Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau
This is the first book in the Cider Bar Sisters series, a series set in Toronto around a group of female friends. Amy Sharpe has inherited a house in Toronto from her great aunt. She takes the opportunity to leave her small Ontario town and go back to university for her masters degree in engineering. Her family has depended on her for a lot of things and they have trouble adjusting to her not being near them.
In Toronto, she decides to take on a roommate to share her house, and finds one that shares the same name as her favourite fictional character. The roommate introduces her to her friends group and Amy fits in well with the diverse group.
Amy really explores the city, visiting different areas of it and, since Amy is a foodie, she also explores the wide variety of food and drink available in the city. This is prominent in the novel, with mentions of restaurants, cafés, and bars along with descriptions of the food experiences.
Amy also notices her next-door neighbour, Victor Lau, only a few years older than her and with a habit of sitting in his yard, and mowing his lawn shirtless. She makes friendly advances and the chemistry between them moves things along. Victor is quiet and keeps to himself, partly because he is still grieving the loss of a sibling. He is close to his sisters and mom who all still live in his hometown of Edmonton.
There is a theme her of strong female characters, from Amy's grandmother and great aunt to her own generation. Amy works hard to ensure she doesn't fall into traps from the past where she was taken for granted in her relationships.
A very enjoyable read, and my copy has a teaser from the next book in the series.
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