I love Lauren Kung Jessen! I have read all her books and I can't get enough of her. Bringing in Chinese culture and tradition with a new age twist to all her books each one will be a fresh read that will keep you engaged till the very last page!

Yin Yang Love Song is the perfect combination of a beautiful love story, growth, self-discovery, and relationships, plus gorgeous writing. Loved it!

In Yin Yang Love Song, Chryssy and her aunties run an inn and herbal tea business to heal heartbreak, complete with special Chinese brews, acupuncture, and peace. The women in Chryssy’s family are cursed (or so they all believe) never to find lasting love, and so she’s done with trying. The last thing she needs is another heartbreak, so her focus is on an upcoming product launch.

She comes across celebrity cellist and heartbreaker Vin at a party, and rumors quickly start that she’ll be his next victim. He needs to increase ticket sales for his upcoming tour, she needs exposure for the launch, so why not fake date and help each other out? They can plan a breakup so no one gets hurt or catches feelings, right?

Haha, wrong. We all know how a fake dating romance plays out, but the journey in Yin Yang Love Song is unique, beautiful, and just perfect. It’s way more than just two people developing feelings. Chryssy and Vin are both such authentic, insightful, and loving people (even if they’re fake dating, but whatever). They had honest conversations with each other and weren’t hiding behind insecurities as events played out; they questioned their paths and relied on each other for support and balance in figuring out their next steps. It was so refreshing and so joyful to read!

Yin Yang Love Song's themes of love and heartbreak, the fleeting yet enduring nature of love and life, questioning beliefs when they no longer make sense, and finding balance in life resonated with me and drew me in even more. Plus the side characters added so much to the story and rounded everything out.

So far I’m two-for-two on Lauren Kung Jessen books—I adored Red String Theory and might’ve loved Yin Yang Love Song even more. Highly recommend!

Yin Yang Love Song offers a fun twist on the fake dating trope, blending romance with elements of Chinese culture and traditional herbal remedies. The story centers on Chryssy, a Chinese herbalist struggling under her family’s “curse” of failed romances, and Vin, a famous cellist looking to boost his image. They strike up a deal to fake-date, aiming to heal hearts (and drive ticket sales), only to discover an unexpected spark.

The book’s strengths lie in its cultural references and Chryssy’s relationship with her aunties, which adds a rich layer of family warmth and humor. However, the romantic connection between Chryssy and Vin feels uneven. Their banter sometimes lacks natural flow, and the chemistry can feel forced rather than heartfelt. Additionally, the pacing is a bit disjointed, with some plot jumps that make certain scenes feel abrupt.

While not a standout in the rom-com genre, Yin Yang Love Song offers a charming dive into cultural traditions and family expectations. For readers interested in romance with a cultural twist, it’s an enjoyable, light-hearted read.

I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read.

I love my clean romances, and I love reading books that have honest, good Chinese heritage representation. I've been following the author since her debut - her previous book was actually better than her first, and I was hoping that this one would continue that growth.

In some places it did, some places it didn't. I'd give this a 3 star, but I'm settling for two.

I feel the characters lacked any sort of chemistry. They felt too... independent? for one another. While the male lead did / was labeled a heartbeaker, there wasn't anything really showcasing him in a negative light (besides being the dumper) that would make me feel like he'd have issues. As for her, she seemed too put together, too strong to lean on a male / need a male to assist her company.

Their moments were cute, and the dating was nice, but like Lunar Love, I felt like the fake dating / feelings caught on too quickly and reading the rest of the book felt like filler.

Vin is a famous musician and he’s in a band with his brother Leo, who is having a hard time at the moment since his very private relationship has ended. He can’t tell anyone that he was in a relationship and he can’t tell anyone that he is heartbroken.

Chryssy is an herbalist who helps heals broken hearts. She knows all about how to heal a broken heart as every woman in her family is cursed and will never find true love. They always end up with a broken heart. She meets Vin and she soon learns about Leo’s situation. She offers Leo to stay with her and her family so that he can heal his heart and live life more normally since Leo is currently not eating or sleeping very well.

How can Vin and Leo twist this story? No one can know what’s goin on in Leo’s life and the record company wants Vin to go through a very public break-up because with every break up equals more sales and sold out shows.

Chryssy decides that Vin and her will pretend to be in a relationship, go public with it, and then break up.

Will Vin and Chryssy be able to prove that they are in a “real” relationship? Will Vin and Leo be able to satisfy their record label’s request? Will Leo heal from is broken heart?

This was such a great read and I absolutely loved learning about all the different flowers and local plants that help heal the body. As someone who really loves home remedies, I loved how detailed the descriptions were for the plants that were mentioned. I also loved the recipes in the back of the book. This story was so fun to read and I loved reading about Chryssy and Vin’s plan to solve it all!

This is a really cute romcom that actually has great depth and hits home for me as an Asian American. At first, I was just expecting a cute fake dating, one person's famous rom com. However, I quickly realized there was a lot more and loved how it really made you think about how much we "doom" ourselves by believing narratives passed down to us. How much do we close ourselves off to good things because people have told us something is true? I've always thought about horoscopes and things where people often use it to confirm things they believe or see, or start seeing things because they're given a "look into the future". I agree it's really important to keep revisiting the things we are told and especially what we tell ourselves in life. It also reminded me of the book "Expiration Dates" where she tells herself a narrative for her relationships.

While my family was never into tons of Asian medicine but my family has always been big on healthy ingredients/superfoods, I used acupuncture for different things in life, and do believe there is benefit to alternative medicines. I also fully related to Vin's side of the story of feeling burnt out, or doing something you love with too much pressure or because you don't want to let parents/others done, that it becomes not fun anymore. I really enjoyed the book, and especially having mixed race kids, identified with so much in this book.

I liked the premise of this book since fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. And I enjoy seeking out romance stories where the main characters are from a different culture than me. I just couldn’t get into the herbalist parts of the book, but that’s just me. I feel like others will love it.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lauren Kung Jessen sets the mood for her books right away. I was lulled into this story by the narrative, quickly identifying with Chryssy and loving her hutzpah. I love the world created in this novel- I could see beauty of the Pacific Northwest and was intrigued by the FCM Chryssy practiced. Personally, I related to this book and healing the body on multiple levels, both as a therapist and someone who was greatly helped by acupuncture. I would definitely want to stay at this broken heart resort. I also really liked this take on the love with a famous person trope, as Chryssy was completely unimpressed with Vin’s fame. I like that Vin became more of a fan of Chryssy’s than she was of him. It was easy to fall for Vin and Leo; I enjoyed their brother relationship and appreciated the layers of family and culture that affected their choices.


Loved:

The focus on women

The mystery of the family curse

Leo

Vin falling first and hard

The firefly concert

Chryssy’s strength and ambition being a positive thing

Learning about FCM and how nature can nurture the body

The world created

Both MCs feeling seen and cared for by the other


I loved Lunar Love and this book was even better. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this storyteller. 4.25 stars. Thanks to Net Galley and Forever for this eARC in return for my honest review.

I had never read any of Lauren Kung Jessen’s previous works but so many of my friends had talked about how much they adored her, so I had to give this one a shot!!

I throughly enjoyed Yin Yang Love Song from start to finish. It was such an inviting experience and showed so much about taking a chance with love and life and familial curses and the sweetest love story.

I had so much fun with this one and will definitely tune into her other books after this!

This story had a lot of potential. The FMC is in business of heartbreak and the MMC breaks hearts. The story centers around a cruse that is placed on the Hua women who will never have their happily ever after. Chrissy has accepted this and instead wants to help others recover from their heartbreak. She starts fake dating Vin who is part of a famous cello duo. They have to spend a lot of time together and sparks start to fly. I think this story was sweet and explored a lot of interesting culture aspects. It sadly moved very slow for me and the MMC was not very like able making it hard for me to root for this couple.

oh man Lauren CRUSHED this so hard. resonant, moving, funny and sweet. This was everything I was hoping for. Fans of Laurens red-string theory will love this one I think!

5/5 stars

Such a sweet romance! I loved learning about TCM and Chinese culture. Excellent!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I adore Lauren’s style of writing. It is so endearing, giving us a sense of soulmate level love stories. The care she puts into weaving a love story that will enrapture us and have us believing in true love is all I can ask for in a romance book. The way that I get taken on a cultural exploration is also so effortless and fascinating. My nerdy self adores learning about other cultures and traditions, and in this book we get to explore TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and herbalism. Central to the story though is a curse…

Hearts are fickle things sometimes, and bound to repeat the mistakes of the past unless they can heal and learn from it. The Hua women are cursed to never have their happily ever after. All of them have had an inevitable end to their love stories. Chrissy can attest to the curse’s reign over her love life, as each relationship she has ever had has always ended in heartbreak. It looms over her head and she has relinquished her hope of being happy and in love. She might be a lost cause, but she helps other people heal their broken hearts at the Inn she runs with her aunts utilizing TCM. Heartbreak hurts, and she has made it her job to help others heal from it.

Vin is one part of the famous cello duet (with his brother Leo), and his fame is centered around their reputation as heartbreakers. They are known for always breaking up with girls, never having lasting relationships. So when Leo is the one to get dumped and can’t bring himself to even play with his heartbreak, VIn finds himself needing Chryssy’s help to heal his brother’s heart and save their careers and the upcoming tour.

Vin hasn’t broken a heart in a while, and his image could use the hype to help sell tickets to his upcoming tour (according to his manager). So when Vin and Chryssy are seen together and they look the part of the cute couple, a plan is hatched to exploit that assumption. Cue the fake dating scheme!!! It can’t end in a heartbreak if she knows it will have an end right from the start, right? And Vin is guaranteed a breakup, but what if his image isn’t who he really is or wants to be? Can he ever be more than what other’s expect of him?

These two not only get entwined in a fake dating plot, but also become roommates at the inn which means they get to spend a lot of time together getting to know one another. And when they get to know each other, it will be harder to let go than they thought… But if that connection is cursed from the start, how can it ever be anything more?

This love story is so heartbreakingly sweet and healing. It has a touch of magic, a bit of taking your life into your own hands, and healing family trauma. It is filled with tender swoon, sweet moments, and a touch of spice. Of course, Lauren’s books wouldn’t be complete without good food as well. Chryssy is the chef at the Inn and has a food blog so we get some yummy recipes (no literally, there is a recipe at the end of the book!!!!).

Thank you so much Lauren and Forever publishing for the ARC! You can devour this book when it releases January 28th 2025!!!

This sweet love story was a cozy mug of tea the whole way through!

Chryssy Hua is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who uses her herbal blends to heal heartbreak, all while a family curse keeps her from being able to find lasting love herself. When she meets Vin Chao, a noted heartbreaker and famous cello player, they decide to lean into the publicity that their unlikely pairing generates by going on a few dates to raise both profiles. When a few dates turn into a couple more, Chryssy and Vin have to figure out how to break the generational patterns that have led them to heartbreak and attempt to write a new song.

I loved the open and honest communication in this one, particularly watching Vin mature and take hold of his own narrative. And who doesn’t love a good fake dating scheme?

Recommend for anyone who thinks a good opposites attract romance also needs some family curse intrigue!

This fake-dating trope rom-com was more than just a romance. It was healing. If you know me, you know that Lauren Kung Jessen is one of my favorite authors and I think this book is the best yet (and that's saying a lot because all her books are stellar.)

The book is magical. Chyrssy and Vin are highly relatable characters, both with real world issues, like burnout (Vin) and anxiety (Chryssy). Their fake dating to real romance is beautiful and made me swoon. I loved the music of their love song. I also adored the Eastern Traditional Chinese Medicine beautifully weaved into this book. This is truly a wonderful book that I could read again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Lauren Kung Jessen for this ARC. This book is released on January 28, 2025 and you need to run to your local bookstore to get it.

I really wanted to like this book but it didn't work for me. I initially picked it up because I was intrigued by the combination of tea and traditional chinese medicine to heal a broken heart and the pairing of the two main characters sounding super interesting. however, the pacer felt off and there were parts in the book where it felt like something was missing because it just jumped from one scene to another one without a good mid=point. I also didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters, and their banter felt forced and stilted. some of the lines in the book felt more preachy than actual dialogue in the book between main characters.
Disappointing for me but could work for someone else.

I wanted to love this because Red String Theory was one of my favorites but the book just felt disconnected. The story felt forced and I wouldn’t connect with the characters

I’m always down for a good faking dating storyline and Lauren Kung Jessen knocked it out of the park with Yin Yang Love Song. I loved how the relationship between Chryssy, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and Vin, a cello prodigy/superstar, grew and changed honestly instead of feeling forced for the plot and the way two different families and their issues were woven together so realistically.

I’ve loved each of Lauren’s previous books and this might be my favorite. 4.5/5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Lauren’s books— and writing—always leave me in an introspective mood. Her fresh ideas keep me coming back for more.

Just like Lauren’s other books, you can expect very insightful dialogue in YYLS. The slow and steady brewing of Chrissy and Leo’s love story, paired with the tension brought by their close proximity? Delicious.

Another fun aspect of YYLS was Chrissy’s family. Asian family dynamics are so relatable to me, and I enjoyed reading this one. There’s one particular conversation about the family curse and the generational effect it had that Chrissy has with her dad that I thought was just brilliant writing.

Lauren’s books are most definitely my cup of tea. I am, and will always be, a fan.

Thank you so much for the ARC, Forever!

Mis reseñas se basan en los sentimientos que me generaron los libros, y este en particular me dio tranquilidad desde el primer capítulo.

Chryssy es una especie de sanadora que utiliza la medicina tradicional china para curar dolencias. Sin embargo, hay algo que nunca podrá curar: la maldición que afecta a todas las mujeres de su familia, que es no encontrar el amor.

Vin es un prodigioso violonchelista que, por alguna razón, piensa que debe hacer cualquier sacrificio para que sus padres y su hermano tengan una vida acomodada, incluso si eso significa crear una reputación de rompecorazones.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.