The Book:
Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam
Published May 18th 2021 by Avon
Date read: May 17, 2021
The Characters:
Trixie
Andre
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career. She’s made a fresh start in Washington DC, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her. With a Post-it note.
The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. Their chemistry is still scorching, but he’s desperately trying to save his family restaurant from gentrifying developers. The solution? Partnering with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop-up shop for hungry and horny clients.
Thanks to their steamy truce, both businesses start to sizzle and their red-hot desire soon reignites deeper feelings. But when Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will pride ruin their second chance at happiness?
The Review:
A sex-positive, #ownvoices novel with a biracial couple that is also a debut? Sign me up! This rom-com and its representation was exactly what I needed in my reading list.
I listened to the audio version of this book–thank you to HarperAudio for the ALC. I thought the production value was great. The narrator spoke clearly and was a good fit for the characters.
I loved that this book focused on food and culture. Nothing brings people together like a delicious meal, and these food descriptions made me hungry!
I’m not always the biggest fan of second chance romances, mostly because I think it’s unrealistic that people change enough to make up for past mistakes. And this does apply in this case–Andre was a bit of a jerk. Until the last few pages, he consistently put his own needs ahead of Trixie’s, going so far as to get mad at her for furthering her career in a way that really had no bearing on his own.
The female friendships in this book made up for a meh male lead, though. I loved Trixie’s friends and how they all built each other up. The sex-positive talk was great, especially as Trixie made a point to include all ages, genders, and sizes. Obviously, the sex scenes were amazing as well! Definitely a high level of steam.
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