Ice Cream Lover by Jackie Lau | Book Review

ARC provided by the author for review

Ice Cream Lover, Jackie Lau’s latest romance, pairs grumpy hero Drew with Chloe, a bi-racial Chinese Canadian woman who is opening an ice cream shop in her mother’s memory. Drew’s ex left him at the altar, then wrote a thinly veiled self help book/memoir called “Embrace Your Inner Ice Cream Sandwich: How to Find the Positive You in a World of Negativity.” (What?! LOL!!) So yeah, he hates ice cream.

Ice Cream Lover is Lau’s funniest book yet. From Drew’s precocious foodie niece to his run in with his ex at a book signing, you’ll be laughing.

But while I usually appreciate her exploration of bi-racial identity, this time it felt heavy-handed. Chloe struggles with the fact that her mom died and nearly all the family she has left in Toronto is on her dad’s side. She’s the only Asian in a sea of white people and her dad acts like he doesn’t see color. As a bi-racial person, I get where Chloe is coming from, but for me, it bordered on obsessive. Then again, maybe that’s just being 25 and trying to figure out where you fit in the world.

It’s a steamy, fun read, guaranteed to cause ice cream cravings, but if you haven’t read Lau before, He’s Not My Boyfriend would be my first choice.

3.5 stars

P.S. Ice Cream Lover made me realize I’m over the grumpy hero. If you’re a dude, you can be surly, disagreeable, and insecure, and still find love. If you’re a grumpy woman, you’re a shrew, a bitch, a harpy or a pain in the ass. So I’m putting a pause on the “grumps.”