LKJ is officially an auto-buy author for me (or auto-request on Netgalley ?). I LOOVEEED RED STRING THEORY! The characters have perfect banter and chemistry, and I really felt their care for one another. The Red String Theory game Rooney and Jack played was the perfect way to create some narrative tension. Plus, I loved that both of them came to realize that both fate and choice can coexist. So lovely and sweet, and I think I can say I loved this one even more than LUNAR LOVE.

My only complaint is that I could have used a little more fleshing out of Jack’s parental issues. I think that could have added more drama to the story, and an opportunity for Rooney to show grace and support for him.


RED STRING THEORY out 1/9/24! Thank you for NetGalley and Forever Pub for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

“Red String Theory” is a charming, feel-good romance, that is sweet and slow. Rooney believes in fate. Jack is a scientist. Their opposing beliefs lead them to test fate. Rooney and Jack intersect in serendipitous ways as they begin to fall in love.

For those who enjoy:
🏮Opposites Attract
🏮Fated Love
🏮Slow Burn
🏮Artist + NASA engineer
🏮Chinese Culture

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One fateful day artist Rooney Gao and NASA employee Jack Liu have a chance meeting. Followed by *another* chance meeting that night. Leading them to chasing a floating lantern through the city, having an adventure and learning little things about each other.
But not the big things, like what they actually do for a living or full names. Just a failed exchange of phone numbers and single kiss.

After months of searching on both of their parts, a second - or I guess third - chance encounter has them connecting again but on different, progressional, grounds and a ‘will they or won’t they’ situation begins.

The budding romance is a good part of the story, but even more it is about Rooney’s struggle for agency in her own art and Jack’s learning how to make the personal connections he needs to succeed and more forward in his job.
The story blends science, art, romance and fate that feels magical.

If you liked the vibes of the movie Serendipity, but wish it was ✨more✨ then I think you’ll love this book!
(Seeing the movie referenced in the book was perfect, just as I was thinking this and after I stopped to add it to my notes - fate?)

While I wouldn’t have made all the same choices as Rooney - I had Some Thoughts on why she wanted the money and her resistance to some specific help, but they’re spoilery so *zips lips* - I did enjoy the journey and how everything tied together. All’s well that ends well, and it ended very well!

Thank you to NetGalley and forever for the ARC!

I wanted to fall in love with this book as I enjoyed this author’s debut. However, the pacing was slow and I found myself not interested so DNF early on.

Red String Theory is a sweet rom-com with Chinese mythology incorporated into the plot. Ro and Jack are fun and very cute. A solid book all around!

Rooney has always believed in signs. When her day goes off plan and ends with her running into Jack several times, it feels like fate has played a part. When she realizes she wrote his phone number down wrong though, the two spend months trying to find each other. Does fate have plans for the two to reconnect?

Ahhh, ok this book took me way too long to read because I started it while in the throws of RSV, but I loved it so much! I just adored how Rooney believed so strongly in fate, meanwhile Jack was such a skeptic. It truly did feel like fate was trying to bring these two together though. This story had a little romance, a lot of heart, and a little bit of fateful magic and I high recommend it!

Red String Theory (ARC)
Lauren Kung Jessen
5⭐️

Pub Date: 1/9/2024

First few chapters and I'm already reeling! It's too cute, how Jack and Rooney met. Rooney was just so warm right away and Jack was immediately intrigued. Their first encounter was already so magical and romantic. The details were written so well that it definitely conveyed the emotions. The descriptions and the romance are clean and subtle but gosh, did it creep in! So many subtle moves!!! There's something about the writing style that makes my heart pound like crazy! And yet, this is one of those books that also gives you the warm, fuzzy feeling and the butterflies in your belly as well! I had a TON of butterflies reading this book. Jack is too cute 😭 so serious and yet his charm just comes out with Rooney. And Rooney! She's so silly! Not cringe-silly but actually magical and carefree. So many gasps, silent screams and giggles for this book. The plot is fluff! I love it.

Yes, since it's fate vs science, it got deep with the technical and destiny stuff. I admire the details and the amount of research done. I'm sure it was rough with two opposing subjects (although take my word as a grain of salt on the tech stuff since I'm no expert). The tech talk did lose me just for a very short while but LKJ reeled me back in with a bang on the romance. The battle between fate and science is evident here, but it also wrapped up and came together well.

I really like how LKJ was able to bring Chinese culture into her book. I relate so much to these characters (like the love for rice and tangyuan- ofcourse it's food that I relate to 🤣). And I'm sure this book will be very much enjoyable to her non-Asian readers as well.

💭 what's your favorite non-american food?
--- this is hard for me since I like most Asian flavors. I did recently eat at an indigenous cuisine restaurant and all the food were amazing!

4 stars!

"Red String Theory" by Lauren Kung Jessen is a super sweet insta-love meet-cute about fate, connection, art, and getting out of your comfort zone. This story is like one giant hug from the cosmos. Rooney and Jack's story is teeming with chemistry despite not containing any spice at all. Rooney is an artist who is also the daughter of a famous artist, though she doesn't want any help when it comes to making a name for herself. She's hosting an art installation in Washington Square Park where her string art is on display front and center. Rooney bumps into Jack after a flyer printing mishap, and there is an instant connection between them. He's in town for work and will soon return to California. Rooney winds up going to a Chinese lantern festival after her art installation gets shut down and, once again, finds herself in Jack's orbit. They decide to follow the lantern that they let go into the night and wander the streets of New York City until the early morning hours. They eat, talk, run, around, and connect on a deeper level than they ever could have expected. The night comes to a close and they lose each other. One year later, Rooney is offered an artist-in-residence fellowship in California at NASA, and lo and behold, Jack is her superior! His science-oriented world clashes with her fate-based one as he yearns for explanations for what she deems serendipity.

I think that the target audience will eat this up. I will admit, it's a little slowly paced in the middle-to-end portion, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the heck out of this. It's just so dang sweet! I loved Rooney and Jack both together and separately. I found them to be spectacular characters. I love how they are polar opposites but remain mostly open-minded about what the other has to say. Rooney wants to make a name for herself without her mom's help. She's headstrong in her beliefs. Jack is a tender soul, but won't admit it to anyone. His scientific worldview is altered by Rooney's love of fate as they work on their "red string theory" together. This book also contains a lot about different aspects of Chinese culture, which was fun and eye-opening to read about. All in all, this is a great little book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Kung Jessen, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Alexa, play Invisible String by Taylor Swift ✨〰️✨

After reading and loving Lunar Love, I was sooo excited when I got approved to read an advance copy of Red String Theory through netgalley!!

This book was so sweet and such a fun read while still being really meaningful. I liked how they explored their relationships with their parents, both the good and bad, and how it shaped their actions and in many ways, the lives they chose for themselves.

Jack and Rooney both grew so much and I loved how their perspectives of fate vs. choice changed for each of them. I also love grandparents being included stories, so of course I enjoyed the parts with Jack’s gong gong ♥️ And I’m a big sky/cloud enthusiast, so i thought the NASA storyline and all the parts talking about the sky and clouds were so perfect ☁️ Oh and I loved the NYC setting in the beginning!!! Prob my fav part of the book was them on their first night together 🫶🏼

I definitely recommend if you want a sweet, playful, heartfelt romance!

This is a low-angst, low-stakes contemporary romance with likeable characters. The pace is leisurely, the tone upbeat.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Rooney Gao is an artist who incorporates red string into her art installations due to her strong belief in the Red String Theory—the Chinese legend that everyone is tied to their one true love by the red string of fate. Jack Liu is a NASA engineer from LA who believes in science and having control over one's own life.

After their chance encounter, they end up spending one magical evening together in NYC. But they lose touch afterwards, unable to find one another until they're given another chance to reconnect. Is it fate or a choice? RED STRING THEORY is a charming opposites-attract romance novel weaving fate, art and science together.

Since reading Jessen's debut novel LUNAR LOVE, I became a fan of her writing. Jessen writes thoughtful love stories with likeable characters, sweet familial relationships, and honest discussions on identity and love. RED STRING THEORY was no exception. This was an endearing read with a unique plot. Jessen does a fantastic job of weaving the red string of fate seamlessly throughout while exploring the topics of art and science, and fate vs choice simultaneously. Rooney and Jack were both likeable characters and there were several cute moments between them. I loved seeing them explore each other's cities (LA & NYC) and the descriptions made me feel like I was right there with them. Not to mention, it got me wanting to travel to NYC for late-night dumplings now!! Jack helping Rooney find inspiration again to create, and Rooney helping Jack break out of his shell with his colleagues were also enjoyable to read about—along with the openness in understanding they had of each other’s perspective on fate and choice with a healthy and mature communication style.

But rather than feeling like I was witnessing their romance blossom, it felt more like a friendship was developing instead. Their chance encounter was too insta-lovey for me to fully believe. I think I wouldn't have minded seeing it become a friends-to-lovers romance even if that meant it being more of a slow burn than it already was. There were also many subplots that I wish were more developed like Rooney trying to buy back an art piece of significant value to her. The outcome felt too easy of a closure when her reasoning behind wanting it back is more complex than what money can solve. By the end, I was left wanting more from the plot and the romance. Nonetheless, this was a solid follow up from her debut novel with a very sweet cameo in the book that made me smile 💞

Thanks to Red Forever Pub for the eARC!

Wow! What a perfect wintertime book. Cozy and sweet. So wonderful.

After Lauren and Jack spend six perfect hours together after a fortuitous meeting and a print shop, the future feels limitless—until Lauren realizes she mistyped Jack’s phone number. But in a lucky twist of fate, they end up working together a few months later. They’re coworkers and can’t date (obviously!), but that doesn’t stop them from growing closer. As their feelings grow, they must decide where their priorities lie. Fate brought them together, but will they choose to take advantage of this moment and be together, even if the future is uncertain?

Red string theory is the idea that we are each connected to an invisible red string, and on the other end of that string is our true love. Ugh! Soulmates! I love it.

You can expect:
👫 swoonworthy meet cute
🚀 space ships!
🎨 cool art projects
👩‍🚀 workplace romance
🥟 dumplings
❄️ snow globes

Thank you Parnassus Books for the ARC! Out on January 9th.

This love story pulled at my heart strings. The theme of fate and time are interwoven throughout the story building complex conversations between the love interests. The thought-provoking dialogue made you believe a "red" string connects you to your soulmate. This couples mutual respect and their constant uplifting of each other had me swooning.

This novel transports the reader through time and space, brings alive art from out of this world and showcases how culture bring people together.

Definitely a book to have on your radar for 2024..

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary copy.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)

Thank you #partner @readforever for my #gifted copy of Red String Theory!

I absolutely adored Rooney and Jack! I found Red String Theory to be such a charming and thought-provoking story and I just found so much joy reading this book! This is the perfect love story and just one that left me with a smile on my face. So many themes were pulled together seamlessly in this book, including art, science, and mythology. This book is definitely worth the read if you are looking for sweet romance! I felt transported to a different place with the authors writing style, and found this book to be flawless!

Rooney is an artist who believes that everyone is tied to their one true love by the red string of fate. When she meets Jack, she feels like fate has brought them together. However, Jack doesn’t believe in fate, and after their magical evening together, it seems like they won’t see one another again. Will the two be given one more chance to reconnect? Can Rooney convince Jack to believe in fate?

Red String Theory
❤️Missed Connections
❤️Star Crossed Lovers
❤️Fated Mates
❤️Lovable Characters
❤️Chinese Mythology

"Our lantern will end up where it's supposed to. Don't worry"

Red String Theory tells the story of Rooney and Jack, an installation artist and a NASA scientist who stumble into each others' lives in New York. Rooney believes in fate and is holding out hope her "stringmate" will be discovered. Jack believes in free will and thinks love is a series of choices and commitments. Will the two of them overcome their differences and recognize the love the two of them share?

I thought the concept behind this love story was cute. Is love, and all other important things in life, a product of a series of choices, or a predetermined plan we're all just following? I also liked the tie-ins this theme had with the art and science worlds that we readers got to explore. But the length and density of this book prevented me from getting sucked in and rooting for these characters. The dialogue and banter was especially wordy, and it didn't feel like real people having real conversations. I wish I liked it more than I did!

Rooney- the artist known as Red String Girl- meets Jack- a NASA engineer- by chance in the print shop where they've both gone to pick up orders. Jack is in NYC to give a presentation, one he hopes will help him to finally get the promotion he's been missing while Rooney's got an installation in Washington Square Park. They have a magical night in New York, walking the town, eating dumplings, and then part, most logically to never see one another again except that Jack gets the idea that NASA should have an artist in residence. And poof-Rooney is in California and their romance, well, fans of the genre know what happens. I had some quibbles with this- I had a hard time visualizing the installation, I don't know why a NASA engineer would be giving a speech in NY, I couldn't figure out how they followed a lantern floating through the air (it's NYC, not the countryside) I didn't understand why Rooney was so focused on buying back the video of her birth in a museum (or how that was made to begin with)- and the pacing is uneven. That said I liked the characters (especially Rooney's mother Wren) and the representation. Let go and enjoy it for the non-steamy romance that it is. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I loved the main characters of this. These are two wonderful people I really enjoyed spending time with and getting to know. Their connection was also beautiful. I have not yet read Lunar Love, the debut of this author, but I plan on it after having read this.

This is not without some critique. I found this to be very slow. And I don’t even mean a romantic slow burn although it is that as well. You can still write slow burn with building tension and this felt a bit stagnant. I really appreciated their overarching friendship but felt like the romantic moments were constantly playing catch up due to some obstacles. While these obstacles were understanding, it just felt inconvenient not enticing or compelling.

The topic of fate. I think it’s a huge undertaking to write a romance that uses fate as a concept as this book does and for the most part it did not fall into some pitfalls I was kind of bracing myself for. It’s meta enough to reference Serendipity the movie but thank goodness Rooney is NOT a manic pixie dream girl. These two opposites attract main characters were thankfully not caricatures. I felt that Rooney understood why Jack needed to plan or at least was curious and willing to hear him out on his differences. They both shared with each other so openly it was really so sweet. I loved that they were both testing certain aspects of fate together rather than using it as an excuse to either be together or not be together (even on a friendship level).

My one issue with how fate was handled was wishing Rooney could just acknowledge the privilege it entails. On one hand Rooney is a struggling artist, living with her mom and making art that isn’t her passion as a way to pay the bills. Yet she doesn’t really acknowledge the luxury she is still making in following fate and seeing where certain paths take her. A lot of people don’t have that opportunity of such choice but I felt like that was never fully realized. She could see Jack’s perspective but he doesn’t represent the people I’m speaking of as a nicely compensated NASA scientist. I think there was still more to be explored with the overall red string theory and I was left a little wanting.

Overall I would recommend this. Honestly these days in romance it feels like it goes a long way when the main characters are so very much not annoying. Just with some of the downsides mentioned I did have to give this 4 rather than 5 but truly Lauren Kung Jessen is a talented writer and I know a lot of others LOVED this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this eARC!

Ever since I heard about this red string theory, a few years ago, I've always been fascinated with it. And to have a book based on it would've been like a dream come true. But it pains me to say that I didn't enjoy this one as much as I had loved Lunar Love.

Rooney & Jack's fated lovestory has got all feels. They meet under unexpected circumstances, spend a magical evening, and don't see each other for months due to miscommunication. And when they meet for the 2nd time, the timing is not on their side.

I enjoyed how fate plays a big role in the story, but I didn't feel that chemistry or spark from the MCs. I adored them as friends/confidants. The whole fate vs. science theme was clever, but I lost my interest quote a number of times.

<i>Thank you, Netgalley and publisher, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.<i>

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever Pub for the eARC.

As an artist, I deeply connected with Rooney's journey. The narrative addresses the significant pressure Asian parents often impose on their children, a theme usually overlooked in college-age stories. The author beautifully unfolds the unique relationship between Rooney and her mom, spanning from birth to the present. The highlight is witnessing Rooney detach from her mom's art narrative.

The incorporation of Chinese cultural nuances and Easter eggs heightened my excitement. The red string theory, previously unfamiliar to me, has become a newfound fascination.

Jack, a genuine character despite his space studies background, seamlessly complements Rooney's story. Their meticulously planned and creative adventures, along with Jack's wholesomeness, make him a perfect fit for the narrative.

The story's exploration of culture, arts, and belief in fate is well-executed. Eagerly anticipating more from the author, "Lunar Love" is undeniably a must-read.

🗽🥟❄️🎨🧶

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of the red string theory, so when i saw the title of this book, i was immediately intrigued! I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed reading Rooney and Jack's story. I was rooting for them the entire time. Their night together in NYC was so fun to read. This is seriously such a cute romance! It was filled with so much culture!!

If you're looking for a soulmates, fate vs choice romance, please check this book out!

Pub date: Jan 9, 2024 - preorder your copy now!

Red String Theory: ★★★☆☆ (3) - no smut