Give Love a Chai

Smartypants Romance · Nanxi Wen

Apr 2021 · Dreamscape Media · Narrated by Kelsey Navarro and Benjamin D. Walker

About this audiobook

Tia Wang’s Wedding Planning To-Do List: 1. Find a dress her perfectionist, future mother-in-law approves of 2. Keep her cool over fortune cookies 3. Divorce her not-so-ex husband, Andrew Parker When she fell in love and married her childhood best friend on a whim in Vegas, Tia innocently thought love conquered all. Turns out, that was a crushing lie. Her world shattered as she and Andrew were torn apart by secrets and mistakes. Ten years later, Tia has left the pain behind and carved out a new life with Mr. Perfect. The only thing standing between her and happily ever after? A divorce from Andrew. It should have been easy for Andrew to sign his name on the dotted line. Aloof, prickly, and always in control, Andrew has done everything to escape his past. But seeing Tia on his front steps after all these years? He can’t help wondering what could have been. Andrew never stopped thinking about Tia, and if he has to hold those divorce papers hostage to get his second chance, he will. Feelings resurface, stronger and more complex than ever. But Tia and Andrew have more than Mr. Perfect between them. Can they overcome their past and a new threat to find the courage to forge a future together? Give Love a Chai is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Common Threads series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Ratings and reviews

Tia "Ting" Wang is a professor in Boston who made the mistake of taking on something that she has asked her lawyer to do...to have her should-be ex-husband sign their divorce papers. What happens next snowballs into a series of coincidences, unexpected visits, and later, an "experiment," she dared not decline with her still-husband. Andrew Parker is the in-house lawyer for Cipher Securities. He recently got the surprise of his life when his supposed ex-wife came knocking to his home to have him sign divorce papers due to a filing error...ten years ago. Give Love a Chai is written from Tia and Andrew's POV. The writing is bold, unapologetic, and relatable to couples who have a lot of history between them and is trying to fix things. For readers who love their angst and gut-wrenching drama, Give Love a Chai is a book for you. The story is a 180-degree from its predecessor, Mad From Ewe (Book 1). It is important to note that readers do not need to read Book 1 to understand this book since each book is a standalone, BUT why not start with the series after this book, right? Each of the characters is linked through mutual connections to the other characters in the series. Still, Tia and Andrew are unique in their love story that adds depth to the new series, all about second chances and revelations. Tia and Andrew have many hangups as each of their pasts that were lined with surprises, disappointments, and more revelations that one person could take alone. I did not realize that there is more to the book than just the issues between Andrew and Tia. The story leads to more complicated and darker secrets that will spill over the already tumultuous yet slowly healing relationship between the two main characters. So, beyond a fractured marriage past, readers can expect a lot more suspense, scandal, and drama coming nearing the end of the book that will surely surprise and shock, especially when everything implodes. I thought Tia and her background might have more drama to the story, but it was Andrew and his complex backstory that somehow shaped the book. His problems pushed Tia to fight for them in the end. She is the strong protagonist that readers will love and cheer for in the end. She becomes this brave avenger for Andrew and herself. Andrew surprised me big time. I love it! It might blindsight readers, as seeing Andrew's persona may start as a romantic one then later adds suspense and mystery in the latter chapters. I thought that after Tia and Andrew sort things out, things would be fine. Without realizing that bigger things were going on and just when readers think that issues between him and Tia were with his life - too many dangerous dealings and scandals looming. I love books that have dynamic character development. Tia may have grown as the story started, but she became more mature and "rational" as she found Andrew again. She started to find her inner voice and confidence to start living her life as she wanted bravely and without fear. As an Asian reader, I appreciate the author including Mandarin in her dialogue with her parents. The author held to Tia's cultural background by giving an honest and truthful peek of the challenges "helicopter parents" like what Tia has faced every day. To summarize everything, Give Love a Chai is a prize read about the road to redemption for two flawed and broken individuals whose connections seem to span and grow even though time and distance. This book will bring in all the feels and angst that the story will pull out of readers on one side of the story, while another side brings out the suspense and danger that came with Tia and Andrew's reunion.