Showing posts with label Nanxi Wen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nanxi Wen. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Review: Give Love a Chai by Nanxi Wen

Give Love a Chai Give Love a Chai by Nanxi Wen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of second chance romances, this is a must read. I loved getting to know Tia and Andrew and watching them rekindle their spark. They split up 10 years ago because they didn't communicate well. What 18 year old does? Now Tia is engaged, but she has discovered that her divorce to Andrew wasn't official. She goes to see Andrew and asks him to sign the divorce papers again, but instead of easily signing this time he wants to try again. They are older, wiser, and he still has feelings for her. Tia isn't sure what to do with this information as she has a fiancé, a wedding to plan, and Andrew still won't communicate with her. When Tia's fiancé breaks up with her so she can sort out the situation with Andrew, she decides to give Andrew 2 weeks to see if their marriage is really worth saving. During this two weeks they rediscover what it is that they loved about each other, and what they needed to work on. Tia demands that Andrew tell her his secrets and in turn she tells him the secrets she's been holding on to.

I loved the letters that Tia and Andrew send and didn't send to each other as chapter openings. It gives the reader insight into the past without flashbacks or tons of backstory. The storyline can progress in the present while we get to know the characters both present and past from the notes they wrote to each other. They also give deep emotional insight into each character, as many of them weren't sent so they were able to write down their true feelings knowing the other person would never read the letter. Speaking of emotions, there is a content warning at the beginning of the book. If you find topics of pregnancy and miscarriage triggering, I'd maybe skip this one as it is a major plot point in Tia and Andrew's relationship. I feel the topic was handled with care and respect. I will say that the grief that the characters feel comes through on the page and it is raw and heartbreaking.

This story had great character and relationship development. Now that they are a bit more mature, Tia and Andrew know what they want, each other. Tia knows that communication and insecurity is what broke them up the first time and they have to work on that if they want to be together this time. Tia is willing to put in the work, but first she has to convince Andrew to stop running away and lean on each other when things get hard.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from this author.

View all my reviews

Blog Tour: GIVE LOVE A CHAI by Nanxi Wen

Give Love a Chai, an all-new charming second-chance romance from Nanxi Wen, is now available in Kindle Unlimited! 

Tia Wang’s Wedding Planning To-Do List:

1. Find the perfect dress

2. Win her future mother-in-law's approval

3. Divorce her not-so-ex husband, Andrew Parker

When she fell in love and married her childhood best friend on a whim in Vegas, Tia innocently thought love conquered all. Turns out, that was a crushing lie. Her world shattered as she and Andrew were torn apart by secrets and mistakes.

Ten years later, Tia has left the pain behind and carved out a new life with Mr. Perfect. The only thing standing between her and happily ever after? A divorce from Andrew.

It should have been easy for Andrew to sign his name on the dotted line. Independent, prickly, and always in control, Andrew has done everything to escape his past. But seeing Tia on his doorstep after all these years? He can’t help wondering what might have been. Andrew has never forgotten Tia and vows to fight for their relationship this time around. If he has to hold those divorce papers hostage to get his second chance, he will.

Feelings resurface, stronger and more complex than ever. But Tia and Andrew have more than Mr. Perfect between them. Can they overcome past mistakes to forge a future together, or will new threats ruin their second chance at forever?

'Give Love a Chai' is a full-length contemporary romance, and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe. 


You can see what I thought in my review here.


Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/36ZjKwl

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3fojKK4

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/396yb4k

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3nTJPUr

Amazon Print:https://amzn.to/3rCsula

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3b7rRui

Audiobook: Coming later this year!

Excerpt

I didn’t care what Andrew Parker thought.

Not anymore.

Still, I put on some lip balm before I could think too much about why and opened the door. Andrew sat by the little island in his kitchen, hands gripping a beer.

Huh.

I had never seen him drink alcohol before. Unlike pretty much everyone that I knew, he had been very intentional about not engaging in underage drinking. It made me sad to think about all of the changes that I missed, moments that I had expected to be part of if he hadn’t pushed me away.

Now, I was getting angry. I held on to that anger. Anger was easy. Anger had carried me through the first few months after he had betrayed me, especially when I was railing against the world in those awful days in the hospital.

Oblivious to my anger, he looked up. “You still smell like those fruity Lip Smackers you used to love, Ting.” His gray eyes roamed over me. A single dimple flashed at me, as his lips tugged to one side.

I couldn’t believe he still remembered my fondness for Lip Smackers. I had been using them since I first immigrated to the United States from China and discovered them in the aisle of some supermarket. I was the only person over the age of ten that still used them, but I was loyal to what I liked. Unlike Mr. Cool in front of me. “I don’t go by Ting anymore. It’s Tia now.”

“When did you decide that?” Andrew asked, unfurling himself to standing. His six feet two inches of muscles towered over me. The large kitchen suddenly felt small. Andrew the man had a presence that overwhelmed me in a way that Andrew the boy had never.

“Almost ten years ago when I needed a fresh start. I wanted a name that helped me to fit in,” I said, daring him to say anything.

His only response was the tightening of his shoulders. I couldn’t tell if he was reacting to my dig about a fresh start, or to me changing my name after years of him encouraging me to keep my given name. When we first met twenty years ago, we had bonded over not fitting in. As much as he told me “screw them” when our classmates made fun of my foreign-sounding name, my faint accent, or squinted their eyes while saying “konnichiwa” despite my protests that I was from China, I had cared too much. My name was the part of me that was the easiest to change.

“Okay, Tia,” he started, letting my name roll over his tongue, as if testing how it felt. “Why are you here?”

I looked into his face, so achingly familiar that I could have drawn his features from memory. I let myself feel the full weight of sadness, bitterness, and regret wash over me. Andrew Parker was my past, an anchor that I hadn’t even realized was holding me back. I needed to move forward now.

In a voice that sounded stronger than I felt, I said, “I want a divorce.”

About Nanxi Wen

Nanxi Wen thought she was going to write the greatest historical novel. Turns out, her characters decided that they want to be in the 21st century with modern plumbing, online shopping, and reality TV shows. Her first book comes out in February 2021 – Give Love a Chai.

She lives in New England with her husband and two clingy monkeys (aka toddlers). When she is not despairing over word count, she enjoys reading, snacking, drinking coffee, sitting by the fireplace, hanging out with friends (far apart and with masks) and daydreaming.

Find Nanxi Wen online

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3rSuyFZ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NanxiWrites/

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/3nb3Kxp

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanxiwenauthor/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3o9oDKs

Website: https://nanxiwen.com/

Connect with Smartypants Romance

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK

Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/ 

Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

RELEASE BLITZ: GIVE LOVE A CHAI by Nanxi Wen

Give Love a Chai, an all-new charming second-chance romance from Nanxi Wen, is LIVE EARLY on AppleBooks, Nook, Kobo, and GooglePlay! 

Tia Wang’s Wedding Planning To-Do List:
1. Find the perfect dress
2. Win her future mother-in-law's approval
3. Divorce her not-so-ex husband, Andrew Parker

When she fell in love and married her childhood best friend on a whim in Vegas, Tia innocently thought love conquered all. Turns out, that was a crushing lie. Her world shattered as she and Andrew were torn apart by secrets and mistakes.

Ten years later, Tia has left the pain behind and carved out a new life with Mr. Perfect. The only thing standing between her and happily ever after? A divorce from Andrew.

It should have been easy for Andrew to sign his name on the dotted line. Independent, prickly, and always in control, Andrew has done everything to escape his past. But seeing Tia on his doorstep after all these years? He can’t help wondering what might have been. Andrew has never forgotten Tia and vows to fight for their relationship this time around. If he has to hold those divorce papers hostage to get his second chance, he will.

Feelings resurface, stronger and more complex than ever. But Tia and Andrew have more than Mr. Perfect between them. Can they overcome past mistakes to forge a future together, or will new threats ruin their second chance at forever?

'Give Love a Chai' is a full-length contemporary romance, and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe. 

Download your copy today!

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/3nQ3Paf

Nook: https://bit.ly/33bWTfJ

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3pUetPg

Google Play: https://bit.ly/36ZJ70Z

Coming March 18th to Kindle Unlimited!

Pre-order your copy TODAY!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/36ZjKwl

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3fojKK4

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/396yb4k

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3nTJPUr

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/3rCsula

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3b7rRui

About Nanxi Wen

Nanxi Wen thought she was going to write the greatest historical novel. Turns out, her characters decided that they want to be in the 21st century with modern plumbing, online shopping, and reality TV shows. Her first book comes out in February 2021 – Give Love a Chai.

She lives in New England with her husband and two clingy monkeys (aka toddlers). When she is not despairing over word count, she enjoys reading, snacking, drinking coffee, sitting by the fireplace, hanging out with friends (far apart and with masks) and daydreaming.

Find Nanxi Wen online

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3rSuyFZ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NanxiWrites/

Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/3nb3Kxp

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanxiwenauthor/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3o9oDKs

Website: https://nanxiwen.com/

Connect with Smartypants Romance

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK

Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/ 

Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/