The Friend Zone Experiment
Published on 6. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-0350-4605-8 (ISBN)
Description
'A witty and heartwarming' - Glamour
'A sweet slow-burning romance' - Heat
Can first love strike gold when given a second chance?
Renee Goh appears to have it all: a thriving fashion business in London, a wardrobe to die for and a popular pop star for a boyfriend . . . until she's dumped.
Estranged from her family in Singapore, Renee finds herself at a crossroads - especially after a chance encounter with an old flame, Yap Ket Siong, makes her question what she really wants.
When Renee's father calls and throws another curveball into her life, offering her the chance to become his successor to the family business, she is torn. Her father's approval would mean everything - if she can fight off the competition from her older brothers.
Just as she's focusing on moving back to Singapore, sparks seriously start to fly with Ket Siong. With the family business beckoning, should Renee follow her head or her heart? Because one thing's for certain: Ket Siong is shaking her resolve to keep him in the friend zone . . .
From the renowned, award-winning author Zen Cho comes a delightfully funny romance about Southeast Asian families, class and love in modern London.
'Diasporic joy, the power of female friendships, and above all, hope for Renee and Ket Siong' - My Weekly
'A lovely, tender romance . . . I savoured every delicately written moment' - Charlotte Stein, author of When Grumpy Met Sunshine
'Reminiscent of classic K-dramas with a touch more reality . . . Easily one of my top reads of the year!' - Simone Soltani, author of Cross the Line
'A story so intensely real that you'll wonder later if it happened to someone you knew' - Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
What readers are saying . . .
'I loved this book, it's both heartwarming and inspiring'
'It gave me all the laughter, tears, and story that I wanted'
'So much fun to read'
'A great summertime read!'
'Jane Austen dragged into the modern world'
'A sweet slow-burning romance' - Heat
Can first love strike gold when given a second chance?
Renee Goh appears to have it all: a thriving fashion business in London, a wardrobe to die for and a popular pop star for a boyfriend . . . until she's dumped.
Estranged from her family in Singapore, Renee finds herself at a crossroads - especially after a chance encounter with an old flame, Yap Ket Siong, makes her question what she really wants.
When Renee's father calls and throws another curveball into her life, offering her the chance to become his successor to the family business, she is torn. Her father's approval would mean everything - if she can fight off the competition from her older brothers.
Just as she's focusing on moving back to Singapore, sparks seriously start to fly with Ket Siong. With the family business beckoning, should Renee follow her head or her heart? Because one thing's for certain: Ket Siong is shaking her resolve to keep him in the friend zone . . .
From the renowned, award-winning author Zen Cho comes a delightfully funny romance about Southeast Asian families, class and love in modern London.
'Diasporic joy, the power of female friendships, and above all, hope for Renee and Ket Siong' - My Weekly
'A lovely, tender romance . . . I savoured every delicately written moment' - Charlotte Stein, author of When Grumpy Met Sunshine
'Reminiscent of classic K-dramas with a touch more reality . . . Easily one of my top reads of the year!' - Simone Soltani, author of Cross the Line
'A story so intensely real that you'll wonder later if it happened to someone you knew' - Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
What readers are saying . . .
'I loved this book, it's both heartwarming and inspiring'
'It gave me all the laughter, tears, and story that I wanted'
'So much fun to read'
'A great summertime read!'
'Jane Austen dragged into the modern world'
Reviews / Votes
Zen Cho's The Friend Zone Experiment is a witty and heartwarming exploration of friendship and romance. This is a succession style K-drama that is perfect for a beach read . . . Cho's humour and observations on modern relationships offers a fun and easy read. * Glamour * A sweet slow-burning romance. * Heat * The Friend Zone Experiment mixes light and dark topics. There's generational pain and the difficulty of being a woman in a male-dominated industry and culture, but there's also diasporic joy, the power of female friendships, and above all, hope for Renee and Ket Siong * My Weekly * A beautifully soapy second-chance romance set in modern-day London. The romance buzzes like a live wire. Ket Siong's quiet care gives weight to Renee's drive, and her quickness lightens the emotional burdens he's been concealing * The New York Times * Cho is a marvel. Her deft observations go down like a charm, but their emotional power will leave you deeply moved . . . The Friend Zone Experiment is a story so intensely real that you'll wonder later if it happened to someone you knew -- Shelley Parker-Chan, author of <i>She Who Became the Sun</i> This book has it all; a touch of glam, romance and a bit of sibling rivalry - all slotted into an vibrant love letter to London! -- Lola Jaye, author of <i>The Attic Child</i> Renee Goh has joined the ranks of my favourite romance heroines; I was sucked into her story immediately and cheered for her the whole way through. This is a romance that celebrates its tropes while not being afraid to show its teeth, all delivered in Cho's assured and lively authorial voice. I can't wait to see where she takes us next in this genre! -- Freya Marske, <i>Sunday Times</i> bestselling author of <i>A Marvellous Light</i> A lovely, tender romance, beautifully threaded through real world concerns that had me engrossed. I savored every delicately written moment -- Charlotte Stein, author of <i>When Grumpy Met Sunshine</i> Reminiscent of classic Kdramas with a touch more reality, Cho perfectly balances a friends-to-lovers romance with familial tensions and business-world intrigue. Easily one of my top reads of the year! -- Simone Soltani, author of <i>Cross the Line</i> Renee and Ket Siong lose and find each other in an emotionally intense love story set against a dramatic backdrop of corporate greed, class and family. Lovers of Zen Cho's fabulous fantasy stories will be thrilled by her first contemporary romance -- Lily Chu, author of <i>The Stand In</i> I thoroughly enjoyed my time with The Friend Zone Experiment, a book that surprised me in many ways. I haven't seen an author weave romantic comedy and corporate complexity together quite this flawlessly. It was giving "Succession with swooning" vibes, which I LOVED! . . . Cho skilfully implemented broader social and environmental issues into the storyline, specifically deforestation and gender inequality. This added relevance was the cherry on top of an already fantastic novel. Hilarious, insightful and hard to put down, I highly recommend this book for its engaging plot, complex characters and thoughtful integration of important themes -- J. F. Murray, author of <i>Hitched</i> and <i>Fling</i> I'm absolutely here for it . . . It's a compelling read, doing something distinctly different in the romance field -- K J Charles, author of <i>The Duke at Hazard</i> Come visit Zen Cho's London - sometimes glittering, often grey - where expats, activists and entrepreneurs discover how love complicates life and life complicates love. Pragmatic, yet deeply satisfying, The Friend Zone Experiment is for every person who believes they can fight for a happy-ever-after on their own terms. -- Karen Lord, author of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024-Longlisted <i>The Blue, Beautiful World</i> A really fun and escapist read - I'm sure fans of Lauren Ho or Beth O'Leary will love this second-chance romance! -- Niamh Hargan, author of <i>The Break-Up Clause</i> A messy - yet beautiful - second-chance romance. Zen Cho writes vivid characters in difficult situations, and the hero and heroine's history is deftly woven into their present-day interactions. It's a compelling read, and I devoured it -- Jackie Lau, author of <i>Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie</i> A heart-warming second-chance romance, written with a sometimes-sly sense of humour. With complicated family relationships, ominous shadows from the past and the cameos of Southeast Asian food and beverages which are delectably familiar to me. A sparkling read -- Eve Shi The Friend Zone Experiment was a captivating read that I simply couldn't put down. Mixing romcom leanings with political rumblings and family hierarchy - that we can all related to in some form - it was one of the best books I have read in 2024. -- Ben Pechey, author of <i>The Gender Book</i> and <i>The Book of Non-Binary Joy</i>More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
240 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0350-4605-8 (9781035046058)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2024
Pan Books
€14.49
Available for download
Person
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, Black Water Sister and Spirits Abroad.