then this same coworker receives the promotion Venus is obviously best-suited for. Meanwhile a new opportunity arises: to work for her old boss. It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't hate his guts. Oh, but why does he have to be so gorgeous? And then enters Grandma, matchmaker extraordinaire, networking genius and shrewd businesswoman. Is she really as bad as she seems? Or is Venus more like her than she wants to admit? Add to all this Venus's self-absorbed mother who re-enters her life with great expectations.

Tang delivers with spectacular characters, authentic details and goosebump-inducing romance. But this book is more than a great read; it encourages and challenges readers' faith. How much do we really trust God? Are we genuine in our devotion to Him? Or is our spiritual life just another routine?

Final Thoughts: I loved it. This was definitely my favorite of the three. It left me wanting more.

PS: Did anyone else notice there are four cousins and only three books? That's right; poor Jen has been relegated to supporting roles. I have it on good authority -- Okay, I emailed the author to find out! -- a fourth story will be released as an ebook, but you can only get it if you're part of Camy's Yahoo fan club. Visit her website for details. I believe it's coming out sometime this winter.

Only Uni (Sushi Series, Book 2)

by Camy Tang
Author Website: www.CamyTang.com

Available in paperback. Zondervan, 2008; ISBN: 0310273994; 368 pages.

This is the second book in Camy Tang's "Sushi Series." It continues with the four Christian cousins of the Sakai family. While the first book centered on Lex, this one focuses on Trish, the next in line for OSFC.

Trish has recently discovered that her boy-crazy behavior and less-than-consistent faith is alienating her from her best friends, her cousins. She pulls an all-nighter in the New Testament and emerges with three sure-to-win rules based on the Corinthian letters. She's determined to stick with them toward the end of a closer relationship with God and a renewed trust from her cousins. She wants to prove to them and herself that she can be a "good girl." The only problems are the super hottie she's working with and her totally sexy ex-boyfriend whom Grandma persistently pushes toward her. Okay, so those aren't the only problems, but they're enough to start a snowball of drama.

The characters are well developed, authentic and disgustingly likeable. While reading this book I confessed to my husband that I probably wouldn't befriend these women -- at first glance they seem false, pretentious and totally self-absorbed -- but I found myself LOVING them! It makes me wonder how many ladies I've falsely judged in real life. How many Trishes have I ignored just because I prejudged not to like them?

Final Thoughts: Camy Tang has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Some sequels aren't worth the time it takes to read them, much less the money and energy spent to produce them. This one is fabulous. I liked it better than the first. It was funny, fast-paced, and spiritually challenging. Definitely one I'll read again.

Sushi for One?

by Camy Tang
Author Website: http://www.camytang.com/

Available in paperback. Zondervan, 2007; ISBN: 0310273986; 352 pages.

Camy Tang recently won first place in the Debut Author category of the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Book of the Year awards. I'm so excited for her! It was well deserved.

Camy labels her books as "romance with a kick of wasabi." That's a great description. Her Sushi Series features sassy Asian American characters who struggle to live a Christian life in the midst of a not-so-Christian world.

This first book centers on Lex Sakai. She's one of four Christian cousins and, at the book's start, has been promoted to the position of OSFC -- Oldest Single Female Cousin. In a family where her grandmother, a bulldog-like matriarch, believes immortality is gained through grandchildren, this is a big deal. Lex is now Grandma's number one target and soon becomes the object of an ultimatim: start dating someone seriously (while currently having no prospects on the horizon) or lose the funding she desperately needs for the girls volleyball team she coaches. Lex has to find a boyfriend in three months, before her cousins wedding. Oh, and she doesn't trust men. Meanwhile a knee injury keeps her from the club she's waited years to join.

Final Thoughts: I loved this book! Its authentic characters endure real-life struggles without the sugary, watered-down grace often present in Christian fiction. These are chicks I would love to be friends with - if only they weren't fictional. I'm putting this novel (actually the whole series) in my pile of books I'll read again and again.