This ended up being a DNF for me. I think it was just the wrong time for me and I hope to come back to it later.

Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic is a charming book about the title character who decides to have a baby with someone she meets on a co-parenting website. Lucie is in her late 30s and highly successful in her personal career, working in New York and Singapore. Her past relationship fell apart, but she desperately wants a baby. She matches with Colin from a website for people that want to become parents, but aren’t presently in the place to. I really liked the characters in this book. Lucie is relatable and ambitious, but also has flaws. Colin is adorable, but has his own shortcomings. Lucie becomes pregnant and they move to Singapore where they plan to raise their baby. Lucie’s ex returns to her life leading to complications for her. The story is little bit windy and long, but I was invested in the characters. I especially liked the depiction of her close friendships. I liked pondering how and why we raise our children as we do and the role that our families play in that. Overall, a fun read with substance.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

As much as I adored this book, I found it to be a tough ready for me personally. While the delicate topics addressed in this book were addressed with thoughtfulness and care, I was ill prepared to read them. I was entertained by the dynamic between Colin and Lucie and enjoyed their banter. Lucie as a main character was very relatable and I loved her strength. I would definitely read Lauren Ho's next adventure.

This was just ok.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my advanced copy of Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic.

I don't have much to say about this one. I didn't enjoy it as much as Last Tang Standing.
The storyline was unique.
I appreciated Lucie's back story and the love triangle in the book.


I look forward to picking up more by this author.

This one was just disappointing, I had to DNF it about 60% through it. I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I liked the idea of the plot, but this was just poorly executed. The cover art is pretty though.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one right off the bat- but I went back to it a week later and wish I hadn’t put it down. I loved the description, which is what hooked me in and I love a cartoon cover. Lucie has some serious heart string pulled throughout the book. This one reminded me a lot of Josh and Gemma Make a Baby which I also loved

Lucie Yi, after breaking down in a baby store, joins Tinder for would-be parents. The idea is to find a co-parent now, rather than continue to wait for a romantic partner to also fulfill that role. Ideally her match will be someone responsible, easy to get along with, and willing to move with her back to Singapore.

I really liked reading a book about a main character who decides to have a child when they want, regardless of their romantic situation. Lucie's also dealing with some grief and unresolved past heartbreak, both of which felt important and true-to-life.

At the same time, I felt like too much of the plot hinged on miscommunication. That could solely pertain to my personal feelings regarding lack of open communication as a plot element/trope. A true highlight of the book for me was when Lucie and her friend Suzie finally had a conversation about their relationship.

I also was disappointed in the arc regarding Lucie's career. I'll skip details so as not to be spoilery, but think more explanation was needed there.

Ultimately, this wasn't quite a great fit for me -- but Lauren Ho remains an auto-read author, and I'm sure some will love reading about a realistic 30something navigating her life.

DNF at 35%

This book was not for me. I truly didn't like any of the characters or any of the choices they made. The farther we got in the more I disliked both Lucie and Collin and thought that they should have taken more time to make their decisions. I've seen a lot of great reviews, but this book is not for me.

This was a new one for me! Slowburn co-parents to lovers with a love triangle and a planned pregnancy? Definitely a curious premise. It was a slow start for me-- I sat on this ARC for about a month after I first started reading it. However, once Lucie moved out of NY, everything picked up, and I was back in it. She was a complicated character, and I liked that. I'm not sure I would add this to a list of romantic comedies, I feel like it's better suited to women's fiction, but it did have me chuckling while I was reading in public. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I really, REALLY enjoyed this story about Lucie Yi, a career woman in her late thirties who decides she's not going to wait around for the perfect guy before trying for the baby she wants. Instead she turns to a co-parenting app and finds Collin, a man also of Asian heritage who is interested in a family without the messiness of love and marriage. Together Collin and Lucie navigate creating new life, navigating their feelings and dealing with the fallout from their parents. This was such an enjoyable read and definitely recommended for fans of Josh and Gemma make a baby or Lizzie Blake's best mistake. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic was a thoughtful and lovely book about Lucie, a woman who knows what she wants and is going to do what it takes to get it. I really enjoyed the character development here as Lucie truly discovers what's right for her. Even the harder storylines were written beautifully and with sensitivity. 4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley and Putnam books for the advance copy.

I wanted to read this because I enjoyed the author's first book, Last Tang Standing. This book was not as laugh out loud funny as the first, but it was a good story and a romance. It explored an unconventional path to parenthood and the main character dealing with a lot of decisions and deciding her philosophy on love, commitment, marriage, etc, while also dealing with her family and friends.

TITLE: LUCIE YI IS NOT A ROMANTIC
AUTHOR: Lauren Ho
PUB DATE: 06.21.2022

An ambitious career woman signs up for a co-parenting website only to find a match she never expected, in this unflinchingly funny and honest novel.

The Washington Post's Summer Romances Recommended by Ali Hazelwood

USA Today's Top Rom-Coms for June

Cosmopolitan's Hottest New Beach Reads for Summer 2022

Lauren Ho’s crossover to women’s fiction is utterly fantastic. lauren Ho brought Lucie Yi’s character and voice to life - a heroine that seems to have it all, but whose biological clock has been put on snooze… What do you do? You do Lucie by taking action and finding someone whom you can go-parent with! Lucie’s decisions gets put to the test when she goes back home to Singapore and face the consequences of her decision with her family, her job, and even an ex! ⁣
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Lucie Yi is definitely one of those characters you will always remember, and this was a charming and sweet story that had me laughing and rooting for the unexpected situations Lucie ends up in. I found it to be an enjoyable read about a strong unconventional woman that defy societal expectations, and also a wonderful story of modern motherhood.

So I love an unconventional love story but I found myself very very very frustrated with Lucie and how she was handling herself as well as the situations with potential beaus. The premise was promising and I liked it but I just didn't like how Lucie treated one of the love interests along with how she balanced him with her family. I just felt very frustrated with her level of entitlement and passive aggressive nature. The story was very well written and I felt for Lucie in her traumas. I would've connected more to her if she handled situations differently. I don't think this story was for ME but it is likely for someone else.

This was such a fun and relatable book! I loved Lucie Yi and it was a cute book. Lucie is quirky and single in the beginning so I really resonated with her struggles of being single.

I've been on a bit of a rom-com kick lately, and was excited to receive an arc of "Lucie Yi is not a Romantic" from NetGalley. This book definitely has a lot going for it, and I'll be happy to check out the next book from this author, but ultimately I don't think I'll be recommending this one to friends.
What I loved: the first half or so of the book was great, and I was quickly drawn in to the story. I really appreciate that we have such a specific cultural perspective that's not typically represented in mainstream rom-com: the MC and her co-parent meet in NYC but move back to Singapore together (she's been away for a couple of years, he's been away closer to 10?) to have their child there and be near family. Even though I didn't always love the MC, I liked having the chance to learn a bit more about Singapore through her point of view. The premise of the book, too (platonic co-parents to lovers) is fantastic and I hope we'll start to see trope this more frequently in the genre in coming years!
The main reason for my disappointment in this book is the trouble I had with its structure. As I see other reviewers have noted, too much of the second part of the book is spent on Lucie's toxic relationship with an ex. She tries to make things work with him when returning to Singapore, despite her growing feelings for Collin, and it's fine, I understood that at first, but on a narrative level it led plot and character development to stagnate. This disproportionate focus on the ex, Marc, made the ending a lot less satisfying, because we hadn't spent enough time with the Lucie/Collin pairing. I really felt this was a fault in the writing, and it's too bad because this book did have a lot of potential.

Lucie is 37 and single, with a thriving career in finance. Which is fine, except that she really wants a baby. Her friends encourage her to try a co-parenting matching site, for people interested in having a baby together. She doesn’t expect to meet anyone, but quickly finds Collin, and the two decide to meet and maybe give it a try. By “it,” they mean a platonic arrangement of living together and hopefully raising a child. But things get super complicated.

I really liked parts of this book, in particular Lucie’s two best friends. But I found Lucie herself super frustrating. She waffles and strings Collin along and considers returning to her manchild ex, and makes some very selfish choices, and treats her friend terribly. The idea of a platonic co-parenting arrangement is an interesting premise, but the character at the center wasn’t someone I could root for.

This is a closed-door romance, with leanings more toward relationship fiction. There is mention of past pregnancy loss, and family conflict.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Lucie Yi is tired of waiting for Mr.Right. She’s ready to be a mother and is turns to a new co-parenting website to find her perfect match in a “parent partner”.

When Lucie meets Collin, he is exactly what she’s looking for. They agree on all the big ticket items - including moving back to Lucie’s native Singapore to raise their child.

When Lucie’s ex finds his way back into her life, she finds herself second guessing her co-parenting agreement with Collin and how she feels about marriage and parenthood in general.

This was a really great read - a little bit romance, a lot of women’s fiction and motherhood, and a good dose of friendship mixed in, I really loved Lucie and Collin. Their story was endearing and and dynamic and I found myself rooting for them to make it to the end.

A great read all around - Lauren Ho doesn’t disappoint here.

Thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Lauren Ho for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I hit a wall with this book at about the 50% mark. It started off really strong with an interesting idea (woman seeking platonic parenting via a Tinder-esque co-parenting app) and a witty, funny MC. But as the book went on, Lucie went from witty and assured to frustrating and indecisive.

The last 20ish% I skim read as Lucie became more and more insufferable. The will they, won’t they, love triangle tropes really killed this story. Pick one, both is too much. Especially when one corner of the triangle is one of the biggest red flags I’ve read. I enjoyed the glimpse into how a culture other than my own handles single parenting, divorce, marriage, etc.

However, despite having some complaints, the ending wrapped it up nicely for me. It’s a contemporary romance with some frustrating characters and a fun premise I wish would’ve been explored more in depth.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the digital ARC.

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic is contemporary fiction about a 37-year-old single woman who wants to have children. She goes on an online dating site for potential parents and meets a match. Together, they move to her home country to Singapore.

As someone in my late 20s who is recently single and wants to have children, this book came at a good time for me. I really liked the premise and appreciated seeing a woman in her 30s not having everything perfectly together and still trying to achieve her personal goals. I liked getting to learn more about Singapore and thought the romance was cute.

But... Lucie just becomes the WORST! She's AWFUL to her friends and makes the most mind boggling relationship decisions. She's fine for a lot of the book but as it continued she just kept getting worse and worse. I'm really not one for unlikable main characters and this one definitely tested my patience for a lot of the book. I had to keep putting the book down and breathe deeply before continuing to read. I could have done without the whole third act relationship drama. I liked how it all ended up but oh boy...

Overall, I liked the premise and parts of this book. I recommend it if any of the plot summary sounds interesting and if you skip over the 3rd quarter of the book. 3.5 stars from me rounded down to 3. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!