Absolutely adorable!

Not Your Valentine was exactly what I needed to put a smile on my face yesterday. It's a short, quick read full of friendship, food, and a fake relationship--not to mention friendship with (so many!) benefits and finally, an HEA. It absolutely checked all my boxes. Could it have been longer? Sure. Did it need to be? Not really. Was it groundbreaking? Nope. But was it the perfect grumpy-sunshine/friends-to-lovers snack that I needed right now? Yes it was!

(If characters who have made the state of denial their new homeland are not your thing, just be warned this is very much in that vein. Somehow, though, Helen's delusions here were more likely to make me laugh/snort while rolling my eyes, whereas Maya's in Under One Roof really just had me rolling my eyes, so make of that what you will.)

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book

I have quickly become a Jackie Lau fan! She writes fantastic romance with a foodie twist. I loved Not Your Valentine and of course the delicious baked goods!!

Helen Tsang is tired of the pitying looks. From her parents, her friends, and even the bubble tea shop guy, who recognized her from the video. Almost one year ago, some loser couldn’t mind their own damn business and filmed an unsuspecting Helen's very public break-up during what was supposed to be a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. A video of her ex-boyfriend saying, "It's not me, it's you. You're holding me back" went viral.

Desperate to give everyone something else to talk about and with Valentine’s Day approaching once again, she asks her long-time friend Taylor Li to be her fake boyfriend, just to prove that she's moved on and hasn’t sworn off love. (Spoiler alert: She's totally sworn off love.) Taylor is the perfect option—single for once, and for some godforsaken reason, he loves Valentine’s Day.

But Helen didn't expect was how easy it would be to get Taylor on board, fitting right into the boyfriend-shaped hole in her life. All she wanted was a couple sickeningly sweet dates to fill her social feeds, not corny text messages of silly heart-shaped cakes, and bouquets of flowers that harbor hidden meanings. Wanting to be around his sunshine attitude and delicious forearms all the time? That definitely wasn't expected.

With February 14 quickly approaching, it's getting increasingly difficult to ignore her feelings, especially when she starts wishing it wasn’t all an act.

Oh God. What has she done?

Sweet, short and highly predictable sunshine/grump romance. All in a good way! Sometimes you just need a straightforward read to get you out of a slump! This book was perfect.

I want to thank NetGalley, Jackie Lau and Kobo Originals for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read “Not Your Valentine” in exchange for an honest review.

This book was short, sweet, and predictable. The storyline was pretty straight to the point and an easy read. It was a cute book! And perfect for a quick Valentine"s read. I enjoyed the light hearted humor and romance aspects of the story.

Synopsis: Helen has never been big on dating, especially since the last years valentines debacle. She gets annoyed with everyone in her life asking about her relationship status so she asks her old high school friend to be in a fake relationship.He says yes, Helen discovers she has feelings for him, and I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

Not Your Valentine has all the right ingredients! Sugar, Spice, and lots of Love :) I really enjoyed reading it! This is a quick but very well written and thought out read that I definitely recommend!

A cute cozy fake-dating/friends-to-lovers novella that can be read in 1-2 sittings. This is the type of thing you reach for when you're looking for the book equivalent of a cookie - sweet with low commitment. This cookie was spicier than I thought it'd be, which was a nice surprise! Who doesn't need a little jalapeno in their cookies now and again. I did find some of the dialogue and the lead character's unrealistic expectations about this arrangement a bit cringey - the character seemed a lot younger than she was said to be.

I really loved that this story was set in Toronto. Not enough stories are, and who says it isn't a great place to fall in love?!

I could not get into this book at all. I had such a hard time getting through this and for as short as this book was it was pretty slow and vey little character development. This story follow Helen a year after a video of her breakup went viral is looking to assure her family that she’s fine. Since her entire family is trying to get her back into dating she decides to fake date her best friend Taylor. Only one problem Taylor actually has a crush on Helen anyways. Usually I love fake dating books but this book had literally no stakes and the reason for fake dating didn’t seem realistic enough. I also could not get into the characters at all I really did not care for either and they both felt very flat. I would like to thank the publishers and Net galley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Received as an ARC on NetGalley for an honest review. A little cheesy and juvenile but was to be expected. Very sweet though and I found myself rooting for Taylor and Helen the whole book. A little spicy at times (which I enjoy) 🌶️

It was okay. I had a fine time reading it, and it was an easy and quick read to get through. But the story did feel a little flat for me. Novellas can be very hit or miss and Not Your Valentine was sort of in the middle. What I mostly loved was that the FMC was the grump, which doesn't happen nearly enough in romance books.

okay hear me out. i really wanted to like this book. truly, i did. but alas, it did not work for me. i'm so sorry! but i'm so thankful to netgalley for allowing me to read it early!!!

Quick and easy read with the right amount of spice. The main characters were refreshing and adorable together while also having their own realistic struggles and their own ways to deal with them.

Helen's boyfriend broke up with her on Valentine's Day... in public (yikes)... where people proceeded to record it and make it the most humiliating trending video online (double yikes).
Understandably, she has given up on dating and finding love. Her family and friends want her to put herself out there and try again so of course instead of doing that she asks her high school best friend to fake date her.

I really liked this book! Even though it was short, it packed a lot and kept me engaged with the story. Loved the fake dating trope, as well as the grumpy/sunshine situation. It was fun, cute and sweet.

This is a sweet book, with a classic fake relationship trope that ends just as you want it to. Not my favorite of Jackie Lau's books, but a quick and satisfying read nonetheless.

After a very public breakup on Valentine’s day goes viral, Helen swears off relationships and love altogether. But, with another Valentines looming near Helena tires of the pitying looks and unsolicited love advice from everyone. In a desperate attempt to stave off unwanted attention to her love life she decides to ask her long time friend Taylor to be her fake boyfriend. Taylor the definition of the perfect boyfriend who adores Valentines is the perfect diversion. Just a few dates, some cheesy swoon worthy romantic gestures she ca post to social media. All is going to plan until she finds herself smiling at pictures of garish heart shaped cakes. As their agreement nears its expiration date, Helen finds herself wishing it didn’t have to end.

I adored this reverse grumpy-sunshine book. Helen is a refreshing character with her tenacity and less than sunny outlook on love. She is not your typical heroine. She’s not outwardly affectionate or a bubbly like-able gal. When I was first introduced to her character I wasn’t sure I was going to like her but I as I kept reading I found myself not only liking her but rooting for her. Then enter happy-go-lucky Taylor-swoon. What a lovable and caring lead male character with substance. His character was well developed and his backstory is just heart breaking. I loved how Helen was at first oblivious of her feelings towards Taylor and how she struggled with accepting them. How fearful she is of loving again. I appreciate how the main characters recognized, appreciated and accepted each others very different love languages. And who doesn’t like a slow burn? I recommend this sweet and spicy contemporary romance.

Book tropes: reverse grumpy-sunshine, slow burn, cinnamon roll MMC, fake dating, Rom-Com, childhood friends to lovers, opposites attract.

A short and very straight-forward fake dating romance. I wouldn't have minded if this had been a full-length novel instead of a novella, because I liked my time with Helen and Taylor.

I liked that Helen knew herself pretty well. She did what she liked, she didn't change herself or her behaviour to please others too much.

I also like that this book has introduced me to the concept of a charcuterie chalet. I need to become very close friends with someone who can make me one of those whenever I feel like it.

Thank you Netgalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!
This was cute Helen is frustrated with questions about her relationship status so she asks a high school friend to pretend be her boyfriend. If you’re looking for a short quick read with the fake dating and grumpy sunshine trope definitely check it out.

This wasn’t a book for me. But if you are looking for a book to read on Valentinesday, you can try this one!

Not Your Valentine is a surprisingly steamy romantic comedy with likable characters and low drama. It is a friends to lovers, fake dating story and a super quick read. I have no problem with steamy scenes but these felt a bit uncharacteristic for the characters and almost out of nowhere. I am not sure what I found wrong with them but they almost seemed out of place and forced. I did like their story and their cute dating scheme.

There’s just something about fake dating that I’ve been loving so much lately, especially when they guy already has feelings. *cue the swoon*.
I only wish Not Your Valentine was a little bit longer.

Not Your Valentine had an interesting premise but the delivery was just not for me. I lost interest quite quickly but finished.