Bidding for the Bachelor

I've seen a lot of enthusiasm for this author. I don't think I've ever read a contemporary m/f book, though, and this is her first m/m novel. It's a very solid romance and I enjoyed it. I'd also love to read the fictional book series Cedric writes!

This is written in first person present tense, with alternating point-of-view chapters. I shy away from reading books set in present tense, but I felt the tense worked well for this book. It's extremely easy to read. Both main characters do some amount of soul-searching, but I'd characterize the overall style as fairly light and breezy. Reading it was a really nice experience.

This is another one where I felt like I needed to read the first book in the series in order to get the full experience - Brian is apparently a character in [b:Pregnant by the Playboy 52901471 Pregnant by the Playboy (Fong Brothers, #1) Jackie Lau https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585873892l/52901471.SY75.jpg 79192229] and there's history/a backstory between him and Cedric's brother that is mostly referenced instead of detailed here. It's not too hard to figure out the situation, though. I liked the slow burn and how the friendship developed before any hookups - nothing wrong with the other way, but this was a nice change of pace. Loved Po-Po, Cedric's grandmother (Jackie Lau is extremely good at interfering grandparents) and Brian's new direction in his writing. Also, now I want dumplings and muffins, so read this with a snack close by!(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: date auction, would also work for friends to lovers or holiday that's not Christmas.)