Gemma Huang’s biggest desire is to be an actress in L.A. She only needs her lucky break. What she doesn’t count on is landing her dream job only because she’s the doppelganger of a famous Chinese Influencer, Alyssa Chua. Despite the “why,” when offered the leading role, she embraces the opportunity to launch her career and work alongside her idol, Eilene Deng. But when she finds out the movie is filming in Beijing, she’s thrust right into another dilemma—her mother has forbidden her to ever go to the city of her ancestors.

Desire wins over warnings and she jets across the globe to make her dreams come true.

But as soon as she lands, she’s dodging Alyssa’s fans while trying to accept her idol’s challenge of breathing new life into this role that she’s destined to fill. Adding to this an even bigger hitch, she unknowingly uncovers the reason why her mother has forbidden this visit—a buried family secret that will forever change Gemma’s life.

Heiress Apparently is a fun young adult read by Diana Ma encompassing all the ingredients to make it a hit—drama, romance, adventure, intrigue, culture and empowerment.

And anytime the reader can learn along with being entertained it’s a bonus, and this story certainly provides you with educational insight. The rich history of China and the culture of arts is woven nicely throughout. As Gemma works down her lists of “must do” experiences from foods she must try to “sights” she wants to visit, readers have the opportunity to experience Beijing through her youthful eyes. These experiences along with the new people she meets, help her see her polar cultures through very different lenses. Her outlook, appreciation and approach change even more when she meets Eric, who warns her there’s bad blood between their families. But Gemma leaps forward into love and life hoping desperately to uncover her mother’s secret. And as her career and friendships begin to soar, history pulls her back by playing a bigger role in her future than she ever would have imagined.