Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic

Rate this book
An ambitious career woman signs up for a co-parenting website only to find a match she never expected, in this unflinchingly funny and honest novel from the author of Last Tang Standing.

Management consultant Lucie Yi is done waiting for Mr. Right. After a harrowing breakup foiled her plans for children—and drove her to a meltdown in a Tribeca baby store—she’s ready to take matters into her own hands. She signs up for an elective co-parenting website to find a suitable partner with whom to procreate—as platonic as family planning can be.

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. When they match, it doesn’t take long for Lucie to take a leap of faith for her future. So what if her conservative family might not approve? When Lucie becomes pregnant, the pair return to Singapore and, sure enough, her parents refuse to look on the bright side. Even more complicated, Lucie’s ex-fiancé reappears, sparking unresolved feelings and compounding work pressures and the baffling ways her body is changing. 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.

415 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 21, 2022

213 people are currently reading
10756 people want to read

About the author

Lauren Ho

3 books744 followers
Lauren Ho is a reformed legal counsel who now writes for pleasure.  Hailing from sunny Malaysia, she is currently based in Singapore.

She is the author of bestselling romcoms LAST TANG STANDING (2020) and more recently, LUCIE YI IS NOT A ROMANTIC (2022). BITE ME, ROYCE TASLIM is her first YA novel. 

When she isn't writing, Lauren enjoys watching and occasionally performing stand-up comedy, karaoke and wine "tasting". 

You can reach Lauren on Twitter, IG, and TikTok at @HelloLaurenHo 

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
504 (10%)
4 stars
1,563 (32%)
3 stars
1,940 (40%)
2 stars
633 (13%)
1 star
127 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 824 reviews
Profile Image for Ali Hazelwood.
Author 24 books163k followers
February 6, 2022
I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE AND YET I loved this one as much as Last Tang Standing if NOT MOAR!! Idk guys, I'm just in love with Lauren Ho's writing voice, she's so funny and yet at the same time she really guts me in the best possible way. And the puns, the fab trio, Collin, Lucie determination to be happy! LITTLE REN!! CO-PARENTS TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS IS MY NEW FAVORITE TROPE EVER I WOULD VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE I KNOW!!!!

ps: LUCIE YI IS TOTALLY A ROMANTIC AND I LOVE HER

Disclosure: received an ARC from the publisher! (Putnam, I believe?)
Profile Image for Lauren Ho.
Author 3 books744 followers
June 17, 2022
Dear readers,

Thank you for choosing to read LUCIE YI, my crossover WF/romcom novel. Please note that it deals with some heavy themes, and while this book has been classified as a romcom (it does have some very very good pregnancy-related/mom jokes, some of my best work), it really leans more general adult/women's fiction than contemporary romance.

I wanted to flag some CW:

pregnancy loss (offpage), grief, cheating (offpage). Please take care of yourself.
Profile Image for Preri.
1,445 reviews454 followers
April 10, 2023
I refuse to have expectations anymore. People are not allowed to write good blurbs for books and then not have good books attached to them.

The problem was that I didn't like any of the characters, and that none of the characters fell in love.

Lucie Yi was not cool. She wasn't endearing. She made a lot of mistakes. She wasn't the greatest friend, and she definitely wasn't the greatest romantic partner. By that, I mean, she sucked ass as a romantic partner.

Collin was fine, but we literally get to see maybe 0.2 seconds of his endearing traits. Furthermore, his issues were just swept under the rug.

Mark was a fucking asshole. This is why you trust your best friends when they tell you things about your significant others.

How do I compile my thoughts and feelings about this book into something resembling coherence?

This book felt very theme-oriented and less plot or character oriented. By this, it felt like Ho was trying to push themes of breaking generational trauma, standing up for yourself, opening up your mind to new and unconventional ideas, pursuing what makes you happy, etc. etc. All of these are great themes. However, they were neither done well nor did they make this a good book.

A novel requires a multitude of cooperating facets: characters, setting, plot, theme, writing style, etc.

And I'm not hating on this book. I really am not. It wasn't that bad. I thought Lucie and Collin had the capacity to be cute as times. It's just -- when did they fall in love? While Lucie was dating her ex-fiance? The asshat?

So what was the point of this book? If we don't care about the characters, if we don't see them fall in love, if we really don't see a satisfying conclusion to the themes presented, then why do we care?

The answer is, I didn't.

Lucie and Collin's love story (for like the 7 pages it was featured on) felt very much like this: oh here's an incredibly nice and thoughtful thing that Collin did. *time passes* He's hot. I want to bone him. But wait, I shouldn't think that. *time passes* Here's something else that Collin did that shows he's a great guy. What a good bud. *time passes* Damn, I'm sure in love with my ex-fiance Mark. *time passes* I feel tingles in my loins when Collin touches me. *time passes* Yeah, sure, Mark, I'll marry you again. *time passes* Okay, nvm, I'm in love with Collin.

. . .

Anyway, disappointed is what I am. Because I was expecting a cuter love story and also actual baby content, not just pregnancy.

And I'm out.
Profile Image for Maren’s Reads.
1,136 reviews2,043 followers
July 1, 2022
Read if you like:
✫ Friends to Lovers
✫ Love Triangles
✫ Closed door
✫ Josh and Gemma Make a Baby

TW: Infertility; Miscarriage

Summary: After deciding she’s tired of waiting for Mr. Right in order to have the baby she’s long dreamed of, Lucie Yi decides to find her potential baby daddy on a new co-parenting website. Soon, she’s getting to know Collin Read, a man who seems to be the perfect match, at least when it comes to the platonic, parental relationship.

Once pregnant, however, Lucie’s ex-fiancé Mark Thum decides he wants her back, baby and all. As she struggles with pregnancy and growing feelings for both the men in her life, Lucie is faced with the choice of whom to give her heart and her future to.

Thoughts: I am not the biggest fan of the love triangle trope because they feel quite stressful to me and generally aren’t much fun. In this storyline, however, it seemed to work, perhaps because one of them was never much of an option.

The author’s character development was top notch and I really connected with Lucie, as she struggled with how to go about becoming a mother. I absolutely loved her sense of humor and was thoroughly entertained by her puniness. I also enjoyed getting to know each of the supporting characters and found the author did an excellent job of comparing and contrasting Lucie’s love interests. By the time the conclusion rolled around, I felt as though I had a good grasp of both Collin and Mark and definitely had a dog in the fight.

If you like romance that leads more towards women’s fiction, I would definitely suggest giving this one a go. I am looking forward to reading more of Lauren Ho’s backlist in the near future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for luz.
236 reviews12 followers
August 25, 2022
holy shit i don't even know how to start.

basically lucie sets a profile on a co-parenting website where she finds collin. collin could not be a more perfect man - he cooks all their meals which is my dream come true - because the author decided to not develop his character enough (sense some animosity??)

long story short, they get pregnant and move to singapore where lucie finds herself between her emotionally abusive, cheating ex-fiance and her dreamy, charming baby daddy.

well let's cut straight to it. SHE GETS BACK WITH HER EX DESPITE ALL THE FUCKING RED FLAGS!!!!! the ex hired a detective to follow lucie and collin. he even waited outside her job for who knows how long just so he could give her a ride wtf

at the end, around the 90% mark, she does break up with the abusive ex and her water breaks shortly after. she gives birth and finally makes a good decision in the entirety of the book and chooses to stay with collin and raise their child together.

the beginning of this book was really strong, but as the plot unfolded i couldn't handle anything about it. my expectations where shattered and spat on. the romance wasn't well-developed, i hated the all the parent figures, and lucie's friend group is trash (even lucie sometimes.)

save yourself and don't even try pls
Profile Image for Ksia_zkowe Oliwia.
463 reviews512 followers
January 26, 2023
3,5
Skończyłam czytać i więcej opowiem wam w filmiku na kanale! Kilka absurdów miała, ale bardzo luźna historia mimo TW po których myślałam, ze będzie inaczej, na szczęście nie☺️
Profile Image for Dianne.
1,815 reviews154 followers
May 19, 2022
I'm just not sure how to write a review that makes the most of this book. I was ready to DNF at 85%, to tell you the truth. The storyline was interesting, but I could not connect with most of the characters, especially Mark. The idea of matching up sight nearly unseen to have a baby without the mess of marriage was intriguing, but it got a little stale after a while. Adding romance to this book by bringing back an unfaithful lover was just the icing on the poop storm this book was turning out to be.
Mark was just such a d*ck head, and Collin was sometimes a tad too sweet and naive.

This book did let me know how another culture, and especially how Lucie's family feels about unwed motherhood and divorce. Don't get me wrong; I know that there are still people in the USA who think of this subject in the same manner as some other cultures do. However, I have never read a book that spoke so plainly about it.

I truly started feeling apathetic about this book after about 50% but stuck it out as it was getting so many wonderful reviews...I should have given up then and not pushed myself. I am just not in the age bracket that this book needs to be marketed to. Also, I didn't particularly appreciate reading some of the agist comments the author had some of the characters spouting.

*ARC supplied by the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, the author, and NetGalley.
Profile Image for Bookread2day.
2,539 reviews63 followers
June 30, 2022
I would have given this book more than 5 stars if I could have.

My review is on my website https://bookread2day.wordpress.com/20...

Lauren Ho is a new author to me, so once I had finished reading Lucie Yi is not a Romantic with loving every minute of this romcom I ordered the first book by this author Last Tang Standing.

The one thing that stood out for me is that Lauren Ho is an amazing talented author from Singapore, who has a such an incredible imagination, with making her story literally unputdownable and quite funny.

The novel Lucie Yi is not a Romantic is about friendship, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, grief and cheating.

This story has a splendid cast of characters that all have a history of their own, making this story delightful to read, and above all, I loved reading this story as it is so unique.

Lucie living in New York has a good job being a manger, but she longs for a baby to raise in Singapore where her home is and where her parents live. She wants to find that special someone who shares her culture, to have a baby with. I did feel really sorry for Lucie as she bursts out crying in a baby shop, buying a present for her best friend that has baby triplets.

Lucie knows she can’t just sleep with a random guy to get pregnant. Well the good thing about having best friends is that they will always help you, no matter what. That’s what I liked about this story, when one of her best friends really wants to help Lucie have a baby with the right man. One of her best friends suggests going on the website co-parenting. All Lucie has to do is add her profile, and to find a man who is willing to be a father, that is either based in Singapore or who will move to Singapore should she become pregnant.

Today my biggest shout out is don’t miss Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic, it’s a page turner. I highly recommend reading it, as the author Lauren Ho has created this really brilliant unique contemporary novel, that everyone is talking about!
Profile Image for Lilli.
151 reviews49 followers
June 24, 2022
This was very cute and refreshing but I could have used more romantic scenes between the two main characters! Still really enjoyed this one. Full thoughts to come!
Profile Image for Mabel.
484 reviews78 followers
March 10, 2022
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 23rd June!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
2,264 reviews
June 27, 2022

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic did not really feel like a rom-com to me. To me this was more women's fiction or general fiction with some romance.

I really liked the premise of this book. The idea of an app or website that matches you with someone to co-parent was intriguing.

But I did not love Lucie. She frustrated me. And her indecisiveness at times drove me crazy. There is a love triangle. And normally I like them. But in this case I just really despised one of the men.

I did find it extremely interesting to see how people from another culture react to things like divorce, unmarried mothers...and the last part of the book was definitely the most interesting. Overall this was an okay read.



Thanks to edelweiss and Putnam books for allowing me to read this book.
Profile Image for Kerry.
Author 7 books1,868 followers
Read
March 5, 2022
This book make me ACTUALLY laugh out loud more than once! And even though there was a lot of humor, it still got pretty emotional/sad at times. I loved reading about how different expectations around marriage/children are in Singapore (as opposed to the States) and how that created such a realistic conflict for the romance.
Profile Image for DiAngelea Millar.
761 reviews5 followers
May 11, 2022
Thanks NetGalley for the review.

This book was all over Instagram but it’s a disappointment. Lucie is a mess she had an awful break up and miscarriage and she’s facing pressure from everyone about being single and like 37 without kids so she signs up for this online site that matches people who want to have children together in a platonic clinical way.

She meets Collin and they have some chemistry and they decide to do it and she gets pregnant. They move to Singapore to be closer to friends and family. She decides it’s a good idea to be romantic with her ex boyfriend AKA the father of her lost child and the man who cheated on her right after. He’s horrible. Controlling. Manipulative. And she’s SO DUMB.

Collin isn’t a cakewalk either. He disagrees with Lucie about a lot of things including how cautious and careful she’s being and controlling about the pregnancy. He picks fights with her all the time and she picks fights with him too about money and his career.

Also Lucie is a terrible friend. She and her one friend Weina are also friends with Suzie, whine they neglect and ignore. All they do is talk about babies and men and how they don’t have any other facets of their live and poor Suzie is clear that she wants them to stop being so baby crazy and self absorbed but none of them listen to her and then poor Suzie caves, which was such a huge disappointment.

Anyway, she moves in with the ex after Collin admits he has feelings for her but she’s scared because they fight all the time and he’s kind of irresponsible and her ex “just makes sense” even though I’m fairly certain he’s stalking her and slightly abusive. She has a wake up call right before she is in labor and breaks up with the ex and then wants to be with Collin.

This book tries to be like modern with this storyline but honestly it caves to stereotypes and it’s a shame because it would be more interesting to read about someone who wasn’t so baby obsessed, or wasn’t a terrible friend and terrible romantic partner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for hopeforbooks.
564 reviews204 followers
February 28, 2023
Miała potencjał, ale jest przewidywalna i niesamowicie przegadana i rozwleczona. Wymęczyłam się
Profile Image for vvenika.books.
246 reviews296 followers
February 9, 2023
Niby wiedziałam, ale jednak nie spodziewałam się zakończenia!
Profile Image for Asia (zupa.czyta).
463 reviews91 followers
January 25, 2023
Ocena: 4,5/5
Gatunek: komedia romantyczna
Motywy: Coparenting, życie w Singapurze, Friends to Lovers, stara miłość nie rdzewieje?, Slow Burn, Love Triangle

W moim prywatnym plebiscycie "Największe odkrycie 2022" o palmę pierwszeństwa walczyła "Ostatnia prawdziwa singielka" z "Pierwszym dniem wiosny". Możecie sobie więc wyobrazić moją dziką radość, gdy okazało się, że kolejna książka autorki "Singielki" pojawi się w Polsce. Ta radość była jeszcze większa po lekturze, bo Lauren Ho nie obniżyła lotów - "Lucie Yi nie jest romantyczką" naprawdę daje radę!

Nie znam chyba bardziej niestandardowej komedii romantycznej. Brak sztampy to coś, co zdecydowanie wyróżnia "Lucie Yi" na tle innych powieści z gatunku. Bo czy może być coś bardziej oryginalnego od historii miłosnej, która zaczyna się od poszukiwań "współrodzica" (oczywiście, uczucia nie wchodzą w grę), a kończy na... No właśnie na czym? Nie zdradzę Wam nic na temat zakończenia, ale muszę wspomnieć o tym, że Lauren Ho lubi wzbogacać swoje powieści o trójkąty miłosne. I to tak dobrze wykreowane, że do ostatnich rozdziałów zastanawiasz się, kogo wybierze bohaterka.
I jeszcze coś na temat samej Lucie - nie jest idealna, jej wybory życiowe nieraz zaskakują/irytują, ale wszystko to sprawia, że jest to postać bardzo prawdziwa. Taka, z którą z radością poplotkowałoby się przy kawce (np. o chłopakach z BTS ;))

Uwielbiam Lauren Ho, pisze wspaniałe historie. Chcę więcej!
Profile Image for Zaczytana.Querida Maja Wiktorowicz.
132 reviews260 followers
February 8, 2023
Kobieta stoi na środku sklepu i chowa twarz w dłoniach.

🌻„Lucie Yi nie jest romantyczką” - Lauren Ho🌻

Buciki, czapeczki, otulacze. Pierwszy dotyk ciepłego policzka, pierwsze spojrzenie w oczy, pierwsze ściśnięcie palca. Śpioszki, beciki, kołyska…
Chociaż sięgam ręką na sam koniec wieszaków, szukając największych rozmiarów z działu niemowlęcego, nie mogę powstrzymać się przed zerknięciem na te wiszące na samym przodzie - najmniejsze. Miniaturowe kaftaniki. Ujmuję je delikatnie i gładzę kciukiem. Miękka tkanina przypomina mi, jakie to wszystko było kruche, o włos i cudem. Przypomina noce w szpitalu i niewyobrażalny ból serca, które już kochało nad życie, a które nie mogło nic zrobić, żeby Cię zatrzymać. Jednak wiedziałam, że prędzej samo stanie, niż pozwoli Ci odejść. A biło uparcie, wystukując rytm pierwszej, najpiękniejszej kołysanki.
Czuję łzy pod powiekami, odwieszam szybko malutkie ubranko i nagle…
Słyszę płacz.
To ja płaczę?
Rozglądam się wokół siebie i zatrzymuję wzrok na unoszonych szlochem ramionach.

Kobieta stoi na środku sklepu i chowa twarz w dłoniach.

O czym pomyślała? Jakie wspomnienie albo pragnienie przeszyło jej myśli, gdy podnosiła torby wypełnione rzeczami dla dziecka? Co tu robi, w tym sklepie?
Czy ma dziecko?
Czy…
Miała?

Podchodzę do niej z otwartą paczką chusteczek i automatycznie zamykam ją w uścisku. Gładzę jej plecy i szepczę
Ciiii
Chociaż sama jestem bliska łez.

- Hej, jestem… - Zaczynam uspokajająco.
- Przepraszam, nigdy się tak nie rozklejam, to do mnie niepodobne… - Kobieta zaczyna się tłumaczyć, ale jej przerywam, żeby skierować jej myśli na inny tor.
- Masz ochotę na kawę? Tam za rokiem jest…
- Tak, świetna kawiarnia - Delikatnie się uśmiecha. Pociąga nosem i przeprasza raz jeszcze. W końcu patrzy mi w oczy wyraźnie zakłopotana.
- Maja.
- Lucie.

Tak wyglądało nasze pierwsze spotkanie. Poznałyśmy się w sklepie z malutkimi śpioszkami. Po pierwszej kawie przyszły kolejne. Lucie opowiadała mi o Marku i o tym, co działo się dwa lata wcześniej. Wtedy płakałyśmy razem. Opowiadała mi o swoich planach.
Opowiadała o Collinie, który pojawił się niedawno w jej życiu (i to w jaki szalony sposób!). Opowiadała o największych pragnieniach. O tym, co podpowiada jej rozsądek, a co uczucia. Opowiadała o przyjaciółkach i o rodzinie. Czasami policzki bolały nas od śmiechu. A czasami dochodziłyśmy do ściany z pytaniem „co dalej?”. W końcu kawy zamieniły się w soki owocowe i koktajle, a ja patrzyłam na Lucie jak na kogoś, kogo zna się całe życie. Wiedziałam, którą drogą powinna pójść, ale postanowiłam, że niezależnie od tego, którą wybierze, będę ją wspierać.



Kobieta stoi na środku sklepu i chowa twarz w dłoniach.

Może tym razem to Ty do niej podejdziesz?

Zaczytana Querida
Profile Image for Alison.
3,633 reviews143 followers
June 23, 2022
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 parent, 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.

Bumped for release.
Profile Image for Jennifer (Jaye) (checking back in slowly).
1,048 reviews54 followers
August 1, 2022
*Love by Numbers*

**4.5 Stars**

After going through heartbreak Lucie thinks that finding Mr Right is not for her, it is the stuff for tv and romance novels. She has always wanted to have a baby but being in her late thirties she thinks about trying another angle.

She decides to try a co-parenting website. This means finding a platonic partner and they sign up to always look after and prioritise the child whilst carrying on with their own personal lives.

As Lucie is working away from home she is due to fly back to her home in Singapore. With that in mind she meets Collin who is a chilled character compared to her no nonsense straight talking personality.

Lucie is surprised that they get along and all goes well until an incident re his tree nut allergy, it’s not funny but it made me giggle.

When after another funny scene happens, Lucie gets pregnant, Collin then decides to go back to Singapore with her and they things take an interesting turn when her ex reappears on the scene and of course her rather traditional family are less than pleased about the co-parenting arrangement. To appease her parents Lucie says they will get married. Now with an ex who broke her heart and her platonic relationship with Collin what could possibly go wrong? Can Lucie have it all? Does love really exist? Then it comes down to a decision for a Lucie between her past and her present not to mention the co-parenting.
Profile Image for Hannah.
88 reviews18 followers
January 26, 2022
I really wanted to love this a lot more than I did. It had all the components of a book I love: strong, female character, interesting and unique premise, and well written characters. Despite all that, I could not find any chemistry between the two main characters, Lucie & Collin. I honestly didn’t feel like Lucie had any chemistry with anyone. Her interactions with everyone seemed so sterile. And for a good quarter to a third of the book her interactions with her ex, Mark, was just unbearable to read.

And yet…. I still really enjoyed other parts of the book! It dealt with really heavy topics very well. Family issues, generational differences, divorce, women’s roles in society, miscarriage, spousal cheating, and so many other incredibly mature topics were touched on in this book. And the author wrote them very well. I appreciated how the author didn’t try to romanticize the difficulty of dealing with trauma and loss.

In the end, it is a solid 3 star read for me. There were plenty of aspects I really enjoyed and some aspects that I didn’t quite love. I will likely still check out the author’s first book though.
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,435 reviews
September 28, 2022
Since I enjoyed Last Tang Standing, I was interested in checking out Lauren Ho's sophomore novel, especially since the premise sounded really interesting. I'm so glad I did!

This rom-com was absolutely adorable from beginning to end! I had such a fun time reading it. Clever plot, interesting characters, great banter, lots of humor...this story has it all. I really enjoyed getting to know Lucie and she felt totally relatable. Her parents were so frustrating to me, especially toward the end. I loved her conversations with her friends, as those were the most candid parts of the story. Lauren deals with grief in a sensitive way throughout the novel, as well.

It was hard to feel bad for Lucie when two guys were interested and wanted to be with her. Sometimes the timeline would seem confusing, like they would skip days or something. Neither of these issues kept me from enjoying the novel to its fullest though.

If you're looking for a fun and fast-paced romantic story, look no further!

Movie casting suggestions:
Lucie: Maggie Q
Collin: Dennis Oh
Ivy Chen (Lucie's mom): Joan Chen
Hannah: Julia Ling
Profile Image for Mia.
2,803 reviews1,020 followers
March 23, 2022
A delightful chick lit that was as charming as it was entertaining. I enjoyed this book very much, it was a quick and immersive read. Lucie and Collin co-parenting slow burn romace was engaging and fun.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Nursebookie.
2,850 reviews425 followers
June 24, 2022
TITLE: LUCIE YI IS NOT A ROMANTIC
AUTHOR: Lauren Ho
PUB DATE: 06.21.2022

An ambitious career woman signs up for a co-parenting website only to find a match she never expected, in this unflinchingly funny and honest novel.

The Washington Post's Summer Romances Recommended by Ali Hazelwood

USA Today's Top Rom-Coms for June

Cosmopolitan's Hottest New Beach Reads for Summer 2022

Lauren Ho’s crossover to women’s fiction is utterly fantastic. lauren Ho brought Lucie Yi’s character and voice to life - a heroine that seems to have it all, but whose biological clock has been put on snooze… What do you do? You do Lucie by taking action and finding someone whom you can go-parent with! Lucie’s decisions gets put to the test when she goes back home to Singapore and face the consequences of her decision with her family, her job, and even an ex! ⁣

Lucie Yi is definitely one of those characters you will always remember, and this was a charming and sweet story that had me laughing and rooting for the unexpected situations Lucie ends up in. I found it to be an enjoyable read about a strong unconventional woman that defy societal expectations, and also a wonderful story of modern motherhood. ⁣
Profile Image for Kaitlyn.
118 reviews3 followers
June 30, 2022
Umm, I really wanted to love this one. I was so excited to read it thought I could keep that excitement all the way through the book, but that wasn’t the case. 1)The title holds true: Lucie Yi was not my favorite character. She makes this family plan with Collin just to leave him as soon as Mark shows up? She strays from her entire plan to let another dude step in and raise their child. 2) I feel like Lucie didn’t develop at all. All she did was have a conversation with Suzie and her sister and decided she now wanted Colin. It felt too much like she was trying to have her cake and eat it too. She gets the baby and wants Mark and doesn’t want Colin to leave all while pushing him away. 3) I wasn’t a fan of how Weina and Lucie dismissed Suzies feelings, then at the end they are back to being supportive friends after suzie mentioned needing space.

Overlooking my opinions about the characters, I can say I enjoyed the writing. The jokes/puns and the overall storytelling was good. In the end, this book did keep me until the end even if I didn’t enjoy the characters.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sunni | vanreads.
252 reviews98 followers
Read
April 12, 2022
Lauren Ho has done it again! I love Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic! Lauren Ho really knows how to write feisty women protagonists and I love that. Lucie has such go getter attitude and no-nonsense way of life, it's just so fun to live vicariously through her. At the same time, I love how this story addresses real life issues, like motherhood, unconventional families, defying family and societal expectations. I think Lauren Ho is a great writer because she expertly balances humor and romantic comedy with realistic relationship dynamics between the characters and their friends, family, and romantic relationships.

One word of caution, is that I found the man that Lucie does not end up with kind of triggering. He's a bit emotionally controlling/manipulative, and it gave me so much anxiety ahaha. But then again, that was part of the storyline and Lucie's growth, so I'm glad she grew from it!
Profile Image for Bookish Miranda.
305 reviews15 followers
July 21, 2022
I wanted to like this because I loved the idea of following the journey of an independent, 37 year old heroine who decided to search for a person with whom she could create and co-parent a child with. But Lucie's character development (or almost lack thereof) made me almost DNF this book. So frustrating.
Profile Image for Shaena Peters.
613 reviews38 followers
March 8, 2022
Reviewed for NetGalley:

This one just didn’t click for me. The plot concept was interesting, but overall the romance seemed forced to me. Just couldn’t get into it.
Profile Image for Shannon.
7,758 reviews407 followers
July 13, 2022
I really, REALLY enjoyed this story about Lucie Yi, a career woman in her late thirties who decides she's not going to wait around for the perfect guy before trying for the baby she wants. Instead she turns to a co-parenting app and finds Collin, a man also of Asian heritage who is interested in a family without the messiness of love and marriage. Together Collin and Lucie navigate creating new life, navigating their feelings and dealing with the fallout from their parents. Great on audio, this was such an enjoyable read and definitely recommended for fans of Josh and Gemma make a baby or Lizzie Blake's best mistake. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 824 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.