Pi Puns and Pie Yums, and Love, Oh My!

The Ultimate Pi Day Party by Jackie Lau

Dear Reader,

I want to introduce you to my new book boyfriend Josh Yu, and my new book bff Sarah Winters. And I want pie. Lots of pie.

“But True North, it’s PI day not PIE day!” Oh, Dear Reader, I’m jealous that you get to jump into Jackie Lau’s The Ultimate Pi Day Party for the very first time where pi/pie worlds collide in the most delicious, sexy, funny, and heartfelt of ways.

Back to pie. JL’s pie descriptions had me sold on this book even before I was sold on Josh and Sarah. A #goals couple, Sarah and Josh are not a hard sell at all, I love these characters and was cheering them on right from the start. But, pie! Let me explain my obsession. Before covid-19, there was a family-operated, homecooked-meal buffet restaurant that my parents and I would drive an entire hour to get to for family birthdays. For me, it was worth the drive just for the two sideboards covered with homemade pies. TWO SIDEBOARDS OF HOMEMADE PIE YOU GUYS. Many times I would start my buffet meal with pie. What if I was too full after the salad bar, soup, homemade bread and entrees for pie? The horror! What does this have to do with Josh and Sarah?

“And then I see a place that makes me smile.” – Josh Yu

Our meet cute happens in Sarah’s café Happy as Pie, where she serves only homemade pie: savory and sweet. And butter tarts. “It’s a high-quality butter tart, and I consider myself a connoisseur.” Same Josh, same. I’m not sure what I wish was real more: Josh & Sarah’s romance or Happy As Pie. JL’s descriptive pie writing had me starving throughout the book, but I couldn’t put the book down long enough to make or even buy a pie. As soon as I finished reading this book, I searched online for a ginger pear crumble recipe, the Pi pie that I will forevermore attribute to this book. Jamie Oliver taught me how to perfectly roast a chicken and veggies, so I have high hopes.

And you, Dear Reader, should have high hopes as you curl up with The Ultimate Pi Day. What I love about JL’s writing is her attention to detail that’s so real it puts me right in each and every scene. I can taste that pie, I can smell the burnt hazelnuts, I feel Sarah’s cramps. Side Note: my thanks to JL for including menstruation! The fact that many of the romance novels (or, like, any novels) I’ve read over the last thirty-some-odd years have no more than a vague reference to “courses,” at most, astounds me. I know how to lace a corset, but I have no idea how ladies handled cramps in Victorian England. Or even 1990s Ireland (I love you Nora, nonetheless). This attention to small, real-life detail is what really put me firmly in this story, pretending like I didn’t have work deadlines to uphold.

That, plus Josh and Sarah’s total swooniness. On the daily, I read romance #1 for the HEA and #2 for the simple, every day romance. I love the grandeur parts of a Romance novel, like an ultimate pi day party, but those little moments during which my new bffs cherish each other, bond, and just generally fall in love is The Best. And here is one of the finest specimens of that stunning simplicity. Dear Reader, if an available man makes me a cup of tea…like, does not just tell me where the kettle is and lets me root around in the cupboard, but actually boils water, sets a timer, and asks me how much milk I take?

*FANS SELF*

And if it’s not an available man, I just take that as a token of his platonic love. Because making food or drink for someone IS love.

Sarah and Josh make all kinds of things for each other. They make food and drink. They make jokes. They make time for each other. And they make room for each other. The most beautiful real-life love story I know revolves around personalized wedding vows that focused on the word “accommodation”. Six months after her beloved passed away, my 82-year-old friend sat with me and reflected on that grand romance. Their success? “We did not compromise. We made room for each; there was no sacrifice.”

*FANS SELF SOME MORE*

One of the personal delights of reading this book is that Toronto is a good friend of mine. But! As of press time, I’ve never stepped foot in Baldwin Village – the non-fictional setting of the I-wish-this-was-real fictional story. One of my BFFs is a Hong Kong native and Toronto local, and I asked her about Baldwin Village because it seems like we’ve been everywhere around it during my various visits with her over the last 17 years. She said, “I love it there! I haven’t taken you there!” Then she sent me a photo of the Hong Kong-Style French toast she made a few weeks ago. You’ll understand my disappointment with my friend when you read all about the Hong Kong French toast in TUPDP – seriously, stock up on the snacks pre-read. I’ve already added a trip to Baldwin Village on my post-pandemic To Do list. And to my friend’s kitchen so she can cook me up some Hong Kong-style French toast. After lunch at Asian Legend, though. But first, Salad King. Toronto, I really miss you.

Lastly, I need to point out how much I appreciate the part of Josh and Sarah’s story that is Josh’s non-existent relationship with his father. For seventeen years, Josh’s father hasn’t spoken to him over a decision Josh made as a teenager. You may be thinking, “wow, harsh!” But I thought, “wow, real!” I don’t personally know anyone who hasn’t spoken to their parents in 17 years over a decision they made as a teen. But I know a lot of people whose parents will never let them hear the end of a decision they made as a teen. And that’s absolutely the same thing. Just ask Sarah. Would I rather experience years of parental silence, or belittling? A humbling consideration.

But back to pie. What are you waiting for, Dear Reader? Grab yourself a slice, and dig in to The Ultimate Pi Day Party right now!

Love From,

The True North

P.S. Would you like to support my pie obsession? Or just help a freelancer make her next WordPress payment? The best way to help is spread the word about Love From The True North, or buy me a ko-fi.