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nelsonseye's review against another edition
4.0
Man vs. Durian was a another lovely read by Jackie Lau. Once again, I loved setting and the food, but I also really enjoyed the time spent with both Valerie and Peter's families. I found Valerie to be incredibly sympathetic, and I really liked Peter, though, like Valerie, I found him too good to be true. Which is, I think, a problem many people have with "good people." Deepthi's comment about Peter as a good "starter boyfriend" and measuring stick was really on point for how sometimes people don't know how they should be treated.
bandherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Jackie Lau's next book, Man vs. Durian, is so important. It is a lovely romance between a prickly heroine and the soft, handsome cinnamon roll who utterly falls for her after she dumps durian ice cream on him.
Peter hates durian, but he falls in love with Valerie who could be compared to the fruit itself.
Plus, the sensitive and important discussion of Valerie's need to use lube and a vibrator to achieve orgasm is wonderful to see depicted, especially how Peter listens, learns, and doesn't just expect his sexual prowess to magically change Valerie.
CW for sexual harassment (off page). You can read this story starting on August 27, 2019!
Thank you to the author for the ARC!
Peter hates durian, but he falls in love with Valerie who could be compared to the fruit itself.
Plus, the sensitive and important discussion of Valerie's need to use lube and a vibrator to achieve orgasm is wonderful to see depicted, especially how Peter listens, learns, and doesn't just expect his sexual prowess to magically change Valerie.
CW for sexual harassment (off page). You can read this story starting on August 27, 2019!
Thank you to the author for the ARC!
dhee_reads's review against another edition
5.0
The book that started it all. This was my first Jackie Lau book. I was really impressed with Peter. I loved the conversation around ambition and this idea of trying to change someone's mind romantically. It still ranks in my top 5 Lau books.
elenajohansen's review
4.0
I think I might like this one best of the whole series, but it's still got its issues.
Same basic complaints as with all the others: no subtlety in the presentation, both leads tell you precisely how they feel at all times, really hammering down on the foodie-ness, tired of hearing about durian (as opposed to pie in the first novel and ice cream in the second.)
My extra complaint about this plot specifically is that Peter is basically perfect, and while I certainly like my romantic heroes to be decent human beings, the central conflict of Valerie's "he's too good to be true and I am a crazy mess so this can't work out"--well, that doesn't work so well when the hero is actually flawless. Because what is Peter's flaw? The only major one the story presents is his lack of career ambition, and that's just not a big deal, because it's not like he's a total slacker who couch-surfs his friends' places because he doesn't have a job or a place to live. He has both of those things. So he doesn't want to be a high-powered businessman and make a million dollars a year. So what?
And the story basically has that same attitude, that it's okay not to make your job your life, and I approve. But as the other half to Valerie's complicated issues surrounding workplace sexual harassment, family stuff, career stagnation, etc., Peter's half of the story seems pretty weak, depth-wise. I thought maybe the plot was going to play up a commitment-phobic aspect to him, since it mentions how he's had so many girlfriends over the years, which at first I thought meant he would be super picky and never satisfied with anyone, hence the high turnover rate. But it's painted more as a need for him to always be in a relationship, simply because he likes being in them, he loves falling in love. Which is a pretty benign view and hard to argue with. Again, he's basically perfect.
And that's what kept this from being a perfect read for me. I've accepted that I'm not a huge fan of Lau's general writing style, though I do like (for the most part) her characters and plots, I just wish the narratives weren't so flat and obvious in presentation. So while I'm probably not going to make much effort to read her other works, I do think overall they're good romances that readers are more likely to enjoy than not, and I'd definitely recommend them for foodie people (despite what I feel is phrase overuse related to food in each novel--the novella doesn't suffer from this same problem, as its premise is not food-related.)
Same basic complaints as with all the others: no subtlety in the presentation, both leads tell you precisely how they feel at all times, really hammering down on the foodie-ness, tired of hearing about durian (as opposed to pie in the first novel and ice cream in the second.)
My extra complaint about this plot specifically is that Peter is basically perfect, and while I certainly like my romantic heroes to be decent human beings, the central conflict of Valerie's "he's too good to be true and I am a crazy mess so this can't work out"--well, that doesn't work so well when the hero is actually flawless. Because what is Peter's flaw? The only major one the story presents is his lack of career ambition, and that's just not a big deal, because it's not like he's a total slacker who couch-surfs his friends' places because he doesn't have a job or a place to live. He has both of those things. So he doesn't want to be a high-powered businessman and make a million dollars a year. So what?
And the story basically has that same attitude, that it's okay not to make your job your life, and I approve. But as the other half to Valerie's complicated issues surrounding workplace sexual harassment, family stuff, career stagnation, etc., Peter's half of the story seems pretty weak, depth-wise. I thought maybe the plot was going to play up a commitment-phobic aspect to him, since it mentions how he's had so many girlfriends over the years, which at first I thought meant he would be super picky and never satisfied with anyone, hence the high turnover rate. But it's painted more as a need for him to always be in a relationship, simply because he likes being in them, he loves falling in love. Which is a pretty benign view and hard to argue with. Again, he's basically perfect.
And that's what kept this from being a perfect read for me. I've accepted that I'm not a huge fan of Lau's general writing style, though I do like (for the most part) her characters and plots, I just wish the narratives weren't so flat and obvious in presentation. So while I'm probably not going to make much effort to read her other works, I do think overall they're good romances that readers are more likely to enjoy than not, and I'd definitely recommend them for foodie people (despite what I feel is phrase overuse related to food in each novel--the novella doesn't suffer from this same problem, as its premise is not food-related.)
amethysthunter's review
4.5
Twas short and sweet and had me literally crying from laughter. The actual chemistry between them was meh but there was no third act breakup and they were both super cute!! Also neither of them was white which is rare in “Asian romances”. 🤠 Was exactly what I needed for this last week of AAPI month.
dhee_pa's review
5.0
The book that started it all. This was my first Jackie Lau book. I was really impressed with Peter. I loved the conversation around ambition and this idea of trying to change someone's mind romantically. It still ranks in my top 5 Lau books.
danni's review
5.0
I loved this book. This is a very light read and it was perfect to sit down with on a weekend and just enjoy.
Valerie is feeling the pressure from her family, after her only big relationship ended the year before and she finds herself scooping her ice cream instead of working in the field she wanted to be in. In order to get them off her back, she informs them that she's dating a pediatrician named Peter. Of course, there is no Peter.
Except the very next day, she accidentally crashes into a man and covers him in durian ice cream. His name is Peter. He's a landscaper though, and he also SUPER hates durian.
But they sit down and talk anyways, and Peter asks her out. She says no, and his response was "oh, okay, well, that's fine." Which was a HUGE relief. Immediately. He just accepted her rejection, and they moved on from it nbd. Valerie does ask Peter to pretend to be her fake boyfriend for a little bit, and he agrees because he thinks it would be funny. He does not bring up the fact that she rejected him again.
One of the things that I loved most about this story is how Valerie has some issues with sex. Peter is slow, and cautious, and never pushes. She has some issues with getting wet, and needs a vibrator to orgasm and at no point does it turn into "she just needed to have sex with the RIGHT guy and now she can get off perfectly every time no toys needed" which was AMAZING. I was afraid it might end up that way.
I wasn't quite on board with some of Valerie's reasoning at the end of the book, but it wasn't a big enough issue to ruin anything for me. I LOVED this book, and highly recommend it. I haven't read the other books in the series, but Valerie's friends are clearly the heroines of said books, so I'm excited to go back and experience their stories for myself.
I have no idea what a durian smells or tastes like, and at this point I'm afraid to check.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Valerie is feeling the pressure from her family, after her only big relationship ended the year before and she finds herself scooping her ice cream instead of working in the field she wanted to be in. In order to get them off her back, she informs them that she's dating a pediatrician named Peter. Of course, there is no Peter.
Except the very next day, she accidentally crashes into a man and covers him in durian ice cream. His name is Peter. He's a landscaper though, and he also SUPER hates durian.
But they sit down and talk anyways, and Peter asks her out. She says no, and his response was "oh, okay, well, that's fine." Which was a HUGE relief. Immediately. He just accepted her rejection, and they moved on from it nbd. Valerie does ask Peter to pretend to be her fake boyfriend for a little bit, and he agrees because he thinks it would be funny. He does not bring up the fact that she rejected him again.
One of the things that I loved most about this story is how Valerie has some issues with sex. Peter is slow, and cautious, and never pushes. She has some issues with getting wet, and needs a vibrator to orgasm and at no point does it turn into "she just needed to have sex with the RIGHT guy and now she can get off perfectly every time no toys needed" which was AMAZING. I was afraid it might end up that way.
I wasn't quite on board with some of Valerie's reasoning at the end of the book, but it wasn't a big enough issue to ruin anything for me. I LOVED this book, and highly recommend it. I haven't read the other books in the series, but Valerie's friends are clearly the heroines of said books, so I'm excited to go back and experience their stories for myself.
I have no idea what a durian smells or tastes like, and at this point I'm afraid to check.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
nelsonseye's review
4.0
Man vs. Durian was a another lovely read by Jackie Lau. Once again, I loved setting and the food, but I also really enjoyed the time spent with both Valerie and Peter's families. I found Valerie to be incredibly sympathetic, and I really liked Peter, though, like Valerie, I found him too good to be true. Which is, I think, a problem many people have with "good people." Deepthi's comment about Peter as a good "starter boyfriend" and measuring stick was really on point for how sometimes people don't know how they should be treated.