{"id":26416,"date":"2026-03-26T16:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=26416"},"modified":"2026-03-30T19:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T23:39:21","slug":"not-your-valentine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/26416","title":{"rendered":"Not Your Valentine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not Your Valentine<\/em><\/a> (2023) Jackie Lau<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NotHelen is done with romance. And not unreasonably so.<\/p>\n

Charlie Kung broke up with me at a restaurant last Valentine\u2019s Day, a break-up that practically everyone in the world witnessed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But everyone keeps asking her if she’s moved on, and it’s annoying, so the obvious solution is to create a fake boyfriend.<\/p>\n

I know they want me to find a life partner one day, but not because it\u2019s a thing you\u2019re supposed to do, a sign you\u2019re a real adult. Rather, as far as I can tell, my parents are genuinely happy together and want their daughters to have that, too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because this is a romance, you know exactly what is going to happen, even if Helen doesn’t.<\/p>\n

I reach for his hand, for practical reasons: I don\u2019t want us to get separated in the crowd.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or at least isn’t willing to admit it.<\/p>\n

This is a novella with boinking, so there were (of course) portions of the book I skimmed, but there were bits I liked. First, Helen is likely neurodiverse.<\/p>\n

…but you should look like you\u2019re fond of me, rather than pissed about taking a selfie. Maybe try kissing me on the cheek.\u201d<\/p>\n

I glare at him. \u201cKissing for the camera? That would be suspicious. I don\u2019t want people to think I\u2019ve been kidnapped.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It doesn’t explicitly say so, but I related to a LOT of her characteristics.<\/p>\n

If my parents and sister were away for the holidays, I\u2019d be content to spend the time alone in my apartment, eating good food in peace. However, I recognize that not everyone is like me, which is probably for the best.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And although I skipped the boinking bits, there were boinking adjacent bits that I found hilarious.<\/p>\n

Last night\u2019s dream, for example, was wrong on so many levels.<\/p>\n

First of all, Taylor was wearing bowling shoes and nothing else. Not even socks. Gross.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s also single Point-of-View, which I like and I think works particularly well for neurodiverse characters, as we may miss signals that are obvious to others.<\/p>\n

So I enjoyed much if it, and I really like Jackie Lau’s characters, but there was a lot of boinking for me to skim.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Helen Tsang, Taylor Li, Shirley Tsang, Bec, Esther Zhang, Whitney McPherson, Jasmeet Gill, Mrs. Tsang, Mr. Tsang, Vin, Auntie Lisa<\/p>\n

Cover by Alissandra Seelaus<\/p>\n

Publisher: Kobo Originals<\/p>\n

Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not Your Valentine (2023) Jackie Lau Helen is done with romance. And not unreasonably so. Charlie Kung broke up with me at a restaurant last Valentine\u2019s Day, a break-up that practically everyone in the world witnessed. But everyone keeps asking her if she’s moved on, and it’s annoying, so the obvious solution is to create […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[193,897,292,608,196,26,56,936],"tags":[50,688],"class_list":["post-26416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-10","category-contemporary","category-ebook","category-neurodiversity","category-novella","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-single-point-of-view","tag-boinking","tag-jackie-lau"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6S4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27224,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/27224","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":0},"title":"The Unmatchmakers","author":"Michelle","date":"July 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Unmatchmakers (2022) Jackie Lau Leora may find her mother frustrating, but she's looking forward to a week at the vacation house her mother bought with her two best friends--even if she hasn't seen the kids she nearly grew up with in years. It\u2019s a bit weird, us all hanging\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Unmatchmakers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-Unmatchmakers-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13414,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13414","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":1},"title":"Ice Cream Lover","author":"Michelle","date":"September 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ice Cream Lover (2019) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Drew Lum has sworn off dating. His fiancee left him standing at the alter, and then wrote a book about \"your inner ice cream sandwich\" that accuses Drew (under a pseudonym) of stifling her, being a terrible boyfriend, and someone who would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ice Cream Lover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Ice-Cream-Lover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17671,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17671","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":2},"title":"One Bed for Christmas","author":"Michelle","date":"August 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"One Bed for Christmas (2018) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Wes Chang has been in love with Caitlin Ng since she almost knocked him unconscious with a door their freshman year in college. But Caitlin is a successful CEO and Wes... Wes is now living a life that makes him happy,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"One Bed for Christmas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/One-Bed-for-Christmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22220,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22220","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":3},"title":"Donut Fall in Love","author":"Michelle","date":"September 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Donut Fall in Love (2021) Jackie Lau Ryan Kwok is worried that his latest movie is a flop. This movie could be a major setback. Movies about guys like him weren\u2019t allowed to flop. People would point at this single movie as proof that no more like it should be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donut Fall in Love","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Donut-Fall-in-Love.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Donut-Fall-in-Love.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Donut-Fall-in-Love.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17668,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17668","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":4},"title":"The Ultimate Pi Day Party","author":"Michelle","date":"August 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ultimate Pi Day Party (2019) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Josh Yu is a successful CEO and on the list of the \u201c35 Most Eligible Bachelors Under 35 in Toronto. But he doesn't have love. Of a partner or his father. Despite the fact that everything he has done is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Ultimate Pi Day Party","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/The-Ultimate-Pi-Day-Party.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24094,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24094","url_meta":{"origin":26416,"position":5},"title":"Bidding for the Bachelor","author":"Michelle","date":"November 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bidding for the Bachelor (2021) Jackie Lau (Fong Brothers #2) Cedric Fong was a success with his first book, but hasn't been able to get further than chapter 5 on anything he's started since. Brian Poon is a party boy whose father cut him the previous year after learning he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Bidding-for-the-Bachelor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}