Random Things Tours: The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho

Forget Crazy Rich Asians! Renee Goh, the cute and super smart character from The Friend Zone Experiment by UK-based Malaysian author Zen Cho is my newest imaginary literary friend. For life.

Willingly estranged to London from her super rich family based in Singapore, Renee is dedicating the best of her time building up her fashion and home decor business. Her famous Taiwan pop star cute boyfriend dumped her, she is getting back to work trying to do even better. (Which is the best way to survive a break-up, if you ask me). But there is old flame Ket Siong, from ten years ago, coming back into her life, completely by accident. Plus, her father, the owner of Chahaya, one of the most successful companies in Southeast Asia, also may challenge her to find a way to work together with her brothers, in view of a possible succession. And this Ket Siong, whom she would rather would prefer to keep him in the ´Friend Zone´, may have some secrets that can reveal unpleasant things about her family and their associates. And Renee should navigate all those difficult situations.

I literally devoured The Friend Zone Experiment, as it is such a complex story with so many diverse characters and so many topics - from corruption to family structures and business role models, as well as the challenges of young women in the wild world of business.

The main characters, Renee and Ket Siong, are both trying to build their own lives, navigating the complex web of family relationships and obligations, and their inner desire for independence. The story is going back and forth, at least for a while, allowing to fill in the gaps in the story that may otherwise confuse the reader about the real motivations behind various decisions of the characters, particularly the most important ones. 

The challenge of having so many topics to address may be overwhelming as it is very difficult to pace them and cover them properly. Zen Cho though, is in complete charge of the narrative, with unexpected twists along the way which awakes the interest of the reader every couple of pages (spoiler, the story includes also a crime/investigation story, besides the romance and family feud). In addition to this, it allows the characters to show their personality, take decisions and interact, and the dialogues play also an important part in the story. On the side, it may also offer some inspiring advice for women in business, showing the many diverse layers of this novel. 

After the rolling coasting of the story, I´ve found the ending soothing and optimistic. 

This is a book I will remember for a long time, and maybe nurture the hope that it will turned into a movie as well. The Friend Zone Experiment is a recommended read for anyone looking for a very entertaining and eventful good read.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own