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A review by jackiehorne
Playing House by Ruby Lang
3.0
2.5
ARC Courtesy of Netgalley
Urban planner Olivier Huang has been freelancing since his previous company went out of business, a situation that only exacerbates his feelings of failure as the only unsuccessful child in his Chinese-American family. When he runs into Fay Liu at an open house, he feels awkward about the fact that he's just received an invitation to interview at her boutique planning firm, and keeps it a secret, even as the two begin to embark on a fake-marriage thing while they visit other open houses.
I have LOVED all of Lang's previous romances, but this one fell flat for me, in large part because it feels underdeveloped (this is a novella, rather than a novel-length book, as previous Lang books have been). Both Oliver and Fay are interesting characters, characters with whom I wanted to spend far more time with. I hope that in future books, Lang's publisher allows her more room to do what she does best: explore complex, intriguing characters in depth.
ARC Courtesy of Netgalley
Urban planner Olivier Huang has been freelancing since his previous company went out of business, a situation that only exacerbates his feelings of failure as the only unsuccessful child in his Chinese-American family. When he runs into Fay Liu at an open house, he feels awkward about the fact that he's just received an invitation to interview at her boutique planning firm, and keeps it a secret, even as the two begin to embark on a fake-marriage thing while they visit other open houses.
I have LOVED all of Lang's previous romances, but this one fell flat for me, in large part because it feels underdeveloped (this is a novella, rather than a novel-length book, as previous Lang books have been). Both Oliver and Fay are interesting characters, characters with whom I wanted to spend far more time with. I hope that in future books, Lang's publisher allows her more room to do what she does best: explore complex, intriguing characters in depth.