This book is a good choice if you are looking for a quick HEA fix! It is a novella that is #3 in Ruby Lang’s Uptown series. Our protagonists are Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kai, who are both in their 40s and really need a second chance in their romantic lives. Simon and Lana were previously married to each other, got divorced when they both wanted different things in life and now find themselves back together living as roommates in New York City.Lang provides just enough detail about their lives and what drove them apart, to the reasoning that Lana went through when she reached out to Simon when she arrived back in New York. I thought the details about the food and the noodles were really unique. You can just imagine the master chef that Lana has become and how mesmerizing she could be if you watched her in the kitchen. I felt that you could also tell how passionate Simon was about his music, but also how little he changed following the divorce. I also think that it’s very telling that neither one of them remarried or had a significant relationship, so they were both single. It’s good foreshadowing into the fact that they are just meant to be. I think Lana and Simon needed to work on themselves and their communication skills. I gleefully anticipated that the rules they set for themselves as roommates would be difficult to adhere to, given their sexual attraction. This book IS a novella, so things have to move fast. I think all the necessary details are there. The sex scenes are hot, but they are well balanced with the falling back in love part. I have to say that I really appreciate epilogues. It’s nice to see how their story is still going a little into the future. This book is a good escape into a realistic, contemporary romance. I highly recommend it. If you choose this book for a book club read, you could have so much fun with it! You could serve noodle dishes and go with a purple theme to match the cover. Purple napkins, plasticware, plates, balloons...I would totally go all out...hmmmmm…
Author: Ruby Lang
Series: Uptown, #3 *easily read as a
standalone
Length: approx. 47,000 words
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Romantic
Comedy
Imprint: Carina Press
On-Sale: February 10, 2020
Format & Price: eBook $3.99
ISBN: 9781488055164
Book Description: ROOMMATE WANTED to
share a gorgeous sun-filled apartment in Central Harlem. Must love cats. No
ex-husbands or wives need apply.
Seventeen years
ago, different dreams pulled Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kai apart. But when Lana takes
a position as a chef back in Manhattan, her apartment search puts her right in
her ex-husband’s path. Music teacher Simon is also hunting for a new place to
live, and when Lana proposes they be platonic roomies, well…it’s not the worst
idea he’s ever heard.
A sunny uptown
two-bedroom sounds far more appealing than the cramped, noisy space where he’s
currently struggling to work. Still, Simon has seen firsthand that Lana’s a
flight risk, so he agrees on a trial basis.
Three months.
With strict boundaries.
Living together
again feels wonderfully nostalgic, but when the ex-couple’s lingering feelings
rise to the surface, the rules go out the window.
Of course,
chemistry was never their problem. But while Simon’s career feels back on solid
footing, Lana is still sorting out what she wants. With their trial period soon
coming to an end, they’ll have to decide if their living arrangement was merely
a sexy trip down memory lane or a reunion meant to last.
Buy Links
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/house-rules-45
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ruby_Lang_House_Rules?id=3tOpDwAAQBAJ
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ruby_Lang_House_Rules?id=3tOpDwAAQBAJ
Ruby Lang is the author of the acclaimed Practice Perfect series. She is pint-sized, prim, and bespectacled. Her alter ego, Mindy Hung, wrote about romance novels (among other things) for The Toast. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Walrus, Bitch, and other fine venues. She enjoys running (slowly), reading (quickly), and ice cream (at any speed). She lives in New York with a small child and a medium-sized husband.
Social Media Links
Website: http://rubylangwrites.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RubeLang
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RubyLangWrites/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruby.lang/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13495728.Ruby_Lang
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13495728.Ruby_Lang
She kissed him as they traveled uptown, under the too-bright
lights of the rattling, rumbling 2 train, her hands stealing up past the thick
collar of this coat, to his warm neck, to his hair.
“We’re disgracing ourselves,” Simon murmured, even as he nipped her
earlobe and his fingers found the zip of her jacket and pulled it down. “Making
out on the train, like teenagers.”
He watched the progress of the zipper avidly, as if it would
reveal more than her scarf, her sweater, more layers and layers of clothing, as
if he could see down to her skin. Then he tipped his tongue up to catch her
again in a lush kiss.
She pushed her breast, or the area of her clothing that covered
it, shamelessly into his hand, and he gave a muffled gasp that only made her
wilder. The train seat felt too smooth and unsatisfying against her restless
thighs.
Every stop on the walk home was marked by where they paused to
kiss, where Simon pushed her up against a wall, and she ground her hips against
his. A car slowed once and honked while they were pressed on the brick beside a
beauty salon. Its headlights illuminated their desperate bodies, causing Lana
to bury her head in the front of Simon’s coat. Simon laughed softly, an edge of
incredulity in the sound.
“We should get back.”
“Yes.”
They hurried now, swinging around the corner and down the block,
through the gate and up, up the stairs, the thumping of their footsteps loud
and urgent. Lana couldn’t help blushing at how impatient their running sounded.
She and Simon burst in the door and into their dark hallway. Before the door
fully closed, they’d fallen on each other, tripping in their haste to kick off
shoes and unzip and unbutton each other, to unwind. It was as if they expected
someone would stop them, someone wise and mature who’d tell them to think this
through. But of course, they were the adults here, they were the ones in
charge.
The fact that
this was a bad idea only made Lana want it more.
Copyright ©
2020 by Mindy Hung
