{"id":24481,"date":"2019-08-16T08:30:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T12:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=24481"},"modified":"2022-10-12T23:34:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T23:34:17","slug":"review-playing-house-by-ruby-lang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/16\/review-playing-house-by-ruby-lang\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Playing House by Ruby Lang"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The last thing Oliver Huang expects to see on the historic Mount Morris home tour is longtime acquaintance Fay Liu bustling up and kissing him hello. He\u2019s happy to playact being a couple to save her from a pushy admirer. Fay\u2019s beautiful, successful and smart, and if he\u2019s being honest, Oliver has always had a bit of a thing for her.<\/span>

Maybe more than a bit.<\/span>

Geeking out over architectural details is Oliver and Fay\u2019s shared love language, and soon they\u2019re touring pricey real estate across Upper Manhattan as the terribly faux but terribly charming couple Darling and Olly.<\/span>

For the first time since being laid off from the job he loved, Oliver has something to look forward to. And for the first time since her divorce, Fay\u2019s having fun.<\/span>

Somewhere between the light-filled living rooms and spacious closets they\u2019ve explored, this faux relationship just may have sparked some very real feelings. For Oliver and Fay, home truly is where their hearts are.<\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Aug 12, 2019
Series:<\/strong>\u00a0Uptown
<\/em>Book: <\/strong>1
Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot
Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Harlequin
Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Carina Press
Price:<\/strong>\u00a0$2.99<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second house renovation book I\u2019ve read in a month, is this a new theme?<\/em><\/p>\n

Playing House<\/strong> is the first book in the Uptown<\/em> series by Ruby Lang<\/em><\/strong>. Our protagonists are Chinese-Americans who are urban planners. I\u2019ll be honest until this story I didn\u2019t know such a job existed and that\u2019s the beauty of romance, teaching me about things I never knew and with a love story to boot.<\/p>\n

Oliver Huang<\/strong> and Fay Liu<\/strong> know each other, the circle of urban planners is small, but they\u2019ve never hung out. At least not until the fateful day when Fay runs into Oliver and asks him to help her by pretending to be in a relationship so she can rid herself of an overbearing suitor. I make this contemporary sound so historical, but it\u2019s true. \u00a0What starts as a simple favor quickly turns into hanging out for sheer pleasure and goes from innocent to hot as fast as you can fall backward and pull down a shower curtain.<\/p>\n

The story itself is cute. There are modern day elements around Oliver and Fay\u2019s careers that add conflict. From Oliver\u2019s standpoint he\u2019s living with his brother after being laid off, working freelance, and having to figure out if he can still be the person he\u2019s worked so hard to become. For Fay her career is everything, after escaping a dead-end marriage, the boutique company she\u2019s set up is her baby. Without the company who is she. When Oliver and Fay\u2019s work life crashes with their personal adventures plenty of tension arises.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed the characters. Oliver is just the type of hero I always end up writing, very beta and not the most adept at navigating tough conversations with anyone from Fay to his mother. His growth in the story is fun, though I wish he would have faced the conflict a bit more head on. Fay is the bull. She\u2019s a spearhead that chargers constantly. I liked seeing her own the wheels and Oliver respecting that part of her, but found her tendency to take over with assumptions frustrating. The author doesn\u2019t leave holes, just for me those things were turn offs.<\/p>\n

For a novella, these characters were fully fleshed out. There are plenty of side characters to carry a series and Lang has made New York appear much more appealing to a person who\u2019s never been there. I would be willing to go to experience the architecture alone. Overall, this is perfect for readers who enjoy Mia Sosa<\/strong><\/em> or Sarah Morgan<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

~ Landra<\/em><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0B&N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last thing Oliver Huang expects to see on the historic Mount Morris home tour is longtime acquaintance Fay Liu bustling up and kissing him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,105,112,48],"tags":[146,216,365,383,420],"class_list":["post-24481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carina-press","category-harlequin","category-landra","category-reviews","tag-3-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-multicultural","tag-novella","tag-romance"],"yoast_head":"\nReview \u2764\ufe0f Playing House by Ruby Lang - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/16\/review-playing-house-by-ruby-lang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Playing House by Ruby Lang - 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He\u2019s happy to playact being a couple to save her from a pushy admirer. Fay\u2019s beautiful, successful and smart, and if he\u2019s being honest, Oliver has always had a bit of a thing for her.<br \/><br \/>Maybe more than a bit.<br \/><br \/>Geeking out over architectural details is Oliver and Fay\u2019s shared love language, and soon they\u2019re touring pricey real estate across Upper Manhattan as the terribly faux but terribly charming couple Darling and Olly.<br \/><br \/>For the first time since being laid off from the job he loved, Oliver has something to look forward to. And for the first time since her divorce, Fay\u2019s having fun.<br \/><br \/>Somewhere between the light-filled living rooms and spacious closets they\u2019ve explored, this faux relationship just may have sparked some very real feelings. For Oliver and Fay, home truly is where their hearts are.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p> <hr \/> <p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Aug 12, 2019<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Uptown<br \/><\/em><strong>Book: <\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong>\u00a0Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Harlequin<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Carina Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong>\u00a0$2.99<\/p> <hr \/> <p>\u00a0<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>The second house renovation book I\u2019ve read in a month, is this a new theme?<\/em><\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Playing House<\/strong> is the first book in the <em>Uptown<\/em> series by <strong><em>Ruby Lang<\/em><\/strong>. Our protagonists are Chinese-Americans who are urban planners. I\u2019ll be honest until this story I didn\u2019t know such a job existed and that\u2019s the beauty of romance, teaching me about things I never knew and with a love story to boot.<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Oliver Huang<\/strong> and <strong>Fay Liu<\/strong> know each other, the circle of urban planners is small, but they\u2019ve never hung out. At least not until the fateful day when Fay runs into Oliver and asks him to help her by pretending to be in a relationship so she can rid herself of an overbearing suitor. I make this contemporary sound so historical, but it\u2019s true. \u00a0What starts as a simple favor quickly turns into hanging out for sheer pleasure and goes from innocent to hot as fast as you can fall backward and pull down a shower curtain.<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The story itself is cute. There are modern day elements around Oliver and Fay\u2019s careers that add conflict. From Oliver\u2019s standpoint he\u2019s living with his brother after being laid off, working freelance, and having to figure out if he can still be the person he\u2019s worked so hard to become. For Fay her career is everything, after escaping a dead-end marriage, the boutique company she\u2019s set up is her baby. Without the company who is she. When Oliver and Fay\u2019s work life crashes with their personal adventures plenty of tension arises.<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I enjoyed the characters. Oliver is just the type of hero I always end up writing, very beta and not the most adept at navigating tough conversations with anyone from Fay to his mother. His growth in the story is fun, though I wish he would have faced the conflict a bit more head on. Fay is the bull. She\u2019s a spearhead that chargers constantly. I liked seeing her own the wheels and Oliver respecting that part of her, but found her tendency to take over with assumptions frustrating. The author doesn\u2019t leave holes, just for me those things were turn offs.<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For a novella, these characters were fully fleshed out. There are plenty of side characters to carry a series and Lang has made New York appear much more appealing to a person who\u2019s never been there. I would be willing to go to experience the architecture alone. Overall, this is perfect for readers who enjoy <em><strong>Mia Sosa<\/strong><\/em> or <em><strong>Sarah Morgan<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p> <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2H6ysFy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/playing-house\/id1458215839?mt=11&app=itunes&at=11l88k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/playing-house-ruby-lang\/1131072410?ean=9781488055096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/playing-house-21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Ruby_Lang_Playing_House?id=tOCQDwAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}