His Grumpy Childhood Friend

By Jackie Lau

Description

It’s been five years since Charlotte Tam had to endure a public proposal at a baseball game—literally the stuff of her nightmares—and realized her ex never really knew her. She hasn’t dated since, afraid that no man will understand her cranky, introverted, coffee-obsessed self, but she wants to try again. Her friend suggests she ask a guy to ease her into the dating game and give her some lessons.

That night at the cider bar, Charlotte runs into Mike Guo, her childhood best friend who lived in the house next door twenty years ago. Surely easygoing Mike, who is now surprisingly handsome, must do well in the world of love. He’s the perfect candidate for this.

But as they go on practice dates around Toronto and even have kissing lessons, Charlotte starts to fall for Mike, and that was never part of the plan. He’s too different from her, just like her ex—how could it work? And she suspects Mike has secrets of his own…

Can their childhood friendship really become love?

Review

I didn’t read the previous book in this series but once I finished His Grumpy Childhood Friend, I wanted to go back read it. Because it reminded me once again of how much I enjoy Jackie Lau’s writing. Charlotte and Mike were both great characters and I loved watching them reconnect after years. Charlotte asks her childhood friend to teach her how date but it’s soon clear that there isn’t a need to teach because they are perfect for each other. Charlotte is grumpy and determined and honestly, one of the most relatable heroines I’ve read. Her working from home and dislike of not wearing comfy clothes is just so relatable in 2020. I could see her being an “unlikeable” heroine but that just made me love her more. And then made me love Mike as he was falling for her. There are some trigger warnings with Mike’s family being abusive but I was glad to see Mike able to process it and try not to let the past interfere with his relationship with Charlotte. This was a perfect take on the friends to lovers story and I really enjoyed it. Definitely a 4.5 star rating!

*Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Published by SomewhereLostInBooks

I’m Melisa! I’m an avid reader. I love romance novels and decided, hey, why not write about what I love and hate about the genre. And my favorite books. And when I get to meet authors. And all round why romance novels are awesome. Expect a lot of fan-girling, laughter, and some tears. View all posts by SomewhereLostInBooks