Thank you Netgalley and harper audio for the free alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I love how the author writes such beautiful and sexy books, it's truly a gift. I love learning about Vietnamese people traditions and lives and demisexual. I reach for reads most when they are diverse and inclusive. I've been a fan of the authors since her debut book.

Excited ti see what she does next, I needed this as a reminder how much I value her books and need to grab trophies for my shelf.

4.5/5☆

2🌟

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

This was a typical enemies to lovers romcom, but I absolutely loved the Vietnamese representation. I wish a little more of the fairytale and folklore was explained but I love that it was a focal point of the story. I also enjoyed the plus size representation without being preachy about it or having that be the only thing about the character, she was much deeper than her clothes size. Otherwise, this story sadly fell flat for me. The characters lacked history, chemistry, and depth. We didn't get a lot of insight into the main characters pasts and then 6 years later they're suddenly best friends again, felt strange. I did not believe their chemistry at all, and the romance happened quite quickly. The dialog was stilted and not believable. If this is a series I will not be continuing it.

I really enjoyed this spicy best friends to lovers, dual POV romance featuring two Vietnamese American MCs. Zoe is a plus size, demisexual Lingerie store owner and designer working on her newest collection who gets surprised when her former college best friend, Derek shows up begging her to come work as a costume designer for the all Asian fairy tale inspired play he's trying to make happen.

Eventually all the forced proximity takes effect, despite Zoe's cat's dastardly interferences and all the white-washing attempts from Derek's anti-Asian play producer/mentor. Heartfelt, real and still super swoony, this was sex positive like all of the author's books and also great on audio. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Jackie Lau or Helen Hoang. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!