House Rules is the third story in the Uptown series by Ruby Lang. Set in some of New York’s original neighbourhoods, the houses and apartments the characters live in are as much a part of the stories as the characters themselves. I loved the first in the series, Playing House, especially the fact that the characters are city planners (my dad’s profession). It’s the first time I’ve seen that career choice in a romance novel. This time the author sets up a second-chance romance for a divorced couple who become roommates and friends again as they navigate their memories, good and bad, and think about the possibilities for the future.

When Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo separated and divorced seventeen years earlier, there were hurt feelings and sadness but no bitter recriminations or anger. Lana had felt suffocated in a marriage where Simon had been so sure of everything while she’d been flailing, and leaving him was the only way she knew of to regain her sense of self. Having travelled all over the world and taken some specialty cooking courses, she’s returned to New York City and gotten a temporary position at a local restaurant specializing in Asian cooking as a noodle puller, making homemade noodles in an open kitchen where restaurant diners can admire her skills.

While Lana has been remaking herself, Simon has been content in his career as a music teacher. Truth be told, he’s resisted making any changes, still living in the same rent-controlled apartment they once lived in together even though it’s falling apart and the landlord has been encouraging him to move out (not so subtly, by letting a new neighbour renovate noisily next door). When Lana and Simon run into each other, it’s the first time they’ve had any contact since she moved away. While they’ve thought of each other periodically, they haven’t been pining for each other, having accepted the end of the marriage and moved on, though not finding any permanent partners since. Lana is looking for somewhere to live, tired of couch surfing at her niece’s apartment but unable to afford somewhere on her own. When she comes across the perfect place, a sunny two bedroom apartment, the only person she knows of who might be interested in becoming roommates, and whom she trusts, is Simon. With strict rules, an agreed upon trial period and promises to stay out of each other’s way, Simon can’t refuse. While he’s not looking to rekindle a romantic relationship with Lana, he can’t help wanting to find a way back to being friends. But in close quarters, things inevitably lead to more. While physical intimacy was never their problem, can it lead to a real second chance?

It’s probably unrealistic to think that a couple who divorced and never kept in touch would contemplate living together to save on rent but if I wanted realism I’d stick to women’s fiction. I read romance for the guarantee of an HEA, and if it means giving a couple who loved each other and divorced because they were in different places in their lives a chance to try again, I’m willing to put aside any disbelief and root for their reunion.

I love that the leads are in their forties who are now past the age of having children together and accept that fact without bitterness or regret, and how the author doesn’t gloss over the changes that age has wrought. They get tired, they have body aches and pains, and they accept that they’ve both changed. It’s refreshing to have a couple be truly honest with each other, for them to acknowledge that living together will take an adjustment and that it will be awkward. And it is awkward as they learn to cohabit again. Yet, I never felt uncomfortable reading it. If anything it made me root for them not to give up but to get past those initial stages of discomfort and learn to communicate again.

Simon is in awe of what Lana has accomplished on her own. While they’d both been in music together when they’d been married, Lana can admit now that she was jealous of Simon’s success and always felt that she was in his shadow. Having her own career independent of his gives her the strength to meet him now on equal footing. I love that he tries to show her in her love language of food how he respects her and still cares for her by making her meals, yet doesn’t quite manage to pull off his grand plans successfully. Lana understands what he’s trying to do though, and it goes a long way towards softening her heart towards him.

Since sex was never a problem for them before, it isn’t now either. From keeping separate hours and separate bedrooms to becoming sexual partners and bedmates again, they remember how to please each other, and both put in the effort to make that aspect of their new relationship worthwhile. But they are still wary and cognizant of the end of their trial period approaching.

Fans of pets in their romances will be happy to see the part played by a cat that Lana adopts, one that helps bring Lana and Simon closer together when a rescue is required. And both their families and friends have opinions on the rekindled relationship, having been through the breakup on the periphery and understanding the stakes. Some want to see them reunited, some want them to avoid more heartbreak, but all of their positions are understandably well meaning. In the end it’s up to Lana and Simon to be willing to compromise in the name of a happy ending and the epilogue is sweet and satisfying. Loving someone again comes with risk but can lead to great rewards and Ruby Lang has convinced me with this entertaining and enjoyable romance that it’s worth the effort.

I enjoyed House Rules, the third novella in Ruby Lang's Uptown series. I really liked that, for once, the main leads were in their forties, rather than their twenties. Plus- they are couple that divorced back in the day and are now forced (in a way) to live together. I thought that part was cleverly done and really enjoyed it. One small complaint I have is that I couldn't figure out how this book was tied to the others. Other than that, it was a good read, although I'm not a huge fan of novellas.

Cute story about a couple who was married, then separated, then somehow end up being room mates again. They are both super sweet people and I found myself wishing they would have stayed together and figured things out way back when. Lana was young and had to find herself, which I understand, and Simon was settled in his career and didn't want to go with her, so they got a divorce. This is a cute love story!

I love story that involves people who are over 40s and this was a sweet and great story that made me smile and moved me.
It's well written with a cast of interesting characters and a vivid setting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Carina Press and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

House Rules tells the story of a divorced couple who met again after seventeen years living their seperate lives. This is a quick, light romance about adults in their 40’s who got a second chance at romance. I really like the flow of the story, it’s very easy to follow and enjoy simoultaneously. I think anyone should give this book and series to try if you’re looking for something different and quick to enjoy.

This was shorter than I was expecting, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It did seem to rush the ending a bit though, although I did still enjoy the ending. And as a 41 year old divorcee, I greatly enjoyed the story for 2 40 something’s reconnect!

I love this series of novellas from Ruby Lang! The will-they won't-they vibe was so strong in this one, especially since it was a story about reconciled exes. Even though it's short and sweet, you really feel the journey that Simon and Lana go on as they re-explore their relationship and fill in the cracks that broke them apart in the first place.

Forty-somethings Lana and Simon, divorced for over 15 years, agree to rent an apartment together after Lana returns to NYC. They have rules, especially no falling back in love, but rules are meant to be broken.

Loved this second chance romance that is low-angst, super sexy, and has an uppity cat.

I also appreciated how both characters were in their forties and had no qualms about not wanting children, ever. Lana's need to explore her life while Simon settled in to the career he was born to do was also lovingly discussed without ever villainizing either character. It is so hard to write a second-chance romance, let alone one about divorcees, but Lang did it with aplomb!

It took me weeks to read HOUSE RULES. Not because it was bad, but because it was so desperately sad and heartwrenching in parts that I had to set it down and take a break. So, so beautiful throughout and I was fighting back tears constantly.

“Do you? Do you really? Because I don’t know how to feel myself. Because for the last seventeen years, it hasn’t been perfect, but my existence was mostly fine. I have work that fulfills me, and I have a place to sleep, and I got over you. I—I had a life. A routine. And then you come along again—and you show me this thing, this other possibility that seems brighter and sunnier, but you have to be in it. I know it probably hurts you for me to say I don’t want you in my life again, even in a different, limited way. This hurts me, too.”

I wish Simon had verbally acknowledged his judgmental/steamrolling tendencies to the people who were upset by it. It was mostly an internal realization, and I wish we had seen a make-up/reconciliation scene with the sister (their phone call ended with unresolved frustrations). Same complaint re: Lana. He apologizes and mentions the streamrolling, but I wanted a more explicit acknowledgment of his mistakes during the grovel and how he would do better (the apology was mostly about agreeing to a housing/commuting situation that would fit Lana’s needs better). Minor nitpick in the grand scheme things, but we all know I love a good grovel!

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

House Rules is the third in Ruby Lang's Uptown series, and while I haven't read the first two, I had no problem reading this one as a standalone. The story is a fast-paced second chance romance with likable characters and witty dialogue. The angst is pretty low overall, and I like that the author doesn't throw a lot of drama at us just for the sake of adding drama to the story. Simon and Lana do have good chemistry, and they're an easy couple to root for. Simon is just adorable with the way he overthinks things, and Lana is still coming into her own despite her age. Fun romances are harder and harder to find when they feature characters who don't fall into the new adult category. For those of us who are also past that new adult stage, it's refreshing to find such a story, and this one is a fun read. So, if you're looking for an engaging romance in a fairly quick read, this is one to check out.

house rules is a short and sweet novel that finds two exes reuniting in new york city in order to split the rent on an apartment. you will be pleasantly surprised to hear that this was a second-chance romance story that really worked for me.

seventeen years have passed since the two have seen each other. they have both changed and not changed. but they're in this different moment in time, and the attraction is still there. watching the interplay between simon and lana and how this time things have a chance to end differently really is quite enjoyable.

**house rules will publish on february 10, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this final volume in Ruby Lang's Uptown trilogy. I've been enthusiastically recommending Lang to all of the romance readers I know, and this book will be no exception! I'm looking forward to the upcoming release of all three novellas, and I think the collection would be a great book club pick. So much to discuss! Many thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC.

This was a very likable and thoughtful romance, about a divorced couple in their 40s who find their way unexpectedly back to each other.

Lana and Simon have been divorced for 17 years. It wasn't an acrimonious parting, but it was painful and they have had no contact until they surprise each other in New York one day by bumping into each other while apartment hunting. Simon is a music teacher and still has the same job and lives in the same place as he did when they were together. Lana was also in music, and felt constrained and suffocated by Simon's and everyone else's expectations. She finally left because it was the only way she felt she could get herself back. Simon didn't understand.

In the interim, Lana has become a specialized noodle chef with an impressive skill set. She was determined to make her own way and be independent and she achieved that. She has lived and worked around the world but it is a demanding and not necessarily well-compensated career.

She and Simon go to coffee and awkwardly catch up a bit. Lana, who is sleeping on a relative's couch and is desperate, calls Simon to see if he would be interested in sharing a wonderful 2 bedroom apartment. They both feel this is probably not a good idea, but they do it anyway. They both vow not to get involved.

And of course, that goes out the window. These are two adults who still care about each other. But Simon doesn't want to get hurt again, and Lana is determined not to be absorbed into someone else's life at the cost of her own.

Their tentative, honest and scary conversations are wonderful to behold, and you find yourself rooting for their happy ending. These are two great and very nicely fleshed out characters with a lot of substance. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

House Rules is the final book in the Uptown series and I loved every minute of it. Keep reading to see why!


ROOMMATE WANTED to share a gorgeous sun-filled apartment in Central Harlem. Must love cats. No ex-husbands or wives need apply.



House Rules CoverSeventeen years ago, different dreams pulled Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo apart. But when Lana takes a position as a chef back in Manhattan, her apartment search puts her right in her ex-husband’s path. Music teacher Simon is also hunting for a new place to live, and when Lana proposes they be platonic roomies, well…it’s not the worst idea he’s ever heard.

A sunny uptown two-bedroom sounds far more appealing than the cramped, noisy space where he’s currently struggling to work. Still, Simon has seen firsthand that Lana’s a flight risk, so he agrees on a trial basis.

Three months. With strict boundaries.

Living together again feels wonderfully nostalgic, but when the ex-couple’s lingering feelings rise to the surface, the rules go out the window.

Of course, chemistry was never their problem. But while Simon’s career feels back on solid footing, Lana is still sorting out what she wants. With their trial period soon coming to an end, they’ll have to decide if their living arrangement was merely a sexy trip down memory lane or a reunion meant to last. (Goodreads)
Goodreads

I received an eARC of House Rules via Netgalley as part of a promotional blog tour.
House Rules was a great, soft finale to a series that I have loved every minute of. It does need some trigger warnings for fainting, descriptions of endometriosis symptoms, toxic bosses, lost pet that is found unharmed, discussion of infertility, and discussions of divorce.

Something that was clear from the start was that Lana and Simon loved each other so much. However, they struggled to figure out how they fit together. I loved how Lang pulled the threads of both the past and present together to help them to build a future that worked well for both of them.

I liked that the realities of getting older were really shown in Lana’s work as a chef. The restaurant business is one that chews people up and spits them out with little remorse. Lana’s endometriosis also played a role in this, and their relationship, in a way that felt real but also was not overwhelming to me as a reader. It’s something that so many people with uteruses have to deal with and I was glad to see it in this romance.

Seeing Simon grow from a curmudgeon who is still living in exactly the same apartment he was in when Lana left him to someone who was willing to try something new for someone he loved was amazing. It’s an arc that I don’t see very often, but I love to see. Lana’s arc was that of asking for what she wanted and what she needed, which is so, so important in real romances. This is something Lang does incredibly in all of her work, in my opinion.

Something that really made this romance sing for me was the inclusion of Muffin. Muffin was a fantastic little shit of a cat that lived to get in its parents’ way, as all cats should. Its growth into a lovable little furball echoes that of the romance in a really beautiful way.

The Uptown series may be over, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing what comes next from Lang. She’s become one of my auto-buy authors. You can pick up a copy for yourself from Amazon through our affiliate link.

House Rules by Ruby Lang
Uptown #3

Meeting the man you were once married to after seventeen years apart could put a damper on your day or perhaps a spark in your eye. Simon and Lana do meet again at an open house while looking for an apartment to rent in NY. They chat a bit, realize they won’t see one another again and go on their merry way only to end up in the same apartment as roommates. They have rules to follow, a gorgeous place to stay, their own jobs, a rescue cat and increasing difficulty not acting on those embers that that are being fanned from their past relationship. This is a second chance romance with a couple in their forties given the chance to see whether or not they might be able to get it right this time around.

What I liked:
* Both are more mature than they were seventeen years before...mostly more mature
* Muffin – the cat
* The way friends and family are supportive and play a part in the story
* The lack of major drama as they get back together
* Lana – she has made a vow to herself that she will be honest and ask for what she needs/wants – and that is what she does. Also admired her for finding what made her happy and not remaining in a situation that made her unhappy.
* Simon – a bit set in his ways and not one to embrace change easily but he does want to embrace Lana
* The communication between Lana and Simon

What I didn’t like:
* Sometimes Simon was not as open as I would have liked for him to be and perhaps a bit self centered

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

House Rules is an adorable and sweet story about two exes who decide to room together out of necessity.


Lana and Simon divorced long ago. At that time, both were young and each had individual dreams that saw them going in opposite directions. They lost touch but miracles of crazy miracles, they somehow end up looking at the same apartment for rent. The unexpected reunion is awkward, it's familiar, it's ... a fortuitous coincidence? Since both of them need to find a place - she has a new job at a restaurant and she can't afford a place on her own, and he needs to leave his place that's being converted into condos - Lana suggests that they rent together. It makes sense on paper: they're not strangers and their work will have them keeping different hours so they won't get in each other's way. It's almost perfect. Well, they're not quite prepared for the onslaught of memories and warm feelings that resurface. They fall into an easy pattern and behave as if they're still together, so naturally things start to get interesting and complicated between them.


It struck me towards the end that I didn't know how much I wanted a story featuring a couple in their forties. There's a certain wisdom that comes with experience and perspective that takes away the angst of the younger years. It was lovely seeing them get reacquainted while they also had honest and heartfelt discussions about the breakdown of their marriage. Aside from their relationship they're also figuring out what the next step is in their careers. Lana is doing exactly what she's always wanted to do which is working at a trendy restaurant but when she actually takes stock of her career, or what she had dreamed of, and sets it against what she's doing in reality, she realizes that she doesn't have the energy anymore. Maybe that's an incorrect way of putting it. It's more like she's admitting to herself that she has changed and her dreams have shifted, and she wants to use her time and energy differently and in a way that feels more rewarding. That so resonated with me and that's what I absolutely loved about House Rules - whatever future they had initially envisioned for themselves they eventually found the courage to adapt those dreams to match who they had become.


This was my first Ruby Lang book and I found it to be a pleasant read. There was no drama for the sake of drama which was nice. Instead it was simply two adults coming together after some significant time apart, getting to know each other again and appreciate the individuals they had become. I can easily go for that!

This book was sweet and soft. I'm not sure how to describe the tone of the book but it made me think of bittersweet chocolate and the rain. The characters were older, the love more dormant but still strong once rekindled. This book was a soothing comfort.

Lana Kuo and Simon Mizrahi were once a married couple who had different dreams that tore their marriage apart. Fast forward seventeen years later and now while apartment hunting, they run into each other back in Manhattan. With the skyrocketing rent, Lana has a brilliant idea of being roommates. What is the worst that could happen? How about a trial with strict boundaries? Sure that would work, until their attraction for each other resurfaces. Ooops.
I loved this series and enjoy the NYC couples and how Ruby Lang approaches these amazing romance stories. They are so creative and quite swoon worthy. I really enjoy reading about very ordinary people whose unusual circumstances bring them together for a nice HEA that I love reading about. I highly enjoyed this book and recommend for an amazing heart fluttering and sexy read.

"House Rules" is a cute story of a previously-divorced man and woman who, due to the outrageous housing market in New York City, end up as roommates. I thought this novel was well-written and delightful to read! The couple had believable chemistry and weren't bogged down by immature "obstacles" like in so many other romance novels. Also, the addition of the cat was a cute touch! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance novels!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Full review published at Smart Bitches Trashy Books.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/guest-review-house-rules-by-ruby-lang/

House Rules is a sweet and lovely second chance romance involving a divorced couple who reunite as roommates. I enjoyed it all the way through.

What I liked: Simon and Lana. Who they were and how they felt about each other. Loved their stage of life, connection. It was all very real. I related to what Simon and Lana were going through, the combination of angst and concern in your forties about where you are and what's next. How much change versus stability you want. And the greater appreciation for how precious love is.
* No one is easy is easy in this story. Even the cat was a little out of reach, emotionally reticent when Lana adopted her. Muffin has a solid character arc though.

What I didn't love as much or was ambivalent about: I was harder for me to embrace Lana’s sharp decision that she needed to take the job with or without Simon. The issue for me was that Lana still felt a little unsettled towards the end. So at first the move and job felt a bit precipitous. I didn’t see the breadcrumbs that would lead me to have confidence in this direction. Didn't feel like I or they knew each other well enough as a couple to know the right course of action to take when Lana gets the job offer. The hardest part was that the job opportunity didn't seem like something that was necessarily right for Lana. We didn't know her professional desires and aspirations well enough beyond her need for greater security, which is understandable. With that up in the air it was hard for me to expect Simon to feel confident about following her. It was hard to trust that she loved him well enough, that she would be committed to him. Lana still seemed somewhat unmoored.

Then again, in the end with Simon's faith and partnership, Lana wasn’t unmoored at all. Supporting her through that part of the journey is love. Lana shouldn't have to be super successful to be worthy of Simon's support. So there’s a life lesson in the book. Maybe I expect too much of a guarantee. Maybe that’s why I gravitated towards Simon all along. Either way, I enjoyed taking this journey with these two characters.
This is a draft review to be revised before it's posted on Goodreads