Review: Not Your Valentine
- Megan // thebookishnarwhal
- Jan 24, 2023
- 2 min read
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Publication Date: TODAY! 24 January 2023
If high school friends who enter a fake dating situation are your thing, then let me introduce you to the perfect holiday read for Lunar New Year AND Valentines!
This Asian-Canadian contemporary romance novella by Jackie Lau is the perfect light hearted read to brighten your day. I was hooked before the end of the first chapter.
Plot Summary
Meet Helen.
Last year on Valentine’s Day, her boyfriend dumped her publicly. Like, filmed by a restaurant-goer and live-Tweeted by another kind of public.
Then the clip went viral.
Even though Helen has moved past this, she isn’t dating. Her friends and family are worried about her, so Helen comes up with a simple solution to her problem: get a fake boyfriend.
Meet Taylor.
He’s a social worker who is a ray of sunshine, a charming contrast to chemist Helen’s less-than-enthusiastic view on most things romance. But he agrees to be her fake boyfriend anyway.
A short and sweet romance with a smidge of spice, told entirely from Helen’s perspective, Lau still delivers the, “is he into me, or no?” tension perfectly. A fair warning, the book does have a few explicit sex scenes from Helen’s POV. BUT I didn’t mind them and I’m normally not a fan of spicer romance scenes, preferring clean romances.
What I Liked
Authentic Setting.
From the dialogue of the people to the description of the TTC, Lau accurately captures the essence of Toronto. As someone who lived in different areas of the GTA for 12 years, I was screaming at the accuracy – it even made want to plan a trip to visit!
Refreshing Characters.
They were imperfect in looks and personality, just like us! Also a big shoutout to the authenticity of racial representation in this novella. Lau accurately portrays different cultures and relationship dynamics beyond the romantic, and I’m here for it.
The Food.
I’m all about good food and Lau has me still craving Japanese cheesecake. The original. I know the shop in the novella (I’ve shamelessly stood in line for hours when they only had one location) and I MISS IT SO!
The Girl Gang.
I love how close they all are! I love how they care, are there, and really just embody what female friendship is all about.
Mom.
I just adore Helen’s mom and their relationship. I would love a cookbook from the duo because I feel like it would elevate my at-home date nights with the hubby?
Lau really left me wanting more of this story, in all the good ways. Grab your sweet copy today and treat yo’self!
Thank you to NetGalley, Kobo Originals, and Jackie Lau for the eARC!
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