Review: Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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.

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SYNOPSIS: "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."