I really enjoyed this sweet rom-com of two exs given a second chance. I especially loved that it took place in DC (where I live) and dealt with the gentrification in the city. It was steamy and sweet and I loved the side story of their families and businesses.

Two years ago, Andre broke up with Trixie on a post it note, now as she is trying to get her sex toy business off the ground she runs into him again and tensions are high. Trixie is doing what she loves after a major fall out with her Vietnamese parents. They wanted her to be a pharmacist, she wanted to be a therapist and that wasn't their dream for her so she hasn't spoken to her dad in years. Well, she speaks to him, but he doesn't speak back.
Two years ago, Andre encouraged her to follow her dreams and not what her parents had mapped out for her. He knows what it is like to have a parent not talk to you, so he didn't want that for Trixie and he felt bad for all of the pain he caused with his encouragement. The only issue is, he didn't tell Trixie why he left, he just left. Then life happened and sometimes you can't go back.
Trixie moves back to DC from NOLA and by chance, befriends Andre's sister, whom she didn't know about. I found this part odd since it was said the two of them dated for two years prior, but I digress. When Trixie's sex toy pop up at Andre's mom's failing restuarant brings in sales for both parties, they reallize they should form an alliance. Only, Andre is set on winning Trixie back and Trixie is set on never letting him hurt her again. I loved the push and pull of these two, and the devotion because it is clear they never got over each other, life just got in the way. Andre wants to make sure that never happens again, but he does need to open up more, like a lot more.
I'm sure you can tell that this book will be hot because of the nature of her business and I would be lying if I didn't expect it, and the author did deliver. This was a great debut.
Thank you to Avon and Harper Books, Netgalley and Thien-Kim Lam for an early copy of this book!

This book had so many good elements to it and I loved the direction it intended to go, but it overall fell short and felt lackluster to me.

I really enjoyed Trixie's character, I felt she was strong, ambitious, and unabashed in her sexual prowess. We need more romances/rom-coms that focus on female pleasure and confidence.

While it was steamy in the sex department, it lacked in the emotional depth and compatibility department. To be blunt, Trixie deserved so much better than Andre. I just could not look past his actions and level of immaturity. I felt he really didn't own the mistakes he made and Trixie would have been better off without him.

Ultimately, I was bored with these two and while the sex scenes were steamy, their compatibility just wasn't believeable to me and I finished this book underwhelmed.

Again, there were good aspects (sexual pleasure/sex toy rep, delicious food descriptions, likeable heroine) and I could see the aim of this book, but it just fell flat for me and I personally just did not like the hero and didn't like them as a couple.

**Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Having read the synopsis of this book before reading it, I had high expectations. I've read quite a number of sex-positivity (romance) books in the last couple of months, so I was excited to see how this will compare.

The heroine of the story named Trixie is a Vietnamese-American sex toy therapist who is confident about teaching sex and self-pleasure. She's passionate and dedicated and got some really supportive friends. I loved that she's enthusiastic about every single step and new chapter she opens. Then we have Andre who unfortunately didn't warm up to me and I found a bit close-minded and annoying to read. The second chance romance aspect of the book felt rushed to me; full of steamy sex but no real conversation.

Overall I think plot-wise it was good. We need more books that do not tackle sex as a taboo subject and the food descriptions were on-point too. I just wish there were more healthy dialogues put in there and that Andre's control issues didn't get on my nerves.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

After her life imploded, Trixie moved to DC for a new start. With determination and the help of her friends, the Boss Babes, she was able to establish herself as a top sex toys sales representative. One of her sales events brought her face to face with Andre, the man who broke her heart. After recovering from the initial shock of the reunion, Trixie and Andre realized that forming a partnership could benefit them both. However, would they be able to overcome the past and move forward together?

When I saw the premise for this story, I was curious. I loved that Tixie was determined to find success in a non-traditional career. It was gratifying seeing her confidence grow with each small victory, and I was rooting for her the whole time. Though there were some aspects of the story I wish had been explored more, there were many things I enjoyed very much.

I adored the fabulous female friendships in this book. Trixie had a tight knit group of friends known as the Boss Babes. Each were their own boss running successful business they started from the ground up. How could I not love the Girl Power vibe going on there. I admired their individual successes, but I also reveled in the way they supported one another and elevated other women.

The focus on family and community was wonderful. Andre and his sister were a team working to save their mother's restaurant, and Mama Hazel's was an institution in the neighborhood. Monday dinners were such a fantastic thing, and a sense of community played a big role in multiple other parts of the story as well.

Second chance romances are among my favorites. The way Andre broke it off with Trixie was rather rough, but I did think that Lam provided an explanation that helped me understand the circumstances. I also believed that this relationship could be even better this time around, because Trixie and Andre were both in such very different places in their lives. Trixie was more sure of herself and enjoying professional success, while Andre had grown and changed quite a bit following his mother's death.

Overall: A promising debut about second chances and blazing your own path.

I was really excited about this synopsis and I’m here wondering if it should be two stars instead of three.

I really liked Trixie. She’s passionate and loyal and dedicated to teaching. Her friends are supportive and fantastic. I loved the scenes of all of them together (excluding the fact that they legit referred to themselves and “Boss Babes.) Andre is just okay. He’s sort of alpha and hears, but doesn’t listen and thinks he can do it all himself.

Plot wise, it was okay. I loved Trixie’s determination and her side of the story is what kept me reading. The second chance romance part was all sex and no real communication. Andre was an ass at every turn and I wanted a lot more for his redemption.

Overall, the food descriptions were spot on and the sex positivity was so great to see. Sadly, there was definitely something missing for me.

**Huge thanks to Avon for providing the arc free of charge**

Happy Endings intrigued me from the start: Entrepreneurial Asian heroine. Family drama. Vietnamese food. New Orleans food porn. Sex toys. Second chance romance. Sex positivity. Found family. Yep, the blurb pretty much sold me. And once started, it's impossible not to cheer for Trixie and her Boss Babes friends. C'mon, this book made me want to research vibrators and how to make Pants-On-Fire appletinis. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get over Trixie giving a second chance to the guy who broke up with her by Post-It two years ago, an unforgivable crime.

Trixie Nguyen was such a fascinating heroine, having dropped out of pharmacy school to teach sex ed to seniors while selling sex toys with her eye on opening up her own sex toy boutique. Whew! Throw in the Boss Babes (her "three brilliant, badass besties"), estrangement from her traditional parents, and running into the guy who broke up with her with a Post-it, and it's amazing that Trixie doesn't deck Andre the minute she sees him.

And here's the problem: once I read about how Andre broke up with Trixie, it was game over. Breaking up with a Post-it should be classified a crime against humanity. The magnitude of grovel needed to recover from such a bonehead move is unmeasurable. Unfortunately, Andre didn't even come close to making up for his past and present failures. I kept waiting for him to earn Trixie's trust and respect, and he just kept doubting himself, keeping secrets from everyone, and just repeating his mistakes. Andre, in short, was a big disappointment. Trixie had the patience and heart of a saint to give him so many chances despite her determination to succeed:

Past Trixie had learned her lesson. She would never again let someone else push her to make life-changing decisions. Present Trixie knew what she wanted and had a time line to achieve it. Lust would not derail her tonight.

Lust may not have derailed Trixie, but Andre's self-doubts, his inability to share, his fears of failure; all of these kept derailing not only his and Trixie's relationship, but his restaurant business and her boutique plans. In fact, lust seemed to be the only way these two really knew how to communicate. Trixie and Andre had fun in bed, and not just because of her sex toys, but out of bed, things stagnated because Andre just couldn't use his words. Trixie deserved so much better.

Thank you @NetGallery for this opportunity. After reading the description for Happy Endings and discovering that New Orleans was the place of their love origin and essence for food inspiration, I immediately requested this book to hear their story. For starters, I absolutely loved the variety of lived experiences in this book. There were multiple cultures, ages, and lifestyles in this book to more accurately represented the world that we lived in. I also appreciate and agree with the Sex Forwardness of the leading lady who sells sex toys and encourages women to embrace their sexuality and sexual needs. Lastly, I absolutely LOVED the Boss Babes!! Everyone needs a support group like that, and I would love for a book just on their origins.

However, I really didn’t enjoy the actual love story. I never bought into their love story, and I didn’t find myself rooting for them to make it. I definitely think it was because of the flow of the story. Some of it felt very robotic and random rather than intuitive and genuine. I was more interested in a side story that could possibly happen than the main characters. There were also parts of the story that were repeated multiple times rather than building it out more when it was needed that made the story feel forced.

Overall, the story was fine. The sex scenes, variety of perspectives, and women empowerment balanced out some of the forced tropes and plot carrying. I honestly wished it was an origin story of Boss Babes almost like their friend/love story.

Not a bad book, but little things that should not matter bugged me so much. I know I’ve been an extra picky reader lately. One day maybe I can go back and enjoy it more. There was so much that I did like. I loved the friendships. It made me hungry a couple times. Again, it’s not a bad book.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Trixie Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American from New Orleans who after a messy breakup with a man named Andre she moves to DC for a fresh start. She begins selling sex toys and makes of group of female friends all with strange jobs and call themselves "boss babes"
Andre Walker moved back to this home town in DC after this mother passed away to help his younger sister run their mothers failing restaurant.
When Trixie and Andre run into each other again old wounds and sparks reopen.

I was able to receive this book as an ARC and it had a lot of potential but fell short to me,

I'll start with what I did really like. The strain relationship between Trixie and her parents felt very honest and I loved hearing about Trixie's upbringing, I loved the friend group Trixie is in and how they all help each other grow in their careers. Lastly, I loved how comfortable Trixie was with her sexuality and talking about sex.

However there was a lot I did not like. First of all way the other point of view in this story which was Andre. While I do see the author tried to give him a character development, It fell flat for me, to me he was rude and self centered at the start of the book and all the way through, I would of much rather Trixie be with someone new. In addition to disliking Andre the second chance romance went from zero to hundred way to quick for my liking. I truly feel like with how Trixie was written so independent she would not have forgiven Andre so quickly.

To end on a positive note, the story had a wonderful of introducing and describing different cultures of food and I felt hungry the entire time!

This is a really fun debut romance!

Andre dumped Trixie two years ago back in New Orleans with a post it note. So when she shows up selling sex toys to a bachelorette party in his mother’s restaurant, Andre is shocked. Trixie is working to win a sales prize and can’t deny how good her sales were at that bachelorette party, so she decides to team up with Andre and his sister to host a pop up shop at the restaurant.

I loved the strong female friendships, the sweet second chance romance, the diversity and sex positivity, and how food from each character’s culture played a starring role. I wanted more back story between Andre and Trixie to really sell the reunion.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

Did you at some point last summer say, "Wow, The Roommate is the horniest book I've ever read?" Would you like to read another very fundamentally sex-positive romance? Allow me to introduce you to Happy Endings.

This is a very, very solid romance debut from Lam! For one, it's hawt -- if you're a person who finds chef romances to be particularly competence porn-y, combine that hero with a sex educator heroine and wow. It's also super thoughtful. It raises a lot of questions for the reader to work through, including sexual wellness and aging, diaspora culture, what's "authentic" and who determines that, and how gentrification is destroying and creating communities. There's a really light hand to all of this, forcing the reader to do some real critical analysis instead of forcing the author to do the emotional labor of handing over answers.

The writing here erred more on the side of telling instead of showing (which is really reductive but also the simplest way to explain it), which is why it's a three star read for me. I think it's nothing that won't improve with more writing, and I'll be on the lookout for more novels from Lam. If the Boss Babes don't all get their own novels, I'll be so disappointed!

I'll certainly be recommending this book to anyone who loved "The Roommate," but also to people looking for own-voices romances about Vietnamese-Americans and/or for romances involving living up to your parents' expectations of carrying on a cultural legacy.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Endings has a lot going for it. For one, I loved the fact that the couple is mixed race, and they’re both non-white (while this book is hardly the only one to do this, Black/white couples do dominate).

And both characters are really well-defined within their cultural backgrounds, having a tie to it while also grappling with it too. Trixie in particular is trying to prove her traditional Vietnamese parents wrong with her sex toy business, and I really loved that. It was great to see her, and the narrative itself, not be shy about sex, including the use of toys in the bedroom, which comes into play in some of the steamy scenes.

Andre is also a fairly well-written character, and I liked how he wanted to keep his mother’s legacy alive through her soul-food restaurant, and his arc sees him confronting the issue of gentrification. But as a hero, he had a lot to atone for from the get-go, having broken up with Trixie through a post-it note. In some ways, I got their connection…they clearly were able to patch things up on a superficial level, and their chemistry in the bedroom was pretty hot. But towards the end, when he’s making her choose between her store and him, I felt he still wasn’t in a position to bargain with her, because their deeper issues weren’t addressed. There is some catharsis where he admits to everything he’s been dealing with and confesses how he feels, but I don’t think I’d be able to fully trust him. I’m not saying a happy ending is impossible, but this is one of those times where I really wish couples’ therapy (or just therapy in general) was a thing more writers included in their romance, because this isn’t the first time things ended sort-of well, but I could easily imagine them having another blowup after the story ended that sees them parting ways again.

This book was great overall and has a lovely intent and mission, but it does suffer a bit due to some of the choices made in the last part of the book. But even with that caveat, it’s great to see a book from a mainstream publisher proudly promoting sex positivity. If you’re looking for a diverse, sexy contemporary, it’s still worth giving this one a shot.

I have a bad habit of requesting books that look or sound interesting from #NetGalley and then diving in without reminding myself what the book is about. You’d think the title would have given me the hint I needed, but nope. I was completely naïve going into this one.

Guys, this book is literally about happy endings — and not necessarily in the romantic, happily-ever-after kind of way. Not that there isn’t potentially that too (I won’t tell you those details!), but it’s more so in the way of sex. From sex toys to masturbation to VERY detailed sex scenes, this book is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 – oh! And there’s also a LOT of food talk (with recipes at the end!).

I will say, there were moments in this book where I felt the characters fed into stereotypes. The main character is Vietnamese with overbearing parents who have specific career goals for her. The love interest is a Black man living in Washington DC, in an increasingly-gentrified area (great insight into community family connections here), but there was also a lot of emphasis on his restaurant, his cooking – and specifically the fried chicken, again leading to the stereotypes. This rubbed me the wrong way until I read the author’s note at the end where she explains her desire to write characters who defy stereotypes (odd given my initial reaction). She does do this in some ways (Vietnamese woman who works selling sex toys and talks about sex publicly and proudly), but in reference to the other components I couldn’t tell what was really necessary to her story and what could have also been opportunities to defy further stereotypes.

I do want to say that I am white and I have no personal experience within these cultures that she writes about – and she does! Many stereotypes often stem from truths. Many restaurants serve fried chicken. Many families of Asian descent have career-driven focuses for their children. I try and want to be an advocate for as many communities as possible, and so I wanted to share my first impressions of this one with you all.

On another note, the book was captivating. I read it in 24 hours. I was a bit annoyed by the strong female protagonist who accepted fairly lame excuses for why her ex hurt her in the past – and continually gives him chance after chance in this #secondchanceromance. Honestly, this is one you should form your own opinion on – but if you love steamy reads, I highly recommend it.

Trixie is a tough, confident, and highly motivated Vietnamese-American woman who is striving towards making her dream a reality, without letting anyone holding her back. This includes her traditional parents, who want her to follow their career trajectory, and a major motivating factor for her is to show them that she can be a success without having to be a doctor, lawyer, or pharmacist. Trixie just wants to help people, and for her, that route involves selling sex toys. I loved seeing her express her confidence and share it with others, no matter their age. Her character also portrayed the fine line that children of immigrants often walk, especially when their parents hold tightly to traditional values.

Andre was a difficult character. I got the impression that he really did mean well, but he went about everything the wrong way. So often, he tried to fix everything on his own without even considering any input from others, or how it would affect them. He was endlessly frustrating, although I did understand that his heart was in the right place.

I was able to empathize with the emotional components of this story. There were parts that made me laugh and cry, and I was truly invested in the outcome of the story. However, the romance aspect was the weakest part in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong — the sex scenes were incredible and had my Kindle practically melting, but I struggled with the actual romance. Trixie was able to communicate her emotions with everyone in her life, except for Andre, it seemed like. And Andre, for his part, didn’t really seem capable of sharing much of his emotions with Trixie. He didn’t respect boundaries and she was far too willing to disregard red flags that they were on different pages. I liked seeing how things changed between them through the course of the book, but initially, I wasn’t as caught up in the romance between them as I was in the rest of the story.

Overall, I liked the story, how everything unfolded, and the diversity in the story. The way the characters needed each other to make their own goals possible made things feel more believable, and the pace was perfect. I was able to get into the story, and the writing flowed naturally. This was an enjoyable debut, and I am really looking forward to more from this writer. Especially if it includes more recipes at the end, which I thought was a particularly nice touch. I can’t wait to try Vietnamese iced coffee!

Second chance romance.
I loved the sex positive themes in this one, but... I did not root for the couple at all. The way Andre left Trixie in the past is not as easily forgivable as this book made it seem. Sexual tension does not cure all problems. I also can’t be the only one who thought the sex-toy business was giving very MLM vibes.

This debut romance from Thien-Kim Lam is a fun read. The main character, Trixie Nguyen, has recently moved from New Orleans to DC to make a fresh start. She wants to prove to herself and her family that she can be successful on her own path, in her own way. She's made great friends, the Boss Babes, found ways to volunteer locally, and has focused on winning her company's sex toys sales contest. And everything is going right on track until she realizes that her new friend's brother is none other than her New Orleans ex ... who dumped her through a Post-It note. She's mad as hell, but he still looks pretty darn good. Are there unresolved feelings there, not just hers but his too? And can they work together to help his family restaurant and her sales contest or is it another heartbreak waiting to happen?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love how HAPPY ENDINGS is sex-positive for women of all ages. Trixie's and Andre's second chance romance was realistic, sweet, and steamy!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one! A second chance romance that had both weight and steam, between two characters who genuinely seemed like they needed to be on their own for a little while before ultimately forging something new together. Trixie is a fun, sex-positive heroine who sells adult toys for a living and loves every part of her job; Andre has moved back to bartend in his mother’s restaurant but dreams of being a chef and expanding the menu. Their goals at first seem a little incompatible (especially when Trixie’s potential business venture to join a co-op conflicts with Andre’s desire to preserve the neighborhood), but these two had sexy chemistry and utterly failed at a FWB situation which left me ultimately charmed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story about family, found family, food, and love.

Trixie moved to DC and ended up getting a job as a sex toy salesperson. It turns out she loves it and is really good at it. However, she wants to take it to the next level and really grow her career. Her ex-boyfriend Andre returned home to DC to take over his mom's restaurant after her passing and he's struggling to keep it open. After a chance encounter with a last-minute bachelorette party getting scheduled at Andre's restaurant, with a sex toy demonstration provided by Trixie, they end up realizing they might be able to help each other out. But can they move past the issues they've had and make their relationship work this time?

Honestly, Trixie and Andre are both very self-centered. They care about their communities and their friends, but they also can't seem to accept help or see things from someone else's perspective. They completely lacked any kind of communication skills and mostly used sex as a way to avoid having to talk about their feelings. This made them both kind of unlikeable for a lot of the book. Some things happen towards the end that forced them to reconsider the choices they made, but I'm not completely convinced of their chemistry or ability to last long-term. There were some other really good parts of this book though: the Boss Babes are awesome and I want to see more of them. I also really enjoyed the neighborhood and how they all rally together. And the food! I was basically constantly hungry while reading this book. I'm also definitely curious about where things go from here. Are there going to be other books? I would assume so given the structure of this book. Are Keisha and Xavier up next?

If you enjoy foodie romances, found family, and second (and third) chances, this book is definitely worth a try.