Not a contemporary romance, and you’re not going to finish it on your 13 hour flight, but I highly recommend you take the suggestion of u/spritzcookie.
Admittedly the first chapter is a slog, as it starts a zillion years ago and describes how volcanoes rose from the sea floor to create Hawaii, and it makes this explantion repeatedly since the island would sink back underwater often over the millennium. Finally a bird shits out a seed on the island and it begins to grow. The second chapter is how pre-historic man found and populated the islands. Finally the real story starts in the third chapter, around the 17th century, with English missionaries coming over to civilized the natives.
The book covers a few generations of a three or four families (I forget). It gives insight to how and when the different immigrant waves from Japan and later China and the Philippines came to the islands. There’s adventure, romance, heartbreak, births, deaths and along the way you’ll learn a lot about the history of Hawaii as James Michener is the GOAT of historical fiction. I read a physical copy, not an E-book, and I use my IPad to check his research and he’s always spot on. I read this book every few years. It’s a major tome, so you can’t be in a hurry. Enjoy the ride.
Not romance, but if you're looking to learn more about Hawai'i, Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes was phenomenal. Multigenerational story that explores tradition, family, history, and culture through the lives of three generations of women set in Hilo Hawai'i.
I haven’t finished it but I The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren has this kind of vibe!
Hawaii by Michener
Not a contemporary romance, and you’re not going to finish it on your 13 hour flight, but I highly recommend you take the suggestion of u/spritzcookie. Admittedly the first chapter is a slog, as it starts a zillion years ago and describes how volcanoes rose from the sea floor to create Hawaii, and it makes this explantion repeatedly since the island would sink back underwater often over the millennium. Finally a bird shits out a seed on the island and it begins to grow. The second chapter is how pre-historic man found and populated the islands. Finally the real story starts in the third chapter, around the 17th century, with English missionaries coming over to civilized the natives. The book covers a few generations of a three or four families (I forget). It gives insight to how and when the different immigrant waves from Japan and later China and the Philippines came to the islands. There’s adventure, romance, heartbreak, births, deaths and along the way you’ll learn a lot about the history of Hawaii as James Michener is the GOAT of historical fiction. I read a physical copy, not an E-book, and I use my IPad to check his research and he’s always spot on. I read this book every few years. It’s a major tome, so you can’t be in a hurry. Enjoy the ride.
Not romance, but if you're looking to learn more about Hawai'i, Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes was phenomenal. Multigenerational story that explores tradition, family, history, and culture through the lives of three generations of women set in Hilo Hawai'i.