This was a hard one for me to rate. I really enjoyed so many aspects of this book - the family dynamics, the ties to Chinese culture, the rivalry. However, I had a really hard time relating to, and even liking, Olivia. She was unnecessarily cruel to the people around her, and in particular she was very unkind to Bennett. I understood her stress and the pressure she felt she was under, but even the rivalry between them shouldn’t have resulted in so many caustic comments. Her character felt really immature and unlikeable as a result. Because of this, I also had a hard time believing that there could be a romance blooming between Olivia and Bennett if she acted the way that she did.

Overall, this was an interesting read, and I would still say to give it a chance! It was just not really for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lunar Love is a really fun read that opens the door to learning more about Chinese culture and the Chinese Zodiac. I picked this book up several times and it was this one that finally caught and help my attention - it truly wasn't the right time before because I read this in a day and loved it!

This book is filled with a super sweet romance and a great cast of characters. Olivia takes over her Chinese-American family's matchmaking business and struggles throughout the book with her past affecting her ability to be flexible as she tries to keep the business afloat. She meets Bennett O'Brien who is testing a new app that is based off the Chinese Zodiac. She immediately views him as competition and thus starts a ridiculous attempt to "spy" on Bennett.

I was most disappointed with the characterization of Olivia - at times her stubborn nature is insufferable. There was a small portion where I truly did consider not finishing, BUT I'm glad I did not and pushed through. Olivia is very stuck in her ways and that creates many issues for herself in both matchmaking and her own relationships. But the growth she experiences ends up being a highlight of the book!

Bennett is the perfect book boyfriend - kind, thoughtful, and gorgeous! I adored him from the start and give him props for going after Olivia while also respecting her. He could have walked away and instead they both helped each other grow. It was freaking adorable at times and I was so here for it!

While I only rate this 3.5 stars, I still recommend it! There are enough things that balance out my frustration with the main character. I look forward to the author's next release!

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet, fun, closed-door romance. Olivia was a character I connected to in so many ways. The need to impress my parents, meet tradition, and mounds of pressure on myself 🫣😅.

I loved the chemistry between Liv and her rival match-making company CEO, Bennet. I really believe their connection and the passion they each have for their company. I loved learning about each of their histories and how they both felt like they had to prove themselves Asian enough.

The amount of Chinese zodiac, matchmaking, and pining was perfect for me. Would I have liked this to be an open-door, full smut romance? Yes! Was I happy with the warm feelings I got from this read instead? Hell yes lol

This felt like a romance that would be amazing on screen and I'd love for someone to make that happen lol. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Lauren Kung Jessen's work in the future!

3.25 stars!

I think that there were parts of this book I really loved: Bennett and Olivia together, the integration of Chinese culture, and the talk about being biracial in America and how they felt their identities in America. I think where this book lost me a little was actually with Olivia by herself. I felt like she was so strict and rigid by herself that it made me a little upset. There was just a lot of stubbornness and rude feelings towards each other and that really wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lunar love ah! Love! This was a cuteeeeeeeeeeeee one about competing dating services that both match based off their Chinese zodiac. Ikr. SO CUTE.

I really enjoyed it. The cultural nods were great. The family connections were lovely. The book overall was a fun read.

There were some points I didn’t love. Didn’t love the deception. That and the miscommunication are prob my least favorite plot devices. But I get ittttt. It thickened the plot. Haha. Just being picky though. 😅

Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (bw three and four but it was fun overall so rounding to four.)

“Lunar Love” was a really cute book that followed the love story of Asian app designers and competitors. It was a unique spin on a sweet love story and I found myself really rooting for the likeable protagonists. I don’t know what it was, but this book was such a warm, comforting read for me. It wasn’t a spicy/sexy romance, but a sweet one where you also learned a bit about Asian culture. I really enjoyed- 4 stars ✨.

I saw the title and the cover of this and like immediately added it to my TBR. First of all it was a diverse romance, and second of all it featured a holiday that wasn’t Christmas or Halloween! Unfortunately it wasn’t a great read, but it was good enough. I just thought it could have used a bit more of them together.

So basically I enjoyed this. I really enjoyed getting to know more about the Chinese astrology and the way they paired together. I also liked the way the companies worked. They were so close to each other but they were still different. I remember thinking that they were close enough to still get a lawsuit lol I loved seeing the differences that they still had too. Because of this, it made for a really entertaining story. It was a really fun book.

I didn’t care for the romance tho. We didn’t really get to see the two of them together. They spent a lot of time being mad at each other, and that bothered me. I wanted to see their compatibility and the way they match make together. And if you’re looking for spice, you won’t find it here. There is no spice, and there’s also hardly any romance. That was weird to me. But once they finally did get together, I thought they were really cute. But I just thought she was so adamant about denying him, so she should have been just as loud about being with him. But that’s just me.

The narrator was also really good. I was able to speed it up like my brain needs and I could still understand. They also did really well at the different voices for everyone. I remember thinking that all the different characters were all different and all good. Like the grandma actually sounded old, the dude actually sounded like the way I imagined one would, and the women also sounded the way I thought they might. They definitely chose the right narrator for this one. I really enjoyed their take on it.

I wasn’t like 100% sold on this, but I also wasn’t 100% against it either. It was a cute read, but I do wish there was just more in several areas. But overall it was a cute read with a good narrator that I don’t regret reading at all.

A spin on matchmaking, banter, wit, this book has it all. Adored the voice in this one--a must for all romance lovers.

Lunar Love was such a cute story. I loved the enemies to lovers troupe. The ending was predictable, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable or fun. I also really appreciated the background of Chinese zodiac matchmaking. It was a new spin on the typical rom com.

This was so fun! I was hooked so quickly. I loved the opposites attract vibes and i enjoyed the characters so much. It was a great read and i cant wait to get a copy! This book would be a great beach read or something fun to read this summer.

I really enjoyed this book - a rival business owners to lovers book with two Chinese American main characters who run matchmaking companies? Who get into a bet to find each other love?

And the romance! From the chance meet-cute to their dates, both in-denial (from Olivia's side) and intentional, the relationship had realistic movie-esque moments with plenty of deep discussions to keep it grounded. I absolutely loved Bennett, who flet like a ray of sunshine even when he was angry or clashing in stubbornness with Olivia.

Lauren Kung Jessen is great at laying out hints of things to come - nothing came as a surprise to me, but the journey I took with Olivia was satisfying. I especially liked how some of the questionable decisions Olivia made and the misunderstandings between Olivia and Bennett were handled.

The discussions of both our characters being half-Chinese and the questions of identity that come from feeling "not enough" was done really well. I also liked how they bonded over shared struggles as business owners, even though their business were in much different stages.

A thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sometimes a romance doesn’t quite hit all the right notes but is still a pretty good read that you don’t really want to put down and you still need to know how the Happily Ever After will come about. That was how I felt with Lunar Love, Lauren Kung Jessen’s debut novel (which was published back on January 10). I liked it (and expected to like it more) but I also didn’t dislike it and wanted to finish it to see how it all wrapped up.

Here’s the book’s description:
Always a matchmaker, never a match...
Olivia Huang Christenson is excited-slash-terrified to be taking over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. But when she learns that a new dating app has made her Pó Po’s traditional Chinese zodiac approach all about “animal attraction,” her emotions skew more toward furious-slash-outraged. Especially when L.A.’s most-eligible bachelor Bennett O’Brien is behind the app that could destroy her family’s legacy…
Liv knows better than to fall for any guy, let alone an infuriatingly handsome one who believes that traditions are meant to be broken. As the two businesses go head to head, Bennett and Liv make a deal: they’ll find a match for each other—and whoever falls in love loses. But Liv is dealing with someone who’s already adept at stealing business ideas…so what’s stopping him from stealing her heart too?
I should really know better. I have to be very, very careful with enemies to lovers tropes. I don’t love them and I’m very picky about them. So, it’s not really surprising that that’s what was bothering me right off the bat with this book. Kung Jessen had to work really hard to win me back once the enemies part dissipated and Liv and Bennett started to become friends - and then something more. I can handle some enemies to lovers books but with this one, I was really upset with how Liv acted. She was rude and was not behaving like a business owner (or a decent person tbh). I was really disappointed in her. Bennett wasn’t much better but somehow his behaviour wasn’t quite as upsetting. Maybe because I was feeling like the story was very much Liv’s and she was the one who was doing really problematic things.

For those who aren’t aware, I’m white so I can’t talk too much about Liv and Bennett’s Chinese American culture and how they feel about their heritage. I do know, however, how extremely important it is for Chinese American (or Canadian, etc.) readers to see themselves in books like this, for those who don’t identify as Chinese American to read books like this, and for Chinese American authors to have the opportunity to publish books like this. Personally, I really liked learning more about the Chinese zodiac while reading this book and seeing what Liv’s family life was like.

Even with the few issues I had, this book did not read like a debut. It was solid and well-written. It was mostly just my own issues with the trope (that felt like more than the trope’s fault) that had me struggling a bit. I felt connected with the characters (even when I was telling them they were being idiots) and I could really immerse myself in the story. That’s a major win.

Lunar Love is Lauren Kung Jessen's debut novel and, while I didn’t love it, I was pretty invested and I’m really looking forward to what she writes next. I found a snippet of something that told me about her next book (maybe at the end of the egalley?) and it sounds absolutely delightful and I’m definitely going to be picking it up.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Lunar love is a business rivals to romance between Olivia and Bennett who both use the Chinese Zodiac for their matchmaking businesses. Although Olivia’s matchmaking business is hands on and generational while Bennett’s is a start up app that uses algorithms and gaming.. This story had so much potential but fell flat and predictable without any angst or tension.

This story was fine! I loved the unique premise of two rival matchmaking companies, but I never really bought into the romance. I thought the author did an awesome job of showing the readers how complex it can be to be mixed race and trying to find your place when you come from two different cultures. I would definitely read more from her. This one just didn’t 100% work for me.

This one felt very average for me. The first -half was kind of slow to get through. In the beginning, I really found Olivia (MC) insufferable. She felt so whiny and negative it was annoying. However, I absolutely loved Bennett and was rooting for him to end up happy. The last 1/4 this book really made up with it with the thoughtfulness in how the story panned out. Overall, a 3.75 rounded up to 4.

This was a fun rivals to lovers book. I love the juxtaposition between traditional match making and a dating app. I do wish it hadn’t wrapped up so quickly.

A slow burn romance that I would absolutely recommend! There were a few plot points I wasn't the biggest fan off, but I enjoyed the overall story and the romance to be specific. Our main character isn't the most likable, but I still really enjoyed Olivia. Wholesome love story with great concept especially if you enjoy zodiac / astrology.

Lunar Love was a quick read. I enjoyed learning more about matchmaking using the zodiac. I wish there had been even more about that- seen more clients and the matchmaking that happens with them. I felt like there was a lot of telling, not showing, and the book dragged a bit because of that. I also wish it could have been dual POV because I really liked Bennett but I wasn't a huge fan of Liv.

I loved this debut by Lauren! The mixed Asian American rep was amazing, the banter was 10/10 and I LOVED the family storyline!!! Po po was the real MVP and this story was so cute!

Unfortunately, this was a book I didn't get to finish. I had really high hopes for this one, loving the plot and the fact that its enemies to lovers but the characters felt very flat and the conflict seemed silly. I would have loved to have Bennett's POV throughout the story. The writing was fine, I just wish it was a more developed story.