CBR18 Book 20: "Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter" by Heather Fawcett

Page count: 368 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book involving animals

Monthly Keyword Challenge 26: Cat

Official plot summary, because I finished this back in February, and my perimenopausal brain isn't exactly helping here:

Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.

Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.

Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.

Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .

This book takes some of the central elements of the Miyazaki adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle (the opinionated young woman determined to tidy up everything and everyone, especially the utter chaos that is the handsome, eccentric and possibly a bit socially awkward magician she shares a living space with) and adds cats! What's not to like? 

I would say that the official plot summary may mislead readers into thinking that romance is going to play more of a role in proceedings than it actually does. There is absolutely an attraction between Agnes and Havelock, but it is so slow-burning that it never really has time to become much of a blaze before the book is over. If Fawcett intends to write a sequel (which I sort of hope she doesn't, because the book works on its own, and standalones are so rare these days), I suspect the romance will be much more central. 

In my book club, we have a running joke that far too many books have exciting covers (and occasionally plot summaries) that promise the presence of cats, only for us to discover that it is all lies. Sometimes, the cover has a cat, and there isn't a single cat to be found anywhere in the story (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, to name one). Sometimes, the book summary promises us cats, and they literally only feature in two scenes in the entire book (Chilling Effect, I'm looking at you). This book, on the other hand, has so many cats. Tiny cats, shy cats, cuddly cats, eerie cats and absolutely dastardly tyrant cats. Several of them play important roles in the story, more so than some of the supporting human characters, frankly.

Agnes is wonderful. I would love to be her friend, especially because I suspect she'd come to my house and, after being gently disappointed in the absolute chaos that surrounds me and my family at any given time, she would roll up her sleeves and tidy and organise this place with military precision. I would bake her things to show my gratitude. 

Havelock (I am dying to find out if this is a clever Pratchett reference) is so incredibly Howl-coded. He is handsome, scatter-brained, antisocial, and lives for his magical experiments. He's basically a mad scientist, but with magic, who seems to have learned how to people from reading books (so not always that successfully). Both his living space and his personality are complete messes, and this is obviously irresistible to Agnes. She cannot rest until she has tidied and organised his multiple sub-levels of hoarded magical artefacts. 

There are some great supporting characters in this, as well. Both Agnes' and Havelock's sisters come to mind, and there is Yannick, Havelock's harried apprentice, and Mina, the hard-working volunteer helping Agnes get the cats relocated to good homes. This was one of my most anticipated books to come out this winter, and it didn't disappoint for a second. It is cosy and entertaining, and I highly recommend it. 

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is an utter delight. Look at all the different kitties, lounging and prowling and playing and generally being adorable and whimsical. I love that the artist has included so many of the cat characters from the book, very recognisably, on the cover. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 63: "Magically Generated" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 85 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR17 Bingo: Arts (Everett makes detailed sketches before making his amazing snow sculptures)

This was an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own. 

Nora Blackburn no longer believes in love and is super wary of anything that might be a fraud or scam. Her previous relationship was with a man who scammed her out of thousands of dollars, and she's determined not to be fooled again. Her state of constant hyperawareness and scepticism of everyone and everything also means she isolates herself, and she certainly doesn't want to go out to experience new things. Now it's coming up towards Christmas, which was never her favourite time of year, but which is extra hard after her mother passed away during the holidays last year. 

When pictures of a large, elaborate snow sculpture that has appeared in a Toronto park start circulating, Nora is convinced it's all just AI fakery. But then, more pictures from various angles, and even videos of people with the snow sculpture are shared, and her curiosity is piqued. When she visits the first one, to see it for herself, she runs into her neighbour across the hall, Everett Sun, a man so positive and full of Christmas spirit that she's been avoiding him in self-defence. As always, Nora is deeply wary of him at first, in case he is another scammer, but he seems so gentle and genuine that she is drawn to him. As more snow sculptures appear, they go to visit them together, and the park visits develop into more elaborate dates. 

What Nora doesn't know is that it's not some mysterious team of performance artists making all the sculptures; it's all Everett. He discovered his strange, magical ability to manipulate snow when he was younger, and has been going out to make the sculptures partly as a way of spreading holiday cheer, but mostly to actually impress and entertain Nora. She's been hurt before by dishonesty. What is going to happen if she discovers that Everett has been withholding the truth about the sculptures?

This holiday novella is a quick read of fewer than a hundred pages. Nora is the grumpy one, not quite having sunk into Grinch territory with her pessimism and impatience about Christmas, while Everett is the cheerful, sunny one, who's always smiling, positive, friendly and welcoming. He doesn't like having to keep the secret of his ability to create the sculptures from Nora, but since no one appears to be able to see him actually "do" the magic, just the results of it, it's not like it's an easy thing to demonstrate to her. Making the sculptures requires a lot of advance planning, and he expends tremendous amounts of energy while doing it. One night, Nora finds him collapsed in the hallway outside their apartments, and starts to worry that he has a health condition. Having to deceive her makes him uncomfortable, but he's also worried she'll think he's crazy if he confesses the truth to her. 

This might be the first Jackie Lau romance in a while, where food doesn't seem to focus heavily in the story, even though Everett has to eat a lot to keep his energy when creating snow art. It's also a very quick read, and as is often the case in novellas, the characters don't have as much space to develop. If it hadn't been an ARC, I think I would have saved this to read closer to Christmas. It felt a bit weird to read Christmas stories in mid-October, but it's very sweet and well worth picking up if you want a little touch of magical realism as the days get darker (both literally and figuratively).

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR17 Book 27: "Time Loops & Meet Cutes" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 352 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Jackie Lau and Atria Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Noelle Tom feels like she's in a rut. She's underappreciated at work, she doesn't have much of a social life to speak of, and she's pretty much given up on love and dating. Having worked late yet another Friday evening, Noelle goes to the night market and buys some dumplings from a mysterious old woman who claims they will "give her what she needed most". 

Unfortunately, eating the dumplings causes Noelle to be trapped in a time loop. Every morning, no matter what she tries or does, she wakes up on Friday the 20th of June. All of her work is reset, any conversations she has are forgotten the next day. She can cut and/or dye her hair, and it's back to her usual length the next morning when she wakes up. Any money she spends, no matter how big a sum, is back in her bank account as well. When she tries to return to the night market, the old woman's food stall is nowhere to be found, even if everything else plays out the same for her, every day. Only Noelle remembers all the things she has tried and experienced. She needs to figure out what will break her out of the time loop.

After some time, reliving the same day on repeat, Noelle locates another woman, Avery, who also ate the mystery dumplings and is stuck in the same time loop, if possible in an even worse situation than Noelle (she has her period and has discovered that she wants to break up with her boyfriend - and every morning she wakes up in bed with him again). Avery and Noelle bond over their unusual situation, and while everything else resets each morning, they remember the conversations and experiences they have have together, allowing them to slowly develop a firm and supportive friendship.

Noelle keeps running into Cam, a friendly and handsome brewery owner. Every time he sees Noelle, he seems to almost remember her, prompting Noelle to believe he might be able to help her get out of her predicament. She orchestrates a long series of different meet-cutes, and as she gets to know him in a series of dates, she falls in love with him, while he has to be reminded of who she is with each new reset. 

I've been reading Jackie Lau's novels for a few years now, and she keeps getting stronger and more sophisticated as a writer. Normally, her novels are straight contemporary romances, set in Canada. Here she introduces an element of magical realism with the time loop, and in the first half of the novel, especially, the focus of the story isn't so much on the romance between Noelle and Cam, but the friendship between Noelle and Avery, who both very much need someone else to listen to and support them in their lives. While Noelle is trapped in the time loop, as she gets to know Cam a bit more with each new encounter, he keeps forgetting her, and it's not possible for their relationship to really progress.

In the second half of the novel, Noelle and Avery are faced with a new challenge, as they are unexpectedly freed from the time loop, but instead of waking up on June 21st, it's January 24th. More than seven months have passed, and some version of them seems to have lived through these months, without either of them having any memory of the passing time. Avery seems to actually be engaged to her boyfriend and will need to deal with that. Meanwhile, Noelle needs to figure out why her sister doesn't seem to want to see or speak to her anymore, but also has a real chance to build a proper relationship with Cam. 

Because of the time loop element, this novel is a rather unusual romance. If the friendship developing between Avery and Noelle doesn't work for you, this book might seem slow and frustrating, since most of the actual romance stuff comes in the second half. I really liked it, though, and recommend it to fans of Lau's previous novels. 

Judging a book by its cover: I think the cover is cute, and the dark blue background with what looks like little golden dots gives it a more magical, whimsical feel. I like how we get three versions of Noelle and Cam, growing increasingly closer to one another as the story progresses.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR17 Book 14 : "Two Friends in Marriage" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 233 pages

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer! This was an ARC sent to me by the author. My opinions are my own. 

During the Covid pandemic, it becomes very obvious to both Evan Mok and his friend Jane Yin how lonely they both are and how much they wish they had someone to share their lives with. They agree that if they are both still single after Jane's thirty-third birthday, they will get married and buy a house together. By the time Jane's birthday has passed, neither of them is in a romantic relationship, and both have pretty much given up on finding long-term happiness with anyone. So sticking to their pact seems like a good idea.

They pretend that they have been dating for a while, to avoid awkward questions from Evan's family. Jane doesn't really expect any questions from her side of the family. Her mother died of cancer when she was little (by turning thirty-three, Jane has now lived longer than her mother ever did), and once her father remarried, he seemed to entirely lose interest in Jane and her life. He claims he's too busy to make it to the wedding and she doesn't have much of a connection to her stepmother or younger half-siblings. So one of the benefits to Jane in marrying Evan is that she will actually have in-laws who seem to care. 

Once they find a house they like, their quiet life together seems to be going very well. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper marriage of convenience story if the two didn't start catching feelings for one another. Evan is bisexual and Jane is one of the friends he's known the longest. He never felt any attraction towards her before they got married and moved in together, but now he keeps having to fight feelings he's sure his quiet wife can't return. Jane, for her part, is asexual and has been happily celibate for nearly a decade. So she's even more surprised when she starts having pants feelings for her husband. Both are worried that they are going to hurt/upset/freak out their significant other by confessing these feelings - oh noes!

I don't think I've read a single Jackie Lau book that I didn't at least in parts enjoy, but some of her books are absolutely less to my taste than others. This is the third book in the Weddings with the Moks series (only one sibling left to pair up, now) and it's fine, but nothing more. While I like Evan's parents (this is now the third book where they have appeared), I didn't really connect with Evan or Jane, and as a result, I didn't really care what happened to them. There was nothing really drawing me into the story, and if this hadn't been an ARC that I felt a responsibility to finish and review, I possibly would have DNF'd it. 

It probably doesn't help that a couple of weeks before reading this, I read another "marriage pact" romance that worked for me on every single level, and which I had trouble putting down. In a Rush by Kate Canterbary had characters I adored, a great supporting cast, and a storyline that engaged me and kept me wanting to spend more time with them. Evan and Jane are both very aware that they're not very exciting people, and that seems to come across in the writing. Obviously, perfectly ordinary people deserve romance and their happy endings too, I just needed something more from this book to keep me entertained. 

I'm still looking forward to the final book in the series, hopefully Mok brother number 4's romance will be more to my tastes.

CBR16 Book 58: "Much Ado About Nada" by Uzma Jalaluddin

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Retelling (modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion)

CBR16 Bingo: Bollywood (set in Canada with desi protagonists)

The absolutely last place Nada Syed wants to be is the big annual Muslim convention in downtown Toronto. She is nearly 30 years old, single and lives at home with her parents and two brothers. If she goes to the convention, there is a high chance that she'll run into her old mentor, formerly her mother's best friend. She might also run into her mentor's son, her former business partner, who promised to help her launch an advice app, but stole her ideas and launched a rival app of his own shortly before the official release, making Nada's app a dud. 

Now Nada's friend Haleema is getting married, and her fiancée Zayn's parents run the convention. Haleema obviously wants to introduce her future husband to her maid of honour. What no one knows, because Nada has made very sure not to tell anyone, is that while she's never met him, she knows of him from his brother Baz, who will also be at the convention. Nada hasn't seen Baz for six years, and they have a long and complicated past between them, some of it romantic. When they finally do meet again, Baz treats her like a stranger, which she can understand, but it still hurts. During the days of the convention, their paths keep crossing, and with each new meeting, Nada can't help but wonder what would have happened if she's given them a proper chance all those years ago, instead of breaking both Baz' and her own heart.

Jalaluddin's first novel, Ayesha at Last, was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in Canada. Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On, had a lot of elements from You've Got Mail. In this novel, Jalaluddin takes inspiration from Persuasion, and even includes some direct references to the characters and some quotes. It, therefore, shouldn't come as a surprise to the reader that Nada and Baz have a past, and that there are unresolved issues between them, as well as regret and longing colouring their current interactions. 

Nada and Baz first met when they were eleven, at Sunday school. Baz was the new boy and Nada became his relentless bully, trying to gain popularity and fit in. It's pretty bold of the author to show such a negative side of Nada as early as chapter two. By the time Nada and Baz meet again, she has realised how badly she acted and apologises to Baz, who forgives her. They become friends, and later, when they are students together, romantic feelings spring up between them. But they are young and inexperienced, and Nada's parents disapprove of their relationship, so they have to date in secret. Having to lie to everyone she knows and keeping Baz secret from her friends and family is difficult, and in the end, Nada's insecurities and doubt lead to them breaking up.

While Nada's parents indirectly contribute to Nada and Baz's breakup, they are not portrayed as bad people. They care a lot about their three children, who all have challenges in different ways. Nada's elder brother got divorced and has joint custody of twin girls, but still lives in a small apartment in his parents' house. Nada is worried that he is depressed and unable to move on with his life. She takes him to a dating event during the convention to help him meet new women, and maybe get a new chance at love. Nada's younger brother has a rare genetic disease that makes him wheelchair-bound, but despite his parents' protectiveness, he clearly has ambitions and plans for the future that don't involve living at home forever.

The need to change and move forward with one's life is a major theme in the book. Nada and her brothers all need to make some changes and take steps to better their futures. Nada realises that she also has to deal with her former professional failure, and after many years of being depressed and dejected, she is finally getting new ideas and possible plans for new and useful apps to develop. 

Normally I'm not a big fan of second chance romances, but as with the novel it's homaging, this was really sweet. I also liked the subplot with Baz and Zayn's Muslim boyband, and their adoring audience throwing extra hijabs on the stage to show their enthusiasm. While I wouldn't say Jalaluddin has achieved pre-order status yet, she is absolutely someone whose books I would probably pay full price for, since I've now read and really liked three of her novels. I'm already looking forward to seeing what she will do next.                                                      

Judging a book by its cover: All of Jalaluddin's covers have fairly different designs, yet each of them also features a woman with a hijab, so there's certainly no doubt that she writes about Muslims. Of the three books I've read, I think I prefer Hana Khan Carries On to this one, but they are all nice. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 56: "Three Reasons to Run" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 241 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Free Space

Disclaimer: This was an ARC from the author, it has not affected my review in any way. 

Leo Mok (younger brother of Max, from Four Weddings to Fall in Love) is late for his cousin Carl's wedding because he got a speeding ticket. He's not exactly thrilled to be going, since he's had a crush on the bride since he first saw her at a family gathering two years ago. He's about to leave his car when the bride comes running out of the church and nearly crashes into him. She implores him to help her get out of there, and Leo wouldn't hesitate to help a woman in distress, even if he wasn't infatuated with her. He takes her to buy ice cream and helps her fetch her things from her apartment before anyone comes home. 

Yvonne Siu is a people pleaser and has always tried to be the perfect daughter and later girlfriend. She could never understand why her older sister was always in conflict with her parents and eventually rebelled and cut all contact with them. She's been in a relationship with Carl for five years, and while she hasn't really felt appreciated or satisfied for a long time, she invested a lot of time and effort into the relationship. She even forgives Carl for cheating on her. However, as she is walking up the aisle, she just can't make herself marry him. She flees and is deeply grateful to Leo for helping her escape the awkward scene of her wedding. 

Even if Leo hadn't been present in the parking lot as Yvonne came storming out of the church, she would have had an escape available. Shortly before the ceremony, Yvonne spoke to Leo's mother, who could tell she was having doubts and gave Yvonne her car keys just in case. Once Yvonne clears out her things from the apartment she shares with her now ex-fiancée, Leo's parents offer to let her stay with them at their house until she can find a place of her own. So Yvonne ends up crashing temporarily in Leo's old bedroom. 

While Leo tries to keep his distance, he is completely unable to say no every time Yvonne asks for help, or to hang out, and later, because she's never really had a satisfying sexual experience, to "show her a good time". Leo knows that he shouldn't want his cousin's ex, and Yvonne has a lot of work she needs to do before she's certain she's ready for anything new. Can there ever be anything more between them than friendship and casual sex?

Jackie Lau has written quite a few novels where the couple's HEA (happily ever after) doesn't involve becoming parents. When they reconnect after she runs from her wedding, Yvonne discovers that her sister is heavily pregnant. Once her nephew is born, Yvonne is happy to spend time with the baby, but it also confirms to her that she doesn't actually want children of her own. Running away from her own wedding shakes up Yvonne's life drastically, and she's left with a lot of time to think and reconsider her wants and priorities for her future. It becomes very clear to her that being a mother is not part of that future. 

Her thoughts on motherhood are not the only things that Yvonne needs to consider. Having been a "good girl" her entire life, trying to be the perfect daughter who never caused any trouble, and later the perfect girlfriend and fiancée, it's only after leaving her Carl that she realises how unhappy she was. Seeing her sister, entirely estranged from their parents, so happy with her partner and seeing Leo's parents, many years married, also in a healthy, functioning relationship, she comes to understand how toxic the situation she grew up in was, and how controlling and demanding her father was. Her ex wasn't emotionally abusive, like her dad, but he did take her for granted and never seemed interested in or cared about what Yvonne liked, wanted or needed.

Leo is quiet and rather taciturn and doesn't think he's in any way good enough for Yvonne. He's also so smitten that despite knowing it's a bad idea, he still takes every chance to spend more time with her. He takes care of her favourite plan, he will happily hang out with her, or go for a meal with her, and he ends up going on her honeymoon with her. Agreeing to casual sex so she finally discovers what a satisfying sex life is like? He isn't going to say no to that. He has to come to terms with the fact that while his life might seem quiet and boring next to those of his siblings, he's a kind, helpful and very thoughtful person, and wanting what is best for the person you love isn't a bad quality in a partner.

While I liked this, it wasn't one of my favourite of Lau's books. She doesn't write bad books, but this one felt 'just fine' instead of 'really great' if that makes sense? Your mileage may vary. 

Judging a book by its cover: Maybe not the most exciting of covers, but the wedding bouquet is very pretty and the flowers and the pastel colours give a good indication of the book's content (a wedding will be involved, it's unlikely to be a very angsty read). 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR16 Book 31: "Love, Lies and Cherry Pie" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 342 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

This was an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own. 

CBR16 Sweet Books: Cozy 

Emily Hung is happily single, but her mother won't let that stop her from trying to set her up with suitable men, often the sons of various family friends. Since Emily is now the only unmarried daughter, her mother's efforts are intensifying. At her sister's wedding, her mother makes sure Emily is paired with Mark Chan, who is an engineer and seems stuck-up and boring.

To make matters worse - even if they didn't seem to even like each other at Emily's sister's wedding, her mother lies to her to get her to go on a brunch date with Mark. It's at this point that Emily decides to persuade Mark Chen to be her fake boyfriend. If their parents think that they're already dating, they'll stop trying to throw them together.

Unfortunately, Emily's family and friends seem to be everywhere, and every time Emily comes up with a story about what she's been doing with Mark, someone seems to have been nearby and can't remember having seen them there. So what's a struggling writer with two jobs and a fake boyfriend going to have to do? Go on actual fake dates with him, of course, and document them on social media. As she spends more time with Mark, Emily is forced to realise that her first impressions may have been wrong. Could it be that her mother is actually right, and Mark Chen IS the perfect boyfriend for Emily? Surely not!

I've read a lot of Jackie Lau romances over the last few years, and this one is one of my absolute favourites. Fake dating isn't one of my favourite tropes, but it's done well here, and it's quite cute once Emily is forced to realise that perhaps her mother really isn't just desperate to get her coupled up, but has actually put thought and effort into finding a guy who might actually be a good and respectful partner to her child. 

Another thing I really liked in this novel is that it starts out in single POV, where we only get Emily's take on things, but in the second half of the book, once Emily has started considering Mark as an actual romantic prospect, we get chapters from his POV as well. I always prefer the more complete picture that a dual POV romance gives, and this narrative touch, where it's introduced later in the story, was really well done. 

As always, with Jackie Lau books, there's a lot of food being consumed and described. Do not read while hungry. 

Judging a book by its cover: I think this cover is incredibly cute, and looking at it actually helps me remember some of the story (which is certainly not always the case). Obviously, I read a digital copy of this, but if I saw this book in a store, the bright and cheery cover would easily catch my attention. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR15 Book 54: "Four Weddings to Fall in Love" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 235 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Max Mok meets Kim Sun at a wedding and is smitten with her from the first. She clearly likes him enough to invite him to her hotel room after the reception, but Max isn't really used to one-night-stands and the encounter doesn't really go very well. Kim is left unsatisfied and Max is mortified. At least they're unlikely to ever have to meet again, to relive the awkwardness.

Except it turns out that Kim and her family are close friends with Max' cousins, three of whom are getting married later in the summer, and Max and Kim will keep being thrown together, by fate and meddling family members. Can Max persuade Kim that he deserves another chance, both in the bedroom and possibly as a longer-term partner?

It's quite refreshing to have a hero who's not super confident and a smooth and charming ladies man who always delivers in the bedroom. I suspect more people have slightly underwhelming first encounters, especially if, like in Max and Kim's situation, they had vastly different expectations to how the night was going to go and neither felt comfortable enough with the other to actually talk about what they wanted and needed. A lot of the things Kim really wants from a lover were things that Max' previous girlfriend didn't like, and Kim didn't actually speak up about the fact that Max left her unsatisfied, but rather rolled over and pretended to be asleep.

Rather than being oblivious, Max is very willing to admit his mistakes and absolutely wants to prove himself to Kim and learn what she wants and needs. Once again, a vulnerable and dedicated hero is refreshing, and the reader really roots for Max to get Kim to forgive him.

Kim wants to settle for one-night stands and casual sex because she was badly burned by previous relationships. Her previous boyfriend had a very nosy, overbearing, and critical mother, and never defended Kim in disagreements. It left Kim feeling abandoned and unappreciated, and since she seems to always end up with men who choose their family over her, she's pretty much decided to stay unattached from now on. She likes Max, but the fact that he has a large family and seems close to his parents makes her worried she's just going to end up repeating her destructive pattern.

Max, on the other hand, broke up with his last girlfriend once he realised that she didn't really love or desire him, he was just a convenient partner she could settle down with. He comes to understand Kim's misgivings, but doesn't really initially have the confidence to believe someone as great as her would ever even consider him as a long-term partner.

Jackie Lau doesn't really do insta-love romances. Her characters have flaws and insecurities and usually have to work with their love interest to find out how their happy ever after is going to look. Even when they don't knock my socks off, they are always good reads. In this one, there is clearly some setup for future novels, but Max' family are fun supporting characters and I am looking forward to seeing which other weddings the Moks will be involved in.

This was an ARC that I received from the author. It has not affected my opinions or swayed me in any way, although I will say that I also pre-ordered the book and paid for a copy with my own money, because Jackie Lau is a worthy auto-buy contender. 

Judging a book by its cover: I'm a member of a Facebook group in which Ms. Lau is also a member. There was a preview of completely different cover art for this book (I think it may have been AI generated). I don't entirely remember what it looked like, but this cover is so much better, and really simple, yet fun. I love the sparkly shoe and the discarded tie. The image is playful. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR15 Book 33: "Hana Khan Carries On" by Uzma Jalaluddin

Page count: 358 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR15 Bingo: On the Air

Official book description:

Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighborhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job. In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one of her listeners. But soon she'll need all the support she can get: a new competing restaurant, a more upscale halal place, is about to open in the Golden Crescent, threatening Three Sisters.

When her mysterious aunt and her teenage cousin arrive from India for a surprise visit, they draw Hana into a long-buried family secret. A hate-motivated attack on their neighborhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana's growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival restaurant--who might not be a complete stranger after all.

As life on the Golden Crescent unravels, Hana must learn to use her voice, draw on the strength of her community and decide what her future should be.

Uzma Jalaluddin's first novel, Ayesha at Last, was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in Canada with Muslim protagonists. This novel has strong elements of You've Got Mail, where the heroine and hero have built a friendship (and maybe more) via messages in response to Hana's podcast. The love interest just happens to be the handsome, rich guy who sweeps in with a rival operation, threatening to put our humble heroine's family business out of business for good. No bookshops here, but rather halal restaurants. Also, while Aydin's family is wealthy, he's nowhere near as rich and unscrupulous as Tom Hanks' character (seriously, I have never liked You've Got Mail since the first time I saw it, the older I get, and the more I subscribe to Kill the Rich, the more unattractive Tom Hanks' character gets). Yet this plot is so beloved and so frequently retold. 

Jalaluddin introduces a subplot in her story that has nothing to do with the movie she's taken inspiration from, however, it's one of the things that makes this book really interesting and gives the reader further insight into a culture that at least to me is quite unfamiliar. Hana's auntie is extremely glamourous and opinionated and has clearly lived a very different life than a Muslim woman from her generation may have been expected to live. She gives Hana several pieces of sage advice, and it turns out that she's harbouring secrets that may impact several characters in the story in unexpected ways. 

The novel doesn't shy away from the racism that causes problems for both Hana's mother's restaurant and the one Aydin is starting. Without it becoming too heavy a subplot, it's nevertheless refreshing that the author doesn't pretend that minority groups still don't face difficulties with acceptance in majority white communities, even in a progressive country like Canada. 

I've enjoyed both the novels I've read by Jalaluddin, and her third novel is apparently a modern take on Persuasion, so I'm already looking forward to seeing how she interprets that story through a new lens. 

Judging a book by its cover: While the cover image doesn't exactly look like the no-nonsense, very pragmatic heroine this book features (it's far too ethereal and impressionistic for that), I nonetheless like the colour choices and find the soft lines pleasing to the eye. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR15 Book 21: "He's Not My Boyfriend" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 180 pages

Rating: 3 stars

15-word review: Annoyed by family meddling, Iris tries to ignore her growing attraction to hot one-night-stand Alex

Iris Chin is happily single and doesn't ever want to enter into a long-term relationship, certainly not marriage. She can't understand why her mother and grandmother are so eager to set her up, both seem to have made very poor choices in their own marriages. One-night-stands feel much more uncomplicated to Iris, but once it turns out that one of her previous hook-ups, Alex Kwong, works on the construction site she's the head engineer for, and she'll keep running into him when on the job, things absolutely get more confusing for her.

Iris has also had to move in with her grandmother after her flat lease was finished, which brings with it several additional challenges. Obviously, saving money and having her grandmother cook for her is great, but she also has to contend with her grandmother's well-meaning meddling a lot more. 

This is one of Lau's earlier romances, and while it's not bad, as such, it doesn't have as much of the wit and sparkle that makes her more recent books stand out. This book was perfectly fine, but it didn't exactly blow my socks off, and now, a few months later, I'm struggling to remember the finer details of the plot. 

Judging a book by its cover: Just as I think Lau's general writing has improved with time, her covers featuring stock photo images have also definitely become better. This lavender colour-scheme is nice, but who cuddles in bed fully clothed, covered by a top-sheet?

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR15 Book 11: "Not My Valentine" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 136 pages

Rating: 3 stars

This was an ARC from the author. My views are my own. 

Helen Tsang has sworn off love as a lost cause after her boyfriend dumped her last Valentine's Day and someone filmed it, making her a very involuntary viral sensation. However, as Valentine's Day is approaching once more, she feels like she is getting excessive sympathy and pity from friends, family, and even the staff of her regular bubble tea shop. She doesn't really want to field any more questions and decides to ask her friend Taylor to act as her fake boyfriend. They can "break up" a while after Valentine's Day, very amicably, so no one needs to remember the viral video anymore or think about Helen's love life in the future.

Of course, as is always the case with fake dating stories, it doesn't take long before Helen starts seeing Taylor in a new light. They've been friends for years, and Taylor was extremely supportive when she was so very publically dumped last year. For some reason, a lot of the romantic gestures which Helen claims to hate are rather adorable when Taylor does them. He sends her flowers, and pictures of heart-shaped cakes to tease her and doesn't at all mind posing for cutesy couples pictures for her Instagram feed. Of course, as Valentine's Day approaches once more, Helen starts wondering if she wants her fake relationship with her friend to become a real one. 

The grumpy-sunshine pairing is a relatively common trope in romance, as is the fake dating scenario. Helen and Taylor are a cute couple, and as always, in a Jackie Lau romance, there's a lot of descriptions of food and baking. Nevertheless, while this novella was a perfectly fine read, it never became anything special, and now, about a month after finishing the story (I'm once more behind on my reviews), I'm having trouble remembering much of the specifics at all.

This was OK, but there are much better Jackie Lau romances out there - including several fake dating stories. This won't be a waste of your time, but it's also unlikely to stick in your memory. 

Judging a book by its cover: While this is an illustrated cover, I appreciate that there are no cartoony people anywhere on it. Just a bunch of brightly-coloured baking supplies and a little phone. It doesn't hurt that I'm very partial to teal, which is the dominant cover colour.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR14 Book 45: "The Stand-Up Groomsman" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 368 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR14 Bingo: Funky (Mel makes Vivian feel very funky, in the bad way, when criticising her career choices when they first meet. There is later a lot of *funky bass line* when they finally get together). 

This was an ARC given to me by the author. It has not affected the contents of my review. 

Vivian Liao used to be a huge fan of comedian Melvin "Mel" Lee, and one of her hobbies was making fan art about him. Then she actually had a chance to meet him one evening, since her roommate is dating his former castmate and friend. Unfortunately, they don't seem to get along at all, and Lee spends quite some time questioning Vivian's career choices and values, deeply upsetting her. About a year later, Vivian discovers that her roommate is marrying her movie star boyfriend, asking Vivian to be one of the bridesmaids. There's only one problem. Melvin Lee will be the best man, and he and Vivian will need to spend a lot of time together. Her roommate Lindsay (the heroine of last year's Donut Fall in Love) is worried that it'll be too uncomfortable for Vivian, but she assures her friend that she'll manage just fine. 

This being a romance novel, Vivian manages more than just fine. After meeting Mel again after one of his comedy shows, and having a much nicer conversation with him, the two strike up a long-running messaging thread, and by the time the bachelor and bachelorette parties are being held in New York, they are in fact quite good friends, Mel's unfortunate social gaffe during their first meeting a non-topic between them. It turns out that they have a lot in common, like being bisexual Asians with difficult family backgrounds, and they frequently suffer from insomnia. Quite a few of their text changes take place in the early hours of the morning when they are both unable to sleep. 

As their friendship grows, so does their mutual attraction. By the time of the wedding, it's quite clear that Vivian and Mel want to jump each other's bones, and they just need to get through the ceremony and wedding feast before they can do the deed. Initially, Vivian is determined it will just be a one-night stand, but Mel convinces her that they should try giving a proper relationship a try. Since Vivian lives in Canada and Mel in the USA, it'll have to be a long-term thing, but they're both hung up on each other enough to give it a go. Unfortunately, Mel has never successfully managed to stay in a relationship long-term, and Vivian only has one previous serious relationship behind her, which ended terribly. Is it likely that they can ever have a happy ending?

A lot of Jackie Lau's romances are self-published, but this is her second one being released through a traditional publisher. Thankfully, I don't think there are really any major differences except the money backing the books. There's the really comforting portrayal of supportive friendships, both male and female. While that's not always the case, in this book, both characters are openly queer, and mostly accepted by their families anyway. There are meddling match-making relatives, at least on Melvin's side. There's excellent banter and a lot of descriptions of delicious food. Vivian is very open about not wanting children, and her previous relationship dissolved partially because she felt she pretty much needed to mother her boyfriend. Both protagonists have some serious baggage they have to work through before they can settle down together. 

Vivian comes across as cold and reserved to people who don't know her well, and because her parents expected her, as the eldest child, to step in and help take care of her younger siblings from a relatively young age, she didn't really get to enjoy a proper childhood and after her unsuccessful previous relationship, she's convinced that the only way she can be of value to anyone is for all the things she can provide for them. No one has ever really taken care of Vivian before, and she finds it incredibly difficult to believe herself worthy of such care and affection, afraid that it could never last.

Mel suffers from depression, and as a comedian, feels like everyone always expects him to be funny. His grandmother is determined to find him a partner, not really caring whether they're male or female, and keeps surprising him with crazy matchmaking schemes. Having never had a relationship last more than six months, he's also a bit wary, but he really thinks things could be different with Vivian.

Basically, if you've enjoyed Lau's romances in the past, there really is no reason why you won't like this one either. If this is your first thing you hear of her, this is an excellent place to start. While it's a follow-up to Donut Fall in Love, it works perfectly well on its own. 

Judging a book by its cover: I really like the yellow and pink colour scheme, even if it's yet another cartoon cover. It's also nice to see a hero who isn't tall, dark and chiseled. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR14 Book 26: "Her Unexpected Roommate" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 234 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR14 Bingo: Elephant (the elephant in the room very much being Rose's depression)

CW: mental illness, death of a parent from suicide (in the past)

Disclaimer! This was an ARC from the author. My opinions are my own. 

Rose has treatment-resistant depression but nevertheless manages her job as an electrical engineer with the support of her therapist, her friends, and her collection of plush animals. Having watched all of her friends couple up, she's feeling rather lonely and sad, but rather than stay home and wallow, she gets dressed up and goes out. Her impulsive move pays off, and to her surprise, she meets charming and sexy Cal. They end up at his, spending a hot night together. Cal doesn't even seem freaked out when Rose wakes in the middle of the night and confesses that she needs a plushie to hug to sleep. They exchange numbers, and Cal promises to text her, and then never does. Rose, who thought they'd had a real connection and had gotten her hopes up, spirals further into depression as a result of her heartbreak.

Skip to a few months later, when Rose's roommate Sierra is moving out (to live with her boyfriend). Because of Rose's depression, Sierra and Amy (their friend and landlord) deal with all the hassle of finding a new housemate for Rose. So imagine Rose's surprise when the nice, friendly, and easy-going candidate they picked out turns out to be Cal. He claims he was going to text her and even excitedly told his friends about her, but then his phone got run over by a truck. He understands that Rose might find it awkward to live with him, so offers to move, but asks for a grace period of a few weeks to find a new place. Rose reluctantly agrees and hopes she can keep her heartbreak from showing.

Cal is determined to show Rose that he can be trusted but isn't going to try any romantic overtures if she's uninterested in him. He does his best to be the ideal housemate, doing chores, and cooking meals he knows Rose will enjoy when she comes home late from work. Not only does he not seem freaked out or put off by Rose's fondness for plush animals or her Instagram account for her big plush alpaca, he even joins in by buying plushie himself and making an account for it, "friending" Rose's alpaca. Rose becomes comfortable enough with his presence to agree to let him stay, but despite trying her best to tamp down on her inconvenient attraction, it only seems to grow. However, if she agrees to date him and things go wrong, she won't just be risking heartbreak again, she'll be losing a really great roommate in the bargain. 

A lot of Jackie Lau's romances are very light-hearted and fun and focus on friendships, great chemistry between the lead, and lot and lots of descriptions of delicious food. This book has a darker subject matter, with Rose's really serious depression, and her fears that she might never find the kind of lasting relationships that her friends have because her illness makes her impossible to be with long-term. There is no suggestion that falling for Cal, who is understanding, supportive and sweet, is in any way going to cure Rose. She lives in the shadow of her mother's suicide, worried that if things get really bad, she might be tempted to make a similar choice.

This is the final book in the Cider Bar Sisters and it was nice to see all of the ladies get their happy endings over the course of the series. The supportive friendships of the women throughout the books is one of my favourite things about them (I don't drink alcohol and even when I did, cider wasn't really my thing, but it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy reading about good friends meeting for drinks). Having read a lot of her books over the last few years, I think Ms. Lau's writing keeps getting better and I can't wait to see what she's going to write, now that this series is completed. 

Judging a book by its cover: I know Ms. Lau uses stock photos for the covers of her self-published novels and I wonder if she finds a suitable image BEFORE she starts describing the character in question. Because the guy on this cover looks so exactly like the hero in the novel that it would be almost uncanny if she wrote the book, then found the cover.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR14 Book 11: "Her Favourite Rebound" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 242 pages

Rating: 4 stars

This was an ARC given to me by the author. My views are my own. 

Sierra Wu shares the name of a popular fictional monster slayer (think Buffy Summers), but she's not exactly slaying in her personal life. A complete disappointment to her family since she decided that engineering just wasn't for her, she now runs a moderately successful greeting card store in Toronto. She's also divorced.

However, now she finally has something that her mother finds impressive, a billionaire boyfriend. She's dating the Colton Sanders and if her mother had her way, she would be halfway down the isle already. Sierra doesn't really tell her family until they've been dating for nearly a year, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. She can't shake the feeling that something is missing in her relationship, even before she's surprised on a date by one of Sanders' former business partners, who approaches her and claims she should break up with Sanders, as he isn't who he seems and absolutely doesn't deserve a stunning woman like Sierra.

Jake Tong didn't really believe in love at first sight until he first lays eyes on Sierra Wu, sitting alone at a table in a restaurant. That she turns out to be the girlfriend of Jake's asshole former boss was certainly not what Jake expected, and he does what he can to warn her that her rich boyfriend is a bad guy and she should dump him. 

Sierra, naturally, does not dump Colton, but she starts to question what he does in the time they don't spend together a lot more. She starts to research online and it isn't too difficult to find a number of stories that suggest Colton hasn't exactly gained his tremendous wealth through altruism and charitable works. There's a number of articles about his explotation of his workers and other shady business practices. She also seems to keep running into Jake, although the man swears he's not stalking her. She likes Jake, possibly more than a woman in a relationship should, but still refuses to listen to his suggestions that she kick Colton to the curb. That is, until Sierra goes to see Colton unnanounced, and finds him cheating on her with not one, but two women at the same time. She dumps him then and there and runs straight to Jake, who can't believe his luck.

Writing a romance where one of the protagonists is in a relationship with someone else at the start of the novel is never an easy thing to pull off, but Jackie Lau was very clear even in her promotional material of this book that Colton Sanders, billionaire, certainly wasn't anyone's HEA, and despite her attraction to Jake, Sierra is never unfaithful, something that cannot be said for her ultra wealthy boyfriend. Sierra discovers that Colton usually slept with other women on every trip away from her during their entire relationship, so she's not exactly too heartbroken after their split, or even vaguely tempted to take him back, no matter what sort of insane grand gestures Sanders tries to pull. 

 

It also helps that while Jake is smitten with Sierra, he never crosses the line into creepy or inappropriate, and while he does come to see Sierra at her shop a couple of times (she makes him spend a ridiculous amount of money on one visit), he also stays away from her once she asks for distance. Once Sierra discovers that Colton is, in fact, scum, Jake is very happy to comfort Sierra in any way she requires, and has no intention of becoming her rebound guy, no matter what Sierra might initially think. 

 

Sierra has a lot of emotional baggage to work through before she can get to her happy ending with Jake. She also has to figure out how to deal with the weight of her family's expectations, something Jake also struggles with. Jake has a lot of guilt for the stuff he did while working for Sanders, not to mention the things he enabled Sanders to keep doing. Jake now works to try to make amends for these things, and to prove to his family that he really has changed. 

 

I know from following her on Facebook that Ms. Lau struggled a bit more than usual to finish this book, and it's absolutely a more thorny and messy subject than she normally has in her frequently rather fluffy romances. I think she managed the emotional complexities really well, though, and while Sierra very much ends up being emotionally unfaithful to Colton, it's quite clear that he more than emotionally cheated on her, throughout their relationship. Making Sanders such an out and out bad guy possibly simplifies the emotional fallout for Sierra and Jake, but I didn't have a problem with it.

I think the final Cider Bar Sisters novel will be out next year some time. Ms. Lau has another couple of romances coming out later this year though, which I'm very much looking forward to reading.

Judging a book by its cover: I know that Jackie Lau uses stock photos to make her covers when she self-publishes, and while a lot of them turn out really well, I think this one is one of her lesser efforts. But hey, they can't all be winners.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR14 Book 1: "A Very Beery New Year" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 56 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Encouraged by his mother to socialise more, introverted software developer Gerald Nakamura goes to his local craft beer bar to sit by the bar, reading a book, not really interacting with anyone except the serving staff. He especially likes exchanging a few words with the pretty and vivacious bartender Kelsey. 

Kelsey lives with her rather exasperating grandmother (who just discovered Tik Tok and is determined to become a viral sensation) and works at the bar until she can find something more suitable to her skillsets. She notices the silent, scowling man and begins to ask him the occasional question about the books he reads. As the weeks and months pass, they interact more and eventually even exchange phone number to continue to conversations via text.

While both Gerald and Kelsey find the other attractive, neither wants to ruin a good friendship by assuming anything more. While he's clearly shy, Gerald nevertheless shows up to Kelsey's second job, selling d*ck-shaped donuts at a popup stand in the park. He also politely interacts with her matchmaking grandmother - but does that mean he LIKES likes her, or just that he's a perfectly nice guy? When she recieves an invitation from Gerald to spend New Year's Eve together, she hopes she hasn't misread the situation, and that he wants to be more than just friends.

A Very Beery New Year was a free novella for subscibers of Jackie Lau's newsletter and one of the protagonists, Kelsey, already appeared occasionally in book 3 of The Cider Bar Sisters, as Nicole's cousin in The Professor Next Door. The novella features pretty much everything you want in a Jackie Lau story, except in smaller doses, since this is a novella. There's likeable, dedicated professionals who find a spark and have excellent banter with one another. There's mention of lots of food and drink, in this story, the afore-mentioned d*ick-shaped donuts (with a creamy filling) play an important part. There's also mentions of various craft beers for those who care about that stuff, I don't drink, and even when I did, beer was NOT something I enjoyed. 

Jackie Lau's stories continue to be comforting reads that I know will amuse and entertain me, and I'm looking forward to the next books in the Cider Bar Sisters, out later this year. 

Judging a book by its cover: I know for a fact that Jackie Lau doesn't have an easy time of it, finding decent-looking cover models for her books when going through stock photos. There's just not as many photos of hunky-looking Asian guys out there, but I think she manages pretty well. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.  

#CBR13 Book 55: "Donut Fall in Love" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 366 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer! This was an ARC from Netgalley. My views are my own, and I had already pre-ordered the book before getting the advanced reader copy.

Ryan Kwok is grateful for the opportunities he's been given. While his latest movie, a romantic comedy, isn't getting the ravest of reviews, he's fully aware that it's unusual enough for rom coms to star Asian actors and he's lucky to have gotten the chance as a romantic leading man. He'd also like to be famous for more than his abs (which someone's started a Twitter account on behalf of). He's hoping to take some much-needed time off in Toronto, though, supporting his sister who just had her first baby, coming to terms with the loss of his mother, and trying, somehow, to reconnect with his father, who never seems to want to talk or fully acknowledge his grieving children. 

Lindsay McLeod is working hard to figure out new flavours and keep customers coming to her donut bakery, while her best friend/business partner is away on honeymoon. Her mother insists on bringing her dates to the bakery, to the embarrassment of both Lindsay and said awkward suitor, not to mention Lindsay's brother, who still shares a home with their mother. Lindsay certainly does not need some clumsy oaf crashing into her and knocking over two dozen of her speciality matcha tiramisu donuts, completely ruining hours of hard work. She doesn't care how handsome his smile is or how apologetic he seems. 

Ryan's agent suggests that he do a celebrity episode of the popular show Baking Fail, and he agrees because it was one of the shows his mother really used to enjoy watching. He doesn't want to make a complete fool of himself on air, however, so he's clearly going to need someone to give him some baking lessons. Who better to ask than the very attractive, yet prickly bakery owner he'd love to have an opportunity to see again? If she's giving him baking lessons, Ryan will have a chance to see her regularly and get a chance to get to know her better.

I feel so very guilty about this review. I got the ARC months ago, and finished the book in October, just before its October 26th release date. Only now am I getting round to actually reviewing it, which isn't in any way ideal. The even worse part is that I really enjoyed the book. Jackie Lau is quickly becoming one of my favourite contemporary romance authors. She combines likeable leads with great chemistry and usually excellent banter, absolutely amazing descriptions of food and beverages, there's always a fun supporting cast and usually an undertone of something a bit more serious to keep the books from being too frothy and forgettable. 

In this book, the more serious subplot is the way both Ryan and Lindsay have to process grief from losing a parent. Ryan's loss is a lot more recent than Lindsay's, but since her mother is now dating regularly again, she's still forced to come to terms with the death of her father. Ryan is also struggling with how to forge a new relationship with his father, without his mother there to act as an emotional bridge. Add to that worrying about his sister, who really seems to be having a hard time as the mother of a new-born boy, Ryan has more than enough things on his plate without also having to worry about being mixed up with other Canadian Asian actors on social media, and concerns that his career isn't going as well as it might because audiences just won't accept an Asian leading man in anything but an action movie.

This is a lovely romance, and I very much enjoyed it. I'm sorry that work stress, depression, corona, and familial responsibilities have kept me from posting a review until now. My normal warning about reading Ms. Lau's books while hungry applies - you WILL want donuts or other sweet treats when reading this book. 

Judging a book by its cover: While Ms. Lau normally self-publishes her romances and tends to be pretty good about finding good stock photos to illustrate her covers, this book is traditionally published and therefore has the pretty common cartoony illustrated romance cover instead. While I'm sometimes not a huge fan of these, this one is very cute. I love the background colour, the positioning of the characters and the playful swirl of the no-doubt delectable scent of the donuts on Ryan's tray. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR13 Book 46: "Bidding for the Bachelor" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 188 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer! I got an ARC of this from the author. That has in no way influenced my review.

Cedric Fong is pressured by his family to take part in a bachelor auction to benefit the Fong family's charity work. He's not at all interested in dating, he just needs to find himself a new place to live and actually manage to start writing his second novel, but once his grandmother promises to make him two hundred of her special dumplings, Cedric can no longer refuse. 

At the auction, Cedric is surprised when Brian Poon, his brother's former best friend, ends up paying a ridiculous amount of money and wins the bid. He doesn't seem interested in anything but some good company for a Valentine's date, and Cedric and Brian have a good time when out together. Once Brian finds out that Cedric is looking for a place to live, he offers him his spare bedroom, thinking some company might be nice. Besides, while Brian Poon used to have a huge trust fund to draw from, his father got sick of his playboy ways, and cut him off. He's not exactly poor, but some extra income would come in handy. 

Once Cedric moves into Brian's spare bedroom, he starts forcing himself to think about his follow-up novel. His first book was a moderate success, but writing another one is proving much harder than Cedric was expecting. Brian seems surprisingly domestic, baking muffins, cookies, and other treats and pretty much making sure Cedric eats a tasty and healthy breakfast every day. It seems rather innocent at first, but as the two men keep living together and learning more about one another, they undeniably grow closer. One complicating factor is that Cedric is very aware that the reason his brother and Brian are no longer friends is that Brian confessed to being in love with him (the brother, now married with a child - not Cedric). Could his changing feelings for Cedric be some sort of rebound thing? Is the former playboy ready for something different, and likely to want to settle down in a committed relationship?

As far as I'm aware, this is Jackie Lau's first m/m romance, while she frequently has bisexual characters in her other stories, all the primary romantic relationships she's written have been heteronormative. This is a cozy romance, without any major drama. Brian takes a while to realise that he's bored of his former party boy playing the field lifestyle and really wants to settle down with someone. Cedric needs reassurance that he's not some sort of replacement for his older brother in Brian's affections. The question of how Cedric is going to get over his writer's block and what exactly he should write his next novel about seems to take up more page time than the actual romantic drama.

Once again, we have a grandmother with a forceful personality stealing every scene she's in. Cedric's grandmother initially distrusts Brian and believes he may have offered Cedric his spare room mainly so he can steal her legendary dumplings. She also keeps pitching far-fetched ideas for Cedric's next book, primarily involving feisty elderly ladies, and possible drug dealing shenanigans. 

I liked this, but compared to Lau's recent Cider Bar Sisters books, this didn't connect with me on as many levels. The standard warning about not reading when hungry applies here, as always. Seriously, that woman makes me drool with her descriptions of food. 

Judging a book by its cover: Based on the way he looks, and the descriptions of Brian in the book, I'm guessing this slightly pouty male model is supposed to be Brian. He certainly looks nothing like how Cedric is described. Not one of my favourite Lau covers, but I suppose it's not that easy to find stock images of handsome Asian dudes all the time. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

 

#CBR13 Book 28: "The Professor Next Door" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 236 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR13 Bingo: Pandemic

This book was granted to me as an ARC from the author in return for an honest review. I had already pre-ordered the book, as Jackie Lau is now an auto-buy for me.

While this is technically the third entry in the Cider Bar Sisters series, each of the books in the series works perfectly well as a stand-alone. The first book in the series, Her Big City Neighbor is currently available free, however (as of me writing this), so if you're curious to try the series, that's probably the best place to start.

Nicole Louie-Edwards is very happy to be single and having casual sex with a number of eligible men. She has absolutely no wish to be saddled with a relationship and the one romantic relationship in her past (to a much older man) did not end well. She's getting a bit sick of her hook-ups letting her down gently once they've found someone they'd like to commit to, though, although she tells herself that's because it means she has to find a new bed partner. 

On her birthday, she gets trapped in the lift with her new neighbour, who she discovers is a geology professor. While the quiet, nerdy-looking man isn't Nicole's type at all, she's touched when he shows up on her doorstep with birthday cake, and they gradually develop a friendship while meeting up for weekly dinner, either at his or hers.

David Cho used to be married but divorced his wife once it became clear she was never going to take his side against her racist family. He didn't realise how thin some of the walls in the apartment building he recently moved into were until he started hearing his neighbour have sex through them, something she seems to do frequently, and with enthusiasm. While it embarrasses him, David can't deny getting turned on by the sounds and he starts fantasizing about his neighbour and what he'd do if he got to be the one to produce her passionate responses. When they get trapped in the elevator together and later develop a friendship he does his very best to hide this dirty secret, but eventually he feels he has to tell the truth. Rather than be shocked or put off, Nicole seems amused by the revelation. She correctly surmises that David would actually like to listen in while she has sex, and gives him explicit permission not just to do so, but to take matters into his own hands while doing so, so to speak.

It doesn't take long before Nicole's curiosity makes her invite David into her bedroom and is delighted to discover that while he's rather shy, respectful, and nerdy during their friendly dinners together, he's quite dominant and very creative in the bedroom. The sex is much hotter than anything either of them has had for ages, and their one-time hook-up soon becomes a regular thing. 

As most of Nicole's friends seem to be finding someone to settle down with, she becomes more restless about her own single status. She can't imagine that David would ever want an actual relationship with someone like her (despite all evidence to the contrary, with him plying her with amazing take-out and dessert every chance he gets and putting up with her meddling family without complaint). He even takes part in Tik-Tok videos with her eccentric grandmother. It's not until she cooks him home-cooked food when he's ill that she begins to wonder if her pants feelings for him have turned into something more all-encompassing.

A common denominator in Jackie Lau's romances tends to be strong friendships and familial ties, even if some of those families are more of the found than the biological variety. There will be amazing descriptions of all manner of delicious food (thanks to her books, I now really want to go to Toronto and just EAT. ALL. THE. THINGS!) and desserts. Her books are very sex-positive, and in this book, there are quite a lot more of the smexy times than in some of her others. There is, refreshingly, absolutely no slut-shaming of Nicole, from any of her partners, friends, or family members, although her family seems to be very eager for her to get a steady boyfriend. 

I'm really enjoying the continued exploration of the friend group who meets up at the Cider Bar and share their lives with one another. There is clearly something being set up with Nicole's friend Sierra and her super-rich boyfriend, but I assume that is set up for a future book. This is another book that managed to hold my attention and get me out of my ongoing reading slump for a little while. I finished it in less than 24 hours, a rarity for me these days. I highly recommend it. 

Judging a book by its cover: I'm always fond of a nerdy romance hero, especially one who proves to be a force to be reckoned with in the bedroom. Who doesn't love a bespectacled man reading a book? It's not exactly something you see too often on a romance novel, however, so well done, Jackie Lau.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR12 Book 89: "Her Pretend Christmas Date" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 104 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer! I was given an ARC of this book by the author. That has in no way influenced my review.

Julie Tam's sister Charlotte is an engineer and has an outgoing and charming boyfriend, the guy who lived next door when they were young. She is everything their parents could want. Meanwhile, Julie works as a waitress in a Cider Bar and designs her own jewelry. She goes on a blind date with Tom Yeung, which starts out badly and ends even worse. Tom is a pharmacist, wears a tie on a first date, doesn't like eating tacos (because they're messy) and is way too strait-laced and uptight for Julie. Nevertheless, the next time she talks to her mother on the phone, she tells a little white lie, which keeps getting bigger. Now her parents want her to invite her boyfriend Tom to come home with her at Christmas. 

Tom is rather surprised when Julie contacts him again after their rather disastrous only date, and rather amused when she explains her dilemma. To her surprise, he accepts her proposal that he pose as her fake boyfriend over the holidays. Tom really likes Christmas and his parents are away, so he'd be spending it alone. Both of them are rather surprised when Julie's parents announce that they can share a room (where there is not only the one bed but it's a narrow twin at that). 

While Tom and Julie didn't exactly hit it off the first time they went out, they manage to pull off the fake dating charade rather well, making Julie's parents very happy indeed. The couple even manages to combine Tom's planning skills and precision and Julie's artistic flair into sculpting an excellent gingerbread house, winning one of Julie's parents' strange Christmas competitions, fuelling the rivalry between Charlotte and Julie. After a few days in close confines, Julie no longer thinks Tom is all that annoying and is trying her very best to tease him until he loses his closely-held control. The results are rather spectacular, and soon Julie wishes that her fake arrangement was reality.

This novella works fine as a standalone, but is also the third part in Jackie Lau's ongoing Cider Bar Sisters series. Charlotte's book (where she reunites with her childhood bestie Mike) is the second book and came out about a month and a half ago. So if you were to start with this story and get curious about how Charlotte and Mike became a couple, that's the place to look. This isn't the first time Ms. Lau has written a holiday novella involving fake dating either. The third story in her Holidays with the Wong series had the hero bringing home a fake girlfriend for Chinese New Years to avoid his parents' failed attempts at matchmaking. As these are romances, I'm sure it comes as no surprise at all both the novellas end with the fake relationship becoming something real. 

Writing a romance that takes place over a short space of time is always tricky, and I am not a fan of insta-love, but since Julie and Tom first meet quite a while before they actually spend Christmas together (on a blind date set up by Julie's best friend, who claims Julie and Tom are perfect for one another) and Julie spends a lot of time thinking of Tom (even if she makes up a heavily fictionalised version of him over the phone to her parents), it didn't feel that strange that their feelings developed quickly - especially if you think how intense family holidays can be. 

I really liked Julie as a supporting character in Charlotte's book and was so happy when I discovered she was getting a story of her own. She's very different from her sister and really suffers because she feels she can never live up to her parents' unrealistic expectations. During their first date, Julie's very strong reaction against Tom is in part specifically because he's so very much the sort of man her parents would want her to end up with, and she rebels against that and keeps reacting to thinks she assumes he thinks about her, rather than to things as they actually are. When she has more time with Tom, she sees that she was rather quick to draw conclusions and he's not at all the stuffy killjoy she initially imagined.

Tom is one of those deliciously buttoned up and proper heroes who become all the more fun once they let loose a little and allow themselves to give in to passion. While this is just a novella, there are still some really steamy scenes once Tom and Julie see past each other's differences and give into the attraction between them.

Pretty much my only complaint with this novella is that I wish it had been a bit longer. I enjoyed reading about Julie and Tom together and would have liked more time with them on the page. I suppose I shall just have to wait impatiently for the next full book in the series instead. Her Pretend Christmas Date is on sale now, and a quick and satisfying holiday read. 

Judging a book by its cover: This may be my favourite Jackie Lau cover so far. In fact, if I were to do some sort of rating involving the covers of the books I read this year, this could very well take top spot. I just love the cover model's incredibly grouchy facial expression, and the way he's glowering out at the reader, seeming very resentful about having to even exist. The best part is that Tom, the novella's hero really isn't very grumpy and grouchy at all, just a bit slow to loosen up and very fond of having things tidy and predictable. So it's not really even representative of the contents of the story, but I still love it.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read