Member Reviews

I'm not sure if this is just not my month for arc romances. I, again, thought this was going to be SO good. It was flat. I didn't care for any of the characters.

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Honestly, I didn't like this book. I tried really hard to like it, but just didn't. I am sorry but I didn't get invested or related to any of the characters. This one is a pass for me, but I will be looking forward to reading more of the author's works.

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I instantly liked Renee. I loved her business savvy, how she has built up her brand, and her cleverness. And while this is definitely a second chance romance, I was drawn to Renee's struggles with her family. How we can be so desperate for someone to change, to see us, accept us. And how when a chance is dangled before our eyes, we can jump on it. Convince ourselves it will change. But how we have to ask ourselves about whether or not people have it in them to change. Sometimes the answer is we don't know. Or not yet.

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A moving and enjoyable dual timeline second chance friends to lovers romance set in London that sees a successful Asian businesswoman living in London working hard to impress her father and win a role as CEO of his Singapore based company. While reconnecting with the first man she fell in love with.

Great on audio and perfect for fans of books like Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao or Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. This was my first book by Zen Cho and I very much look forward to reading more. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

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BOOK: THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT
AUTHOR: ZEN CHO
PUB DATE: AUGUST 2024
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I requested this book because I thought it was going to have a lot of drama, and I was not wrong. From Renee and Ket Siong's relationship to Renee's rocky related with her family to KS's missing friend and the conspiracy that surrounds it. It was engaging from the beginning to the end.
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First of all, I admire Renee, she never had the love and acceptance of her family members, including her parents and she had to work hard and created a fashion brand from ground up. She was the better person because she tried to create a bond between her family members even after the horrible way they treated her. She's a better person than me. I liked the way she handled the Freshwater project and her final decision. It was so her.
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Ket Siong was a perfect book boyfriend. I loved how content and nice he was. I loved his relationship with his family and how he was always there for Renee. He was perfect! I'm glad that he found a better job he loved at the end of the book.
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This book was mostly about Renee and Ket Siong's personal struggles, but it still explored their romantic relationship. This book was very very good and I enjoyed every page.
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Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF'd at 40%.
While I understand what the author was attempting to do here, with nods to k-dramas and that type of high-stakes love story, but I just could not buy into it. It felt like an amalgamation of tropes that the author knows readers enjoy, and thus made the execution feel lackluster. I could not empathize with the FMC, who runs a successful business, lives in a flat in London, and comes from an extremely wealthy family. The use of these things, combined with the overall plot and how the FMC is presented to the readers, just makes relating to her a little difficult.

Also, this line-
"She had wondered over the years if he was gay and that was why things had gone wrong when she’d fallen for him. But she wasn’t wearing a blouse under her jacket, and there was something about the way Ket Siong’s eyes were carefully avoiding her neckline that made her think that wasn’t it."
Just, no. No no no.

Overall, this is a 2 star read for me, but I am curious to see what the author writes in the future!

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Contemporary romance is not my usual read. In fact, it's so rare, I could probably count the number of them I read in a year with the fingers of one hand. BUT, it's Zen Cho!! I've read all her novels. They would usually be fantasy or at the very least, magical realism but there is none of this factor in this novel. The Friend Zone Experiment, however, does feature 2 of my favourite romance tropes: bff to lovers and second chance. And I did NOT regret requesting this on Netgalley as I basically read it all in the one sitting.
While characters are both POC (she Singaporean and he Malaysian and both of Chinese descent), the novel is actually set in London. She, Renee Goh, practically ran away from her toxic family to realise her dream of owning a designer business. He, Yap Ket Siong, came to London with his family to hide from possible violent attacks. They did first meet 10 years ago but circumstance tore them apart but a chance meeting at a Dior exhibition opened up the new possibility of... friendship.
I love both characters and especially love Ket Siong for being so strong and steady for Renee to lean on. Renee herself was doing well standing on her own feet until her family intruded yet once again. However, she's a strong, intelligent and resilient woman despite her family and her past. The Friend Zone Experiment is like a gentle romantic stroll in Hyde Park. It's a bit of a slow burn though there is a tiny bit of spice in there. It won't be a book to rave about because it's not a crash and burn thing but a cuddle in a warm blanket with a very satisfied sigh at the end.

My thanks to Bramble (Tor Publishing group) for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

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3.5 rounded up. I've enjoyed every other book I've read by Zen Cho and I'm very glad I picked this up too. I overall had a great time with this book, and Cho's writing style is smooth and makes for a quick read. I immediately saw the kdrama inspo (which I loved), and thought the overall arching themes of corporate corruption was a compelling plot thread. The one drawback I felt was that the dynamic between the two leads in the present day POVs felt like there could have been more there, and I felt like the serious conversation they had at 65% should've happened sooner in my opinion to allow for a more satisfying character arc and growth by the end. However, it was an overall enjoyable and fast read that had its light moments even with the serious tones woven throughout. A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for my thoughts!

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First off, I love the book cover. It immediately pulls you in and makes you want to read the book. However, I don't think I was the target audience for this particular book because these people were far too rich. My broke self could not relate to any single character, and it felt like their richness was their only personality trait. There were parts I liked about the book, like how it felt a bit like a K-Drama, but I just couldn't vibe with the characters at all.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor Publishing Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up The Friend Zone Experiment on August 6, 2024.

I went into this book thinking it would be a cute, sexy romcom featuring some familial tension. But it's really more of a romantic drama, with characters who I struggle to relate to because their lives are almost too vastly different from mine. I think if I were in a different reading mood, I'd be more open to this book, but at the moment I can't quite get into it.

If you enjoy a mix of childhood friends to lovers and family drama, I think this is the book for you!

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This was a fun and easy read to get through (binged it yesterday). Takes place in London and follows the reunion of Renee and Ket Siong, both from Malaysia and both dealing with some major family drama and shadows from their past. I didn’t fall madly in love with either of the characters but it was an enjoyable read and Ket Siong has such swoonworthy moments. Solid 3.5 stars - recommend if you love second chance romances and a bit of family mystery and intrigue.

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I enjoyed the book for the most part but I honestly had a really hard time connecting with the main characters. It felt very “Crazy Rich Asians” without allowing the ultra wealthy to have relatable circumstances or traits/issues with the readers. I spent most of the time not really liking them so it made it hard to root for them. I did think the writing was very well done and the pacing worked well with the story. I will definitely read other works by the author because I think there’s definitely talent there

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This book follows Renee, rich girl fashion brand CEO, as she reconnects with old flame Ket Siong, a musician and the man who dropped her and never looked back. There is a little bit of suspense looped in with the romance as the reader discovers why Ket Siong left Renee without looking back. There’s also some family drama and political drama looped in. It was an enjoyable read but not as much romance as I had expected from the title. Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the eARC.

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DNF @22% - Too much exposition, not enough romance for me.

The writing style felt very clunky for a romcom. I personally really like books - especially romances - where I can really FEEL what the characters are feeling. Instead, I was very clear about everything the MC was thinking about, along with backstory, but there wasn’t a lot of emotions associated with these thoughts. This was especially problematic for me when the lovers finally met - I felt no connection between them, not even during the “hot night they spent together,” (per the blurb) which was a fade to black with no spicy thoughts or feelings. I have no problem reading fade to black books, so long as I can feel the emotional connection between the characters.

You may like this if you want a book like Crazy Rich Asians by way of Succession. Like CRA, there is a lot of family drama, but unlike CRA, I don’t find there to be a lot of emotions about the drama. The main plot may be about Renee’s business and the possibility of her taking over for her father as CEO of his business, and her feelings about returning to her home country after living in England for so long. Readers who have very different values from their families may find this especially poignant.

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I loved the complexity of these characters and their story navigating those complicated relationships. I loved the slow burn between Renee and Ket.

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“You date a guy for a few months one time and he’s your ex for life. Even if he threw your phone out of the window.”

A romance for grown ups, I appreciate it when a romance fades to black for the S M U T parts then picks up in the morning. I find the S M U T parts so tedious and embarrassing. So I LOVED that about this book. Set in Singapore, we follow Renee and where she fits in her family, her fighting her feelings for her ex, and what is going to become of her purpose in life. I wanted to really love it, and I did like it. I didn't love Renee, I found her a bit whiny.

Some truly funny lines, this is great especially if you like books about rich people, the 1%, elite business people. Lots of references to high end furniture, accessories, clothes, etc. I liked pausing to google the brands. Also if you like modern day culture and diversity in culture and character.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published August 6, 2024.

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"From the renowned, award-winning author Zen Cho comes a delightfully funny romance about family, class, and love in modern London.

From the outside, Renee Goh's life looks perfect. She's thirty and beautiful, runs a glamorous - and profitable - women's clothing company in London, and is dating a hot Taiwanese pop star.

But Renee is lonely. Estranged from her family in Singapore, she practically lives at the office, and now she's just been dumped by her supposed boyfriend. Who she never saw anyway, so why is she ruining her Instagram-ready makeup by crying?

Before she can curl up on the couch with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, Renee's father calls. He's retiring, and, thanks to the screw-ups of her wastrel brothers, he is considering her as the next CEO of the family business: Chahaya Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Southeast Asia. That stamp of her father's approval would mean everything to Renee, but can she cooperate with the brothers who drove her out of Singapore?

But fate isn't done with her. That same night, Renee bumps into her first love, Yap Ket Siong, who broke her heart during university. They spend a wonderful night together, but Ket Siong is pursuing a dangerous vengeance for his family. In the light of day is there any hope for the two of them?"

Grab this wonderful book by a favorite author. Pairs well with Ben and Jerry's.

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Wish St Martinz would actually address the concerns of the strike. I would love to review this book in all honesty.

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The writing was lovely, showing off an expansive vocabulary and noticeable attention to craft. I don’t know if it was ever specified that Ket Siong and his family weren’t speaking English among themselves, but I enjoyed how the grammar conveyed that without being hard to parse or disrupting the flow of my reading. I also loved how present their cultures felt in their lives despite living away from their home countries.

Renee and Ket Siong were easy to root for! I loved watching her handle her brother like a pro, even when he was infuriating her, and watching her treat the others in her orbit with care. I was frustrated at times by Ket Siong’s inability to express himself, particularly in the flashback scene where he ended things in college. I think the conflict between them would have felt real and present without the misunderstanding.

Stephen’s reappearance and Ket Hau’s reaction to it was delightful. The mystery surrounding his disappearance, as well as Renee’s work situation, kept me hooked in the stretches where she and Ket Siong didn’t see much of each other, or largely communicated off page. I did wish sometimes we’d get more of their texting on page, especially since they often left so much unsaid in person.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to picking up whatever Zen Cho puts out next!

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- I had high expectations from this book which unfortunately were not met.
- The characters were so annoying
- The asian rep, romance and chick Lit contemporary was why I wanted to pick this up.
- The complaining and entire time whining of this FMC was very off putting.
- The book felt unnecessarily stretched and there was no character growth.
- The love and chemistry between the two characters was very forced.

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