hinese herbalist Chryssy Hua Williams had never believed in the Hua family curse where no Hua woman ever gets her happy ever after. But after a break up with the man she thought she was gonna marry, she’s started believing. Now she and her aunties run a special healing retreat for the broken hearted using herbal teas and other remedies. When Chryssy innocently runs into the celebrity cellist brother duo known for breaking hearts, she immediately sees one of the brothers actually is the one with the broken heart. But Vin Chao doesn’t believe in this stuff and his brother is fine, and he informs Chryssy but their innocent conversation stirs tea that they are quite cozy. When Vin’s brother and he show up at the retreat they make a deal, they’ll fake date, he’ll “break” her heart (and increase ticket sales), and he’ll promote her business. But perhaps it’s not so fake.

Yin Yang love song included strong cultural representation - this time in natural healing and Chinese herbalism - so I learned so much! There was also a strong music-focused plot.

The romance itself was definitely a slow-burn and faking dating.

There is a belief in the Hua family that the women are cursed to never find love. Chryssy was never one to believe in the curse until her very last break up. The one she thought was "the one". Now, she's decided to work with her Aunties in their traditional Chinese medicine shop which focuses on healing broken hearts. Chryssy's world is thrown into a tailspin when she meets renowned cellist Vin and his brother, professionally known as The Heartbreakers.

Both Chryssy and Vin see each other as the perfect opportunity. Vin has a new album and tour to promote so if the public sees him date someone and then live up to the Heartbreaker moniker, it seems to always be a recipe for success. Chryssy is looking to grow her family's business and what better way to do it then by dating someone famous. They agree it'll only be for a short amount of time, but what happens when they really start falling for one another?

I don't know why I've been sitting on this review for so long. Yin Yang Love Song is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

For me this story is two-fold. It speaks a lot to letting outside forces dictate how you live your life (ie a family curse or a record label) and then there's this idea of self-care. They both are intrinsically linked because if we cannot live our lives the way we want are we really taking care of our selves? But in the story they're handled almost separately as Chryssy deals with the outside forces seemingly keeping her from finding love, and Vin is bordering on burn out with the schedule he keeps and finds himself questioning his love of music.

I like how Chryssy and Vin help the other with each of these issues. Vin shows Chryssy that she doesn't need to put so much stock into this supposed curse and in turn she shows Vin that he needs to stop and take better care of himself, not just for his health, but for the health of his music.

I loved seeing Chryssy and Vin together how they slowly let their guards down when they're together. I guess when you start out thinking something has no stakes involved it allows you to be more open. I also love when we get family in a story especially the typically eccentric Aunties. The older generation passing along knowledge (or fear of curses) to the younger generation.

I think this book is about trying to live without expectation. Don't try to emulate what you see in others and instead just live for yourself. I also loved learning more about Traditional Chinese Medicine especially the use of different flowers and their properties.

Also, I think this book slightly nudged the also great Red String Theory out of being my favorite by Lauren Kung Jessen. Either way Lauren Kung Jessen has become an author I anticipate with each new release.

unfortunately this just didn't do it for me. I didn't like any of the characters, didn't find the chemistry between the couple believable, and I found the writing juvenile.

4.5 stars

Chryssy and her aunts are good at one thing: fixing broken hearts. They each know more than their share about that subject, thanks to a family curse that dictates no woman in the Hua family will ever find lasting love. It's the reason Chryssy is very reluctant to consider more with Vin, a celebrated cello player who needs to decide how to move forward in his life. Both characters need to do a lot of soul searching, and perhaps uncover a secret or two, before understanding what their lives can look like when they decide they're free to love.

I REALLY enjoyed this book! I know next to nothing about traditional Chinese medicine and/or the cello, but I found both topics to be endlessly fascinating, thanks to the author's portrayals. The idea of health, spirituality, mysticism, and love being tied together was super refreshing. The entire ensemble cast was endearing and enjoyable. The initial chemistry and the gradual, deep bonding that our hero and heroine undergo was very satisfying. I had goosebumps with the closing lines.

This book practically flew! It was a primarily pleasant read with relatively low angst, low heat, but a comforting sensuality. This was my first Lauren King Jessen, but it WON'T be my last! ♥️

I'd like to thank Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loooved Lunar Love when I read it a few years ago! I have since read every book by this author and unfortunately this one was a definite flop - and tbh none have been as good as Lunar…

Chinese herbalist Chryssy Hua Williams doesn’t believe in her family’s love curse—until her ninth breakup. When bad boy cellist Vin Chao proposes a fake relationship to boost both their reputations, sparks fly. But one kiss might change everything.

The book was entirely too long, had no chemistry between the MCs and I simply didn’t care about any of the storylines because there were a million. The cherry on top was the 20 minute epilogue about a COUCH.

This one was not for me. I was not a fan of the writing nor the story. I struggled to get through.

I did read this mostly in one day, but honestly, it was kind of just meh. My main complaint is the pacing; it was too fast some times and too slow other times. For instance, the chapters rarely picked up where the previous one left off, which made me feel like I'd missed a scene or something. I also found quite a few consistency errors, but I did read it as an arc. Still, it turned out not to be my cup of tea (pun absolutely intended).

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Oh what a joy to read!

"Chinese herbalist Chryssy Hua Williams never actually believed in the Hua family curse. But after Break-Up #9, Chryssy stopped laughing. Now she and her aunties run a special healing retreat center for the broken-hearted. After all, there’s nothing a proper cup of herbal tea can’t fix...but Chryssy’s innocent run-in with celebrity cellist and bad boy Vin Chao has everyone brewing about a different kind of tea. So he offers her a deal: they’ll fake-date, he’ll “break” her heart (and increase ticket sales), and in return, he’ll promote her business."

Chryssy is cautious and resigned to her cursed love life when she ends up in a fake relationship with a famous 'heartbreaker.' She's also funny and engaging and wise about love and life.

Vin is juggling so many things and trying to please so many people that he's too tired to see what may be right in front of him.

I love this world of aunties and heartbreak and taking the time to heal yourself.

I usually love Lauren Kung Jessen, but this one didn't hit for me. I didn't believe the love story because, honestly, the two characters didn't interact all that much. I wonder if the back-and-forth POV actually hurt this, because switching voices took me out of the story. I liked the aunties!

This book was very cute. The premise was very unique and I loved the emotional connection between the two main characters. This was definitely a fun love story and I enjoyed it very much

I received an advanced copy of Yin Yang Love Song by Lauren Kung Jessen from the publisher Forever via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Chinese herbalist Chryssy Hua Williams had never believed in the Hua family curse where no Hua woman ever gets her happy ever after. But after a break up with the man she thought she was gonna marry, she’s started believing. Now she and her aunties run a special healing retreat for the broken hearted using herbal teas and other remedies. When Chryssy innocently runs into the celebrity cellist brother duo known for breaking hearts, she immediately sees one of the brothers actually is the one with the broken heart. But Vin Chao doesn’t believe in this stuff and his brother is fine, and he informs Chryssy but their innocent conversation stirs tea that they are quite cozy. When Vin’s brother and he show up at the retreat they make a deal, they’ll fake date, he’ll “break” her heart (and increase ticket sales), and he’ll promote her business. But perhaps it’s not so fake.

My Thoughts: I can always count on Lauren Kung Jessen to tell me a love story that will make me happy and captivate me. I’ll be honest I wasn’t completely convinced that I could buy into the story of a heartbreak curing herbalist but here I am to tell you, yep she did it. The summary sounds complicated and perhaps it is but what brings it together is the chemistry between these two. While the idea of a curse can seem woo woo to some people, it never feels like Chryssy is not a rational person, but one who has seen heartbreak many times and is looking for comfort in explanations. Vin never expected that his career would be based on being a heartbreaker and he has to deal with what he actually wants out of his life as a cellist and performer, and how public he wants it to be. I found this to be a delightful romance and would recommend it quite a bit. I also liked the rabbit.

Who Should Read It: People who love opposites attract romance and fake dating.

Summary: A story that explores how two different perspectives on love and curses can really come together.

This was a unique and sweet love story.
Two people meet randomly and fall hard but have obstacles in their lives that want to push them apart.

Cryssy works with her family at a kind of retreat for the broken hearted. Cryssy uses traditional Chinese medicine to help cure and works with flowers to make tea. She used to be on track to become a doctor but the stress burnt her out and she spent some time working with her family’s methods and changing her career.
But Cryssy’s family has a curse on it: the women will never be able to keep the one they love. After 9 breakups, Cryssy definitely believes in the curse.

Vin is a gifted cellist who has become extremely famous playing in a duo with his brother. They are labeled as heart breakers after a string of their own romances. Vin’s record label thinks they need another break up to fuel the fan base and they get the idea of a fake relationship this time.

Cryssy and Vin meet at a party and decided to try the fake relationship with each other after Vin’s brother Leo comes to stay at the family retreat for broken hearts.

As they start falling for each other they try to figure out how to push back against their seeming fates to always be the heartbroken and the heartbreaker.

This was a sweet story, I loved the characters, and enjoyed all the talk of tea. I also loved Vin’s brother Leo and am already hoping for a book about Leo!

I got to read an early ebook edition on NetGalley. Thank you!

Once again, I was entranced by the Chinese Medicine aspect of this book, and the doomed to be heartbroken (figuring out how to break the curse was phenomenal instead of just making Chryssy be the one person in her family that’s finally allowed love) I found the romance between Chryssy and Vin to be very natural, based purely on getting to know each other by mostly forced proximity and liking each other as friends first. I loved the family aspects on both sides, getting to meet siblings, aunts, and parents, they didn’t just feel like filler. Both families played a role in how they both looked at love, even though it had to change for Vin after so long. I’ll keep reading everything Lauren writes, it’s always magical.

Lauren Kung Jessen's YIN YANG LOVE SONG is a cozy contemporary love story with a satisfying story arc. The incorporation of traditional Chinese medicine and cultural paradigms about Yin and Yang are great. The fake relationship trope is well-executed. Chryssy and Vin are both super likeable. I also enjoyed the bit about the family curse and the generations of women in the family who come together to take care of things (and all the flower names!). Too often, I feel like an author tries to write a biracial character and it doesn't feel authentic, but this wasn't the case with Kung Jessen (probably because she's also biracial). The one thing I did have an issue with is that Vin being a professional cellist didn't feel authentic. There's so much more to great cellist pieces than Bach and Vivaldi, so those felt like pretty cliche mentions. Additionally, Chryssy definitely would've made more notice of Vin's calloused fingertips which didn't really come up. Beyond that, I can't wait to read Kung Jessen's next story.

Okay, this was probably my least favorite from Lauren Kung Jessen - but I still enjoyed it - it was just missing a bit of the spark I saw in Lunar Love and Red String Theory! It included strong cultural representation - this time in natural healing and Chinese herbalism - so I learned so much! There was also a strong music-focused plot.

The romance itself was definitely a slow-burn; fake dating always gives you the best tension and build-up....will they? Won't they? However, I hated how pigeon-holed the characters were; it made them seem a bit one-dimensional sometimes. He was only a heartbreaker. She was only doomed to never having a happily ever after. And it was harped on so many times that it became a bit repetitive...like I got it!

However, if I ignore that big focus, I felt like it was a slower paced book and relationship, but again, I still enjoyed it.

I would describe this book as soft and sweet. I’m always growing from Lauren’s writing and I love how this story was engaged with Traditional Chinese Medicine. I wasn’t as drawn into the live story as I was the characters as individuals.

3.5 Stars!

This was such a cute and sweet love story. The MCs personalities meshed really well creating a nice slow burn fake dating. However, I think it might have been too low stakes as I was getting a bit bored with the lack of tension. I think it could have been a bit shorter and still had just as much impact.

I really enjoyed the elements of Traditional Chinese medicine throughout. You can tell the author has a deep knowledge and appreciation for the culture.

I do recommend this if you are a lover of low spice, sweet romances. I will be reading more from this author for sure!

This book was so sweet and romantic. I adored Chryssy and Vin. Both characters were nothing like I expected and I loved how well they fit together.

I loved the inclusion of and learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine! It was something I had no knowledge of, and I could tell how passionate the author was about showing how it was so much more than just mixing herbs and teas.

This is an adorable twist on the fake relationship trope. As Vin and Chrissy navigate the good, bad, and ugly of the hand of life each other has been dealt. They navigate together and find what they are looking for in life and love.

Beautiful, tender, achingly sweet, poetically written. I loved this book so much, loved Chryssy and Vin -.both together and as their own characters. This was the epitome of a cozy, heartwarming romance.

This low spice romance is similar in writing style to Katherine Center and Rebecca Serle.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the ARC opportunity.