Rating: [rate 5.0]

Venus Chau is deermined to start her own game development company and launch the next Super Mario-sized phenomenon. However, she needs an investor to back her idea. When Drake Yu, an old nemesis, approaches Venus with a contracting opportunity at his sister’s startup, the offer tempts Venus to think the unthinkable.

Venus would rather throw away her PS3 than work for Drake again…ut then Grandma bribes Venus to do this favor for Drake’s wealthy family. With the encouragement of her three cousins, Lex, Trish and Jennifer, Venus discovers that even a wounded heart can undergo a beautiful transformation …

Right when I started reading the series and the blurb about this book and the excerpt, I knew I’d like this. Why? Because Venus is a game developer. In short, she’s a geek! I love it when the protagonist is a techie, or at least, works in a tech field because it is indeed a male-dominated industry indeed. Plus I love that I can somehow understand the industry terms that Camy used in this book. :DVenus is probably the strongest character among the four cousins in the series. Not only because she’s in a very demanding field of work, but also because of her experiences in the past — on how she used to be overweight and how she lost it because of a stomach virus and not because of any weight loss product, and when she was finally thin, the guys she work with suddenly view her as a sex object rather than a person. In that kind of world, you really have to be tough. But even in her toughness, I like that she’s very professional and she knows when to draw the line between work and her personal life.

Similar to Sushi for One?, the novel is kind of long, but it’s never without a dull moment. It feels like I was watching a movie, and there’s always something interesting ahead. The climax was fun — it made me want to stop reading because I didn’t want to read what would happen next because I just know that it’s not going to be good for Venus, but at the same time I couldn’t put down the book! The ending was very satisfying and romantic — it felt like Venus and Drake were just doing a dance during the story where they weren’t allowed to touch each other, and until finally, they do so at the end.

The faith aspect is neatly tied in too, and it’s not preachy at all. The message is delivered in a simple and straightforward way with a cute symbolism for the character. :)

This is the third book in the Sushi series by Camy Tang, and I feel bad for not having a copy of Only Uni yet. However, I’m glad to say that you don’t need to read the previous books to understand this one. It would just provide a better reading experience because you’d know some of the backstory mentioned when the cousins are together, but this book can stand alone. :D

Awesome work, Camy (and thanks for the book too!)! I promise to get a copy of Only Uni soon so I can complete my collection. She’s definitely someone to watch out for. :)