3.5 stars
Having read and enjoyed Lauren Ho's first book, Last Tang Standing, I was really excited to read this. But sadly it fell short of my expectations quite a bit.
First of all, I struggled to initially get into this which probably put me on the back foot when it came to looking forward to picking it up each night to read.
I found it quite difficult to warm to or root for Lucie and many of her actions frustrated me.
The concept was an interesting one that I hadn't seen done before but this just didn't work for me like I hoped it would.
I would still be interested in reading more from Lauren Ho in the future though, as Last Tang Standing was a fun and easy read.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucie Yi may not be a romantic however she sure did win over my heart.

Pregnancy and two male love interests trope are my least favourite trope however with this novel I can forgive it because it worked so well.

I adore the concept and the unconventional way in which the pregnancy happens. The idea of a match.com but for people wanting a baby to co-parent together is such a different and unique concept.

I loved Collin and Lucie, her family and friends. I wish we had seen more of Lucie's relationship with her siblings and Collin's with his father.

With the storyline of Mark (Spoilers!) I wish we had seen Lucie slowly realise they were not a good fit. It would have been good to address behaviour that is controlling so readers themselves can identify if they are in the same situations and the signs, and to understand why he did what he did that lead to their breakup. Although I understand Lucie forgave it I felt there should have been more of a discussion on why it was wrong and I wish she had told her family.

As a south asian person myself, I will say representation matters and the authoress writing on the culture and expectations thrust on individuals from our background was spot on. I would have loved to seen more of how to change the view from old to new but I guess that's what makes it realistic as the older generation sometimes do not change as we learn through Lucie's father but we see a crack at the end by Lucie's mother.

No book is perfect and there would have been things I personally would have liked to have seen thus 4 stars. To make me love a book and not want to put it down with two tropes I'm not a fan of is incredible. It was such an easy read and I adore all the characters. It is full of humour, hard difficult moments, love, loss, forgiveness and friendship. I am so glad #netgalley gave me the opportunity to advance read this because this is definitely a read for Summer 2022 and can see it being very popular (as I am definitely rereading it again!)

Management consultant Lucie Yi is done waiting for Mr. Right. After a harrowing breakup foiled her plans for children—she’s ready to take matters into her own hands and signs up for an elective co-parenting website to find a suitable partner with whom to procreate. Collin Read checks all of Lucie’s boxes; he shares a similar cultural background, he’s honest, and most important, he’s ready to become a father. So, what if her conservative family might not approve? Even more complicated, Lucie’s ex-fiancé reappears, sparking unresolved feelings. Suddenly her straightforward arrangement is falling apart before her very eyes, and Lucie will have to decide how to juggle the demands of the people she loves while pursuing the life she really wants.

I was so keen to read this one! A huge thank you for approving my ARC request on Netgalley. Co-parents to lovers is a new one for me and I was so intrigued by it. The book was very funny and adorable. I did take me a few chapters to get into but once I was introduced to Collin – I was hooked at reading about the development of their relationship.

If you fancy a romcom this summer – get this one on your list. A loveable genuine romance read, very refreshing.

Lucie Yi is Not A romantic took me back to a time I was at my happiest. The book being based in Singapore made me smile as it was a trip I very much enjoyed myself with my two best friends. This book made me laugh giggle and cry as Lucie takes her fate into her own hands. Finding a partner to have baby with turned out to much harder than expected. After finding the perfect partner they find themselves at odds all the while trying to maintain respect with one another as well as with dealing with family problems.

This book is a very much relatable with minorities as it tackles issues such as marriage, children and the ‘perfect family’. As much as Lucie annoyed me with her choices I very much enjoyed this book.

Quick and fun read I highly recommend.

Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic is told in third person and is Lauren Ho's second novel. Lucie is tired of waiting for Mr Right, Lucie has a meltdown in a baby store after a breakup which leaves her worrying about when she will have children. So she decides to take matters into her own hands by going on a co-parenting website to find a man to platonically pro create with. Lucie meets Colin Reed on the website and he is perfect for her. Lucie becomes pregnant and Colin and Lucie go to Singapore. Lucie's parents are not happy and her ex-fiancé is back in the picture. This is a perfectly readable novel but it is definitely more women's fiction than a romance. Personally, I didn't really vibe with the writing and found I had to push through it. Overall It was just fine, it didn't wow me and I wouldn't read it again. However, it is good to see some diversity and Asian representation in more books.

Came for the setting, stayed for the story! Loved the tension between the characters and the ups and downs of the plot.

This was marketed to me as Jane Austen meets Kevin Kwan but unfortunately it had neither the witty dialogue nor the vivid descriptions. It aimed to tackle topics which can be sources of stress and pressure for many women – starting a family when you’re up against the biological clock and balancing a successful career with the responsibilities of motherhood. Therefore, I really wanted to enjoy this unconventional rom-com but sadly the humour was lacking and the romance felt unconvincing.

My main issue with the story was Lucie Yi. Her frustrating indecision made it hard to sympathise with her. Chapters were devoted to Lucie endlessly stringing along her love interests despite it being abundantly clear to readers who she wanted to be with. Instead of building tension, this felt exacerbating and dragged the storyline on for much longer than it needed to be. The romance itself felt lacklustre as the friendship it was supposedly built upon didn’t feel natural and the addition of a love triangle seemed forced.

What I think the novel did well was in its depiction of an adult friendship group. Each of the members were at different phases of their lives and unashamedly striving for different things. Naturally, this caused some friction between the women but their ultimate resolution highlighted how friends don’t have to grow apart even if their lives don’t perfectly align.

OVERALL: I was really rooting for this book to be a fresh take on the conventional rom-com but unfortunately it lacked both the rom and the com.

Lucie has to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for a chance at happiness – and maybe, just maybe, love. Brilliant writing and more importantly, riveting reading.This was a brilliant read.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of this Arc. Here is my honest review**

TW: pregnancy loss, grief, cheating

I have to say the synopsis intrigued me, as a thirty-something female myself, I connected with Lucie in her wanting to start a family, and not having to have it be typically the traditional way.
This book was lighthearted and funny at times, and then serious and heartbreaking at others.
I enjoyed Lauren Ho's writing style and the pace was well enough that it kept my interest for most of the way through.

I also enjoyed the relationship building between Lucie and Collin and how they both wanted to be equals. After everything that Lucie had gone through with Mark, to rediscover herself through this journey was a wonderful thing to see.
I appreciated the insight into her culture and how things are different compared to others as well.
I didn't find this to be an all too concentrated on a romance book, but more of a women's lit, however, I still found it a good read, and will definitely read more of her books in the future.

Was super excited to get this ARC from NetGalley and Harper Collins in exchange for a fair and honest review. Having read Last Tang Standing during lockdown and rating it four stars with a hint of Crazy Rich Asians I was really looking forward to this, am sad to say it wasn’t for me.

There is no denying just like Last Tang it is a easy, fun , quick read but it lacks something I can’t quite place. I felt that the author has tried to achieve what Kevin Kwan has done using humour and satire to make a bigger point but has failed to do this . She had achieved this in her previous work although not quite as good Kwan. With this I feel the seriousness of the topic is lost in a silly story and weak characters.

The story was just too far fetched for me, it was immature and the funny bits were not that funny. I felt it didn’t deal with the true reality of IVF ,what Lucy had faced and what she was facing .The the idea you would go online to find a co parent really didn’t sit well with me.

I found the characters unlikable and the love interest of Collin was a big nope for me.
The concept is interesting but if failed to follow for me.

Perhaps the topic and issues it dealt with were to close to home for me and that’s why I found myself not really didn’t like it.

I would read another of the author’s book as I did like her first this just wasn’t what I thought and wanted it to be. Please don’t be out off by review if you enjoyed Last Tang Standing give it a go.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish. The pacing was a little off for me and I wanted the characters to be more fleshed out.

This book turned out to be more serious than I thought (TW: Miscarriage), but I still enjoyed this book. As the title suggests, Lucy really isn’t romantic. She thinks and analyses too much. At times it’s irritating to read, but I totally get her becasue I used to be like her😂 So I really liked her as main character.

My problem is Collin. I didn’t understand him🤷🏻‍♀️ He’s a good man, but a bit too blant. So the romance part wasn’t exciting. It felt flat and that’s a shame.

But I really enjoyed reading Lucy’s journey, and that makes this book worth a read!🥰

4 stars
TW; grief/ miscarriage

**Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of this ARC. These are my honest thoughts.**

The world Lauren Ho created in this book starts so fabulously that I was completely hooked. The concept of co-parenting or non-traditional ways of having a baby is an interest of mine, and so when I read the synopsis of Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic, I was thrilled to be accepted for an ARC edition of this. The wit of this book alone was wonderful and made it easy to keep turning pages even through some tougher segments of the book.

I have to admit, I didn't much so like Lucie the further I delved into this world, but she was a strong and independent character in the beginning that I admired. I loved her puns and her easy connection with Collin. I appreciated her friendship with her best friends, knowing her place in the world, and striving to get what she wanted - a baby and a family of her own. However, the more I got into this novel, I stopped liking her as much. I felt she toyed with both Mark and Collin's emotions far too much and led them on a great deal. I know it was difficult for her to find what she felt was best for her and her baby in Singapore, given the pressure from her parents and cultural beliefs of how a baby must be brought into the world. Still, watching her fight with Collin and then run off to Mark and vice versa left a sour taste in my mouth, and I half hoped she would just choose herself in the end so she could find what mattered most to her.

The romance between Collin and Lucie was developed at a good pace though. I loved their initial honesty, and whilst they came together from a transactional start, watching them grow, push each other's boundaries, compromise and sacrifice for each other was worth all the angstier moments this book housed. Equally, I enjoyed the fallout of some instances when they moved to Singapore that allowed for them to see each other in another light. I loved that there wasn't a huge focus on their romance, but more of a "you're my person" type of thing. Collin supported Lucie in so many ways that Mark did not and didn't assume he had the right to change her like others in her life wished to.

I also appreciated how this novel touched on parts of being a successful career woman who didn't want to retire from her work to have a baby in an East-Asian setting. It was fascinating to read of the build of pressure from family, friends and workplace characters, and how Lucie navigated this part of her life. This is where I found her true strength held and continued to leave me in awe of how she worked against age-old patriarchal beliefs and sexism in the corporate world.

The emotional aspects that Lucie faces, with her failed relationship with Mark, and the loss of her child with him were parts I really liked in this book. I had hoped Lauren Ho would further develop the push for grief therapy instead of the "should I/shouldn't I" about getting back with Mark. I really liked the idea of Lucie approaching something to help her get through her trauma, and most likely had she continued to do so, she wouldn't have flitted about so much between the men. Still, I don't diminish her journey and just wished to point this moment out in my review as applause for the author tackling grief in this book.

Overall, this is a great read. It's more of a women's lit than a romance book, but I still enjoyed it all the same and will be looking out for this author in the future.

Lucie Yi left Singapore after the break-up of her relationship with Mark and is coming to the end of her two year secondment to her firm's New York office. Having decided that she is never going to find a man, fall in love, get married and have babies the traditional way, one of her two BFFs suggests a website where like-minded people who want children can find each other (sort of like Tinder for your baby's parent0, you agree to co-parent a child together but nothing more. Since IVF is not allowed in Singapore Lucie would have to agree to a co-parenting arrangement while she is in New York.

Being a tax accountant/consultant Lucie does her homework and the site seems legitimate, but she has some specific requirements, not least of which is that the baby's father must be willing to relocate to Singapore where Lucie's family and friends live (and of course where she works normally).

amazingly, Lucie meets Collin Read, a Malaysian guy working in New York with a father who lives in Singapore. Collin is sweet, funny, wants a child but doesn't believe in marriage, also he can work from home and has a friend with a start-up in Singapore who could offer him a job. Lucie and Collin become firm friends, he gets her jokes and they love to watch horror films together.

But then once they are pregnant and move to Singapore things start to unravel.

This is billed as akin to the love child of Jane Austen and Kevin Kwan, I'm not sure I see the Jane Austen that myself, but I would say that if you liked Crazy Rich Asians and wanted something in a similar vein without the gazillionaires then you'd love this.

Funny, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC of "Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic" by Lauren Ho.

Overview:
Genre: Contemporary romance
Tropes: Pregnancy trope, dating apps,
My review:  4☆


Review:
Lucie Yi was not what I was expecting at all  but I loved it! The constant duel of Mark and Collin was intriguing but deep down, I was in love with Collin. All the characters, including side characters such as Suzie and Weina were loveable and had well developments throughout the story. Lauren Ho's writing is superb.

Tropes: Platonic co-parents to lovers (this is a new one and I want more!), slow burn, second chance romance, forced proximity, time limit, pregnancy (planned).

If you enjoyed Last Tang Standing, I really think you will want to pick this one up. In my opinion, Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic is maybe even funnier and more chaotic. It really puts the comedy in rom-com! Seriously, at points I laughed loud enough that my partner's colleagues heard me via teams (thanks for that, home working!). Lauren Ho has such a strong writing voice - it makes you feel like you are watching a self-aware sitcom about characters you can't help but love, and I binge-read it within 24 hours.

Lucie Yi thinks she has everything she could want - a successful career, amazing apartment and amazing friends - until she starts crying in a baby store. She wants to be a parent, but she's single and does not want to raise a child on her own. She is introduced to a co-parent website (basically tinder for potential parents), meets Collin and decides to take the plunge. But when they move back to Singapore, a very pregnant Lucie has to deal with the judgement of her family, being snubbed for a promotion, an ex wanting to rekindle their romance and new, definitely not platonic, feelings for Collin. What will she choose? And will she be able to make this work?

I loved reading about Lucie, Collin and all of the secondary characters (especially her best friends - love a solid female friendship)! At times I was very frustrated by their indecision and lack of communication, but overall I really routed for all of their happiness. It was also interesting (and, to be honest, anxiety inducing) to read about the process of motherhood in Singapore. It is so different from the UK experience!

Overall, Lucie Yi definitely is romantic, and this book was a lot of fun to read. I would recommend picking it up when it is released on

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lets meet th leading lady of this book who is Lucie Yi. Lucy is a successful 37 year old Singaporean management consultant who has been putting in all the hours in order to try and make partner. But Lucie has a can feel that her biological clock is ticking and is ticking loudly. A trip to a maternity store in Soho leads Lucie to make an unexpected emotional outburst that makes her question all of the things that she feels that she needs in life. Spurred on by her need to want to start a family she stumbles upon a co-parenting website and finds a potential father to her future babies.

Let's meet Collin. Collin is a half Malaysian and half Perenakan and a software engineer. He is also on the co-parenting website and him and Lucy decide that they would like to coparent together. At first they decide that they are going to use IVF to have the baby. But a trip to the fertility unit discovers that Lucie has very few eggs left and this means that they end up being in a physical relationship instead. Suddenly Lucy is pregnant and they decide to move to Singapore together to start their lives together with their growing baby.

⁣But all doesn't go quite as swimmingly as they had planned as Lucy's ex boyfriend arrives on the scene.

All in all this book wasnt really for me. I just didn't really enjoy it. But I thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Wowser this book was good. Unputdownable/ignoring my children good… Lucie approaches the realisation that she wants a baby in the same way she approaches life. With research, and analysis and data. Collin is such a great match and it’s amazing to see them try to find their feet as co-parents to an unborn baby. I loved that it was set in Singapore and that there were various cultural differences for Lucie and Collin to unpick and the addition of Mark made for quite the dilemma. It was genuinely a fabulous book, so well written and engaging. I shall be looking out for more books by Lauren Ho.

This was a quick, easy and fun read that was well written with a good plotline and well developed characters, although I found Lucie hard work sometimes and honestly went backwards and forwards between wanting to slap her and wanting to high five her..
It was such an enjoyable read and even when I hated Lucie I still loved the book.