The Sitcom Star – Chu’s Restaurant #1
Adrian Ma hasn’t seen his childhood crush in years—until she appears on his TV screen. Maddie Ng, the co-creator and star of Chu’s Restaurant, clearly has a different life from Adrian, an easygoing web developer who spends his free time hanging out with friends, babysitting his nephew, and eating fried chicken. Sure, it might not be Hollywood, but Maddie’s gorgeous face appears in ads for Canada’s hit sitcom all over Toronto.
He doesn’t expect to see her in real life. He certainly doesn’t expect to spill bubble tea all over her.
Their chance encounter leads to him teaching an overworked Maddie how to relax, and to his surprise, the attraction isn’t one-sided. Yet as things heat up between them, Adrian wonders how long this can last. He wants to be the man who loves and supports her behind the scenes, but he’s not sure that’s possible.
After all, she’s Maddie Ng, the sitcom star, and he’s just a regular guy.
Review:
Absolutely adorable! I loved the references/parallels to Notting Hill, which I just rewatched fairly recently, and I’ll definitely be watching Always Be My Maybe ASAP…probably while crocheting 😉
(I read the annotated version, which I got through the author’s Kickstarter. Loved all the bits of inside info and the “walking tours” she has on her website were a lovely touch too)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
The Reluctant Heartthrob – Chu’s Restaurant #2
Data scientist Robyn Au keeps seeing a cute guy at her neighborhood coffee shop. When she encounters him at a bar, she talks to him on a dare, and they enjoy a hot night together.
But the next morning, she’s shocked to find his picture in a listicle.
Did she just sleep with Ethan Park, an actor on Chu’s Restaurant?
She panics and leaves without saying goodbye. Convinced she’ll die of embarrassment if she meets him again, she starts avoiding the coffee shop. Besides, what has dating gotten her in the past? Just lots of men saying she isn’t who they want her to be, and she’s too awesome to subject herself to that.
Unfortunately, she left her favorite bra at his place, and soon decides she can’t live without it. When she comes to collect it, Ethan asks her on a date, and she hesitantly agrees.
But she won’t sleep with Canada’s newest heartthrob again until they’ve been dating more than a month, which is longer than she’s ever dated anyone before. She’s convinced this can’t last, but grumpy Ethan, who’s completely unlike his himbo character, might end up changing her mind above love after all…
Review:
Another fun Chu’s Restaurant novella! I really enjoy Jackie Lau’s non-neurotypical MCs–Robyn was absolutely adorable and totally relatable, and I loved seeing Ethan “in person” after reading about him in Maddie’s book. His grumpiness was totally endearing, especially when you could see how much he really liked Robyn and appreciated all the things that other people in her life hadn’t.
(I read the Kickstarter annotated version–loved all the little inside info!)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
Meet Me in Millfield – Chu’s Restaurant
A short story set in the Chu’s Restaurant universe is available on Jackie Lau’s Ream–it’s a quick 30 pages, but still a really fun story! (The MCs here show up in Maddie and Adrian’s book, so at least read that one first)
Alexa and Clarence are longtime fans of Chu’s Restaurant and friends on social media, but they’ve never met in person. In fact, they don’t even know each other’s real names. But maybe it’s time for that to change…