What a great debut novel by Victoria Lum. This book had sweet, spice, and angst. If you are looking for any of these tropes, then this book is for you!

Friends to lovers ✔️
Childhood best friends ✔️
He falls first ✔️
One bed trope ✔️
Hero pining ✔️

Jess and James have been friends for 19 years. And for those almost two decades, James has watched the woman he loves live her life and be in relationships with men who aren’t him. But he has had enough. So he moves across the world to be where she is in hopes of finally getting his chance.

Jess, who recently got out of a decade long relationship, asks James to be her dating coach and give her tips in the dating world. He decides to go for it so that she can finally see what’s right in front of her.

Will Jess be able to come to her senses and see that her soulmate has been there all along? Or will she forever be stuck thinking that they are only friends?

This book was so sweet and I really emphasized with both characters. Jess was dealing with a lot of anxiety, which I can absolutely relate to her thoughts and what she was thinking. She never thought she was good enough and was thinking about all that could go wrong and it was holding her back from truly being happy.

All of the parts with James in the last 20% made me tear up. I felt his pain and I just wanted to give him a huge hug.

There is some hinting of who the next book will be about and I’m so excited to read about those two characters, especially the MMC.