The novel follows the story of Olivia, who's now the head-matchmaker at Lunar Love and her bet with Bennet O' Brien; CEO of a dating app base on zodiac signs. Seeing striking similarities between the business Olivia sees Bennet's app as a threat to Lunar Love's market. The story follows their journey to set each other up with "the right person."

Nothing could've prepared me for how well this book was written, and how absolutely AMAZING the plot was. It was heart-wrenching, while heart harming. Lauren K. Jessen's representation on Chinese's tradition was not only important representation, but it was done in such a way that readers could felt Liv's passion for her roots and yearning to learn more about her culture. I loved the amount of tension this book had for its love interest, and their chemistry is quite unmatched. It was such an enjoyable read, the pacing was especially nice sine nothing ever felt too dragged out.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing (Forever) as well as NetGalley for this eARC!

I had found myself in a book hole and Lunar Love jumped out at me for a number of reasons. I want to support reading books authored by minority women and this story delivered! From the meet cute through the should-I-or-should-I-not battle, I was engaged and invested in Olivia’s life.

Will she and Bennett find some common ground outside of their empresarial rivalry? Let’s hope so because sometimes the most unlikely matches are exactly what our hearts needed.

I really liked this book! I saw it on Instagram because I follow some other authors who were hyping it up, and I totally agree with all the praise! I’m a sucker for a good enemies to lovers book, and the matchmaking angle is super cute. Bennett is totally swoon worthy and, though I don’t usually like books with bets in them, I didn’t mind this one because it wasn’t something that anyone else knew so I wasn’t waiting for the shoe to drop.

also- there is a big base on Olivia’s family- her grandmother who is a big believer in Chinese astrology!
I would definitely recommend this as a unique rom com filled with a good storyline and lovable characters.

Lunar Love is a fantastic rivals-to-lovers and opposites-attract romance with lovable characters and a fun plot. I really enjoyed that this book talked so much about the lunar horoscope and various Chinese traditions. I’m half-Chinese, like Olivia and Bennett, and I grew up learning about the lunar animal zodiac. I feel so seen by this book and its main characters.

I adored Olivia and Bennett. Their sizzling chemistry, their differences, the way they move past their own fears, and their own approaches to love made this book a joy to read. While I do think Olivia was a little too stubborn and guarded at times, it didn’t take away from the book at all; She’s written in a way that enhanced her journey of self-discovery. Besides romance, this book had heartwarming family relationships and well-written side characters.

Lauren Kung Jessen artfully writes characters who believe that following tradition is best and characters who believe tradition can be changed for the better. Lunar Love is like a reminder that traditional rules and modern rules of dating don’t really matter, because true love will continue to surprise us in the best ways.

I can definitely see myself re-reading this book for comfort closer to the Lunar New Year.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.75/5 ☆

A well written, feel-good debut novel by Lauren Kung Jessen! The synopsis seemed interesting and being an Asian-American woman myself, I was eager to dive in.

I really enjoyed the writing and how strong of a character Olivia is. I think many BIPOC readers can relate to feeling the pressure of wanting to be good enough for their families. For Olivia, wanting to live up to Po Po's legacy of running a successful matchmaking business is what motivates her and what ultimately leads her to Bennett.

I definitely think that their relationship could've been developed more - I wasn't super sold on their chemistry. We get these little moments from them, but nothing too in depth, which I would've liked to have seen. However, I admire both of them individually and think they are great characters. I loved their honest conversations about family (both are multiracial), Chinese culture, and what Zodiac matchmaking means to them.

Bonus points for the vivid descriptors of all the great food! Will definitely be reading what Jessen puts out next.

This was a magical slow-burn featuring the enemies to lovers and opposites attract tropes. I was equally invested in the non-romantic elements of this book as I loved the heroines family business and was rooting for its success from the start.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes so it’s no wonder that I devoured this book so quickly. Add in the fact that the heroine, Liv, and the hero, Bennett, are matchmaking industry rivals and I was sold.


Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I absolutely loved this book! I was given an ARC by Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own opinion. ⁣
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We meet Olivia who is taking over her Grandmothers matchmaking service. Couples are matched based on comparability and their Zodiac sign. In comes the competition a new app called ZodiacCupid ran by Emmett. Their app aligns couples based on their “ animal attraction”. The two businesses go head to head in a competition to create one match who fall in love. Which service will come out on top and what happens when feelings arise but your not compatible? ⁣
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This book was so good! I learned so much about Chinese culture and Zodiac signs. I absolutely loved Olivia and Emmett. I loved the growth between both characters and the real & raw feelings between the two. Both have been through a lot in their short lives. I loved the match making and Olivia’s family. They were so sweet I just wanted to sit down and have dinner with them all. Feel the love and energy their home was exploding with! My favorite quote was “ Love moves in Phases. New love is barely a whisper in the night sky, a slow burn into brightness. The relationship matures into the first quarter, advancing into full illumination- two comparable people become whole!” ⁣
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Take a chance and let the moonlight guide you to finding love on January 10,23.

Rating:4.25/5

I was interested in reading this book because of the Asian-American representation. Getting to see more of my culture in literature was definitely something I enjoyed.

Non-spoiler synopsis:
This book follows Olivia (single POV) who comes into the ownership of her family’s matchmaking business. When Bennett comes into town and starts his own matchmaking business/app, things immediately turn sour between the two. This is ironic because according to their Chinese Zodiac signs, they couldn’t be more of an imperfect match for each other. They balance each other out in the best way possible despite being completely incompatible on paper.

The author’s writing style is so gorgeous in the way that she’s able to encapsulate you into loving her grocery list if she ever showed you one. I love the banter between Olivia and Bennett and I loved to see the diversity in this!

Olivia is taking over her family's decades old Chinatown matchmaking business, but she also has to breathe new life into the old-school format. Her grandmother built the business around matching people based on their animal sign from the Chinese zodiac, but in a world of dating apps, this model might not last. There are still clients, but she owes it to her grandmother to continue the success of the company.
But Bennet O'Brien has found a way to make the Chinese Zodiac model into a dating app, matching people based on their animal sign, but he's got more going for the app - an algorithm that is working and bringing in thousands of clients.

The meet cute is a delight, the characters are sweethearts, and that's the thing.... everything is just vanilla.

“I’ve never felt more myself than when I’m with you. And life’s too short not to be with someone you feel most yourself with.”

Olivia and Bennett. They’re both owners of a matchmaking business. Traditional vs modern. Olivia’s family has owned Lunar Love for the past fifty years and Bennett is about to launch his new dating app, ZodiaCupid. The only problem is that they both use Chinese zodiac animal signs for their matchmakings. They make a bet to match each other up with someone using their own methods and the winner will receive more clients/sponsors. Sometimes the matchmaker needs a matchmaker of their own.

🌙READ IF YOU LIKE🌙:
- rivals to lovers
- witty banter
- zodiac matchmaking
- dumplings
- crescent moon
- opposites attract
- peonies
- astrology & baking
- dating app
- Chinese culture & traditions
- Asian-American rep
- You’ve Got Mail vibes
- random but interesting fun facts

cw: death of loved ones, manipulation from past relationship,

Thank you to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the advanced copy! Lunar Love is available on January 10, 2023!

Olivia Huang Christenson believes love is like the moon: waxing bright when it's new and ever-present even when it's comfortably hidden. She's more than ready to take on the mantle of leading her family's Chinese zodiac matchmaking business, Lunar Love. But when it comes to finding love for herself, she just doesn't think romance is in store for her.

A chance meeting with a handsome man at her favorite bakery sparks interest in Olivia's heart, though another encounter with him at a matchmaking conference snuffs out those embers. When she finds out that Bakery Guy is Bennett O'Brien, hot LA bachelor and the man behind the new dating app ZodiaCupid, she sees him as a rival and is determined to stop him from taking away her own clients. And what better way to find out his plans than to match with him on his own app?

While the rivals-to-lovers trope generally ensures that ethically questionable decisions and misunderstandings will pepper the plot, the author manages these elements deftly by slowly revealing the characters' past emotional traumas that have affected their present behavior. She also gives the main characters opportunity to make amends: for example, after Olivia vents her anger at Bennett in a listicle that accidentally gets published, she does (when caught) apologize to Bennett straightaway. Olivia's hesitancy to trust and her panicked reactions lead to other miscommunications, though Bennett has his own flaws that prevent truly open communication as well. It takes time for them to learn how to see things from each other's perspective and to learn how to compromise to find a way forward, and that path felt realistically depicted here.

Where the communication between the main characters shines, however, is when they discuss the difficulties of running a business, whether it's a new app or an older, established business that needs to be made relevant to today's society in order to keep going. They slowly become business friends more than rivals, speaking openly about some of their struggles and finding empathy from each other rather than a malicious determination to use the information against each other. I also appreciated their discussions about being half-Chinese and how that impacted their connection to their culture (and often feeling "not Chinese enough" for some). With such vivid descriptions of cultural elements such as food, family celebrations, and traditions in the book, these discussions added nuance to both Olivia and Bennett's characters as well as brought the reader closer to other members of Olivia's family.

While the final resolution of the book was one that I fully expected, the path taken to get there was satisfyingly rich and moving. Like Olivia's grandmother, I wanted to see these two come together but knew they had to make their own way to that happy ending, and it was well worth the wait.

Extra points for the book's many mouthwatering descriptions of food, plus bonus recipes at the end!

CW: death of family members (past and present)

Thank you, Grand Central Publishing (Forever) and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

LUNAR LOVE follows third-generation matchmaker, Olivia, whose family has made matches for fifty years based on the signs of the Chinese zodiac, and Bennett, who has created a dating app that uses those same signs to match users. However, while Olivia believes wholeheartedly in completely “compatible” matches, she’s horrified to find that Bennett and his app, which could kill the business her beloved grandmother fought so hard to create and sustain, don’t subscribe to the same standards Olivia believes makes a successful match. Soon Olivia and Bennett find themselves partaking in a wager to make the other fall in love first, using their respective matchmaking capabilities.

While there were many lovely parts of the story (the meet-cute! The Dodger game! The boat picnic! The banter!), what I appreciated most was Lauren Kung Jessen’s take on Olivia and Bennett’s struggles with identity. Not only were they each worried about being Chinese “enough” in general, but, professionally, the reader sees how hard they try to maintain a balance between the tradition and history of the Chinese zodiac, while also keeping up with the advancing technology and desire for instant gratification that often seems to eliminate/lessen the enthusiasm for cultural tradition.

Though I wish we could have gotten a deeper exploration of Olivia and Bennett’s relationship and chemistry, LUNAR LOVE was an enjoyable read that will resonate with many readers.

This sweet, enemies-to-lovers debut rom-com filled with Chinese astrology will undoubtedly prove to be a perfect match with readers of Helen Hoang, Jasmine Guillory, and Helena Hunting.

I'm disappointed because I was so hyped when I heard about Lunar Love. Unfortunately, it just fell kind of flat for me. It's fun but not particularly memorable (think made-for-TV rom-com.) There are a lot of familiar tropes from beloved rom-coms at play, but it all feels a bit random and haphazard and never really comes together to tell a cohesive story. I think Jessen would've had better luck if she'd focused solely on one subplot and sticking with it (ex. the bet or undercover snooping) instead of jumping from idea to idea. Liv and Bennett are a bit generic and need more development, and the writing itself feels a little unpolished. Hopefully this is just a case where a few rounds of good editing will result in a better finished product. There's definitely a lot of potential here, but it's definitely a diamond in the rough right now. I'd still be interested in seeing what Lauren Kung Jessen has next.

Sweet, charming and interesting rom com filled with wonderful cultural information (at least for this reader) Jessen has done a terrific job weaving this story together.

4.75/5 stars
I have not read a book in a long time that made me cry as this one did. I want to read this book over and over again. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. It's just the way the characters are written and interact with each other that made me love it so much. I fell in love with Po Po so fast as well as all the other characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

This was a breezy romantic comedy centered around the struggles of tradition vs modernity. I correctly guessed the ending around 40% through, but learning about Chinese traditions and zodiac throughout the story made it a joy to get to the ending. Having two multiracial Chinese American main characters, one whom wasn't taught Chinese traditions growing up, made the mini info dumps regarding Chinese traditions feel natural. I hope more non Euro-centric romantic comedies become the standard.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers/ rivals to lovers/ fake dating/opposites attract/ forced proximity

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

okay guys, i am a rom-com lover!! This one is going to be a booktok fave, i already know it! for my trope lovers: rivals to lovers, opposites attract, and enemies to lovers all wrapped into one!

not only was the romance of the book amazing, but the inclusion of and opportunity to learn about the Chinese zodiac really set this book apart from the rest.

as someone who has a strong relationship with their maternal grandmother, the relationship that Olivia has with her Pó Po made her character sooooo relatable.

special thanks the Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing(Forever) for an advanced digital copy!

A fun enemies to lovers story that takes a twist on common romcom tropes but makes it super fun. I did enjoy the chemistry between Olivia and Bennett while finding the incorporation of Chinese zodiac to be really enjoyable.


I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

You’ve Got Mail if Kathleen Kelly ran her family’s matchmaking business instead of a bookstore, and Joe Fox launched a matchmaking app instead of a Fox Books. One of my favorite movies of all time so I ain’t mad at it.

I really enjoyed our MC, Olivia aka Liv, a spitfire who is ferociously dedicated to her family’s legacy and Chinese traditions. I adored her family - especially her hilarious, loving grandmother and her anti-traditions sister Nina who wears an ivory jumpsuit to her wedding. Badass.

It was fun reading about the Chinese zodiac and the MC’s struggle to keep traditions and superstitions alive and well. I could relate to that aspect and especially appreciated the thoughts on the afterlife. A great compliment of characters in a story with a lot of heart.

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