Jackie Lau
Amber Wong has landed her dream job at the Stratford Festival, and life is looking good. Sure, she hasn't had sex in so long that her condoms have expired, but she'll just pick up some new ones, along with discounted Christmas chocolate, at the grocery store.
And that's where she runs into Dr. Sebastian Lam, the son of her parents' close friends, whom she hasn't seen in years. He's moved back to Ontario, newly single, and... Oh my
...Natalie Chin-Williams might be a cranky professor of climatology who thinks the world is doomed, but she believes in lasting love...just not for herself. She has a long history of failed relationships, plus the men she dates inevitably want children and she doesn't.
Now thirty-six and single, Natalie expects endless comments about her love life when she attends her baby sister's wedding. Worse, weddings are always drama-filled disasters
...I'm a pretty simple guy. When I'm not writing a science fiction novel, I'm watching a good movie or reading a book. Alone. I like my reclusive life. That is, until my only friend asks for a favor—pretend to be his baby sister's boyfriend on a couples' getaway. Her ex is going to be there and she needs me as a buffer.
I should have said no, but Naomi is bubbly, energetic, and beautiful. She also means everything to her brother.
...As CEO of Fong Investments, I'm a busy man. In fact, my family claims I'm an obsessive workaholic, and when they force me to take two weeks off, I have no idea what to do with myself.
While brooding over an espresso, I meet Courtney Kwan, a biomedical researcher who savors the little things in life. And, suddenly, an idea strikes me—I will pay this woman to teach me how to enjoy my vacation from work.
Soon, I find
...She's got a billionaire boyfriend, but life is far from perfect...
Thirty-four and divorced, Sierra Wu is a constant disappointment to her family. They approved of her former career as an engineer but were horrified when she quit to run a small greeting card store.
So, the last thing she expected in her not-so-spectacular life was being swept off her feet by Colton Sanders. Yes, that Colton Sanders,
...A grumpy/sunshine rom-com!
When small-town engineer Amy Sharpe inherits a house in Toronto, she decides it's the perfect opportunity to start over and go back to school. Away from the family that takes her for granted, away from the ex who expected so much and gave little in return.
The new Amy enjoys wandering around the city and frequenting bubble tea shops, German beer halls, dim sum restaurants,
...I hate ice cream. Ever since my fiancée left me at the altar and skewered me in her bestseller "Embrace Your Inner Ice Cream Sandwich: Finding the Positive You in a World of Negativity," I haven't been able to stomach the stuff.
Unfortunately, my five-year-old niece is a budding foodie and her favorite place in the world is Ginger Scoops, a cutesy Asian ice cream shop. Since I've been looking after my niece a lot lately,
...Durian is my nemesis. We have a long, painful history. In my opinion, the spiky fruit smells like natural gas and rotten onions with eau de vomit. Bleh.
So when Valerie Chow spills her durian ice cream all over me, I shouldn't fall in love.
But despite her fondness for durian, Valerie is beautiful and delightfully prickly and stares at me when I take off my soiled shirt. And somehow, this chance encounter leads to me agreeing
...I've got a pretty great life, if I do say so myself. I made a fortune when I sold my tech start-up, and I've spent the years since partying, drinking, and inviting a parade of women into my bed.
I should be happy, but I feel an annoying lack of fulfillment, and there's no way I'm going back to the work I did before.
At a friend's party, I meet Marissa. We have hot sex against the door and agree to spend the weekend together.
...He was only supposed to give her dating lessons. And maybe a little kissing practice...
It's been five years since Charlotte Tam had to endure a public proposal at a baseball game—literally the stuff of her nightmares—and realized her ex never really knew her. She hasn't dated since, afraid that no man will understand her cranky, introverted, coffee-obsessed self, but she wants to try again. Her friend
...Now that her cousin has tied the knot, Iris Chin—structural engineer, party girl, and queen of kitchen disasters—is the last single grandchild. Her mother and grandmother are desperate to play matchmaker, though Iris doesn't understand why. They had miserable marriages, and she doesn't want to be like them. She enjoys her independence, thank you very much. One-night stands are more her style.
Unfortunately, she soon
...Her former one-night stand is now her roommate. Oops.
When electrical engineer and depressed plushie enthusiast Rose Pang decides to go out alone one evening, she certainly doesn't expect to meet easygoing landscaper Cal. They spend an enjoyable night together, and the next day, romance is on her mind. Cal promises to text...but he never does. Hurt, Rose tries her best to forget about him.
But several
...If there's one thing that might get my dad, a retired math teacher, to visit Toronto and have a real conversation with me for the first time in seventeen years, it's a big nerdy Pi Day party. And hopefully this party—and seeing the tech company I built from nothing—will finally be enough to impress him and make him forgive me for everything I did when I was a teenager.
But it's got to be a really great party.
That's
...After his family's matchmaking extravaganza at Thanksgiving, high school teacher Zach Wong is terrified of what his parents might do for Chinese New Year. Surely they'll try to set him up yet again, especially now that his older brothers are in relationships. Zach, however, has no interest in dating, not since his fiancée left him.
The solution? Find a fake girlfriend to avoid his parents' matchmaking.
Jo MacGregor,
...Friendly neighbors can have their benefits...
Nicole Louie-Edwards enjoys the nightlife and bringing men back to her apartment, although lately, she's gotten tired of the chase. Her quiet new neighbor, David Cho, isn't her type, but after they get trapped in an elevator together on her birthday, she develops a friendship with the kind geology professor.
Then, blushing, he tells her that he can hear her
...A Thanksgiving rom-com with lots of food and interfering family!
Advertising executive Nick Wong enjoys living in Toronto. He loves late nights partying and taking women back to his penthouse. And so it is with great reluctance that he returns to his boring hometown of Mosquito Bay for Thanksgiving.
This year, however, is even worse than usual. His parents and grandparents, frustrated with the lack of
...Let me be clear: I've been friends with Caitlin Ng for more than a decade, and I've had a crush on her for just as long. And I've known, all that time, that I wasn't her type.
When we met, we were both studying computer engineering at university. She was near the top of the class, and I was in danger of flunking out. Now, she's a CEO, and I, well…
I'm wearing an inflatable T-Rex costume and dancing along to Christmas
...Greg Wong hates when things don't go according to plan, so he definitely doesn't appreciate it when his mother insists he drive Tasha Edwards back to Mosquito Bay for the Christmas holidays. He likes peace and quiet when he's in the car, and that's the opposite of what he'll get with Tasha, his high school sweetheart. The first woman he ever loved.
Not that he has feelings for her now. Of course not. Though while he's trying not to
...