His Grumpy Childhood Friend: A Steamy Friends to Lovers Rom-Com

It's been five years since Charlotte Tam had to endure a public proposal at a baseball game—literally the stuff of her nightmares—and realized her ex never really knew her. She hasn’t dated since, afraid that no man will understand her cranky, introverted, coffee-obsessed self, but she wants to try again. Her friend suggests she ask a guy to ease her into the dating game and give her some lessons.

That night at the cider bar, Charlotte runs into Mike Guo, her childhood best friend who lived in the house next door twenty years ago. Surely easygoing Mike, who is now surprisingly handsome, must do well in the world of love. He’s the perfect candidate for this.

But as they go on practice dates around Toronto and even have kissing lessons, Charlotte starts to fall for Mike, and that was never part of the plan. He’s too different from her, just like her ex—how could it work? And she suspects Mike has secrets of his own…

Can their childhood friendship really become love?

* * *

Jackie Lau writes soft and steamy romances with Asian characters. This is the second book in the Cider Bar Sisters series, a collection of interconnected standalones about friends who regularly meet up at a cider bar in Toronto.

1. Her Big City Neighbor

2. His Grumpy Childhood Friend

2.5 Her Pretend Christmas Date

3. The Professor Next Door

4. Her Favorite Rebound

5. Her Unexpected Roommate

Also available in audio. Read by Emily Woo Zeller.

KEYWORDS: love lessons, practice kissing, Asian hero, Asian heroine, Asian romance, grumpy heroine, STEM heroine, childhood friends to lovers, Toronto, spicy rom-com, romantic comedy, contemporary romance, steamy romance, foodie romance, Canadian romance, opposites attract, big city romance, happy ending