Finding a new author is exciting. Discovering one with a unique voice and who has been influenced a little bit by a different culture is a lot of fun. I don’t always seek out authors of different races or cultures, but I like to read a variety of authors, genres and yes, different cultures. Why? Because I might learn something.
I have always enjoyed learning about different places, people and cultures. There was a time I really wanted to be an archaeologist, but I digress. Even before my daughter-in-law, Chanthou joined the family, I was enthralled by Asian culture. Chanthou is Cambodian. I have two lovely grandchildren who are half-Asian and all marvelous. I enjoy learning about the differences and similarities of each nationality.
I thought I knew quite a bit about Asian culture from years of reading and studying, but it has only been in the past few years that I’ve learned there are even more diverse cultures than the few I was aware of. I find the links between countries, cultures and the British and French who tried to colonize them to be fascinating and at times frightening. There is so much our public school history books did not cover.
When I started following Jayci Lee on Twitter it was quite by accident—a happy accident. She is writer friends with a couple of authors I adore. When I saw the cover of her book and read the excerpt, I was hooked, and boy did she hook me. Garrett Song is the brooding, hot businessman who has worked his way up through his family’s company. Natalie Sobol is vulnerable but not weak. In fact, they are both vulnerable but still strong, how Jayci managed to write these characters so well is beyond me.
At the very beginning on the fake spouse plan you know it’s not going to work. They are already attracted to each other, perhaps, that is why Garrett came up with the idea. Each of them has needs that having the other in their life will make the situation better, but they know that their marriage also provides complications, especially to their hearts. I laughed until I cried, and then I bawled like a baby. Oh, my god! You talk about ripping out my heart, the whole last half of the book I’m sobbing as I read but I can’t freaking put the book down because it is that damned good. And get this y’all, this is Jayci’s debut novel. If this is her first book, then I’m standing in line for the next one because if she’s this good already she’ll be serving my heart on a platter with her next one.
If you are looking for a beautiful story with a lot of heart, strong but vulnerable characters and a little flavor of Korean culture, this is a story you don’t want to miss. If you don’t care about other cultures, don’t worry, it’s still a great story. Read the book and you will realize that there are so many similarities between one culture and another that the only differences are in the details. Loved this book. Congratulations Jayci Lee!
