In Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho, Raised in Singapore by very traditional parents, Lucie Yi 
has done her best to abide by their expectations and to achieve success as a management consultant. Currently living and working in NYC, she can feel her biological clock ticking away now that she’s in her late thirties. Lucie thought she had a forever romance with her ex-fiance Mark. But after their relationship blew up in spectacular fashion about a year ago, she’s wondering if it’s time to find an alternative way to have a child–even if it’s on her own as a single parent.
‘Collin meant something to her and vice versa. Even if this experiment should fail, she had found a real friend in this experience.’
Lucie’s interest is piqued when she hears of a co-parenting site that matches you to others who want to have a child without forming a romantic relationship. After a few duds, she meets Collin Read. She can see herself becoming friends with him easily and knows they’d have a great basis for being co-parents. Once Lucie and Collin decide to move forward and she finds herself pregnant, they move to Singapore as planned, and try to settle in. But with her parents freaking out that she and Collin aren’t married, worrying how her bosses will treat her once they find out she’s pregnant, and her ex showing up unexpectedly, Lucie is in a quandary. And she’s not sure Collin’s good nature or her two best friends’ support will be enough to keep her from losing her cool.
“You look lovely,” he said earnestly.
“Save it, knocker-upper.”
“Honestly, you do. You’re–”
“If you say ‘glowing’ I will punch you in the bladder and give you a taste of what our child is doing to me sixty times a day.”
“Right,” he said, grinning.
Lauren Ho’s second novel, Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic, was packed with laughter, raw emotions, cultural differences, and followed our heroine as she chose a unique approach to becoming a parent.
‘There was nothing shameful about wanting a child, nothing shameful about how she and Collin had gone about it, as unconventional as their method might have been.’
Trigger warning: View Spoiler »
Overall I had a wonderful time reading Lauren Ho’s sophomore novel–her debut was the popular Last Tang Standing. I knew I’d like her writing style after she had me laughing two pages into the story (calling baby sling carriers straitjackets! lol) and then had me getting misty-eyed a few pages later when we began to learn of Lucie’s path to becoming a mom. Through all the angst and the drama, I was right there with her. My only hiccup with it were choices Lucie made in regard to her ex-fiance Mark. I wasn’t his biggest fan, to say the least. Especially with Collin in the mix.
But it did make for some tough choices on Lucie’s part. Between her history with Mark, how she was trying to keep things platonic with Collin so their co-parenting setup would work, and her very traditional parents in Singapore pushing her to get married, she had a lot to sort out. Plus of course all of the changes happening to her while being pregnant. I have to give Lucie credit for going after what she wanted right from the start–becoming a mom–and doing it in a way that while unconventional, worked for her and Collin. Of course you kind of knew that feelings would probably get in the way between them, which added to the tension. But I have to say that the way Lauren Ho brought things to a close was heartwarming, adorable, and so very Lucie.
QOTD: Lauren Ho described Singapore in such vivid detail that I felt like I was right there with Lucie. Have you read any books that made you feel like you could picture its setting perfectly?
Book Info:
Publication: Published June 21st 2022 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
An ambitious career woman signs up for a co-parenting website only to find a match she never expected, in this unflinchingly funny and honest novel from the author of Last Tang Standing.
Management consultant Lucie Yi is done waiting for Mr. Right. After a harrowing breakup foiled her plans for children—and drove her to a meltdown in a Tribeca baby store—she’s ready to take matters into her own hands. She signs up for an elective co-parenting website to find a suitable partner with whom to procreate—as platonic as family planning can be.
Collin Read checks all of Lucie’s boxes; he shares a similar cultural background, he’s honest, and most important, he’s ready to become a father. When they match, it doesn’t take long for Lucie to take a leap of faith for her future. So what if her conservative family might not approve? When Lucie becomes pregnant, the pair return to Singapore and, sure enough, her parents refuse to look on the bright side. Even more complicated, Lucie’s ex-fiancé reappears, sparking unresolved feelings and compounding work pressures and the baffling ways her body is changing. Suddenly her straightforward arrangement is falling apart before her very eyes, and Lucie will have to decide how to juggle the demands of the people she loves while pursuing the life she really wants.
