Happy Endings is a second chance romance between Trixie (who is Vietnamese) and Andre (who is black). The pacing of the book felt off. I liked it fine, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Thanks to @NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for my ARC!

I absolutely loved the diversity in this book between the hero, heroine, and supporting cast. I thought the romance was a little choppy and overall didn't seem super believable. But this book was a lighthearted read that I would categorize as "OK"

An absolutely phenomenal, engaging, and heartwarming book that I'm so, so happy to have gotten the chance to read this past summer.

This diverse second chance novel was a treat to read. I really liked the Boss Babes friendship as well as the immigration and food themes. I would recommend to fans of steamy, contemporary romance who appreciate inclusivity and sex positivity.

I was hesitant about this one because I saw it didn't have great reviews, but I thought it was a fun, lighthearted read. I'm not a huge fan of second chance romance storylines, but this was an enjoyable quick read!

Happy Endings is perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey and Christina Lauren. This book is a second chance romance with lots of steamy fun. I loved all the incredible food mentioned throughout the book and I could just smell all the amazing recipes.

For fans of steamy romantic comedies, this book is for you. The tension between the two was palpable right from the start and I really like the angle they took around having dated each other before. The character arcs are predictable but the ride of witnessing their progress is really what is enjoyable. I would have liked to have read about how they were in New Orleans - maybe integrate more flashback scenes? The flashback would solidified their starting off points and the payoff of them getting over that mountain together would be better felt. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I was happy to support these type of romantic comedies;

I'm a huge proponent of toys in romance novels, so when the founder of one of my favorite companies, Bawdy Bookworms, announced that she was writing a romance about a woman who sells sex toys, of course I added it to my TBR list immediately. I'm pleased to say that I was not disappointed!

First of all, the diversity amongst the hero, heroine, and the heroine's girl gang is fantastic. This girl gang (who I assume we'll learn more about in future books) is top notch! And then there's the food porn. The hero has a struggling soul food business (smart nod to gentrification in the area) which made for some delicious descriptions.

I'm not a huge fan of second chance romance, but I liked that a good chunk of time had passed between now and the couple's previous relationship. Overall, my one complaint is the pacing seemed a little off to me... They went from animosity to sexy times back to barely-standing one another a few too many times (for me, personally). And as rushed as that sounds, most of the time I felt like the story was dragging... just waiting for the plot to really kick in. Like I said, the pacing felt off.

That being said, I am soooo here for future books in this series. I cannot wait to see where the Boss Babes go next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Happy Endings started off with a promising start only to let me down about halfway through. The strongest parts of this book are the representation of an interracial couple - seriously, how often do you see a Black man and a Vietnamese woman in a romance novel - and the conversations about sexual pleasure and feminism. However, the romance did not work for me here. I liked Trixie a lot here but I found Andre to be unlikable. His anger at Trixie went on far too long and I found his reluctance to let anyone close to him frustrating. I think the author has a strong writing style, so I'll be checking her books out in the future. Sadly, this was just not the right fit for me.

Positives: sex positivity for all age groups, female support, college education alternatives, female entrepreneurs, and interracial/intercultural relationships. I can see these themes developing over time as the series continues. It was also a fast read and an entertaining romp overall.. I appreciated the author’s note and recipes at the end, as well.

Negatives: a lot of it read as an info dump. The author doesn’t include a pronunciation key for Vietnamese terms which I wish she employed when describing the MC’s approach to sex and sex education. Sex education may be part of what makes Trixie tick, but not always necessary for the reader. It intruded upon the mood the author was trying to set. There was a lot of dialogue where there needed to be more description and introspection, so the experience is as sensory as Trixie’s pop-up presentations, and to give more dimension to the characters. Some issues were too easily resolved where complexity would’ve given the writing more depth. Like sexual intimacy, I’d like to see the series get past a lot of the superficiality and go deeper.

TW: parental estrangement, cultural stereotypes, gentrification, financial struggles, intoxication, loss/grief, physical health issues, brief Harry Potter reference

Happy Endings is the debut novel from Thien-Kim Lam. This is a second chance rom-com where old flames are brought together by sex toys. Yes, you read that correctly.

Trixie Nguyen is determined to prove to her parents and herself that she can make it in life her way. That way is a sex toy business. Not exactly the traditional career path for a Vietnamese woman. She’s ready for a fresh start in Washington, DC, far away from her ex, Andre Walker, who dumped her in New Orleans…with a Post-it. Andre left NOLA to save his family’s restaurant, but he can’t stop thinking about the girl he gave up.

This was steamy and fun but not a hit for me. I enjoy second-chance love stories and love non-traditional couples. I feel that a lot of the dialogue was robotic and forced, making the reading a bit choppy. The best parts for me were the sex toy discussions, especially the older ladies!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the complimentary copy of Happy Endings in exchange for my honest review!!

3.5 Stars – rounding to 4 for Goodreads

I wanted to love this so bad but unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark for me.
Andre's character just seemed too closed off for me to enjoy, but I did like Trixie's character and the fact that she sold sex toys (which is a cute job for a romance novel for sure). Sex positivity was amazing but the characters romance didn't seem steamy enough & was underwhelming

This book's alright - it's sex-positive, but the writing isn't the best. The sex might be there, but the actual romance just left a lot to be desired. I like the concept, but it just wasn't executed very well.

There's a lot to appreciate about this sex-positive multicultural own voices second chance romance debut from Thien-Kim Lam. I especially liked that it took place in two cities I really love: New Orleans and DC - though I'd have loved the cities to have more influence on the storylines.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

A promising #ownvoices debut with a multicultural pairing, an admirable female lead, sex positivity, fierce female friendship, strong family ties, and loads of glorious food, Happy Endings is exactly my jam. 

I love that there are more and more Asian-American authors writing romance and I'm ecstatic that we are creating main characters who positively represent our heritage and who celebrate the joy of loving freely. It's wonderful to read books with characters, backgrounds, and situations I can relate to. 

Ms. Lam's debut excites me because she's fearless in giving her Vietnamese-American female lead a job selling sex toys thereby confronting the issue of the hyper-sexualization of the Asian female in popular media head-on. Trixie's pride in her accomplishments and her ambition in furthering her career no matter the obstacles delighted me. 

For me, this is very much Trixie's story--her quest for success, her difficult relationship with her very traditional parents, her friendship with the Boss Babes were all fascinating to me. Her romance with Andre only takes second place. I do understand the attraction between them and the intimate scenes were really hot but, in my opinion, Andre needed to be more, to do more to deserve Trixie. His characterization was the weakest aspect of the book for me. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading more of Ms. Lam's Boss Babes.

This was steamy and sexy and exactly what I wanted from this book! I'm so glad that Thien-Kim delivered what I was expecting from a book with sex toys. My only complaint is that this cover gave me completely different expectations

Happy Endings is an awesome contemporary, second-chance, romance. I tend to lean more towards historical/fantasy romances, but this book sucked me in and took me for a ride. Not only is the romance, and personal growth of the characters, well-developed, the story also addresses the topics of model minorities, gentrification, and grief. As with any good book, there is depth and feeling combined with characters you can't help but be invested in. This was a joy to read, and I can't wait for more from Thien-Kim Lam.

We need more Black/Asian romances. Period. And Thein-Kim Lam delivers with Happy Endings. Trixie is so daggone cute with her determination to have a successful sex shop business, much to the chagrin of her immigrant parents. Second chance romances are difficult to pull off iMO, but this one is really sweet and authentic. I love the sex positive, interracial and Asian representation.

I absolutely LOVED this novel!Second chance is not typically a trope I enjoy but Lam handles it SO well. Watching these two characters dance around each other and come back together through twists and turns of internal and external conflict was an utter delight and made their HEA satisfying beyond belief.

Lam's knowledge of sex toys and her sex-positivity seep through every bit of this book and enhance not only the sex scenes but also the plot and character development. Is it fair that, at least in the US, many folx end up getting their sex education through romance? No. Is it the reality? Yes. This book doesn't take that reality lightly and incorporates a shame-free approach that doesn't ruin the moment, not even in the slightest.

If you're looking for a steamy and sweet read, that also tackles big topics like gentrification, immigration, race, mental health stigma, and entrepreneurship, this ones for you.

PS Writing that last line out makes me even more grateful this book exists because THAT IS NOT EASY. Major shoutout to Lam and her editor/s because DAMN they covered a lot of ground and it ALL fits and flows.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is a book that I really wanted to like more, but I'm really lucky to have been introduced to a badass character like Trixie. Trixie is a Vietnamese woman who is a sex-toy therapist, and genuinely, this type of refreshing representation is an asset to the book. As an Asian-American woman, I feel that our communities need to be more sex positive and seeing such a sex-positive character as a protagonist was a highlight for me. I really enjoyed reading Trixie's determination to make her business a success . and reading the scenes where Trixie educates people of all ages on how to be sex positive. However, I really did not like the romance very much and it is definitely he reason why I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. I immediately got annoyed Andre from the first chapter, and I think the dialogue could have been written must better. The predictable second-chance romance is genuinely why I personally wouldn't recommend this book to people. I don't typically rate books but I would say at best, this is a 3-star read for me. I will say that I am looking forward to reading more of the author's books because I really liked Trixie!