Overview: Drake Yu. Why would Drake call her after ... what, five years? Six? Venus heard in his voice that resonance that was almost a growl, that titanium-hard determination to get what he wanted. And he usually got what he wanted. The voice said: 'I want you to work for me.'Not this time... If it was a choice between Drake and Mc Donald's—she'd choose french fries. She'd never work for him again. It would take an act of God.
Venus Chau is determined to start her own game development company and launch the next Super Mario-sized phenomenon. However, she needs an investor to back her idea. When Drake Yu, an old nemesis, approaches Venus with a contracting opportunity at his sister's startup, the offer to become Chief Technology Officer tempts Venus to think the unthinkable.
Venus would rather throw away her PS3 than work for Drake again ... except Grandma bribes Venus to do this favor for Drake's wealthy family with a coveted introduction to the most respected investor in the game industry. It's also a short job—only a few months—so Venus won't have to stand Drake's presence for very long. But one wild youth group, a two-faced assistant, and Grandma's determined match-making threaten to make them both fail—or go insane. With the encouragement of her three cousins, Lex, Trish, and Jennifer, Venus discovers that even a wounded heart can undergo a beautiful transformation ...
ISBN-13: 9780310274001
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication date: 9/1/2008
Series: Sushi Series , #3
Pages: 336
My Thoughts: Wow. This book was absolutely amazing. I mean, I was devastated when I left it at home on accident one day and picked it up as soon as I walked through the door! I love Camy Tang's writing style and can't get over how immersed I feel in the Japanese/Chinese American Culture as soon as I start reading. The plot was engaging and had me turning page after page. I was laughing, crying, and gritting my teeth right along with Venus. With updates from our other favorite characters, Lex and Trish, this story had me hooked from beginning to end.
Venus is a very driven character. At the beginning of the book, she is tough, determined, and devoutly Christian. As the story continues, though, we see cracks in her tough exterior and we can feel her pain, anger, anxiety, happiness, and finally contentment right along with her. The development of her character was phenomenally paced throughout the book and I loved the end result. Drake, poor Drake, has a lot to overcome with our prickly heroine. I didn't feel as connected to him as I did Aiden and Spencer, though because we didn't hear a lot from him throughout the book. He is a good match for Venus, and he grows a lot in the space of time the book allows.
The message of the book resonated with me, as Camy's messages tend to do. Venus is a very ambitious individual. She knows what she wants and she's gone after it. There is nothing wrong with that. However, and this is a BIG however, as Christians we are to STOP and ASK GOD what HE wants for our lives. Why is this scary? Because God's idea of what our lives should be doesn't always add up to what WE think our lives should be. But when we submit to God and HIS WILL for our lives, the reward is more than we could ever imagine.
As always, this book was the perfect blend of humor and wit, engaging, and richly filled with a message of love from our Lord. Camy provided a perfect addition to her Sushi series, and I can't wait to get a hold of the fourth book, Weddings and Wasabi.
About the Author: Camy writes Christian romantic suspense as Camy Tang and Regency romance under her pen name, Camille Elliot. She grew up in Hawaii, where she started reading Regency romances when she was thirteen years old. Now she lives in northern California with her engineer husband and rambunctious dog. She graduated from Stanford University in psychology with a focus on biology, and for nine years she worked as a biologist researcher. Then God guided her path in a completely different direction and now she’s writing full time, using her original psychology degree as she creates the characters in her novels.
In her free time, she’s a staff worker for her church youth group and leads one of her church’s Sunday worship teams. She also loves to knit Victorian and vintage patterns, spin wool into yarn, and is training to (very slowly) run a marathon.
Join me on my blog, Camy's Loft!
My review of Sushi for One? by Camy Tang
My review of Only Uni by Camy Tang
Thanks so much for the review, Shannah! I'm so glad you liked this! This is actually my favorite Sushi series book, maybe because I relate so well to Venus's control-freak tendencies. :)
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