He needs a fake girlfriend to advance his career. She needs a pretend date to appease her mom. The solution for both? A contractual relationship with one clause: neither party can fall in love. Divorce attorney Phillip Wong is on his way to making partner in his law firm. His only obstacle? He must show his boss he has a support system—namely, a devoted woman—to aid his work-life balance. Vanessa … balance.
Vanessa Lim needs to find a date to her cousin’s wedding, before her mom arranges one for her. She agrees to accompany her colleague, Phil, to their company’s Christmas party on one condition. He acts as her doting boyfriend for a day.
Romance is forbidden in this contractual relationship, a clause Phil and Vanessa are sure they can keep. He thinks she’s ditzy, she finds him overbearing, and they’re both married to their jobs. However, their time together reveals that hearts don’t always follow the rules.
This novella was originally published in the Amazon bestselling Sweet Christmas Kisses 5 boxed set.
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I enjoyed this short, clean romance. I voluntarily chose to review this and I’ve given it a 4* rating. I was able to read through this in one evening so it’s not overly long. It had a little humor and a few little bits on Chinese traditions. This was a pleasant evenings read that left me smiling.
The Love Clause by Liwen Y. Ho is a novella that tells us the story of Philip Wong and Vanessa Lim. I really liked this story and how the author fleshed out Vanessa’s character (her dedication to her mother, the fact that she would give up her career to take care of her, etc.). However, I wasn’t entirely sold with Philip’s at the beginning of the book: he sure was full of himself and couldn’t care or think of anyone else but himself. Thus, it was fun to see him slowly start to open himself up to others (though mainly towards Vanessa), and to care for someone other than himself. I sure loved how Vanessa slowly started to understand him and treat his sudden bursts with humor and rhetorical questions.
One thing that surprised me about this story was the many tidbits one gets to learn about Chinese culture. It’s not an overload of it; what you get is more like really small doses of said culture that made for a far more interesting read, at least to me.
All in all, this is a fairly interesting read that tells the story of hotshot attorney Philip Wong (a character from the author’s Puppy Dog Tales), in order to understand his background story, and how he finally ends up opening himself up to a second chance in love. 4 stars and recommended
I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a delightful story! I’ve been loving this author’s books and slowly making my way through her backlist. I was so looking forward to reading The Love Clause and it did not disappoint! We first met Philip in Liwen’s other romantic comedy, Puppy Dog Tales, in which he wasn’t the most likable character, but it was so great to get his backstory and see him grow as a character, and I totally grew to love him! Vanessa was an excellent heroine, I admired her determination and generous heart, and I was rooting for her from the start! I also loved Vanessa’s mom, she was such a hoot!
The Love Clause is a super cute and fun Christmas story that is the perfect escape from the holiday craziness. Grab your cozy blanket, cookies, and warm beverage of choice and snuggle up next to the Christmas tree with this adorable story that is sure to brighten your day!
I loved this story and can’t wait to read more of this author’s books!
Highly recommended!
Rating:
I enjoyed this story. The characters were well built. They had flaws and insecurities but also had characteristics that made up for them. They were realistic. Their love was true and was a lot of fun to read about. All the characters were fun. Even the aunt. This writing style really gelled with me. I loved how there was some Chinese culture in it.
The story follows Phillip and Vanessa. They aren’t fond of each other. Vanessa is Phillip’s assistant. She’s outgoing, a bit clumsy, and a lot of fun to be around. Phillip is a sharp hotshot lawyer who is pretty grumpy. But they end up having a fake dating scheme when they both need a date. They still despise each other though.
I wrote this voluntary review in exchange for an ARC copy.