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laura_cs's review
3.0
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A short story about real estate broker, Magda, and Ty, a rebel gardener trying to save his community garden from being sold by Magda's firm. I liked the slower pace in Magda and Ty's relationship, slowly turning from "enemies" to lovers and then to friends. A cute story with a wonderful happily-ever-after!
A short story about real estate broker, Magda, and Ty, a rebel gardener trying to save his community garden from being sold by Magda's firm. I liked the slower pace in Magda and Ty's relationship, slowly turning from "enemies" to lovers and then to friends. A cute story with a wonderful happily-ever-after!
jackiehorne's review
3.0
ARC courtesy of Netgalley.
In multiculturally-gentrifying Harlem, two people looking for a fresh start clash over their differing goals for a community garden.
Changes of mind, sisterly condescension, and money difficulties have led 29-year-old Magda Ferrer, the youngest in here Afro-Latina family, to shift her career goals yet again. Dropping out of culinary school because she can't put off repaying her undergrad student loans any longer, Magda's poised to give selling real estate estate a try. As the newbie at her agency, Magda gets handed the tough sells, including an abandoned Harlem lot which neighbors have (illegally) turned into a thriving community garden. And she's volunteered to agent a Harlem house owned by an uncle by marriage, a man whose nostalgia and grief keep him clinging to a property he's not inhabited for years.
After losing his mother to cancer, and his father to emigration, 32-year-old Taiwanese-American Tyson Yang is wary about getting too close to any of the folks in the local community garden who have "adopted" the lonely man. Or about getting involved in trying to save the garden when a sexy real estate broker announces that the lot on which the garden is located is now up for sale.
A power outage leads to an unexpected one-night stand between the two rivals, but both are reluctant to make anything more out of it—Magda, because she has to focus her attention on succeeding at her job, Ty because he doesn't want to get pulled in by a "half-together, moving-apart" dance after being burned emotionally in the past. But as the gardeners keep drawing Ty into their quest to save the garden, the two end up being thrown together, making it difficult for either to remember just why they shouldn't allow their wary liking to grow into something more.
This second book in Lang's new contemporary romance series is a bit longer than the novella-length Playing House, but at 40K words, it still feels less developed, and therefore less satisfying to this reader, than Lang's longer earlier romances.
In multiculturally-gentrifying Harlem, two people looking for a fresh start clash over their differing goals for a community garden.
Changes of mind, sisterly condescension, and money difficulties have led 29-year-old Magda Ferrer, the youngest in here Afro-Latina family, to shift her career goals yet again. Dropping out of culinary school because she can't put off repaying her undergrad student loans any longer, Magda's poised to give selling real estate estate a try. As the newbie at her agency, Magda gets handed the tough sells, including an abandoned Harlem lot which neighbors have (illegally) turned into a thriving community garden. And she's volunteered to agent a Harlem house owned by an uncle by marriage, a man whose nostalgia and grief keep him clinging to a property he's not inhabited for years.
After losing his mother to cancer, and his father to emigration, 32-year-old Taiwanese-American Tyson Yang is wary about getting too close to any of the folks in the local community garden who have "adopted" the lonely man. Or about getting involved in trying to save the garden when a sexy real estate broker announces that the lot on which the garden is located is now up for sale.
A power outage leads to an unexpected one-night stand between the two rivals, but both are reluctant to make anything more out of it—Magda, because she has to focus her attention on succeeding at her job, Ty because he doesn't want to get pulled in by a "half-together, moving-apart" dance after being burned emotionally in the past. But as the gardeners keep drawing Ty into their quest to save the garden, the two end up being thrown together, making it difficult for either to remember just why they shouldn't allow their wary liking to grow into something more.
This second book in Lang's new contemporary romance series is a bit longer than the novella-length Playing House, but at 40K words, it still feels less developed, and therefore less satisfying to this reader, than Lang's longer earlier romances.
sonja_ahrb's review
5.0
I read Playing House last month and I liked it, so when I was thinking about what to read next, I decided that Open House would be a good option and I was not wrong! It was even better than Playing House and I enjoyed it a lot! Ty and Magda were so cute together, I loved their romance and how much they grew and really came into their own — they were wonderful. Open House tugged on my heartstrings, put a smile on my face, and gave me the warm-fuzzies. It was sweet and excellent — I loved it so much!
~ Sonja, 4.5 Stars
~ Sonja, 4.5 Stars
erinremen's review
5.0
A fun easy read that follows Magda and Ty as one must sell the land an illegal community garden stands on and the other tries to save it. They may be on 'opposite' sides, but the attraction is strong and hard to resist. They may argue every time they see each other, but thats not all they want to do! At the same time Magda is trying to sell a town house for her Uncle that he does not seem to really want to sell whilst attempting to make her family see her as more than a failure.
Ty is struggling to not get attached to anyone and distance from everyone has become a habit. His sister has decided to move away from New York and he is torn about following her. Either way he is determined to save the garden before he leaves!
Short and sweet, and a fun easy way to spend a couple of hours.
Ty is struggling to not get attached to anyone and distance from everyone has become a habit. His sister has decided to move away from New York and he is torn about following her. Either way he is determined to save the garden before he leaves!
Short and sweet, and a fun easy way to spend a couple of hours.
mauryneiberg18's review
4.0
It’s a tad short. She could have used the extra space to flesh out the characters a bit more
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely love this series by Ruby Lang. Her novellas are pitch perfect, so satisfying yet in such a compact package. [b:House Rules|52051219|House Rules (Uptown, #3)|Ruby Lang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579705740l/52051219._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72953763] is still my favorite of the three, but Open House absolutely charmed my socks off. Ty helps run an illegal community garden on a vacant lot in Harlem, and Magda is the real estate agent charged with selling the lot. Not a lot of room there for sparks to fly, but somehow Lang makes the magic happen (and it’s magic indeed (rooftop sex!)).
agmaynard's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
resslesa's review
4.0
A fun flirty romance with some SJ themes & non white protagonists -yay! Short & good.