This meetcute friends-to lovers story was a breath of fresh air. Rachel is an awkward, highly educated, social disaster. Along came Luke. Culturally different. He’s a Texan with old fashioned ideals, extroverted and successful. She is from a traditional Asian family that he won over doing the Macarena at a wedding reception.
I listened to the Audiobook version read by Kay Riley. Pronunciation was a little slow or drawn out. Overall this book was one I didn’t want to stop listening to because I needed to know what happens next.

Quick Summary: A hilariously funny multicultural rom-com

My Review: The Rachel Experiment by Lisa Lin is book two in the From Sunset Park, With Love series. It is a fresh, contemporary love story with a boatload of family drama.

What I Loved About This Book:

- I loved the playful banter that existed between the leads. They had such a relaxed vibe and a beautiful connection.

- I loved that the author gave a colorful depiction of the family dynamics of both characters.

- I loved that the challenges and conflicts were realistic. It made the story that much more relatable.

- I loved that Rachel and Luke were imperfect. I could appreciate that they were each on journeys of growth.

My Final Say: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so lovely and very entertaining. Readers who want realistic fiction featuring an interracial couple will love this book.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes

Thanks to the author, to Dreamscape Media, and to NetGalley for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own thoughts and opinions.

This rom com hits all the right notes for those of us who have ever felt like they are not enough! I love that this author wrote such a fun rom com while delivering such an impactful message that you are enough and you need to believe in yourself so others can see you for who you are as well! The author weaves such a wonderful cast of characters to be close friends, lovers, family and adversaries that you forget you are reading a book and want to take up the gauntlet to help assist the main character yourself! I relate to Rachel in so many ways as I've often walked in her shoes feeling like I'm not enough for friendships, relationships and whatnot. However, as with Rachel, I realized that I am enough and the people around me need to accept me or move on. Fortunately, I didn't have to navigate this issue while also trying to navigate cultural differences like Rachel did. I love that the author points out the differences between cultures and made that a background for her book. The author's humor is wonderful and sets the perfect tone for the story. I can't wait for the next book to be available on audiobook as this series is definitely on my must listen list as the narrator does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life and enhancing the author's words! Now I need to head off to check in with my squad to make sure no one needs "shovels and tarps!" LOL, read the book and you'll understand that reference! It is worth the time to read the book for the entertainment and friendship bonding it promotes alone!

The heroine, Rachel Bai, is a highly intelligent financial analyst but is socially awkward. This sets her struggles she will eventually overcome. The hero is Luke Trudeau, a charismatic lawyer. They have a one night stand after meeting at a bar, of course faith would have them meet again in a social event through shared acquaintances. They need to manage their relationship from a sexual encounter to just friends when in social gatherings. Both are at a point of their lives that will require each others help to succeed in their next step of their careers. So they exchange favors. She to help him set up his own law firm, and he to help her socially interact with the team she manages. Through the interactions they end up falling in love. This story had so much potential, the main characters were educated professionals however their dialogue was as if they were teenagers, as well as their reactions to situations. I was not able to connect with the characters and the story felt as if were being told.

I really wanted to love this one, and the premise was cute. However, there were a few things that just didn’t ring true to me. We have two highly educated individuals that engage in a Cyrano-style game to help Rachel become less socially awkward so that she can get a promotion and stay permanently. Rachel was awkward and not in a cute-awkward way but in an illogical, awkward, questioning way. I felt that some of what Rachel needed was confidence. She has a couple of female friends that she isn’t sure she’s allowed to call friends. Why? I mean, I know that some people don’t have the opportunities or take the time to explore relationships, but she is a successful professional woman. She didn’t live in a cave!
I did like Luke, the male lead, and felt that this character was more authentic feeling than Rachel. I liked that he brought Rachel soup when she was sick and was respectful of her while helping her in various situations.
It was just so-so. Not bad, but not great or particularly memorable.

Many thanks to author Lisa Lin, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cute book. It had a very feel good story. I really enjoyed listening to it. A great book when you want something low stakes to relax with! No stress, very enjoyable with some unique quirks. Thank you for the ARC.

Rachel Bai is socially inept but smart and more than willing to put the work in to make herself better in social situations. When her work sends her to a new city as a trial to see if she can handle being a team leader and her family tell her that she's destined to fail at it, she's more convinced than ever that she can solve her social awkwardness. She arrives at her new city and heads to a bar to chat up a bartender and ease into conversations with strangers. But instead of the bartender, she ends up talking to Luke Trudeau, a lawyer who's starting to think he wants more out of life but isn't sure what. He meets Rachel at a bar and finds her intriguing enough that finding her at a mutual friend's party leads to them making a trade. Luke will teach Rachel to be more sociable, and Rachel will help Luke figure out what he needs to start his own firm. This is the beginning of a super sweet friendship and relationship formed out of respect for each other's quirky traits and personalities.
I fell into this book's plot almost immediately, despite it not being 100% original, simply because Rachel and Luke together make an adorable pair. I couldn't walk away until I'd heard the entire story of them making each other better just by being themselves around each other.
The narration by Kat Riley is fun and pitch-perfect when it comes to giving characters their own voice and accent so you can easily tell who's talking. It makes the scenes where there are a lot of characters present really feel like there are several people participating in the discussion.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the very engaging listen!

I liked the premise of this book but I think the audio part took away from it. I really didn’t the male side of the story and it kind of wrecked a little bit of it. The cultural differences were cute but also felt a little exaggerated. Overall, the love story was cute but it was just okay.

🌀Synopsis
Rachel just moved for work. She’s got something to prove and a lot to learn to get there. Determined to make a good start for herself she immediately steps out of her comfort zone. She meets Justin at a bar and after a drink and conversation, she decides to have a one night stand.
Or at least that’s what she thought. Until a get together with some friends when she realizes he’s also friends with her friends. The two end up striking up a business deal where he helps her become more personable and she helps him set up his own business.
Over the course of their work, the two develop feelings for each other. They overcome some cultural differences to figure out a way to have a good relationship.

This is a silly book and I loved it for it!

This is a perfect summer-day book: easy, light, full of romance and jokes.

Rachel is an awkward workaholic, who needs to work on her social skills. Then she finds someone who can help her developing social skills, but she falls in love with him: Can she keep their relationship professional? Does she want to keep her relationship professional?

She also deals with her family and expressing her feelings to her family.

Again, this is not a complex book with deep thoughts. if you are looking for an exploration of asian-white relationships that's not going to be it, but it does make for a nice train ride reading about romance.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy is exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It has two perspectives, and despite having only one narrator, there are distinct voices for all the characters. The narrator did an amazing job, I loved Luke's accent.

I really liked the characters individually. Rachel did everything to outdo herself and get her job, and Luke realized he wanted something more from his job, and while he didn't know what it was, he was making changes to get there. And that's fantastic.
But better is the characters together, they are so sweet and cute, and just make me smile. I really liked how their relationship evolved over time, after the steamy meeting at the beginning.
I appreciated so much the differences between their families, the contrast of cultures that this brought to the book. I really enjoyed seeing it.

I would dismiss the drama at the end, because Luke, take what life gives you, nothing is perfect.

But still a great book.

This really did not work for me I felt like the main character was too overly 'quirky' and 'not like most girls' and it really made the whole book annoying. Although the rest of the writing and story was good and made for a quick and easy read I couldn't get over Rachel's character.

This story is endearing, entertaining and fun. I enjoyed going on both the adventure with these characters. I found both Luke and Rachel relatable. Lin did such a good job of developing them and providing the information that explained their choices, decisions and understanding of the situation. I am not a fan of miscommunication, but the way that it’s shown in this story is something I connect with and understand. It makes the characters more real. I enjoyed the secondary characters and their quirkiness. They added to the fabric of the story and provided various dimensions of the main characters. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of them in the rest of the series.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed the narrator -they were easy to understand and follow.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I lied this book! The narrators made this so enjoyable. The writing was great! I felt that I was right there with the characters. Definitely put this on your list this summer.

This was a really cute opposite's attract romance. Rachel is a financial analyst who has just been promoted and will be in charge of a team of people, but is a huge introvert. Luke is a charming lawyer, looking to strikeout on his own but needs a numbers and detail oriented person to help him. So when Rachel and Luke meet each other they strike up a bargain to help each other. They form a great couple who complement each other, too bad love is off the table or is it?

I really enjoyed this sweet story. Thank-you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the advanced listener copy. Kat riley was a wonderful narrator.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

- I really struggled with this one. The main character is a self described awkward turtle, but in reality she seems to be completely oblivious to social rules. It’s to the point where it seems like she’s neurodivergent, but that’s never addressed either? The awkwardness seeps into the narration, and parts of it felt overly formal. With a romance, overly formal language can really make me feel distanced from the characters.
- the conflict late in the book felt pretty contrived and frustrating. It also didn’t show much growth on the part of either of the MCs.
- the MMC is from Texas, and I was not a fan of the narrator’s accent. It often took me out of the book.
- there’s an attempt to address the challenges that can come up in interracial relationships, but it didn’t feel like it went deep enough. A lot of throwaway comments were made about cultural differences, but I wanted to see more of how they dealt with that together. The chopstick situation is an example of an issue that was brought up but never developed upon.

The Rachel Experiment by Lisa Lin

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really want to have loved this book. The narrator was good. The friendship was amazing between Rachel and her friends. Everyone should have a set of friends like that. The first few times Rachel pointed out that Luke was lucky because he was white were almost justified but when we reached the end and Jeffery raked Luke over the rails for something every guy in these books does, no matter skin color, and blamed it on him being white and privileged I was over it. Seriously. All of these books fall apart because of lack of communication and that isn't a race problem. It's a people problem.

Rachel is clearly on the spectrum and reading through her eyes was interesting. I felt her a lot and feel like the negative reviews because she is awkward were people who just missed the point and obviously neurological.

I don't think I'll explore more in this series, even if I am very curious about what's up with Adrian.

#TheRachelExperiment #LisaLinAuthor
#KatRiley #Audiobook #ALCReview
#OneNightStand #Asian #Interracial
#InterracialRomance #Romance
#DreamscapeMedia

The Rachel Experiment by Lisa Lin
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

I really enjoyed the first book in this series earlier this year and I was excited to read more from this author. We saw very little of Rachel in The Year of Cecily so her story definitely can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading The Year of Cecily first. Both of these stories are enjoyable romance reads with great plots and lovable characters. I will say I definitely didn't relate as much to Rachel and her socially awkward no filter but I did really enjoy our MMC, Luke, and their story was a very enjoyable read.

Read this book if you like:
- family focused romance
- young professionals in love
- southern charm
- socially awkward FMC who is trying her best
- soup

The Rachel Experiment was released last week and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Lisa Kim’s The Rachel Experiment was truly equal parts charming, funny, relevant, and adorable romance, with a dash of steamy thrown in for good measure.

Rachel is totally relatable in her social awkward-turtle-ness. She is quirky and recognizes that she struggles in social settings to do and say “the right thing”. Her personal drive has led to her success in academic and professional settings until the point where her next promotion must involve managerial duties and professional schmoozing requirements.

And like every person living in the modern world, when faced with a problem, we research how to alleviate said problem. Google wasn’t there for her, nor the reference section. So, Rachel sought a tutor to help her better be able to talk to people at her job, lest she get fired for being blunt and offending anyone accidentally.

Enter an accidental alliance with Luke.

Will Rachel be able to learn to finally shed her awkward-turtle shell? Will she ever feel as amazing as her CV makes her sound? Will she ever find a plus one to her younger sister’s wedding?

Grab this book and have a giggle while finding out these answers and more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC of this book! I loved it!!

I loved this book. It was a great follow-up book to 'the Cecily Experiment'. I thi nk I liked this one better because it was more awkward. I loved how blunt and honest Rachel was. I loved how she was so authentically herself. The narration was so spot on. It was just spectacular

Overall this was an easy listen. I like quirky main characters. Several times she made me laugh. I don’t mind a slow burn but this one took foreverrrr! Wish there was more of their romance.