The Uptown Collection is made up of three of Ruby Lang’s Novellas set in Harlem. I love this series and to have the whole collection in one book is definitely a must own for those who love a different side of New York, who love opposite attracts, a great cute meet and a second chance romance. Each of the stories portrays a diverse cast of characters and for me a more real depiction of love in New York. Marvelous and wonderful!

Cute! Turns out I’ve read 2 of the 3 stories, but I enjoyed the new one and how they tied into each other. Definitely an easy read, which is exactly what I need during these chaotic times. Put a smile on my face!

This was a fun collection of novellas! Lang does both the humorous and emotional sides of romance so well. I’d love to eventually read a full-length novel in this world!

I am so delighted to be able to read Ruby Lang's Uptown Collection.

The collection contains three novellas, which I believe are an excellent example of how romance novels can be any size and still be executed superbly.

The first story, titled PLAYING HOUSE, revolved around Fay and Oliver, who are acquaintances through their professions of being city planners. Fay is divorced and recently moved into an apartment, but she is quite tired of doing everything for herself. She just wanted to jump into something that's ready for her. I quite related to Fay's exhaustion and irritation to receive rather than give. It's why I adored her spontaneity of pretending to be Oliver's wife. Olivier, on the other hand, is equally delighted by Fay's approach and has no qualms helping her escape the overbearing man hitting on her. This soon turns into a blossoming friendship which highlighted just how well Fay and Oliver get along. Masquerading as Olly and Darling, they go around to open houses in New York City and pretend to be a married couple looking for their expensive home. PLAYING HOUSE is so smooth in its storytelling, engaging in its dialogue, and enchanting in how effortless the plot moves along. You will be happy to read about Oliver and Fay's shenanigans.

The second story, OPEN HOUSE, is about Magda, the broker who is selling her uncle's house and is in charge of selling a lot that's been taken by the community to be turned into a garden, and Tyson, an accountant who is a reluctant founding member of the garden. The story kicks up when Magda is assigned to the lot and is told to find it a buyer by her very rude superior Keith, but that leads to Magda getting entangled in the life of one Ty. Of course, since they are on the opposite sides of one cause, Magda being sort of the villain in this case, Ty and Magda start off the wrong foot. In a series of coincidences, such as the time Magda's uncle's house's security alarm is activated due to someone trying to break in, and how she runs into none other than Ty who was... running shirtless at 2 o'clock in the morning. Their attraction is immediate and slightly disturbing Ty and Magda's stern "We won't have anything to do with one another" rule. That soon is wrecked when they spend a very heated night together during a blackout. You'll fall for the complex familial dynamic between Ty and his sister Jenny, as well as Magda's strained relationship with her much older sisters and mother. As a person who's the youngest in my own family, Magda's frustration was so real and touching that I wanted her to get her resolution desperately. This story was definitely sizzling with heat. I adored every encounter Ty and Magda had, especially when they tried so bad to fight their attraction.

The third and last story is titled HOUSE RULES and it deals with two exes: Simon and Lana, who divorced seventeen years prior to the story's beginning. Seventeen is a big number and Simon and Lana feel the years between them. Especially since they somehow fall into a situation of living together. Lana needs a roommate and since she spent the last two decades honing her skill as a noodle master, she doesn't know anyone besides Simon who she can trust. Simon, who is spurred by his sister's insistence to move, accepts with an unspoken condition that in four months' time, he'll move out if he doesn't like the situation. The two, of course, fall in love with the apartment and soon enough, they fall through a new routine of getting to know one another. Lana adopts a cat and the furry thing is an asshole third roommate that makes them worry and of course, as a person who has TWO feline roommates, I adored this story. HOUSE RULES also deals with the ramifications of time and how changing can mean so much to two people who knew one another so well. HOUSE RULES was hands down my favorite novella. I was so moved that I cried at some point.

Ruby Lang is such a talented storyteller, weaving communities and families and relationships that will arrest anyone's attention and capture the reader's heart with her words. The writing itself is so airy and delicate, veering away from excessive description and rather focusing on how every inch of a character's body reflected dedication and metamorphosis. I adored this collection and I look forward to everything Lang will pen in the future and has penned in the past.

Simon and Lana

I received a copy of this collection of novellas from the publisher via NetGalley.

Each of these seemed fairly long to me, although that might have had something to do with the rather meandering plots. My favourite was the first, 'Playing House', where Oliver and Fay pretend to be a couple on historic house tours and at open houses. I liked both Oliver and Fay and believed in their relationship, although I didn't believe that conversation between two urban planners who chatted constantly about their jobs would never have turned to the question of which firm Oliver was working for.

The other novellas I enjoyed less. In 'Open House' Magda is struggling with student debt, a job she doesn't seem very good at, and a horrible boss, and I just wanted her to borrow from her family and go back and finish culinary school. I couldn't really work Tyler out; his characterization seemed a little scattered.

By the time I got to 'House Rules' I was skimming. I didn't like the premise of this one - a couple who divorced years ago decide to become flat-mates - and their attitude to marriage puzzled me.

Ordinary. But not in the sense that it's routine or boring. Ordinary in that I can easily identify with these characters who struggle with self-doubt, issues of identity, etc. No over the top aggressiveness, no ridiculous coyness, just lovely, ordinary people finding, or rediscovering each other and falling in love. Clear, crisp writing. Loved them all.

Playing House: Short but EXTREMELY sweet and enjoyable! Everyone is refreshingly adult about conflicts and their problems are very adult, too -- getting over a divorce, navigating a career change, coping with aging parents. I'm not personally into architecture or house hunting for fun, but Oliver and Fay enjoy geeking out over their house tours so much that it's impossible not to get carried along for the ride! Without giving spoilers, I felt that this story resolved the central conflict (Oliver is a candidate for a position in Fay's firm) perfectly, and I really appreciated the thought given to the ethics of the situation, which a lot of workplace romances gloss over. If you like fake dating or debates about urban planning or both, give Playing House a shot!

Open House: In a word: ADORABLE. It's unusual to have an ethical conflict keeping two characters apart in a romance where you can sympathize wholeheartedly with both of them, but man, I felt so much for both Magda and Ty. A true millennial romance: when was the last time you read a book where the obstacles to Happily Ever After were gentrification and student loan debt? And the ending will make you want to stand up and cheer. Lang knocked it out of the park with this one.

House Rules: This series is such a delight, and this installment is no exception. A spicy second-chance romance between two mature adults in their forties who must decide if they are willing to COMPROMISE the way they couldn't in their youth in order to build a mutually livable future TOGETHER, ahhhhhh so good. They have known and loved each other the whole time but they have to learn and fall in love all over again! Simon goes to watch Lana at work and he's just BOWLED AWAY by how good she is (I love this vibe the most) and he's all MY EX-WIFE IS AMAZING LANA DID YOU KNOW YOU'RE AMAZING. There's realistic discussion about artistic jobs (he's a musician, she used to be a pianist but is now a chef) and how a lot of these industries are for the young and Lana is Tired and just wants health insurance okay. Endometriosis representation! The sex is great but also they need sleep! They can't have kids and that's okay because they don't really want them and instead they have a grumpy cat! The NYC real estate market does not miraculously stop being nuts and that's okay because compromise can be a happy ending too! So delightful. Also just since the cover doesn't really indicate what's inside, I wanna give a little warning/advertisement -- the sex in this one is EXPLICIT.

Three charming (and occasionally heart-wrenching) real estate-themed novellas set in NYC. I wrote two longform reviews for the first two novellas (PLAYING HOUSE and OPEN HOUSE) and a very short Goodreads review for HOUSE RULES.

B review for PLAYING HOUSE: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/playing-house-by-ruby-lang/

"Despite my quibbles about the rushed ending, I enjoyed Playing House and look forward to reading future installments set in the NYC real estate community. It’s a must-read for the summer if you’re looking for an adorable, empathetic, and joyful romance. And if like me, you’re having trouble coping with the never-ending stress and misery of real life, I encourage you to pick up Playing House to transport you into another world for a few hours. It might be the escape you desperately need; it certainly was for me."

Read more of the review here: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/playing-house-by-ruby-lang/

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B+ review for OPEN HOUSE: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/open-house-by-ruby-lang/

"Open House is a very special book. I didn’t think it would be: the cover is bright and pink, and I didn’t anticipate an extensive exploration of grief that would wreck my heartstrings (“tug” is too tame a word). Don’t get me wrong: Open House is a charming and longish novella with a delightful enemies-to-lovers-but-not-really-it’s-complicated romance (more on this later). But for every laugh-out-loud quip or swoonworthy kiss, there is an omnipresent thread of… melancholy? Pensiveness? Whatever it is, it made my heart hurt in the best of ways. I was getting nervous that a resolution wouldn’t be possible, but the happily-ever-after was victorious and well-deserved. So yes, I did cry a little, but they were cathartic and joyous tears: everything had turned out for the better, and I was so relieved that I couldn’t hold it in anymore."

Read more of the review here: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/open-house-by-ruby-lang/

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B review for HOUSE RULES: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3173342360

I wouldn’t have expected a trio of love stories essentially about love in the time of gentrification to be this sweet and realistic at the same time, but this one was and it works. I love the messy, challenging, multicultural, multiracial world Ruby Lang has created here. I like it because I recognize it. All three stories are excellent, nuanced and smart. Each one depicts two fully realized grown-ups managing the hard work of relationships. Yet they’re still also swoonily romantic. Together, the collection is instantly one of my favorite things.