Playing House by Ruby Lang 💕 Fun Facts, Book Tour & eBook Giveaway 💕 (Contemporary Romance)

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“Playing House is relatable, heartwarming, and oh so sexy. I zoomed through this thoughtful and joyful story about two people finding themselves and each other.” —Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The Proposal

Romance blossoms between two city planners posing as newlyweds in this first in a bright new series by acclaimed author Ruby Lang

The last thing Oliver Huang expects to see on the historic Mount Morris home tour is longtime acquaintance Fay Liu bustling up and kissing him hello. He’s happy to playact being a couple to save her from a pushy admirer. Fay’s beautiful, successful and smart, and if he’s being honest, Oliver has always had a bit of a thing for her.

Maybe more than a bit.

Geeking out over architectural details is Oliver and Fay’s shared love language, and soon they’re touring pricey real estate across Upper Manhattan as the terribly faux but terribly charming couple Darling and Olly.

For the first time since being laid off from the job he loved, Oliver has something to look forward to. And for the first time since her divorce, Fay’s having fun.

Somewhere between the light-filled living rooms and spacious closets they’ve explored, this faux relationship just may have sparked some very real feelings. For Oliver and Fay, home truly is where their hearts are.

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Harlem, the setting of PLAYING HOUSE, is almost a third protagonist in my new contemporary romance novella about Fay Liu and Oliver Huang, urban planner acquaintances who pretend to be in a fake relationship while looking at real estate. As city planners, part of the couple’s exploration of each other also involves learning about this sprawling culturally and historically significant neighborhood.

Much of the action takes place around Marcus Garvey Park in Central Harlem. The square, which used to be known as Mount Morris, was officially renamed after the political activist and leader of the Pan-African Movement in 1973. However, the historic district to the west of Marcus Garvey continues to bear the Mount Morris name, and the street bordering the west side of the park is still officially Mount Morris Park West. This causes some confusion for food delivery people.

In the book, Fay and Oliver run into each other while on the Mount Morris Park House Tour. This is a real event, and it’s fantastic! It runs one day a year, usually in June. The self-guided tour is a chance for people to see the interiors of beautiful historic townhouses, some restored, some under construction, and some thoroughly modernized.

Fay and Oliver also climb up to look at the Harlem Fire Watchtower, a massive, cast iron structure that has stood in the park since 1857 and which once served to alert residents to fires. In real life, the tower is undergoing reconstruction, but the views of Harlem—and all of Manhattan--are spectacular from that point.

Oliver sagged in relief—and a little disappointment. When the crowd passed beneath them through the front hall, he turned to Fay and she turned to him and they said, simultaneously, “Are you okay?”

A pause.

Fay started again. “He was so persistent. Sorry to involve you.”

Then, as if realizing they were still standing close, Fay slipped her arm out from his and they stepped away from each other.

“Don’t apologize. It’s messed up that you felt like you needed a cover.”

Fay shook her head as if to clear it. “That was tense, wasn’t it? He started pestering me one house back on the tour. I said I wasn’t interested, and he didn’t listen. When we got to this house, I told him I had a boyfriend and then I started trying to edge back downstairs to find the greeter when you arrived. But really it was nothing. It was fine.”

Oliver was quiet for a bit, trying to process what she’d said. She was slightly embarrassed judging from her abrupt manner—not that she had anything to be ashamed of at all. But the other thing that stood out was that she’d made up a fake boyfriend instead of referring to her husband. Which meant… He glanced at her hand. No ring. Maybe she wasn’t married anymore. So not the point here. But why did he suddenly feel so—not happy, not relieved, but…alert? Interested.

He hadn’t felt interested in anything for a long time.

Love can take root where you least expect it.

Tyson Yang never imagined that one day he’d be the de facto spokesperson for an illegal community garden. But when the once-rat-infested-but-now-thriving Harlem lot goes up for sale, Ty can’t just let all their hard work get plowed under.

Even if he is irresistibly drawn to the lovely but infuriatingly stubborn real estate associate.

Magda Ferrer’s family is already convinced this new job will be yet another flop in her small but growing list of career path failures. But her student debt isn’t going anywhere, and selling her uncle’s historic town house and the lot nearby means a chance to get some breathing room.

Ty is her charming rival, her incorrigible nemesis, the handsome roadblock to her success.

Until one hot Harlem night blurs the hard line drawn between them, and the seeds of possibility in this rocky garden blossom into love…

This book is approximately 48,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

💕 To be released November 11, 2019 💕

Ruby Lang is the author of the acclaimed Practice Perfect series. She is pint-sized, prim, and bespectacled. Her alter ego, Mindy Hung, wrote about romance novels (among other things) for The Toast. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Walrus, Bitch, and other fine venues. She enjoys running (slowly), reading (quickly), and ice cream (at any speed). She lives in New York with a small child and a medium-sized husband.