Title: Not Your Valentine
Author: Jackie Lau
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2023

I’m always up for a good friends-to-lovers trope. I mean, what better way to find your perfect match, then to be with someone who has already shown that they know you and like you? Plus, Lau also fully embraces the fake dating trope. Which is another bit of insanity that I always enjoy. Two tropes I love, centred around Valentine’s Day… of course I was going to just devour this short novel.

I love that both Taylor and Helen don’t just fall in instalove. And although one of them has had feelings for a little bit longer, there isn’t that unrequited love aspect either. Instead, it’s two friends spending a lot of time together. Getting to know one another more deeply. And just generally going together and as a couple.

Along with the two tropes I mentioned above, this is also the sunshine grump trope. Although, I love that the grumpy is Helen and she’s kind of valentines hating. Contrastingly, Taylor is all about the love hearts and confetti. They work so well together, even though I found Helen’s constant feeling that she was unlovable a little bit difficult at times.

Thus was a really cute and fun romance. But it was also a great journey into how some immigrant American family dynamics work. Probably one of the reasons I’m loving Lau. She writes beautiful and fun romances. But she also introduces me to a family dynamic that is entirely foreign to me.

<- More Jackie Lau

The Unmatchmakers ->

Image source: Goodreads