I have very much enjoyed Zen Cho's novels before, but this was a DNF for me - I was just looking for a novel that started a bit more quickly. That's about me as a reader though, not a commentary on this novel!

I don't generally read second chance romances but I enjoyed this one. I think it was done really well and the reason behind it being a second chance romance was reasonable. I also like the family rivalry aspect as that is one of my favorite themes in shows/books. The book also had kdrama vibes which I also enjoyed. The chemistry between the fmc and mmc was also enjoyable. Overall, it was a good, light read.

Title: The Friend Zone Experiment

Author: Zen Cho
Genre: Romance

Rating: ★★★★

From the outside, Renee Goh's life looks like the epitome of perfection. She's a stunning thirty-year-old running a chic and profitable women's clothing company in London, and to top it all off, she's been dating a hot Taiwanese pop star. But looks can be deceiving…….

Renee is lonely. Estranged from her family in Singapore and practically living at her office, she faces a harsh reality when her supposed boyfriend dumps her. Why is she ruining her perfectly Instagram-ready makeup by crying over a guy she barely saw anyway?

Just as she's about to dive into a pity party with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, Renee's father calls with a bombshell: he's retiring and considering her as the next CEO of the family conglomerate, Chahaya Group, in Southeast Asia. This news is huge. Renee craves her father's approval, but the thought of working with the brothers who drove her out of Singapore is daunting.

Then fate throws another curveball. That very night, Renee bumps into her first love, Yap Ket Siong, who shattered her heart during their university days. They share a magical night together, but Ket Siong is entangled in a dangerous quest for family vengeance. By the light of day, is there any hope for rekindling their romance?

Why I Loved It:

The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho is a delightful rollercoaster of emotions and intrigue. Renee is a character you can't help but root for, with her blend of vulnerability and fierce ambition. The contrast between her glamorous public persona and her private struggles makes her incredibly relatable.

The family dynamics add depth and drama, especially the tension between Renee and her brothers. The prospect of her taking over the family business while dealing with past wounds and current rivalries keeps the stakes high and the pages turning.

Renee's reunion with Ket Siong is the cherry on top of this engaging story. Their past and present collide in a way that is both heartwarming and fraught with tension. Ket Siong's quest for vengeance adds a thrilling layer to the romance, making you wonder if they can overcome the shadows of their past to find a future together.

Zen Cho masterfully balances humour, heartache, and hope, making The Friend Zone Experiment a must-read. Its blend of romance, family drama, and personal growth kept me engaged from start to finish.

If you're looking for a book that offers a fun escape while touching on deeper themes of love, family, and self-discovery, this is it!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan | Macmillan, The Author Zen Cho & Netgalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

Ahh I loved this!!! Zen Cho is such an engaging author and I love friends to strangers to lovers romances. Ket Siong and Renee have my heart.

Had to DNF at like 10%. Wasn’t much character development and it honestly didn’t keep my attention! Maybe I wasn’t the audience for it..

I really enjoyed this romance novel,

I connected well to the characters and enjoyed th realistic romance.

Well written and easy read.

Definitely wasn't for me. I feel like I was lied to, sorry. The title doesn't match the plot, for starters. The plot isn't bad but I won't say I enjoyed this one. It was just meh.

Renee Goh is ready to wallow when her boyfriend dumps her, but gets a surprise phone call from her father to whom she hasn’t spoken in years. He is retiring and he is considering her as well as her brothers to take his role of CEO of the family run conglomerate after a trial: she and her brother have to prepare a pitch an win a contract with another company. Renee never thought it possible before but she knows her success with her company speaks for itself. Renee is all in and ready to compete and win that job even if it means working with the brother that tries blackmailing and undermining her in the process.

At the same time, Renee runs into her university love, Yap Ket Siong. After a night together agree to be friends but is proving to be more difficult than she originally thought.

What can you expect from this book?
💌 second chance romance
💻k-drama vibes
📖 family drama
🌷 golden retriever mmc
📚Side character queer rep

This book read just like a k-drama, from the slow burn friend zone to romance plot, to the family drama over the company. It was an entertaining read that never got boring.

I enjoyed reading the chemistry between the characters, it was almost palpable, they complement each other. We have Renee who is a girl boss that won’t budge and is proud of how far she has gotten and in contrast we have Yap Ket Siong who dreamed of being a pianist but now is living in London teaching children.

The plot was intriguing it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what were Renee’s brothers going to do next, as well as how the side plot with Yap Ket Siong was going to turn out.

The ending felt a little too unrealistic but otherwise than that I would say this is the perfect book to read if you are looking for a light romance with a male character that gives off golden retriever vibes.

i've heard a lot of good things about Zen Cho's other books so when this romance by her was on here i was so excited to get it! though, i'm afraid this one missed the mark for me, just a little. i had to force myself to finish it because although i didn't outwardly dislike it, i didn't really enjoy it all that much, either. i feel a bit indifferent -- but i'd definitely 100% be open to giving anymore of her work another chance -- might dive into some of her audiobooks of her previous work, but yeah. not sure this was the right fit for me narratively speaking.

The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho is a delightful and heartwarming contemporary romance that explores the intricacies of friendship, love, and the blurred lines that often lie between the two. Zen Cho, known for her captivating storytelling and nuanced characters, delivers yet another engaging read that is both entertaining and emotionally resonant.

The novel follows the story of Renee Goh, a beautiful thirty-year-old, beautiful, who runs a glamorous women’s clothing company in London and is dating a hot Taiwanese star. But Renee is lonely where she practically lives at the office, and now she’s just been dumped by her supposed boyfriend. But fate isn’t done with her. That same night, Renee bumps into her first love, Yap Ket Siong. Despite the past, the circumstances force them to reconsider their feelings for each other.

The Friend Zone Experiment delves into themes of love, and the often-complicated transition from one to the other. Cho masterfully captures the tension and excitement of two people discovering that their bond might be deeper than they initially thought. The novel also explores the fears and uncertainties that come with changing a longstanding friendship, making it relatable to anyone who has ever found themselves in a similar situation. Zen Cho’s writing is witty, engaging, and full of heart. Her characters are well-developed, with relatable flaws and endearing qualities that make them feel like real people. The dialogue is sharp and often humorous, adding a lighthearted touch to the story.

For fans of contemporary romance and stories about enemies-to-lovers, The Friend Zone Experiment is a must-read. It’s a testament to the power of love, and the magic that happens when the two combine.

I really want to love Zen Cho's books, but her writing feels bonedry to me, even in a romance. I was having so much trouble focusing on the story, and to be honest I found this very boring. Not even the romance could spice things up for me. I guess this was just firmly not for me.

dnf at 41%

I was so confident that I was easily going to like this one and maybe this expectation was a big factor in my ending up not liking a lot of things in this book—it is never good to start a book with high expectations, you know? I always end up disappointed. But this is why I’m going on a mini rant about my reading experience.

First things first, I did not finish this book. My impressions were pretty solid by 20% through and though I really tried to finish, after an intimate scene and almost halfway done, there wasn’t anything hopeful to change my mind. So, I stopped reading.
My thoughts below are an explanation of why I dnf’ed this book rather than a review.

I had difficulty getting into this book because the narration was in the third person. I’m not used to such style when it comes to romance books but this especially made the telling of the story detached and dull. Additionally, since the story was already very out of my norm (aka it’s about very rich people and I’m but a peasant), it made it extremely hard to find a connection, much less become sympathetic.
I did not like the introduction to the main character, Renee, where the break-up with her popstar boyfriend immediately happened. I would have preferred to get to know Renee more, see her work, and her character than just being told then maybe I could have cared more about the entire thing.

Actually, that—being told rather than shown—is how I could describe what I read. We are told that these characters were interesting but there wasn’t much to show for. Renee was your pretty and successful lead in the ‘she is not like other girls’ trope but incredibly lackluster. Ket Siong was… just there and he’s handsome. We are told they have tension but, honestly, I found them bland with no chemistry. We are told there is a complex family but the brothers were clear and simple evil. I don’t understand why Renee even bothered. Their scheme (online s*x harassment blackmail) was criminal and I don’t like how it was just thrown there with no thought of how messed up that is instead, she’s focused on her chances with her inheritance.

Lastly, there were a handful of lines/sentences that didn’t sit right. It’s not necessarily explicitly bad but it came off weird:
— “She had wondered over the years if he was gay and that was why things had gone wrong when she’d fallen for him. But she wasn’t wearing a blouse under her jacket, and there was something about the way Ket Siong’s eyes were carefully avoiding her neckline that made her think that wasn’t it.” and “There was no normal way to say, I’m straight, in case you were wondering. You probably aren’t but just in case.”
— “Renee was an adult, and London was relatively safe. Broadly. Most women got home unmolested from a night out.” The choice of words was jarring.
— Casual body-shaming to compare the MMC’s handsomeness and apparently, show how the FMC is devastating at flirting: “Renee looked at him, considering. “It’s a good thing she hasn’t seen you now. Jeroen’s started balding, he can be a bit insecure.””
— And especially, “Not having sex—that she’d done, obviously—but she’d never previously slept with anyone she wasn’t already in a relationship with. It was the kind of thing white people did.”

I may be nitpicking. I wish there were more nuance to these (hopefully, it's discussed more in the later half of the book) but from what I read, it irritated me. It’s questionable writing and was the cherry on top of my not liking this book, dnf’ing.

TL;DR I would be hard-pressed to recommend this book. I truly did not enjoy it. I think I would direct readers to the author’s fantasy books. I mean, I haven’t read them but I have seen more positive praise and good representation. 🤷‍♀️

I’m a fan of Cho’s previous work and this is might be her first contemporary romance set in the heart of a London. Love the diverse rep but the story was really slow and a bit cliche. It’s a very “Asian” story — if you watch a lot of dramas — you’ll figure out the plot quite quickly.

Unfortunately the title didn’t match the synopsis. I wanted a more fun and light-hearted romance but it was very “we’re just friends but keep crossing the line” but nothing is happening.

I did actually like the dark storyline in the background (think rich people getting away with murder sub plot) but the main storyline just didn’t have much spark to it.

Overall it was okay, and an easy read.

I really like Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown books, and I was excited to see a new, contemporary romance from her! I could not put this book down; I enjoyed the characters, the plot was tight, and I found the writing strong and engaging.

Renee and Kat Siong are both likable characters. I appreciate that they have believable flaws they need to work on as well as realistic points of miscommunication, regret, and triumph. Cho really made me root for the characters without writing perfect, smarmy leads, and I love this book for that.

I also enjoyed the story overall. There were interesting mystery elements, business intrigue, family drama, and a good, slow reveal of backstory. The romance elements are not spicy, but the tension and spark remains, The book reminded me of reading the "Crazy Rich Asians" books. I quite liked "The Friend Zone Experiment" and I will keep an eye out for more of Cho's work!

The description of this book as Crazy Rich Asians meets Love and Other Words is very accurate in my opinion! This is a contemporary romance with second chance, friends to lovers, and a bit of mystery. I enjoyed this book! The main characters, Renee and Ket Siong, had sweet and funny banter. The story was also interesting because it was a lot more than just romance. It focused a lot on Renee’s life, business success, and family drama. So, I’d say this book is also in the women’s fiction genre.

In addition, the structure of this book’s storyline was unique. It had a slower pace with short chapters and a mix of then vs. now and dual POV chapters.
Overall, if you love contemporary romance, strong women, second chance, friends to lovers, and/or family drama, definitely check out The Friend Zone Experiment!

A thought-provoking, K-drama-esque romance that was everything I imagined it would be and more!

Delving into the complex (and slightly dysfunctional) bonds of family, class, corruption and ethics, Zen Cho’s social commentary-infused prose was a masterclass in nuance that had me glued to my seat.

The emotional depth in our main characters was really well executed and the backstory that unwinds between them added a layer of complexity to their second chance romance that I found compelling.

I do think the romance aspect does occasionally take a back seat to some of the more important issue (like corruption, unethical business practices and family struggles) which is perfect if you love your romances to have a little depth.

Overall, an engaging contemporary romance with a cast of flawed but compelling characters that fans of Crazy Rich Asians definitely want to consider checking out!

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC and ALC in exchange for my review!

I enjoyed this read from Cho. I'm not usually a romance reader, but I have enjoyed all of the books by Cho that I have read. That said, to me the romance here was the B-plot. There was very little spice, romantic interactions, and conflict. What took centrestage was the story of Renee's relationship with her domineering father and grasping brothers as well as Ket Siong's family loss.

The portrayal of family obligation and the fight for acceptance was done well and I liked the depiction of Renee having come into her own yet still having doubts and fighting to see her worth and how it does not need to be connected to her father and his perceptions of her.

Ket Siong's role here was pretty much bodyguard as his story really revolved around Renee and his brother. I really wish more had been done to develop his character path and arc.

The cover for The Friend Zone Experiment gave me some cute rom com vibes but it was actually a second chance contemporary romance with a side of corporate intrigue and complicated Asian families! Not that I mind that because it actually made the story very interesting!⁣
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Renee Goh has been running a successful clothing company after moving from Singapore to London to focus on her interests. Though she comes from a wealthy family, her relationship with her father and brothers is quite strained. And just after she's been dumped by her boyfriend, she gets a surprise. Her father calls to tell her that he's planning on retiring and she's in the running for the position of CEO of their company. But she'll have to prove herself by cooperating with one of her brothers - who has also been aiming for this position.⁣
Another blast from the past comes in the form of her first love - Yap Ket Siong. They were close friends who were something more for a very short while, but he broke her heart abruptly before moving back to Malaysia. When she runs into him again at an exhibition, the spark between them is rekindled. But, he has his own share of secrets and Renee is determined to remain as friends this time around. Will they give their relationship a second chance?⁣
⁣
I loved the setting and enjoyed the way drama was woven into the plot along with the romance but without any of the angst. Renee was quite tenacious and ambitious but she also had a vulnerable side. Ket Siong was more of the silent type but spoke through his actions. I liked the fact that he never really resented anyone else for his family's circumstances but was determined to investigate his friend Stephen's disappearance.⁣
I absolutely hated Renee's family though - especially her brother 😤

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with some romance, intrigue and drama mixed in together!❣️✨

The Friend Zone Experiment
Zen Cho

All I needed to see was the mention of Crazy Rich Asians, and knew I had to read this one.

This one was a second chance, contemporary romance with a dual POV and family drama filled. I enjoyed that this book took me to a completely different life than mine. I mean, a life of luxury and all the money you could ever imagine to have… If I had just one day to live it up, yes please! There was family drama, as well as political drama in this one.

Our MC’s Renee and Ket are exes and he’s the one that broke her heart years ago. I really enjoyed the rekindling of their relationship. It was a fade to black romance. Which I appreciate because my daughter wanted to read this one as well.

If you love, contemporary romance, second chance, romance, family, drama, or fade to black romance check this one out.

“You cannot create without living. Come and get some inspiration. You might meet someone and fall in love, that’s very inspiring.”

Zen Cho’s The Friend Zone Experiment marks her entrance into contemporary romance, diverging from her usual fantasy genre. The novel centres on Renee Goh, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who is striving for her father’s approval and inheritance against her older brothers. Her past love interest, Yap Ket Siong, re-enters her life, rekindling old feelings and unresolved issues from their university days.

The book delves into the complex dynamics of family, class, corruption, and ethics, adding layers to the central romance. Renee’s struggle for respect and recognition within her family and the high-stakes rivalry with her brothers are particularly engaging, drawing readers into her world.

However, the novel is not without its flaws. The writing lacks Cho’s usual wit and playful humour, as a result, at times the prose feels rather flat. The characters, particularly Renee, come across as lacklustre and the narrative often feels more suited to a YA audience than an adult one.

Renee’s character is marked by a complex mix of determination, vulnerability, and unresolved emotions from her past love. However, her rich girl persona with all her privileges makes it hard for the reader to connect and empathise with her all that much due to the constant whining.

On the other hand, Ket Siong’s character, while endearing, is overshadowed by the overwhelming family drama. His personal interests and struggles are given minimal attention, making him seem more like a supporting character in his own story. The resolution of his conflicts also feels rushed, and Renee’s role in his life is not sufficiently explored.

The relationship between Renee and Ket Siong is a slow-burn, second-chance romance peppered with mystery. Their backstory, which unfolds through flashbacks, adds some depth to their relationship but also feels somewhat tedious. The pacing is frustratingly slow, and the eventual revelation of their past misunderstandings feels anticlimactic.

Overall, The Friend Zone Experiment is a mixed bag. It offers some compelling moments and intricate family dynamics but falls short of Cho’s usual brilliance. The novel’s mistitling and lack of depth in character development make it less satisfying than expected. While it provides a different take on contemporary romance, it ultimately misses the mark in delivering a memorable and engaging story.