Published 8th August by Pan Macmillan.
From the cover of the book:
From the outside, Renee Goh’s life looks perfect. She’s thirty and beautiful, running a glamorous–and successful–fashion company in London, and dating a hot pop star.
Until she’s dumped. Estranged from her family in Singapore, too, happiness soon feels a world away. A chance encounter with her first love, Yap Ket Siong, makes her question what she really wants. Then Renee’s father calls from Singapore and offers her the chance to become the successor of the family business, one of the largest conglomerates in Southeast Asia. Her father’s approval would mean everything - if she can fight off the competition of her unpredictable older brothers.
Just as she’s focusing on her future and a possible move back to Singapore, sparks seriously start to fly with Ket Siong, shaking her resolve to keep him in the friend zone. But he left her heartbroken at university - will either of them dare to share their feelings the second time around? Or will family business mean they can’t bank on each other...
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Renee Goh's life appears picture perfect. At just thirty-years-old she is running her own successful fashion company in London, and seems to be living the high life. However, appearances can be deceptive. She lives to work, is estranged from her wealthy family in Singapore, and has been unceremoniously dumped by the Taiwanese pop star she thought was 'the one'.
But Renee does not have time to mope about the downturn in her mostly non-existent love life. Just as she is wiping her tears, her father calls to say that he is stepping down from running his business empire, the Chahaya Group, and he is considering her as the next CEO - providing she can prove that she is able to work alongside her unscrupulous brothers... the very brothers who tried to ruin her business prospects when she still lived in Singapore.
This will be a challenge, but the need to have her father's approval lingers. She is going to have to disregard past grievances if she wants this opportunity, but is it asking too much of her when she discovers this will also mean schmoozing with a controlling ex she has not seen for ten years?
As professional as Renee is, her emotions are all over the place. So when she unexpectedly bumps into another face from the past, Yap Ket Siong, her first love who broke her heart, and discovers the connection between them is just as strong as it used to be, passion boils over. But Ket Siong is dealing with dangerous problems of his own, pursuing vengeance for wronged friends and family. Neither of them is in the right place for a relationship, but could they be still be friends?
I came to this story expecting a simple rom-com affair, but it actually turned out to be a highly enjoyable page-turner along the lines of Crazy Rich Asians meets Succession meets K-Drama, threaded with a tender romance - and let me tell you that I am definitely here for this winning combination!
Renee is a great character, who has had to break away from her super-wealthy Singaporean family, going against tradition and the wishes of her domineering father to pursue her dreams. She lives a glamorous, hard working, successful (if lonely) life in London, despite the interference of her despicable, wayward brothers. Now she has to rethink her entire future if she wants a shot at taking on the big prize - the chance to take over her father's huge business empire.
Her story burgeons with themes around family estrangement and dysfunction, ambition, and sibling rivalry of the worst kind, set against swish locations in London, with a cast of beautiful, very rich characters from the world of Southeast Asian big business. She has a lot of challenges to navigate, which highlight issues around being a female in a male-dominated corporate world mired in double standards - particularly when it comes to the behaviour of wastrel older brothers, and sleazy ex boyfriends. But Renee is not to be underestimated. Zen Cho engineers some lovely twists and turns as she journeys towards what she really wants - and there are some truly magnificent moments that will have you punching the air with glee!
Layered on top, comes an intriguing thread around corruption, corporate misdeeds, activism, and what can happen when dreams are shattered from Ket Siong's side of the story, which adds an unexpected thriller element. There is lots of mystery and menace of the K-drama kind around this part of the tale, and Zen Cho really keeps you guessing about where the shady shenanigans will lead. I really enjoyed how she also contrasts the family dynamics of Renee and Ket Siong through this thread - they could not be more different, and there are some heartwarming developments that come with the final payoff.
The clever love story between Renee, and the adorable Ket Siong, ties everything together and follows the second chances/friends-to-lovers trope to my heart's desire - albeit that the bumps in the road on their will-they-won't-they journey to happiness are more dramatic than those served up in a more conventional rom-com plot. Flashbacks to their university days are used beautifully too to give you all the back story you need about the sleazy ex, why Renee and Ket Siong parted, and the events that dashed Ket Siong's dreams.
I really was not sure what to expect from this book, but it gave me all the laughter, tears, and story that I wanted. I took Renee and Ket Siong completely into my heart, and there are some fabulous supporting characters. There is scope for a sequel, so my fingers are crossed that Zen Cho will revisit their tale to tell us what happens next!
The Friend Zone Experiment is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia and now lives in Birmingham. She was a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer for her short fiction and won the Crawford Award. Her debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, won the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best Newcomer. She is also the author of The True Queen and Black Water Sister.
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