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He’s Not My Boyfriend
He’s Not My Boyfriend by Jackie Lau is 99c! This book was featured on Cover Awe because seriously, how adorable is that cover. If you want a quick, rom-com read, readers recommend this one. However, others wished the conflict was a bit stronger.
Now that her cousin has tied the knot, Iris Chin—structural engineer, party girl, and queen of kitchen disasters—is the last single grandchild. Her mother and grandmother are desperate to play matchmaker, though Iris doesn’t understand why. They had miserable marriages, and she doesn’t want to be like them. She enjoys her independence, thank you very much. One-night stands are more her style.
Unfortunately, she soon discovers that she’s working on a project with her latest one-night stand, Alex Kwong, a construction supervisor. She’s determined to stay professional on the construction site, but things get off to a bad start when Alex lets slip to a co-worker that they slept together.
To make matters worse, Iris is now living with her grandmother, who keeps stealthily setting her up on dates and sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, and her mother is just as bad. But more than anything, it’s her unwanted feelings for Alex that are derailing her plans to have an exciting single life…
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Under Her Skin
Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders is $1.99! Readers warn that this is a contemporary romance on the darker side, but many say this is a great debut by Anders. I definitely agree with both of these things, though will add the ending felt a bit rushed. If you like beta heroes who dabble in blacksmithing, maybe check this one out.
Battered by a life determined to tear him down, this quiet ex-con’s scarred hands may be the gentlest touch she’ll ever know.
…if only life were a fairy tale where Beauty was allowed to keep her Beast
Ivan thought the world was through giving him second chances. Who’d want a rough ex-con with a savior complex and a bad habit of bringing home helpless strays? Everyone in Blackwood, Virginia knew he wasn’t good enough for the fine things in life; they knew he was too damaged to save. He just needed to keep his head down, work himself to the bone, and pretend he was content with the lot he was given.
Until she came into his life. Until she changed everything.
Until he realized he would do anything, fight anyone, tear the world apart if it meant saving her.
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Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies
Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies by Shana Galen and Theresa Romain is 99c! This is an anthology that features two novellas. I had to hunt through reviews to find out what the romances were actually about, and it seems both of them have second chance elements.
Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies appears exclusive and respectable, a place for daughters of the gentry to glean the accomplishments that will win them suitable husbands.
But the academy is not what it seems. It’s more.
Alongside every lesson in French or dancing or mathematics, the students learn the skills they’ll need to survive in a man’s world. They forge; they fight; they change their accents to blend into a world apart. And the staff at the academy find a haven from their pasts…and lose their hearts.
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Bridget Jones’s Diary
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding is $1.99! I read this one over ten years ago. I remember enjoying it and finding it genuinely funny, but I’m unsure if it would hold up. Have any of you read this recently? What are your thoughts?
Bridget Jones’s Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, “How’s your love life?” with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult and learn to program the VCR. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, Bridget Jones’s Diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. Read it and laugh—before you cry, “Bridget Jones is me!”
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Heads up that the hero in the Anders book had actual murder plans that had to be thwarted TWICE by external forces before he thought “hmm, perhaps violence isn’t the answer,” so if you believe anger management problems are a red flag for abuse rather than “aww, what a protective wubby,” that’s something to be aware of. I believed the heroine to be as deeply unsafe at the end of that story as she was in her previous abusive relationship.
Yeah, @Ren Benton makes a very good point about the hero in Under Her Skin; those bits definitely made me think twice about finishing it.
The second book in the series is a lot better in my opinion, but it does have some scenes of “I’m standing in the woods outside your house without your knowledge so I can protect you”. However, there is a secondary character who is not afraid to say “get some help for your sh*t” to the hero, who definitely needs it. Also, the power of True Love does not solve everyone’s issues, which I appreciated, and there’s a fat cat.
I will wholeheartedly rec Under Her Skin. It made Anders a must read for me.
The hero isn’t nearly the sad sack that summary makes him out to be. He has a lovely relationship with his family. Her backstory is actually darker than his.
I’ve actually enjoyed Anders’s Love At Last series (LOVING THE SECRET BILLIONAIRE, LOVING THE WOUNDED WARRIOR, LOVING THE MOUNTAIN MAN) much more than her Blank Canvas books. I think she was just finding her footing with those earlier books and the tone of them really veered wildly from horribly-abusive backstories to comedic-relief supporting characters. Of the three Blank Canvas books, I like the second one, BY HER TOUCH, the best. Anders has now turned to romantic suspense—she has an upcoming series called Survival Instincts. The opening story, a novella titled DEEP BLUE, is available in an anthology called TURN THE TIDE (currently free in the kindle store), with the first full-length novel, WHITEOUT, scheduled for publication next January. I think she’s a good writer who, like many novice writers, took a little while to find the right tone.
Bridget Jones’ Diary is TWENTY years old. HOLY COW.
I have such a soft spot in my heart for it (and the sequel). I was actually thinking about purging my hard copies from my collection a few weeks ago because I haven’t read them in ages, but I just couldn’t do it. I imagine some of it doesn’t hold up, but it was just so funny and unique at the time. *sigh* Mark Darcy <3
I really love Jackie Lau’s books in general and have been buying them as fast as they’re published. I am all about #ownvoices these days and it’s been awesome to add her to my author list.
“He’s not my boyfriend” was my favorite of the two Chin-Williams ones (I happily paid full price for it!). I loved the dude in this one and how some of the plot was about how he was navigating his relationship with his dad after the death of his mother. I also loved that the heroine and how competent she was at her job (and you knew it was a romance when her white dude boss was actually a good manager who listened and trusted her). I also loved the way the history of the heroine’s mom and grandmother was dealt with and how it turned out the heroine didn’t really have the true picture until she had some meaningful conversations with them. The only part that wasn’t awesome to me was the heroine’s reasons for holding back at the end but it didn’t ruin the book for me.
I guess maybe I am so sensitive to conflict these days that the small amount of conflict in the book was plenty enough for me. I’m kind of over angsty dark plots right now. I’d recommend this book to people who want something lighthearted but not stupid and not featuring 100% white characters that avoids the Joy Luck Club type of plotting.
Bridget Jones is totally on my keeper shelf. It’s such a comfort read that I took it with me to read in line (cough thirteen years ago) as I registered for law school. I’m not sure if it holds up, or if it’s nostalgia (the tech definitely doesn’t and I totally want to yell #metoo at Daniel Cleaver, buuuut….)
*CN for food/body image talk*
I loved Bridget Jones Diary when I was in high school and hated how ridiculous they made her seem in the movies. HOWEVER, I don’t think I could ever read it again because of the calorie counting and alcohol unit counting (I’ve had to go through ED and alcohol recovery). At the time I was in the throes of ED and obsessively counting calories and it seemed validating to see this older woman doing it, too, and beating herself up about it. It would be too triggering to revisit the book now.
I loved, loved, loved, Jackie Lau’s “He’s Not My Boyfriend”. I’m a Chinese-American female engineer and I really related to the characters. My personality is very different from the heroine’s but I felt the story line about her work and her family were spot on. Both main characters’ families felt like family or friends of mine. Lau does a good job of describing the day-to-day lives of the characters so it feels familiar to Chinese North Americans but would still be accessible to people less familiar with Chinese culture. And the heroine’s grandmother was hilarious!! Totally the character. Her back story was very well done, and also a good peek into Chinese history and the Chinese diaspora. At 99 cents it’s a steal and I think it was very well done romance.
@gerund808 Yes! I really loved how the ethnicity of the characters and their cultural background as part of the ethnic Chinese diaspora were seamlessly integrated into the story (which really has universal appeal for any romance reader). It felt wonderful to not have to keep my guard up while reading and I could just enjoy- not an almond eye or “exotic” in sight!! 😀
Oh, I’m really not that old (mid-thirties), but Bridget Jones sure makes me feel that way.
I have no problem with a book being “of its time”, and am enjoying the gradual, GRADUAL acceptance of vintage/retro romance as a legitimate subgenre.
I was living in London when the movie came out, and Sally Phillips (who played Sharon, Bridget’s blonde friend) was a neighbour. I used to pass her walking her dogs on the weekend, and – yes – it was a thrill every time I saw her! I also had the honour of watching the movie in a theatre on a street they filmed some of it on. Surreal to be sitting in the cinema, watching the very place you are on the big screen…
Oh, Lord. I accidentally “liked” my comment above, thought that I could “unlike” it by clicking it again – and then accidentally “liked” it twice!
@Sonya Heaney
She was on a sitcom called Miranda that was pretty funny. She’s great in it.