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The end has come to Jackie Lau's Cider Bar Sisters. The last book in the series, Her Unexpected Roommate just recently came out (August 9th) and I wanted to pick it up as soon as possible. I was able to use this book to cover the prompt yellow on the cover for the 2nd board of Summer of Swoon!
Rose is struggling with her depression and trying not to internalize all of her friends finding their HEAs. When she goes out by herself for a drink, she runs into Cal. They end up going home together, but circumstances happen that leaves them unable to contact each other afterwards. When they come back together months later, it's as Cal becoming Rose's new roommate. As they live together, it's hard to forget the wonderful night they spent together before, but don't want to cause any issues with their living situation.
So, before we get into the review, I do want to talk about some trigger/content warnings. There is a lot of discussion about depression and the different symptoms that come with it. Even more specific though, is depression that is resistant to "normal" treatments. There's also discuss of suicide and stigmas against depression and mental health. That is in the past and not something that is current though. This is mentioned in the author's note at the beginning of the books as well, but the heroine's mother didn't really accept that depression was an issue and ended up committing suicide years before this book is set. There is also a mention that Rose herself was suicidal before, but it's not really gone into too deeply. On a more positive note, the way that suicide and mental health is discussed in this book is really well done. I love the way that Jackie Lau is able to talk about these deep issues but not make it feel preachy or too over-dramatic to get a point across. There is discussion about the stigmas that society put on people that attempt or commit suicide and how there's a skewed perspective a lot of the time. As someone that was diagnosed with depression as a pre-teen and also struggled with suicide when I was younger, this book felt very meaningful to me. It did take me a lot longer than usual to get through (almost a week), but that is because I've been really stressed out with getting ready to move and struggling to find time to read.
Now, usually the books in this series have more of a rom-com feel. There is some humor here, but because of the heavier topics dealt with I would consider this more of a straight contemporary. But let's get onto the other parts of the book. I absolutely adored Cal. He was so easygoing and just adaptable and willing to do whatever he could to help Rose when she was struggling. There were a lot of pieces of Rose that I connected with and it was so satisfying to see her reach her HEA. Even though there was a lot of focus on Rose, Cal had his own issues with his family and having lived his life with undiagnosed dyscalculia. I really enjoyed the way that they felt connected and it was just so cute to see them cuddling on the couch watching C- and K-dramas. This book was heavy, but it also felt really uplifting. I also loved how the "third-act conflict" happened (spoiler: there wasn't really one). The final chapter and epilogue was also really cute to see and it was really cute seeing the cider bar sisters a few years forward. I loved the wrap up of the series!
Okay, now for my usual, "Please read Jackie Lau" blurb. Seriously, pick her up. I loved her and her books. The way that she writes just feels so realistic and I want to hang out with all her characters! She is one of my favorite contemporary authors and also a cozy read for me. Jackie has been teasing in her past few newsletters that she has plans for two new series in 2023. There hasn't been anything announced as of yet, but I have a feeling one might be based around Cal's friend group (that are all from their high school theater group) and the other might be one of Rose's instagram plushie friends (a scientist in Montreal). We'll see what they end up being, but no matter what I'll be picking them up!
Have you read Her Unexpected Roommate?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: Her Unexpected Roommate, Jackie Lau, 5 stars, 6 days, eBook, 234 pages, published in 2022, indie published
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