Much thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin – Carina Press for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own. Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC and may or may not appear in the final published copy.

“We started off on the wrong foot and ended on another wrong foot.”

“But in the middle, did you dance?”

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Book Details

Title: Open House (Uptown #2)

Author: Ruby Lang

Date Published: November 11, 2019

Number of Pages: 165 pages

Publisher: Harlequin – Carina Press

📚 Series:  Yes, but it can be read as a standalone.
📚 Genre: Contemporary romance.
📚 POV:  Alternating third person.
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings:  Death of a loved one due to cancer.
⚠ Read if: you are looking for a quick read with touches of gentrification and renovation themes.

Book Blurb from Goodreads

Love can take root where you least expect it.

Tyson Yang never imagined that one day he’d be the de facto spokesperson for an illegal community garden. But when the once-rat-infested-but-now-thriving Harlem lot goes up for sale, Ty can’t just let all their hard work get plowed under.

Even if he is irresistibly drawn to the lovely but infuriatingly stubborn real estate associate.

Magda Ferrer’s family is already convinced this new job will be yet another flop in her small but growing list of career path failures. But her student debt isn’t going anywhere, and selling her uncle’s historic town house and the lot nearby means a chance to get some breathing room.

Ty is her charming rival, her incorrigible nemesis, the handsome roadblock to her success.

Until one hot Harlem night blurs the hard line drawn between them, and the seeds of possibility in this rocky garden blossom into love.

About the Author

Website || Twitter

                                                                          Ruby Lang is pint-sized, prim, and bespectacled. Her alter ego, essayist Mindy Hung, has written for The New York Times, The Toast, and Salon, among others. 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.

My Review

Here’s another quick reading contemporary romance! Magda is struggling with being independent, making better life choices, and paying off her student loans. Magda tries to sell a vacant lot but she encounters Ty, who is working with the local residents in turning the said lot to a neighborhood garden.

These two start out as ‘slight’ enemies because technically, they are friendly with each other, they are just on opposite sides. There are a lot of steamy sexy times ahead, even one on the rooftop!

Romance aside, this book touches on different topics like handling family pressures, dealing with a death in the family, the values of community, and some yummy dumplings.

All in all, something I surely enjoyed. I will pick up the first book of this series, Playing House, and will read the next one, too!

My Book Rating Breakdown

🌼 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Main Character:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Significant Other: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

☁ FINAL VERDICT: 4.09/5 ☁

⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you are given the chance to live in a different city, which city would you choose?

Tell me in the comments!

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