Review: Meet Your Matcha by Nanxi Wen

Meet Your Matcha by Nanxi Wen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Smartypants Romance, all opinions are my own.

This is the 7th book in the Common Threads series, however it reads as a complete standalone. There are some familiar characters from other books in the series mentioned, but you don't have to read those first. If you want to read more about Pippa's best friend Tia and her story, you will want to read Give Love a Chai by the same author. I highly recommend it, but it isn't necessary to get to know Pippa and August.

What do you get when you put a wholesome small-town history teacher and a successful worldly lawyer together on a reality TV show? A really lovely opposites attract romance filled with self-acceptance and learning to find the people who love you as you are. Pippa is a successful attorney, but she doesn't find fulfillment in the wealth and success she has achieved. She is very aware of her privilege, but she is also aware that she isn't happy and something is missing in her life. In an attempt to locate what is missing she takes a six month sabbatical from her job, travels the world, and signs up for a reality dating show where the contestants have the opportunity to find true love. August teaches history at the local high school and coaches soccer. He is the biggest cinnamon roll ever. He is happy living in his small town where everyone is in everyone else's business and he never wanted more than he has. August's sister nominated him for the show while he is on summer break as a chance for him to take a chance on love. He is fun and kind and honest, something Pippa is not used to, so when they meet and have instant chemistry she immediately pushes him away for the jerks she is familiar with.

It quickly becomes clear that August and Pippa have something special and as the show progresses they spend more an more time together getting to know each other. August is patient and willing to wait for Pippa to be ready for the big feelings that scare her about their relationship. She doesn't have many real connections in her life and being vulnerable is not something she is good at. They agree to see each other after the show ends and try to build something real instead of something fake for social media views, but neither of them is sure that they can survive the very real pressures the outside will throw at them.

I really loved getting to know August and Pippa. They were both very realistic characters. While their attraction was instant they took time getting to know each other before they jumped into anything physical, which I really appreciated. I'm not a fan of insta-love, and the author did a good job giving their relationship substance even though their relationship did progress quickly. This does have some angst, but it resolves itself quickly.

Overall this is another great installment to the Smartypants Universe, and I highly recommend it!

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