Romance between 2 strangers. Evie raised pretty much by her Auntie Hao who kept the family together has died and left Evie a chance to fine a “love life worth writing about.”
Recently let go from her poetry professorship by her secret boyfriend. Evie embarks on this matchmaking tour through Viet Nam to obtain the deed to her Aunt’s San Francisco Row house.
While there she meets Adam, who works tirelessly for his sister’s matchmaking business. She sets him up to see what it is all about and he reluctantly participates. Of course, Adam and Evie keep getting matched up together. Their Love hate relationship makes this even more interesting. Lot of opposite attracts vibes. This kept me entertained. Enjoyable. Recommend

4 ⭐
1 🌶️
Tropes: He falls first


Evie is a second gen Vietnamese immigrant living in Ohio, who spent her summers with her beloved Auntie Pao. When Auntie Pao dies, she leaves Evie her San Francisco row house with the stipulation that she travel to Vietnam and go on a matchmaking tour first. Although reluctant, Evie acquiesces when her personal life explodes. Adam who lives in Vietnam and his sister Ruby have recently started a matchmaking tour company, but in order to be able to market it accurately, Adam needs to go “on” the tour as a guest.


This book is so sweet and very well written. I think it would be considered more like women’s lit than romance. The story sucked me in so quick and I read this book in about 2 days. I loved going on tour with Adam and Evie, as she got to reconnect with her father’s side of the family and see how they both grappled with their cultures, identities and families and then the way they came together as their feelings and relationship deepened. The snarky banter was also top notch. Definitely recommend!


I received an advanced copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I received a free early ebook edition of ADAM AND EVIE'S MATCHMAKING TOUR by Nora Nguyen in a recent Book Club Girl Newsletter giveaway. I read romance novels infrequently, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Evie's aunt dies and leaves Evie a house, provided she goes on an expenses paid matchmaking trip. This is out of her comfort zone, but she is at loose ends (a perfect time for a trip). Adam is part owner of the company providing the tour. Of course, there is an undeniable attraction with complications....

I don't want to give spoilers, but I will say the characters were interesting, the dialog was entertaining, and the plot moved quickly. An added bonus was a whole lot of information about Vietnam, where the majority of the book took place. There was also some thought-provoking stuff about obligations versus filling dreams and family dynamics. If you are a fan of contemporary romance novels, you will love this book. If you like a good story, this book is for you. Thanks, Book Club Girl, for a delightful read!

4.5 stars rounded up!

I really enjoyed this romance debut. It was a captivating love story that takes place on a matchmaking trip in Vietnam. I appreciated the unique location and how it’s different from other novels. Evie and Adam’s chemistry and banter was top tier. The description and language of such a romantic setting made this story even more compelling and sweet. I’m not a fan of storylines where two characters fall in love in a short time period. It just comes off as unrealistic to me, but it didn’t distract me from how good this book was. I recommend this if you love witty banter and a strong plot in a romance novel.

I love a book that is as much about falling in love with a place as it is falling in love with a person. I’ve read several books set in Ireland and Scotland that are like this, but reading one set in Vietnam was a fun and interesting change. This book had a great premise with there being a matchmaking tour (although I wish we could have gotten a little more from the other characters on the tour and their love stories! We got a little bit, but I would have been happy with more.)
There were some major Crazy Rich Asians vibes with this, especially with Adam’s meddling family. I really liked their banter and the almost antagonistic relationship they have at the beginning, as well as the fact that they’re opposites who complement each other. There were a few times I felt the plot pushed them together a little too conveniently, and it made it a bit unrealistic for me. I also wish they had spent a little more time together and had more conversations so we could see their chemistry and love grow, rather than just being told that it had.
Third person, present tense writing is always my least favorite and for some reason makes it harder for me to read smoothly, so if this had been written either in third person, past tense or first person, present tense I think it would have worked better overall and felt less formal. I think it’s harder to connect with characters when a narrator is telling us about them instead of us feeling like we are in their inner thoughts. Overall, however, I really enjoyed the premise of the book and the writing was beautiful!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was SO MUCH YES!!  I adored it.  I adored Adam and Evie.  I adored each scenic vista described.  I read this book with google open on my computer so I could look up every site they visited.  Such a beautiful country!!

It was so easy to get lost in this book - I found myself setting aside all my other books, I only wanted to read this one.  I don't always love the grumpy/sunshine trope, but it's done very well here, and bonus is the "forced proximity" trope (always one of my favorites).

The dialogue flows naturally, the characters are all great, and the descriptions of the scenery are phenomenal.  I wish I could include quotes from the book here!  (but since i had an ARC, I'm not supposed to).  You'll just have to go read it for yourself.

I don't know anything about matchmaking and I have no comment on that aspect of the story - I decided to just ignore that part LOL.

A few points did bother me and are preventing me from giving this five stars.  Every romance needs the "inevitable misunderstanding" part for the couples to work through and then get past; with Adam and Evie living on different continents, it was easy enough to put stress on the romance and give them something to work through.  But ...  **spoiler** When Evie just left, without saying good bye - that's a common trope in romance, meant to amp up the drama I guess, and I always hate it.  And then when it turns out Ruby completely betrayed Adam by not only telling Evie to leave (which we already knew, but he didn't know) but also by not giving him the note Evie left for him.  He's been depressed for months, missing Evie, and he just ... casually lets this huge betrayal slide with actual sympathy for Ruby because "we're family."  What kind of doormat is he, he doesn't get angry when he finds out his months of misery were not necessary??!

The endearments that Adam and Evie immediately started using felt like a bit "too much too soon" but maybe some people do immediately start calling each other "sweetheart" and "baby," etc, idk.

Also, this story didn't need the additional subplot involving Evie & her mother reuniting.  It felt shoehorned into chapter 30, out of the blue.  The entire story would have been just the same if she and her mom had been tight from the start. ** end spoiler**

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the e-book.  I'd never heard of this author before and I only requested this book on a whim, because I loved the cover (I mean, honestly LOOK at that gorgeous cover!!!)  I am so glad I did!!  Nora Nguyen also writes as Thao Thai, which makes me much more eager to go pick up Banyan Moon (a book I've been eyeing and then backing away from since its publication - Nguyen promises it will have "less spice and more family secrets" than her romance novel).

Evie’s beloved aunt bequeaths her San Francisco house to Evie with one caveat - she has to go on a matchmaking tour in Vietnam. The timing is actually perfect since Evie just go fired from her professorship which also led to her breakup with another professor. Adam is helping his sister run the matchmaking tour after stepping down from his high powered roles in the business world and his engagement ends in a humiliating way (which is why his sister is also making him be a part of the tour). The two personalities clash at first, but the two realize that, as in most romantic comedies, the passionate hatred they have for each other can actually be channeled in an opposite manner.

✨My Review✨
This was a light and fun romance that showed up on my kindle right when I needed it. As an added bonus the author featured so many elements of Vietnamese culture, topography, and history that it was like @noranguyenwrites was writing a romance novel for Vietnam as well. Many of the ancillary cast of characters (i.e. the other tour guests) were adorable and definitely added to the story. This is a nice, fun (slightly spicy) romance with the bonus of a dash of culture.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I loved the setting of Vietnam for this book! The descriptions of the food, places they went, and activities they did were so vivid. It did give slight "Crazy Rich Asians" vibes, had that book been way more focused on the romance. I thought a matchmaking tour was also a fun set-up for a romance, especially when the circumstances for both our main characters sort of "forces" them to do it. It opens up a lot of self reflection about what they want out of not only a relationship, but their careers and lives.

I thought the banter and tension was great and I was invested in Evie and Adam as individuals. I really related to Evie wanting to connect to her father's heritage and homeland. My couple of cons: the family issues they both had felt like they wrapped up a little too quickly at the end, and I think Evie and Adam could've had even more conversations that were rooted in showing their (not physical) connection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the arc!

Adam and Evie’s Matchmaking Tour is a romance of the title characters, but it’s just as much a love letter to Viet Nam. Nguyen uses a luxury matchmaking tour service run by Adam’s sister Ruby as a way to introduce readers to culture, food and beauty of the country. The romance aspect of the book is enjoyable, but the love the author has for the country is what really brings depth to the book and keeps it from being a standard enemies to lovers romance. It is that. Adam is very tightly wound, and forced by his sister to go on the inaugural tour so he can understand the value of the service they’re providing. On the tour he meets Evie, a much more free-spirited individual who decides that she’ll take full advantage of a required trip to claim her inheritance from her aunt to familiarize herself with her father’s heritage. She does not expect Adam, and sparks predictably fly. The only thing standing between them is an ocean and his wealthy, proper and seriously uptight family. Nguyen fills out the story with fellow tourists, some necessarily boring, but the irrepressible and confident Fen is an enjoyable show stealer. A reader won’t find anything too unpredictable here, but it’s a romance worth reading for the setting itself. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(You'll have to forgive me for not knowing the way to type the correct characters for the Vietnamese names/words in this review - I wish I did, it's so beautiful!)

Evie's Auntie Hao leaves her San Franscisco row house to Evie in her will, with the condition that she goes on the flagship matchmaking tour of the new, exclusive, Love Yeu company. It's three weeks in her father's home country of Vietnam, a place Evie never got to visit with Auntie Hao, as they had once dreamed of. With her career as a poet in a stagnant lull, and a recent betrayal in her romantic relationship, she has nothing to lose. Adam is Love Yeu's CMO, having left a lucrative job in business to help get his sister's matchmaking tour business off on the right foot. After a disaster of a previous relationship, love is the last thing he's looking for, but his sister convinces him to join the tour anyway, so he can get firsthand experience of the company's offerings.

Adam's family is wealthy and very traditional. Patriarchy is very rampant in the family culture, and everyone is expected to play their role. In contrast, Evie lives largely on a whim. Above all, she is free. It attracts Adam immediately, and holds his attention, even when he tries to talk himself out of it.

Vietnam sounds incredible. The wild(er)ness, the history, the people, the food; Nguyen's writing makes the tour experiences pop off the page. In a book about a matchmaking tour there is obviously quite a large cast of characters required. I found myself skimming over some of the dense character scenes, because I knew most of them weren't playing a crucial role. I didn't care much about the extraneous characters. The ones who did stick out though, were beautifully complex and compelling, especially our two leads.

One character I didn't jive with was Ruby, Adam's sister. At the beginning she seemed okay, she was the one who got Adam to agree to go on the matchmaking tour, however, she quickly changed her tune when he started actually getting something out of it. She was the great Reversing Ruby, with a heavy side of Negative Nancy thrown in. And I didn't care much for her overall, even given the third act revelations about her.

The themes were well integrated and supported by backstory, however, I felt like it could have probably been shorter. Some things felt revisited a few too many times, or a little too blatantly. Overall though, the story was done very well.

This book is a great escape. Beautiful scenery, lots of heart, growth, and passion. Definitely worth your time!

Evil makes a deal to go to Vietnam Nam to meet her match- she doesn’t have to commit to anyone as long as she goes. She does end up falling for the culture and beauty of her family’s homeland as well as Adam, the owner of the match making company.

This book was not for me, I found it to be a tad boring and I found myself skimming. While I appreciated the descriptions, I found the dialogue to be forced and I didn’t feel the chemistry of the two main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC. Book to be released September 17, 2024.

This book transported me to Vietnam. I never found myself completely invested in Adam & Evie as characters and their relationship though so it fell short for me in terms of being a romance book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This book pleasantly surprised me! What seemed like a typical rom-com turned out to be much deeper, exploring cultural identity, family expectations, and personal growth. Despite my usual dislike for third-person narration in romance, the dual perspectives worked well here. The setting in Vietnam added richness with its vivid descriptions. It’s a must-read for anyone looking for a summer rom-com that’s both entertaining and emotionally resonant!

Evie is down on her luck and the only way to dig her way out and receive her late aunt's inheritance is to attend a 3 week Match Making Tour in Viet Nam.
Adam is the reluctant, grumpy CMO of the tour company and out of duty to his older sister, he attends the Match Making Tour as a guest to view the tour from their point of view.
As the guests of the tour start to couple off, Adam and Evie find themselves in each others company more and more.

What a fun read! I loved adventuring through Viet Nam with Adam and Evie and their crazy cast of side characters as they look for love. Adding Viet Nam to the travel bucket list! I was looking up all the places they visited as the book traveled along. I love a good crazy relative that is intuitive even from beyond the gave, I wish I could know Auntie Hao more, she sounded like she lead a beautiful life!

This was a great summer read,

Thank you Net Galley for an Advanced Reader Copy!

This book was so much fun! I loved the banter between Adam and Evie and all of the heart. Adam is the CMO for his sisters matchmaking cruise company and he has a set path in life. He needs to become successful and settle down with a good girl he can make a family with. Evie doesn't really want a man, but she does have to go on this cruise to gain the inheritance that her aunt has willed to her. Her aunt was never about getting hitched so she isn't sure why she is pushing her into this, but with her life in shambles, she is ready to shake things up.
She doesn't expect to fall for Adam, or to feel the things she is feeling when he is around. Adam knows Evie is a mess and has no life plan and is the exact opposite of everything that he has been told he needs to look for, so why can't he pull himself away from her and take the safer route?
Love isn't always practical and your soulmate might not be the person you have been told you are looking for, but the one that draws you in and won't let go.
I really enjoyed their love story and Adam's growth of character. I would love to read a story about his sister, Ruby next. She made me angry a lot of the time, but I think she needs her HEA too.
Thanks to Avon, Netgalley and Nora Nguyen for an early copy.

I loved how descriptive the author was with Vietnams history and lush scenery, but I think the story fell short when it came to the romance and chemistry between the two characters.

This is a fun RomCom, and I loved both Evie and Adam's characters. They go on a matchmaking tour for very different reasons and they end up spending lots of time together. They both think the other person has traits they can't stand in a partner, but with a few fun family members and some adventures this book is fun and an enjoyable RomCom. Look for this book out on September 24th 2024

As a Vietnamese American woman who is navigating life in a modern, growing world while trying to be filial and meet the parents’ expectations, I felt this book on a whole other level outside of the rom-com aspect!!!

I loved this love story that let us look into not only Adam and Evie’s lives and how they meld together through so many obstacles, but the growth of other couples as well. I also loved how this was a love letter to modern Vietnam and how matchmaking has changed over the last few decades, but again, there is still so much cultural expectation in every decision we make.

The author does a great job of ensuring that the main characters AND side characters have beautiful and personal character arcs that get resolved wonderfully. There is definitely a HEA that makes me want to read this book over and over again.

Thank you Nora Nguyen and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There was a lot to love about this book, but also a lot that I…didn’t love.

To start with the positives, I actually really liked this author’s writing for the most part (save for some of the dialogue). The setting was really lush, and I felt like the characters had great chemistry. A lot of my issues aside, I don’t actually think this is a bad romance. I still had fun with it and wanted to finish it.

The chemistry between them wasn’t enough for me to actually like them together though. Things moved so quickly between - they hate each other immediately for almost no reason and then things from 0 to 100 between them at one point after they’ve only known each other for a few weeks. These are two characters who aren’t super likable on their own and who I don’t know if I really buy them together as a couple past the physical aspects.

I also was so distracted by the idea behind the matchmaking company! Even with funding from their father, I couldn’t stop thinking about how there was no way they’d actually be making any money on the tour. Plus, they Adam and Ruby kept talking about how every deserves to find love, but their business was built solely on targeting the uber wealthy. And they hardly did any actual matchmaking??

I’d still be interested to read more by this author and there was moments where this really worked for me, but it wasn’t my favorite.

This book had everything I could have wanted: a disenchanted academic, sweet friendship sideplots, a beautifully described setting, a sprinkling of navigation across cultural differences, a healthy dose of wish fulfillment.

After losing her adjuncting job (her contract terminated by her now-ex, no less!) struggling and disaffected poet Evie finds herself with unexpected summer plans. Her beloved Auntie Hảo has died and left her an inheritance, but to collect, she must first go on a matchmaking tour across Việt Nam. Adam (Bảo) helps his sister run Love Yêu Tours, is successful in all things except love, living up to his father's astronomical expectations, and keeping his eyes off of a certain unruly tour guest.

The writing is often gorgeous: lyrical, sumptuous, with pockets of unexpected imagery. You can tell the author has a background in poetry. Việt Nam serves as a beautiful backdrop for a story about two adults at turning points in their lives, coming together and learning from one another. Both Evie and Adam are struggling with the weight of expectations, just in different ways that are shaped by family experiences and cultural differences.

Seeing Adam's growing confidence and realization that his own desires matter was a real highlight. Adam also grapples with his privileged upbringing, and how that privilege buoyed him in many ways, but failed to protect him in others. Evie's development was more subtle, but in a lot of ways, mirrored Adam's. I loved the moments when Evie chose not to take the path she'd been told she was supposed to want and fit into, but instead figured out what she really needed.

I do think the third-act breakup happened quite quickly and suddenly. I know a lot of folks don't like this part of the romance structure, but I don't mind it. It just didn't quite fit these characters and their issues, IMO. But there's so much to love packed into this story that I didn't even get to touch on (Fen and Mei!!). If you want a sweet, heartfelt, escapist romance, definitely pick this up!