Review: I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang

Everyone loves Chanel Cao—except Ares Yin.

While Chanel has spent her entire life curating a picture-perfect social media personality—from her body to her hair to her camera-ready smile—Ares has spent his trying to hide in the shadows. But Ares’s brother is missing, and Chanel’s parents have secretly separated, and their only hope is each other.

Ares is willing to do whatever it takes to find his brother, and Chanel will do anything to keep her parents’ secret. When the two meet and share a vision of the future—where Ares’s brother appears, as Chanel’s house burns to the ground—they are determined to use each other. Ares believes Chanel is the key to finding his brother, but Chanel is convinced if she gets Ares to fall in love with her, she’ll save her family house—and her parents’ crumbling marriage.

But Ares isn’t interested in the fake personality that Chanel has used her entire life to get affection and adoration. If she’s going to save her reputation, she’s going to have to let Ares get to know the real her—and risk real feelings.

• Title: I Could Give You the Moon
• Author:  Ann Liang
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication Date: April 14, 2026
• Genre: Romance 
• Targeted Age Range: YA
• Content Warnings: death of a parent, divorce, infidelity, physical violence, blood, injury/injury detail, fire, attempted murder
• Rating: ★★★★

One of the things I love most about Ann Liang novels is how consumable they are. I typically finish her books in 1-2 sittings because it’s so easy to get absorbed in her words and stories, and I Could Give You the Moon is no exception. Liang’s writing is gorgeous; her writing makes you feel for her characters and connect with them on such a deep level that you feel like you really know them. She has such a gift of connection through her writing that truly can’t be taught.

It was so fun to return to the world of If You Could See the Sun, it felt a bit like coming home! It’s been a few years now since I read If You Could See the Sun, but I remembered everything about the world so vividly, which I think is a testament to Liang’s writing. It made me so happy to get mentions of Henry and Alice, I missed them so much! The mentions of them and references to what happened in If You Could See the Sun always brought a smile to my face.

I loved getting to read from Chanel’s point of view, I loved her as a character. There were so many instances where my heart absolutely broke for her, especially when it came to the pressures put on her by not only her mother, but herself. I loved that Chanel had a tough exterior and wouldn’t put up with any nonsense from anyone, but she wasn’t mean to people (unless they deserved it, and in that case I support her completely). Her growth throughout the novel was wonderfully done.

I liked Ares a lot as well. His love for his brother was so evident and I really grew to care about him. Similarly to Chanel, there was more to him than meets the eye and I really enjoyed the chapters from his POV and getting to learn more about him and his motivations. I also really enjoyed him and Chanel as a pair; they shouldn’t make sense, but they work so well together and I loved the development of their relationship.

While I understand why this book was set in high school, I think it made me have to really suspend my disbelief. Not because of the magical realism elements, those were very much so in line with what was established in If You Could See the Sun, but some of the situations that Chanel and Ares found themselves in felt just a little too unrealistic for high school students. I think even if it was set in the first year of college I would’ve believed it a little bit more. It didn’t deter my enjoyment in any way, in fact, it kinda reminded me of Gossip Girl in a way, as odd as that sounds. Like, did I really believe that high schoolers were finding themselves in these situations? No. Did I enjoy it regardless? Yeah, I absolutely did. It just felt a little far fetched at times.

Overall, I really enjoyed I Could Give You the Moon (also the scene where the title is said? Loved that!) and if you enjoyed If You Could See the Sun and/or any of Liang’s other YA novels, you’ll definitely enjoy this one as well! 

Links for I Could Give You the Moon: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop