Chichi

by Jerrica C. Reed

"If I'm pretentious, then you're chichi."

"Chichi?"

When Chihiro Quinn has the means and time to revitalize her late-great grandmother’s home, she finds herself putting her current house on the market. Which is where she meets Ethan Drake, the last person she expects to meet again at her family's Thanksgiving dinner…

Ethan turns out to be a shameless flirt who talks his way into helping with Chihiro's project thus creating plenty of time for him to break through her carefully built walls.

He’s persistent—but so is she.

What happens when she calls herself sworn off of dating and Ethan thinks he can change her mind?

490 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 27, 2026

Reviews

[skia_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

After discovering her fiancé has been cheating, Chihiro aka Chichi, decides she’s done letting that relationship control what comes next. She moves into her late Nana’s old house and takes on the massive job of renovating it, despite everyone questioning whether she can actually pull it off. She’s basically like… tell me I can’t and I’ll show you that I can!!

I really liked Chichi. She’s independent and determined, and I loved the way renovating the house almost became part of her healing process.

Ethan is such a wholesome mmc. He’s charming and protective, but most importantly, he’s very respectful of her boundaries. Their relationship develops very slowly… so slowly there was almost another potential guy who piqued her interest. 🤭

My biggest issue was the pacing. There are quite a few group hangouts and party scenes throughout the story, and after a while they started feeling repetitive.

Overall, this was a cute read about learning that starting over doesn’t always mean starting from nothing.

3.5⭐️

I received this arc from after midnight pr in exchange for an honest review

[Chasary Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new to me Author. This book was very Sweet.
Chichi is going through a really bad break up and wants a new start. She’s holding an open house when a couple walks in Katie & Ethan. Chichi automatically thinks Ethan’s Katie’s husband. Let’s just say things get really interesting.
Chichi also want to renovate and move into her grandma house. As time goes by she discovers Nico is with Katie and Ethan is her brother. They keep meeting and chichi is so closed off she swore off men being independent doing things on her own. Until Ethan offers to help repair the house…

Ethan is always making jokes smirking and flirting. But the moment he saw chichi he was a goner for her. Though he offer to help they became friends. Ethan has a loving heart and will do everything and anything to protect those he loves. Ethan and Chichi banter like two teenagers which I found very endearing. But not everything is rainbows and unicorns.

Chichi is independent, people have let her down broken her heart.
Ethan is Sweet he deflects which humor from his trauma and heartbreak.

Chichi and Ethan go through it they are both stubborn but also such a perfect match for one another. Though they go through their ups and downs they do get their HEA.

[Sixella MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 2026 Small Business BookTok ARC Reviews (BookFable Edition): “Chichi” by Jerrica C. Reed

Note: This ARC was given to me for free by the author and I am reviewing this book voluntarily.

The english teacher who swore off dating after a major heartbreak
and moved into her Great Grandmother’s apartment..
The social media manager who takes it upon himself to be her handyman,
and tries to build his way into her heart..
Is he being pretentious, or will she see him as a second chance at
finding out what it means to have a healthy connection?

A debut highlighted under “After Midnight PR”, this Contemporary Romance by Jerrica C. Reed perfectly balances a heartfelt, slow-burn romance, with a dash of angst, and a pulls-no-punches narrative about the journey to overcoming the trauma from your first heartbreak, letting go of inner self-doubt, and finding the strength to trust yourself to love and trust someone again. Contemporary Romance author Brittainy Cherry once told me during a Q&A that a Second Chance Romance is about “a second chance at understanding you”! This quotation is best defined as the main heroine learns to process and balance her own goals and emotional needs before opening her heart once more. Want to read the first installment in the debut “Pretentious” series? Then don’t miss out on this book when it hits online shelves on September 27, 2026!

Rating: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Meter: 5/5🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Tropes: Contemporary Romance, Second Chance Romance, Small Town Romance, Home Renovation, Sworn Off Dating, Forced Proximity, English Teacher FMC x Handyman/Social Media Manager MMC Best Friend’s Brother, Dual POV, Slow Burn, Only One Blow Up Mattress, “What Are We?”, Friends-to-Lovers, and Self-Healing.

Trigger Warnings: Relationship Angst, Medication & Alcohol Abuse, Implied Physical/Emotion Abuse by a Parent, Assault (Historical), Discussions of and Affair & Abuse by an Ex Partner (Historical), Discussions of Heartbreak, Trust Anxiety, Communication Barriers, Housing Conflict, Physical Conflict (Fight Between Father & Son), and Depictions of Depression & Emotional Crashouts, (I will admit, the darker shift of the narrative between the climax and the end of the book did give a bit of a tonal whiplash, but the book was still engaging with its narrative and commentary, and don’t worry, it has an HEA, I promise!)

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of ARC read

This was a nice romance.

Chichi is a 23yo teacher who’s going through a breakup and trying to sell her house.
While going through this process she meets Katie and her brother Ethan as potential buyers.
Ethan is also 24 and works as a media director for a brewery. He is clearly smitten by Chichi straight away, while their story takes a while to develop.
Chichi has a lot to deal with, and opening up to new people is a slow process for her, non the less Ethan is there to help her every step of the way, while never pushing her. He’s a steady constant she can’t keep ignoring forever 😊

I have to admit i didn’t fully relate to Chichi, while I really liked Katie instead.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the book itself, and is just the difference in personality between me and the main character😅
Chichi is still young, while she has done a lot with her life, she’s also still growing and I just couldn’t relate with some of her decision making. Still again, this is not a downside of the book itself at all.
As I said I really liked Katie instead, she’s just a lot more my speed😊

The romance develops slowly, and I really liked how Ethan presented himself page after page.
He truly never pushes, taking it at Chichi’s pace while being always sincere in his interest.

The only note I would make is that I got a bit lost at times with the other side characters.
Chichi has a big family, and their dynamics are not fully explained. I personally got a bit lost on who was who in the family tree, and how this linked to the house.
I did understand the general gist of it, but as there is quite a few names to follow, I personally needed a bit more clarity there.
Still this does not take away from the main plot and storyline, but is just a side note.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindly received an ARC in exchange for an honest review from the author and aftermidnightpr.

Chichi by Jerrica C. Reed

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

💙 best friend’s brother situation
🏡 forced proximity
💙 he falls first
🏡 she’s sworn off dating
💙 dual pov
🏡 only one blowup mattress
💙 slow burn + open door spice

💙 Review 💙
When I say I consumed this book within the first 24 hours of receiving the ARC I mean it! I was captivated from the first page and fell in love with Chihiro Quinn as soon as I found out she was an English teacher. Ethan was everything and the banter between Chihiro and him was great!

The romance in this book was also beautifully written. As someone who enjoys dual POV and slow burn romances, I would recommend this one thousand percent!

💙 "You look sweet, almost as sweet as you smell. Like a cookie or some vanilla pastry from a coffee shop." Specifically in the fall, because there's always that linger of cinnamon.💙

Author Jerrica had a lovely way of writing that drew me in and made it to where I simply could not put the book down!

[Kalyn Mahar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Chichi was... Ok to me. I actually liked all of the characters and the relationships between them. There was both an actual family dynamic, as well as "found family." I think the first and last 25% of the book were really engaging as far as the plot goes. The setup to the relationship between the FMC and MMC was well written, and so was the HEA. However, it felt like the middle 50% was just spice and not a lot of plot. In addition, there are a few scenes where the characters are driving while buzzed/drunk and to me that distracted the story. I just really had a hard time with those scenes and it sort of ruined the book for me. If the book is written on a modern day setting, there are sooooo many ways to write those scenes, a designated driver, and Uber/Lyft, etc. Really disappointing as a reader.

[CookesBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will always love an MMC that falls first, add in bother’s best friend and you got me hook, line and sinker. I loved Ethan’s flirty personality with Chichi. She may have sworn off men, but there’s only so much resisting Ethan’s charm a girl can take.

This was a sweet, slowburn debut romance and I’m looking forward to more from this world.