Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Review - 4 Stars
If you enjoy house tours, you’ve ever been curious about what urban planners do, or you like heroes who wear glasses, this is the novella for you! Fay and Oliver knew each other back in the day but when their paths cross on a house tour, Fay ropes Oliver into pretending he’s her boyfriend to fend off the advances from a creep. Soon, they’re visiting more apartments pretending to be a married couple, focusing more on the game and geeking out over their love for their jobs as urban planners than anything else.
And they have good reason to want to hide from reality a bit. Fay is adjusting after divorce and figuring out how to balance work and life. Oliver has been freelancing after his job went under and wondering if he’s like his loser dad after all. As someone who is self-employed but didn’t plan on it becoming my full-time job, I intensely related to Oliver’s arc (minus the dad issues) and found it refreshing to see a character with the same concerns as anyone who has freelanced.
For all Oliver and Fay have in common, there are major things they don’t discuss. Chief among them: Oliver applied for a job at Fay’s firm. He never asks for an update about the interview, assuming he won’t be asked and she doesn’t want to embarrass him. But she doesn’t ever ask him where he’s working, even though she knows his last company folded. I found this to be strange, while recognizing the way their paths crossed again left little room for the questions people normally ask when they run into someone they used to know. Of course, there’s an eventual reckoning and I really liked how this resolved.
This is otherwise a low conflict story and I breezed through it. Oliver and Fay have great chemistry and I’m full of hope for their relationship. But it was their work as urban planners that was the real star of this story for me. They view apartment tours with such a different lens and I loved hearing the way they think about neighborhoods and what can make a community great. Plus, Oliver has a great moment with his mom finally understanding what it is that he does that made me smile.
CW: divorce, parental abandonment, unemployment
Synopsis
Romance blossoms between two city planners posing as newlyweds in this first in a bright new series by acclaimed author Ruby Lang
The last thing Oliver Huang expects to see on the historic Mount Morris home tour is longtime acquaintance Fay Liu bustling up and kissing him hello. He’s happy to playact being a couple to save her from a pushy admirer. Fay’s beautiful, successful and smart, and if he’s being honest, Oliver has always had a bit of a thing for her.
Maybe more than a bit.
Geeking out over architectural details is Oliver and Fay’s shared love language, and soon they’re touring pricey real estate across Upper Manhattan as the terribly faux but terribly charming couple Darling and Olly.
For the first time since being laid off from the job he loved, Oliver has something to look forward to. And for the first time since her divorce, Fay’s having fun.
Somewhere between the light-filled living rooms and spacious closets they’ve explored, this faux relationship just may have sparked some very real feelings. For Oliver and Fay, home truly is where their hearts are.
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Disclosure: I received an advanced copy from Carina Press in exchange for an honest review.
