REVIEW: The Teacher’s Match by Kristi Hong

The Teacher’s Match by Kristi Hong: Joanna Lin is very nervous on her first day at her new job as an art teacher at an elementary school. The school is different from most as a Mandarin immersion school. This is even more unusual as the setting is Western Michigan.

Joanna left a job as a paralegal at a law firm after several years, deciding she didn’t love that job or the lawyer she had been dating. Her first love had always been art, so she did what it took to become a teacher. Her current art teaching job is considered temporary. She’s hoping if she works hard it could become permanent.

The same day Joanna starts, there is another new teacher starting. Jack Sun will be teaching fifth graders Mandarin. Most of female teachers are startled to see how handsome Jack is. Joanna’s new friend Mindy is already trying to find away to get Joanna and Jack together. Joanna is reluctant to get too close to Jack since he’s leaving the end of the school year to return to Taiwan.

Both Joanna and Jack are connected to Taiwan. Joanna’s family left there when she was little and never taught her Mandarin. They wanted her to be fully American. Jack grew up in Taiwan, but came to America for college. He was supposed to study business so he could help his brother run the family’s textile company. He felt a passion to teach and was named teacher of year at his first job. When he saw an opening for the Mandarin immersive school, he felt he needed to do that before he returned home.

Joanna and Jack both have lost their fathers. Joanna feels guilty that she is a good many miles away from her widowed mother and refuses to agree to matchmaking. Jack feels guilty that he may be letting his mother and brother down by not coming home sooner. They do visit online and that only makes him feel worse.
Jack is kind to everyone. When he starts paying more than professional attention to Joanna, she is very nervous. Jack is a lot of fun to be with, but it’s wrong to get too attached for a short period of time.

I was thrilled to see Harlequin has branched out more with diverse characters. The romance in this novel is sweet and heartwarming. The secondary characters are fun and add extra depth. My favorite is Carol, Joanna’s mother. Yes, she’s a determined matchmaker. She also is super caring with making and bringing food to Joanna. Another is Maja who is a fifth grade student who excels at both Mandarin language and characters.

In these days of division and chaos, it’s good to have a story that will soothe you and restore faith in love and kindness.

Book Info:

Publication: April 1, 2025 | Harlequin Heartwarming |

A new career. A new school.
And a very inconvenient new crush.

Joanna Lin is determined to avoid her mother’s matchmaking. With a new career as an art teacher at a Mandarin immersion school, Joanna refuses to let anything or anyone distract her. Especially her charming new colleague Jack Sun. His kindness and passion for teaching—not to mention those dimples!—are practically irresistible. But anything beyond friendship is impossible, especially when Jack’s moving to Taiwan at the end of the school year. But as spring—and the school’s Dragon Boat Festival—draws closer, love might send all of their careful plans tumbling overboard.