Ava is 22 and Irish, in Hong Kong on a TEFL job. She gets a crush on a British banker, simultaneously disgusted and charmed by his wealth and entitlement. He likes her, enjoys her company, brings her along to drinks and parties, puts her up, gives her free access to his credit card, but is not interested in being her boyfriend. While he's on a long business trip in Europe, Ava gets an even bigger crush on a Hong Kong woman lawyer. At first she dates her without telling her about him, or him about her, then she tries to be with her but keeps living with him, then she agonizes over the choice and then...spoiler alert, she probably picks him. I liked the description of bankers' expat life, and generally some snapshot of Hong Kong felt spot on. But Ava, is really too proud of being 'a weirdo', of not fitting in with the expat, of being edgy and smart and leftie. The banter got to my nerves. And the description of her coming out experience did not feel genuine - I mean, everyone is entitled to their own, but growing up in Dublin, going to university and dating a woman in Hong Kong...come on now, it could be a lot worse. I also thought the claiming of shared identity with Hong Kongers, as two people colonised by the Brits was potentially problematic, especially without addressing the fact that now Ireland is a democratic independent state, while Hong Kong is about to be swallowed by a totalitarian regime. Generally, a character's flaws don't need to be a book's flaws, but I’m afraid Naoise hasn't got enough distance from Ava to problematise these issues.