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A review by cakt1991
His Grumpy Childhood Friend by Jackie Lau
5.0
I received an ARC from the author as part of her Review Crew in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
His Grumpy Childhood Friend is my first full-length foray into Jackie Lau’s books (although I’ve read one of her novellas before), and I really enjoyed it. While it is book two of a series, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone, and I had no trouble getting invested in the “world” Lau created.
This book excited me because it has a grumpy heroine/sunshine hero (much preferable in my opinion to the much more common reverse dynamic), and I really enjoyed it, especially in the way it thwarted stereotypes in other ways.
Charlotte in particular is very relatable, as someone who isn’t great with people and loves to work from home (I did envy the fact that she had found her niche, career wise, while I’m still fruitlessly searching, but I digress). I could relate to all her grumpy moments, and I loved that there wasn’t some deeper reason for it. I also appreciate the general absence of people trying to encourage her to break out of her shell more (the bane of my existence), and that she chooses to pursue dating (both fake and not) on her terms.
I also love Mike and how he puts up a cool, easygoing front to hide the darkness he’s dealt with in his childhood. It’s far too common for the broody guys to be the ones with loads of trauma in their past, but I liked seeing someone like Mike who is desperately trying to pretend everything is normal in spite of what he has dealt with.
And their dynamic is just wonderful, transitioning with ease from childhood friends who grew apart to fake dating to real dating so naturally. I loved seeing them play off each other, and while there is a crisis in the relationship, it’s not major and it’s handled so beautifully.
This book is absolutely wonderful, a sweet fluffy cloud that is also not lacking in some emotional weight. And with the additions of some great food, solid friendships, and a dash of humor, it’s absolutely something fans of multicultural and/or foodie romance lovers need to pick up.
His Grumpy Childhood Friend is my first full-length foray into Jackie Lau’s books (although I’ve read one of her novellas before), and I really enjoyed it. While it is book two of a series, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone, and I had no trouble getting invested in the “world” Lau created.
This book excited me because it has a grumpy heroine/sunshine hero (much preferable in my opinion to the much more common reverse dynamic), and I really enjoyed it, especially in the way it thwarted stereotypes in other ways.
Charlotte in particular is very relatable, as someone who isn’t great with people and loves to work from home (I did envy the fact that she had found her niche, career wise, while I’m still fruitlessly searching, but I digress). I could relate to all her grumpy moments, and I loved that there wasn’t some deeper reason for it. I also appreciate the general absence of people trying to encourage her to break out of her shell more (the bane of my existence), and that she chooses to pursue dating (both fake and not) on her terms.
I also love Mike and how he puts up a cool, easygoing front to hide the darkness he’s dealt with in his childhood. It’s far too common for the broody guys to be the ones with loads of trauma in their past, but I liked seeing someone like Mike who is desperately trying to pretend everything is normal in spite of what he has dealt with.
And their dynamic is just wonderful, transitioning with ease from childhood friends who grew apart to fake dating to real dating so naturally. I loved seeing them play off each other, and while there is a crisis in the relationship, it’s not major and it’s handled so beautifully.
This book is absolutely wonderful, a sweet fluffy cloud that is also not lacking in some emotional weight. And with the additions of some great food, solid friendships, and a dash of humor, it’s absolutely something fans of multicultural and/or foodie romance lovers need to pick up.