ARC gifted by the publisher

What I loved

- I really appreciate the discussions of Chinese/herbal medicine that focuses on root causes rather than symptomatic relief. While it gave me whiplash of studying Chinese medicine in college, I love how the author incorporates these thoughts of intentional living and slow healing into the book

- the themes of feeling like you owe your life to your parents’ sacrifice and hence should push yourself as hard as possible really resonated with me

- there’s a healing / self-help quality to the story that’s perfect to read during burnout season. While this book doesn’t come out until January, I’m so glad I got to read it during the extra stressful end of year time that speaks to my anxiety and stress a lot

- the open communications between the main characters, and even the Chao brothers, are something I really appreciate

What I wanted more

- perhaps it’s because this book is positioned more as a healing story, I feel the tension between the 2 love interest are lacking a bit. It’s not as passionate as some other romance books but more cutesy

- the third act was a bit glossed over. I thought there’s a lot of potential for the MCs to develop further but it wasn’t given as much attention as I expected