Thank you to NetGalley and Carina for the ARC.
This is the 3rd book in the series and it can be read as a stand-alone.

What I enjoyed: older couple were authentic, Jewish rep in a neutral light (meaning, it wasn’t underscored with a political motive), and no excessive drama.

What I didn’t enjoy: maybe the H/H could have talked more to each other, but then what conflict would remain?

I received an E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are all my own.
It had been seventeen years ago that due to different dreams Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kai drifted apart and divorced. But when Lana moves back to Manhattan to take a job as a noodle chief, her apartment search puts her right in her ex-husband’s path. Simon, who is a music teacher. He is also hunting for a new place to live, and when Lana proposes they be platonic roommates, Simon hesitantly agrees, not only due to the under current of attraction Simon still feels around Lana, but also to the different people they both have become.
They both agree to a four months trial period of living together with strict boundaries. But what can you do when living together reignites those passions from the past? What will they find at the end of the trial period: A love that will last this time or just passion and longing for the past?
First of all, I will say I finished this book in less than one day. The author starts the book up will a great meet cute between Simon and Lana. The book is fast paced and the story line is not overly complex or deep. I enjoyed the glimpses into their shared past throughout the book, which helped the reader understand the difficulties Simon and Lana were facing as they fought their mutual attraction for one another. The reader could tell they still cared deeply for one another even after all the years that had gone by. While the reader did not go on the self discovery journey with Lana, the reader was shown the comparison throughout the book by the characters often making references to their shared past. I thought the chemistry between the characters was good, but it lacked communication. I believe Simon really did not grow or change as a person until Lana re entered his life and he risked losing her a second time. Simon had a great belief in people, which drove him not to really consider the reality of that person nor their desires they had for the life they wanted to live. I think the author did a great job of creating characters readers can relate to. While many times, throughout the book, Lana made reference to her change in attitude towards music and she told the other characters about her issues and feeling she had, she never really shared them with Simon, who is the one person she needed to tell. I liked the ending of the book very much. The other characters of the story were not really flushed out as much as I would have liked. Also I would have liked the two main characters to have some decent conversations about what went wrong in their relationship the first time. Overall, I liked this book. It left me wanting to read more by this author. I would recommend this book to those who love second chance romances.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was a little hesitant going into House Rules by Ruby Lang after finding out it was the third novella in a series, but if there was some tie in, it didn't change the experience.

After reading a few other stories about established couples finding their way back to each other, some feeling more genuine and realistic than others, House Rules was a breath of fresh air. It didn't lean heavily into conflict, both characters had their own lives and their own priorities. They had to figure out how to be together, if that is what they both wanted.

Simon stumbles upon Lana while apartment shopping, feeling as he had seen a ghost, the ghost of his ex-wife, he panics until she's there standing before him in the flesh just as stunned to see him. There's chemistry, even if it's understated, you can feel it. There's also a familiarity with the characters that I have seen others attempt and fail, only telling you stories and not allowing you to feel the impact of those memories between the characters.

New York real estate being what it is, Lana finds a deal of an apartment, but needs a roommate. After trading contact info with Simon she calls him up and they reluctantly rent the place together. With the dual perspective you see each characters life apart and get a real feel for who they are and how they would fit together. Why they want to be together. There's that familiarity and comfort that is hidden under years and layers of pain. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but for their takes you totally root for the relationship.

It's a novella, but still a fully fleshed out story giving you a glimpse into Simon and Lana's life. Without a doubt I'm going to be checking out the rest of Ruby Lang's titles.

I always adore Ruby Lang's diverse romances, and I particularly adore this lovers to enemies to lovers story for its older characters, something I feel like I haven't seen enough of in romance. The music aspect was also a delight. Looking forward to more Ruby Lang stories!

I love reading about characters that are different from me and in different stages of life.

This book invovles Lana and Simon, who were previously married, and now 17 years later are living together as roommates.

I enjoyed their story: that he's a musician who pours everything into her work and she was a musician who left to pursue the art of cooking. I liked that it was a second chance romance.

Something about this story never really grabbed me though. For some reason, it took me a couple days to get through it.

I loved the straightforwardness of the story and the diverse characters. Overall, a solid four stars!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Carina Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the third book in a series, but reads well as a stand alone. This couple Simon and Lana were once married and are 15 years older now. They were both in a rut and realized how much they missed each other. Nice book, oddly it seemed almost to calm. 3.5 stars This wasn't my favorite book-but I didn't hate it.

I have really been enjoying the Uptown series of novellas by Ruby Lang, and House Rules is no exception. Lana has moved back to New York and is looking for a new apartment. Her ex husband, Simon, also needs a new place, so they decide to live together, setting some ground rules. This story was really quite lovely - Lang lays out why Lana and Simon's marriage didn't work out, but the reader can still see a way forward for them - theirs was not an acrimonious divorce. They both have some issues to work through, though, and I really appreciated Lana's insistence on asking for what she wants and needs. I also liked that Simon has to grapple with his own somewhat forceful personality. I'm also always so happy to read a romance novel where the protagonists don't want kids and are totally fine with that decision. Since this is a novella I don't want to give away any more of the plot, but I'll just say I really liked this one. (Bonus - everyone's favorite real estate broker Magda makes a short cameo!)

This is the third book in a series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone book. I liked that there wasn’t a lot of drama in this book. It was a fairly realistic love story. It was a cute story, and I liked the romance aspect of it.
I wish we could have seen the couples connect a little bit more by talking to each other instead of just the physical stuff. Also, some of the first more physical scenes were a little cheesy and unrealistic.
Overall, it was a cute story and I appreciated how short and easy it was to read. It’s not one that I would reread though.

3 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

This is the third book in this series by Ruby Lang and molds itself to the idea of romance and property in the same vein as its predecessors. We've all been in the position where a property is perfect for us but not at the right time financially, now imagine that you find the place you want, but that the only person who is available to share it with you is your ex? That's how we find ourselves in House Rules.

I appreciated how little drama this book brought, with a simple story, albeit with some very important female infertility issues brought up. Surprisingly for me, I also enjoyed the fact that this couple were older, it fit perfectly with their past and the problems that do arise.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third story in the Uptown companion series, so you can totally read this as a standalone and totally get what is going on.
This book tells the story of Lana and Simon, two people who were previously married and who find themselves being roommates due to the high rent prices in NYC. This gives them the perfect chance to rekindle their romance and to have a second opportunity at love.
What I like about Ruby Lang's books is the fact that there's really no unnecessary drama in the story, it all flows pretty organically and realistically and this is so nice to read.
If you're looking for a quick and cute romance, you might want to check this out!

I really enjoyed the premise of House Rules where ex’s get a second chance by living together again. I liked how the story unfolded and how they grew into the people they needed to be as individuals before they could fully commit to coupledom again. Mistakes are made, but lessons are learned as well.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Carina Press and Ruby Lang. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

House Rules (Uptown, #3), by Ruby Lang, is a fast, adorable read in her Uptown series. A lifetime ago, Simon and Lana were married. Neither expected to become platonic roommates 17 years after their divorce. Despite the strict rules each has set for themselves, living together is easy but ignoring their feelings is not.

The premise of this story sucked me in, and I thought Lang did a great job setting it up. It’s a great look at how hard communication can be, even between grown adults, and how that can be further complicated by history. I was glad that Lana had come into her own while they were apart, that she’d taught herself to ask for what she wanted and to take care of herself. Simon’s situation made me a little sad. Despite his professional success, his life seemed so rutted and, well, empty, at least on a personal level. Even once they moved in together, avoiding one another and holding each other at arm’s length sort of just highlighted how lonely his life was. The situation that forced them to look at the trial nature of their living arrangements was unexpected but appreciated, rather than it being some cliched reason for a fight.

If I could change anything about this book, it would be for Simon and Lana to have talked more. They connected deeply on a physical level, but so much of what happened between them felt like them hiding from the real world. Mind you, Simon stuck his foot in his mouth when he spoke sometimes. He truly was someone who could steamroll over people without realizing. I guess I wanted to see him actively practice listening, to see them interacting in a way that wasn’t physical. I believed they cared for one another, that each wanted the other person happy, but I wasn’t entirely convinced they could work in a permanent way. I needed to see more of them hanging out and doing more than passing each other on their way out the door.

I really enjoyed this fun romance. Lana and Simon are a divorce couple that get a second chance at love when they end up becoming roommates. I really enjoyed that the protagonists were in their 40s, since most romance books focus on people in their 20s and 30s. I enjoyed it, and will check out more of the series.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just the perfect size for me. Sometimes I need a book that I can binge read and this one was definitely that book. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I was in love with this story. Lana and Simon had my heart.

First off, I love a couple that is around my age. I felt like I could relate to this book on so many levels and a couple in their early 40s is right up my alley. Not only that, I think my new favorite trope is reconnecting after divorce. I am in love with books that have the couple able to get past the mistakes they made when they were younger and make changes so they can be together.

When we are young, everything we do is based off emotion and we communicate with our partner so little in fear of them not liking what we have to say. As we get older, we realize what is important to us and we grow as people. This book had all of that in spades. I absolutely loved this story. The author had a more mature writing style than I am used to, but I will definitely pick up more of the books in this series.

A great read.

Simon and Lana become roommates, 17 years after getting divorced. They have both changed but the attraction is still there, so can they have a second chance to be together?

This is the first book I have read by this author and I am really looking forward to more.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I find that I really do love Ruby Lang's writing. There's something very real there, and she really tends to get to the heart of the story very quickly without it jeopardizing the plot. I really adored Open House, so when I saw the ARC for this book up on Netgalley, I hoped that I would get approved for it. This book felt shorter than Open House, but I still really enjoyed it.

We have Simon and Lana who were once married over 17 years ago. They see each other for the first time while looking at an apartment. Lana has become a ramen noodle maker, and Simon is still music teacher who also works with a community child's chorus. They end up living together for logical reasons (rent, needing to change), and they learn how to love each other and recognize the changes they've made as they've gotten older. As someone who has established a friendship with my ex-husband, this book really kind of hit home to me.

I really enjoyed the fact that they are in their 40s and we don't get a lot of characters that are in that age range without it being stale or talking about the end of their youth. They have aches and pains, but they're still only in their 40s, and they still have a lot of life ahead of them. Their problems are real, their pains are real, and those are huge reasons I really enjoyed this novel.

If you want diverse reads with older characters that talk about real life, do yourself a favor and read this. If you can get an ARC, do it. I highly recommend all of Ruby Lang's books.

A wonderful end to Ruby Lang's series of novellas that double as love letters to New York City while also discussing problems that the city exacerbates: gentrification, capitalism, soaring real estate prices, and the pressures these and other things put on the people living there. And her characters feel like real people struggling and living and loving despite these problems.

The second-chance romance between long-divorced Simon and Lana starts off careful and wary to start, with memories and expectations of each other helping and hindering that process. And there are outside forces acting on them too: the desire for financial security and health insurance, aging bodies, desire and fear of change, etc. There is a really great push-pull between Simon and Lana between what they each want for themselves and how they can make it work for them together. One of Ruby Lang's hallmarks is the observational insights of the characters into their own states of mind, which is definitely on display in this book -- they are both so aware of what the other is doing, and the effect that it has on them deepens their emotional arc and connection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for providing this ARC.

I had a great chance to receive this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It’s the first time I’m giving a 5 star review to an ARC. Therefore reporting my thoughts is easy to write. First, even if I loved the first 2 books of Ruby Lang Uptown series, this one is my favorite. I have to point out that this series contains only stand-alone. They only have in common that they start in a visit to a Harlem apartment. The story is very different than the usual romance. First, the protagonists are in their early forties, but moreover, they were previously married to each other. I absolutely don’t want to spoil the story, and I will only say that you’ll follow them as they found their way back to each other. As usual in Ruby Lang’s books, Simon, the hero, is not an alpha male, just a man that could exist in real life, not only in our dreams. Probably also because of my personal history, I connected immediately with Lana. I could feel her determination, the courage to reach back to Simon while convincing herself that she should not be attracted to him. As usual with this author, the sharp point is the writing. It seems that every word, each sentence were well sorted out. For instance, I relished how the love scenes were balanced. Just what was needed to feel the passion without too much technicality. I also noticed that this Miss Lang is very skilled at describing food. I wish I could try Lana’s noodles.
This book arrived in my life at the perfect moment, I needed to believe in second chances, to see that with time, we all change and get wiser. We can see what is good for us.

Ruby Lang is one of the authors I started reading and fell in love with in 2019. I have enjoyed every one of her books, but I think House Rules is my favorite. It is a second chance at love romance between a long divorced middle aged couple who become roommates because real estate costs in New York City are awful. I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Many years ago, Lana Kau and Simon Mizrahi were married. They were in the same music education program and living in the tiny rent stabilized apartment in Manhattan that Simon had inherited from his father. They were in love, but Simon was happy with how his life was going and Lana was not. They couldn't figure out how to stay married and happy, so they divorced. In the present, Lana has returned to New York City for a job and is looking for a place to live. Simon is still in the same tiny rent controlled apartment and looking at other apartments half-heartedly.  He doesn't want to change, though staying where he is has become uncomfortable. Simon, in particular reminded me of the Anais Nin quote, "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

I don't need or expect to identify with the protagonists in a book in order to empathize with them. I love reading about characters very different from me. But sometimes I read a book with characters that articulates a part of myself that I rarely see reflected and I just fall in love. In House Rules, Lang has set her protagonists, Lana and Simon, in their early to mid 40's with that combination of regret, confidence, and awareness of the limits of the future that comes with middle age. It's not so much a sense of getting old as it is feeling the weight of the consequences (good and bad) of your past choices and understanding that your future choices are not limitless. Simon's life has gone on mostly as planned with financial and professional stability. Lana has traveled, studied and left being a musician for being a chef. She has acquired specialized skills, but lacks financial and professional stability. I love so much that Lang shows that there are virtues and drawbacks to the choices they have each made and both are worthy of respect.

For me, the star of this book is Lana. She is a middle aged woman with a dark sarcastic heart. She is both sure of who she is and uncertain of how she will be received. More than Simon, she is aware of the weight and damage of other people's expectations and has developed the courage to disappoint people and to ask for what she wants, when she knows she may be rejected.

Then Lana said, “I told myself after—after we separated I would always ask for what I needed, no matter how hard it was, no matter how long it took to work up to it, no matter how afraid I was of the answer. I’m still trying to do that.”

I partly love Simon because he loves Lana. I recognize that I judge him a little more harshly because my first response to change is also a resounding no. Simon has the biggest growth arc in the book, but he needs it the most. He has been comfortable and comfort doesn't always encourage growth.

I always knew you were amazing,” he continued softly. “I think young, arrogant me congratulated myself a lot for seeing so much in you. But I feel foolish now, because I realize I didn’t see half of it. I didn’t see how much you work, how dedicated you can be. How, given half the chance, you can make something ordinary—flour, salt, water—make it move for you, transform it into something else entirely. I didn’t see half of anything in you. It came out of left field. And I guess the thing I feel now is strange, because I feel like I don’t know this whole part of you. I’m ashamed for how little I realized about you."

Simon and Lana rediscover each other and eventually start sleeping together again, including some steamy couch sex. Lang allows her characters to be complicated. She allows the realities of the world we live in to shape her character's lives. Apartments in New York City are expensive, restaurant jobs are physically demanding, change is hard and scary, and it's ok not to get it right the first time.

I hope Ruby Lang has a long romance writing career ahead of her because I love her books. I feel like this is her most confident book. You don't have to have read the first two Uptown books, Playing House and Open House to appreciate House Rules, but you should anyway.

House Rules is out February 10th and you should definitely pre-order it.

i requested this as soon as i saw it, because i had enjoyed the other 2 (i enjoyed the 1st the most, but the 2nd was cute too). i requested this without reading the synopsis, and i'm kinda glad, because if i'd known they were divorced, i'll be honest, i would have nope'd right out (way, way, way too close to home for me right now). there's a content warning before the book starts (endo and infertility).

anywho. at first, it was.... kind of painful to read about. second chance isn't super my jam anyway, but oy vey, a divorced couple? no thank you. but it was just so adorable i couldn't stop myself from reading. and you know what? i think it's my favourite so far. have i mentioned it was adorable? so so freaking cute. i adored simon. absolutely loved him, want to put him in my pocket. loved lana too. and of course, muffin was the real star of the show. it was super cute and adorable and funny and adorable, did i mention? it was also steamy as all get out. really, really, really enjoyed this. i think it was well written, paced perfectly, funny, sexy, sweet and.... totes adorbs.