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BOOKWORM REVIEW: The House on Mulberry Street by Jeannie Chin

 

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥

This was a fun read about two friends who want more but cannot seem to convey that to each other.

Graham Lewis and Elizabeth Wu have been friends since middle school. They have also been in love with each other for as long as they can remember. They have been unable to come clean with their feelings out of fear that it would alter their friendship forever.

Elizabeth also has to deal with feeling like she always comes up short when it comes to family. Now she wants to prove that she is no underachiever by planning a town festival to showcase her artwork, and she needs Graham's help to pull it off.

Graham wants permanency in his life. That's why he closed on the house on Mulberry Street and is looking for more. More that he doesn't see with Elizabeth because he assumes that she has firmly put him in the friend zone. But when a kiss triggers a series of events that proves them both wrong, can they risk their hearts for the one person they have known and loved most of their lives?

I adored the love story. If you have been following me for a while, you know I love best-friends-to-lovers as much as I love enemies-to-lovers. There is a wonderful sense of longing that Jeannie Chin expertly weaves into Graham and Elizabeth's story that has us cheering for their HEA.

What captured me the most, however, especially as an Asian American, is Elizabeth's struggle with not being enough for her family. I can relate to her having a completely different love language from her family and struggling to reconcile that with the approval she needs from them. I wanted so much to give her a hug and say "I know how you feel" as that longing manifests into a little bit of anger and resentment.

This is the third book in the series, but as a newbie to this book universe, it read really well as a standalone. 

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Jeannie Chin, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

ABOUT THE BOOK

For these two small-town best friends, sharing a kiss might be the worst mistake of their lives—or the best thing that's ever happened to them.

Between helping at her family’s inn and teaching painting, Elizabeth Wu has put her dream of being an artist on the back burner. But her plan to launch an arts festival will boost the local Blue Cedar Falls arts scene and give her a showcase for her own work. If only she can get the town council on board. At least she can rely on her dependable best friend Graham to support her. Except lately, he hasn’t been acting like his old self, and she has no idea why.

Graham Lewis has been secretly in love with Elizabeth forever, but it’s past time that he faces the cold, hard truth: vivacious, amazing Elizabeth will never see him as anything but a platonic pal. He’s going to help her get the festival off the ground, but after that he needs to forget his one-sided crush. Until one impulsive kiss changes everything. Can they really rebuild their entire relationship—and the festival—from the ground up? Or will it all come crashing down?

MEET JEANNIE CHIN

Jeannie Chin writes contemporary small town romances. She draws on her experiences as a biracial Asian and white American to craft stories that speak to a uniquely American experience.

She is a former high school science teacher, wife to a geeky engineer, and mom to an extremely talkative kindergartener. Her hobbies include crafting, reading and hiking.

Connect with Jeannie
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