After his family’s matchmaking extravaganza at Thanksgiving, high school teacher Zach Wong is terrified of what his parents might do for Chinese New Year. Surely they’ll try to set him up yet again, especially now that his older brothers are in relationships. Zach, however, has no interest in dating, not since his fiancée left him.The solution? Find a fake girlfriend to avoid his parents’ … parents’ matchmaking.
Jo MacGregor, the town dentist, is the obvious choice. They both live in Mosquito Bay and have been friends for years, ever since they bonded over broken engagements. A few kisses and dates around town, and everyone will believe they’re in a relationship. No problem.
Except their fake relationship is starting to feel more and more real…
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Ok so this was an unexpected gem. I snagged this because it fills a super specific prompt for a bingo board. I was pleasantly surprised as this was fun, witty and cute.
This series is so much fun!
A Fake Girlfriend for Chinese New Year is exactly what you think it will be–a fun and frothy friends-to-fake-lovers-to-lovers story that you can pretty much devour in a single sitting.
But don’t plan on consuming too much of any beverage during that sitting, because Pictionary. You have been warned. Choking and/or spewing from laughter is a real danger.
Zach Wong, having watched his family’s machinations over the last two holidays ( A Match Made for Thanksgiving and A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas ) decides to head his meddling grandparents and parents off at the pass by bringing a “girlfriend” to Chinese New Year. Who better to bring than his BFF, Jo? Of course they have to do some pre-holiday fake dating to get the town talking about them, and naturally hand holding and kissing are necessary. What could go wrong?
Teensy little problem–Jo’s had a major crush on Zach for about as long as they’ve been friends, so this could either be a whole lot of fun for her or her own private hell. And the more time Zach spends with Jo, the more he starts to notice things about her. Like how well she fills out her sweaters. And what a good kisser she is. And how natural it feels to hold her hand.
But he’s sworn off of love forever due to a bad breakup! That’s partly how he and Jo became such good friends. Still, perhaps just adding in an actual physical aspect to their fake relationship would make it seem more real? And more fun? WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
(OMG, I almost lost it when he went even further than most fake relationship/sleep them out of your system heroes by thinking to himself, “Another week or two of casual sex between friends, and then she’d be out of his system, right?” Yeah, dude. You’re totally right. “Another week or two” will do it. You got this.)
But of course he doesn’t, and of course things blow up in his face–to find out why and how and what these two crazy kids have to do to get to their own HEA, pick up your own copy of A Fake Girlfriend for Chinese New Year. You won’t be sorry you did!
In the meantime, I’ll be sitting here counting the days until Valentine’s Day…
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Another fantastic holiday with the lovable Wong family!
Zach and Jo have been friends – drinking buddies, really – for several years, supporting each other as they each recover from a failed engagement. When Zach decides to preempt his family’s holiday matchmaking efforts with a fake girlfriend, Jo is the perfect candidate for the job.
No surprises here – Zach wrestles with his “no relationship/no risk” vow, while Jo struggles to keep her true feelings for Zach to herself. The beauty of this story is in the charm and easygoing cadence of life in Mosquito Bay, with the Wong and MacGregor families and the assorted small-town characters that add depth and substance to the story.
It’s a delightful read from start to finish, one that makes this reader want to spend every holiday in this fictional world. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.