#jackie lau

[authorkarajorgensen]

10 Books to Add to Your TBR 2024 Edition Part 1

Most years I put out a list of books I greatly enjoyed from the first half of the year some time in June. This year, I decided to do it early because, besides needing a blog for this week, I have read a lot of good books lately, so I’m thinking of making this something I do more than twice a year (and often forget to do in December). The books listed below are not in any order of favoritism, but…

[bettslovesromance]

Lately I've been reading fabulous series and just wanted to share my joy!

The only two series in the post that I've actually finished are Destiny by Beverly Jenkins and Cowboys of California by Rebekah Weatherspoon and both are magnificent 💜

I started The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan and The Cider Bar Sisters by Jackie Lau last year, but I've been taking my time reading them because of how good they are 💙

And this year, thanks to bookstagram, I discovered new to me authors Tracy Sumner and Daisy Jane and so far, I've loved the books I've read by each of them 🧡

I'm currently reading The Scandalous Vixen and The Brazen One

The post is in no particular order, I love and recommend all of them

[illustration-alcove]

Vi-An Nguyen’s illustrated book cover for Jackie Lau’s Donut Fall in Love.

[faintingviolet]

Four Weddings to Fall in Love (CBR16 #27)

Four Weddings to Fall in Love is the story of Max Mok and Kim Sung. Their meet-cute happens at mutual friends’ wedding and is quickly followed by a lackluster one-night stand. They both think the worst is behind them, and they can just move on and never see each other again. Except, there are three more weddings that summer that they are both attending (which happen to be Max’s first cousins and…

[lifeofafemalebibliophile]

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

“Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie” by Jackie Lau (2024) Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction Page Length: 249 pages (electronic review edition) Synopsis: Mark Chan this. Mark Chan that. Writer and barista Emily Hung is tired of hearing about the great Mark Chan, the son of her parents’ friends. You’d think he single-handedly stopped climate change and ended child poverty from the way her mother…

[dkehoe]

As the last unwed daughter out of five, Emily Hung is getting tired of her mother’s attempts at setting her up with the perfect man. Her newest attempt is Mark Chan. When they meet at her sister’s wedding Emily is not impressed with this boring engineer. At her mother’s second attempt at tricking them into a date Emily decides to fight back and convinces Mark to fake date her, but her mother has spies everywhere so they have to step it up. They start going on real fake dates and Emily finally see’s behind Mark’s sweater vest wearing persona. Maybe mother does know best? This author has a great sense of humor! Emily’s inner dialogue often had me laughing and her characterization of Mark, before she got to know him, was quite spot on. Until she saw behind the sweater and could read his slight facial expressions. This stoic engineer had a sense of humor but found it hard to open up to people. Well, everyone except Emily it seemed. Their cute interactions and made them easy to root for but it was their idiosyncrasies and the way that they supported each other that sold me on the story. As you got to know these characters the reader was given insights into their characters, making these sweet and funny moments more poignant. Both of them were fighting against insecurities and challenging family dynamics giving the story some much needed conflict so it wasn’t just about a fake dating scheme. As with most of our own lives Emily and Mark’s were balancing acts and throwing “finding love” into the mix caused ripples both good and bad. The author’s spin on this story was fun and cute, but the real-life problems resonated for me and I think it will for other readers as well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest! Click this link to purchase this book!* Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved *Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

[chrissmou]

My March Books

Hi! Everyone these are the books I have read this month, there are 8 of them. As you can see most of them are romances short stories, and a mystery. As always I have the Goodreads links for you to check out:

Snowed Inn (Freedom Valley#6) (Erin Branscom): The last installment of this series had glimpses of our couples from the previous books and introduced us to a new one with great chemistry and a love for food. Holly was funny, spunky, and a great cook and Beau was the perfect example of a grumpy exterior and soft interior protagonist with a painful past. I also loved the side characters of Hank, Beau’s brother, and Ophelia, Holly’s best friend, and their respective romance. I want a short story of their relationship after this book so that I can return to Freedom Valey. I liked that this book was in the winter and the Golden Gable Inn and the scenes with Sasha, the cook, and the igloos in the yard. I recommend all the series. You can only read this one but the whole series is amazing.

Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swenson #4) (Joanne Fluke): I like this series of cozy mysteries as I love Hannah Swenson and her family in Lake. I like the recipes the author gives every five chapters or so. I like that the mysteries are easy and if you think a little you can help Hannah solve them. I loved in all of them to see how Hannah’s relationships with her neighbors are faring, especially those with Mike and Norman. I loved her little sister Michelle whom we were introduced to in this one. Overall, it was a delightful book to read.

The Undercover Santa (Spying on Love #1) (Jo Davies): That was a fun short story with a double point of view and a fun open ending. I read both in the same morning on my commute to work, so it was a great and fun start for me.

The Undisclosed Panda (Spying on Love #2) (Jo Davies): The second part of the previous story with a happy ending and unexpected twists, but not too many for a six-chapter short story, to the story's mystery. It was a great detour of the tea district in Shanghai too, as the two go there to solve the mystery and have their first date.

Pardon My French Press (Coffee Loft #2) (J. P. Sterling): The second short story of the Coffee Loft series was based in New York City, which I loved as it was a good development of the characters and the shop itself. I liked the personalities of the two protagonists, Portia and Christian, who have a sense of humor with lots of sarcasm. I loved the relationships of the two protagonists with their families and neighbors. It is a classic enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance in a coffee shop in New York something that made it special to me as one of my films, You’ve Got a Mail. I will recommend it to someone who is searching for something small to it.

A Pinch of Salt (Lucy Marin): This retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in a Canadian cooking show was pretty good and has the preceptive of many of the characters, especially those who participate in the competition. I loved that the author did not include the affair between Lydia and Wickham but had their characters as close to them as she could in these circumstances.  It also has the main themes and the personalities of the characters are the same as the original. It was really with good description of the food and the emotions of the two protagonists. It was a good modern retelling of a classic.

The Sitcom Star (Chu’s Restaurant #1) (Jackie Lau): This was a cute novella with two former classmates who reacquainted and started to spend time together. The difference in the novella is that the female protagonist is a famous star of an Asian- American sitcom which she produces and writes the script. I loved the fun and cute moments the protagonists had with each other, their friends, and their families too.

The Reluctant Heartthrob (Chu’s Restaurant #2) (Jackie Lau): This cute novella and second story of this series surrounds the male protagonist of the series who is a grumpy Shakespeare-loving actor. The female protagonist is a data scientist who might have autism but she hasn’t had a formal review, so she doesn’t know for sure. I loved the representation in this one and the relationship between them as I love the grumpy/ sunshine type of books.

[coollovebibliophilethings]

The Unmatchmakers by Jackie Lau

Title: The UnmatchmakersAuthor: Jackie LauRating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romancePace: MediumFormat: eBook, NovelYear: 2022 There are so many laugh out loud moments in this witty contemporary romance. As in literal laugh out loud moments. I’m kind of glad that I read this novel late at night when no one else was home… I would have…

[devonellington]

Wed. Nov. 29, 2023: This Week is a Challenge

image courtesy of Micha via pixabay.com Wednesday, November 29, 2023 Waning Moon Neptune, Chiron, Uranus, Jupiter Retrograde Cloudy and very cold. Over on The Process Muse, we’re talking about artistic security. You can read the post here. There are two episodes going live today, on two different serials. The first is from ANGEL HUNT: Episode 89: Attempted Capture The magic killing…

[xinnamoon]

Julie x Tom (Jackie Lau)

Me: Man I should really draw fanart of popular stuff I like to get more engagement on my art

Also Me: hehehe smut novella with asian leads and enemies to lovers makes brain go BRRRRRR

[somewherelostinbooks]

Four Weddings to Fall in Love-Review

Four Weddings to Fall in Love By Jackie Lau Genre: Contemporary Romance Series: Weddings with the Moks #1 Publication Date: July 25,2023 Source: Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review Rating: 4.5 Stars Amazon Description: Max Mok has four weddings to attend this year…When I meet Kim Sung at a friend’s wedding, I don’t make the first move. God, no. But she’s delightful and…

[authorkarajorgensen]

10 Books on my Wishlist in 2024

This week's post has 10 books I am dying to get my hands on, coming out in the first half of 2024.

As we head ever closer to the end of the year, I thought I might make a very non-exhaustive list of books that I am dying to get my hands on when they come out next year. To be clear, this is definitely not every book I have been eyeing, and if it was, you probably wouldn’t want to sit through that lengthy blog post. I’m also confining this list to the first half of 2024 for simplicity’s sake and…

[bettslovesromance]

This year I've been reading more novellas and/or novelettes by new authors and also by old faves.

Here are some of my recent favorites 💜

[libraryleopard]

Adult M/F romance novel

After his most recent movie flops, a Hollywood actor signs up for a baking show and hires a local baker to give him lessons in advance and sparks fly between the two

Explores grief over losing a parent, complicated families, and Asian representation in media

Chinese Canadian main character, biracial white/Chinese Canadian main character

[faintingviolet]

Love, Lies, & Cherry Pie (CBR16 #16)

I make a habit of reading Jackie Lau books when I can, and being able to read Love, Lies, & Cherry Pie as an ARC was something I just couldn’t pass up, particularly when the logline for the book is a Pride and Prejudice retelling having a good time with some tropes (Lau tends to always have more than one in her work). The tropes in question are fake dating, forced proximity, and enemies to…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kobo Originals for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Before, I told myself that I didn't want romantic love. I claimed to have sworn it off, but secretly, somewhere in the jagged cracks inside me, I yearned for it. Sure, I might think that a heart-shaped cake with sprinkles is a travesty, but I still want what it represents."

Helen Tsang is in a romantic rut. Understandable, considering her last breakup went viral on Valentine's Day. A year later, everyone from her family and friends to the guy at her favorite bubble tea shop is still shooting her pitying glances, leaving Helen desperate for a fix. She asks long-time friend Taylor to play the part of her faux boyfriend at the start of the new year, with plans to continue their relationship through Valentine's Day. However, Helen never expected their corny texts and fake dates to break her anti-love mentality.

Not Your Valentine is a quick, easy read for any reader searching for a palette cleanser between books. The plot is simple, the romantic exchanges cute and fluffy; ideal if you've recently finished a novel with more a complex plot or world-building. The main character is easy to relate to—who can blame her for swearing off romance after a horrible breakup, with the words, "It's not me, it's you" lingering in her mind, fueling her doubts that she is in fact, worthy of love?

However, I expected more from Jackie Lau after reading Donut Fall in Love, which offered complex characters with distinct motivations that drove the story forward. While Helen's "anti-love," "anti-Valentine's Day" mentality is relatable, she's a difficult character to like. The first-person narration feels awkward, especially when Helen's mind jumps from one concept to another, or when she begins mixing metaphors. There are quite a few cringe-worthy lines that left me skimming in a rush to get beyond her messy thought spirals. Unfortunately, the novel also lacks twists or surprises to encourage readers to keep flipping pages; the ending is evident the moment Helen's plan comes to light. The romance and overall plot are both rushed as well, as if a key scene is missing.

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