I spent last week mostly in bed, sick, reading and working. When I was asked to review “My Ride, I love You” , it came as a good sign for me to re-read the book , or atleast parts of it. Because just the mention of this book makes me feel so happy and my face lights up with a smile.

I had obviously watched a lot of Thai BLs before I started reading MM romance stories from asian countries , so there was always a familiar story plot or vibe from many stories [Thai ones are mainly engineering college based, as we all know]. So, imagine my surprise to find two leads who are working , mature and have hell lot of things to do apart from romance in their life.

This is a love story of Mork, who is a motorcycle taxi driver in Bangkok, and Tawan, a junior internal medicine resident doctor in the university hospital. Seems like they both have a small chance to meet, let alone the falling in love, but it did happen.

MRILY doesn’t even have romance in the strictest sense, as the leads don’t spend a major part of the story as lovers. And usually that disappoints me because let’s say, I love some kisses and a little make out time in my fiction a lot. But did I even think about that while reading this book ? No way. From page one, I was hooked to the story because it felt so real, so heartfelt and without any pretence. We have a doctor and an everyday moto taxi rider meet each other as Tawan uses Mork’s motorcycle services to go to his boyfriend’s place. As it happens normally, if you use the same service, same time, you develop an acquaintance with the people you meet regularly. And from there, the progression of their relationship is so natural and engaging. Their daily conversations, the way their life overlaps and starts engaging other people around them, how simple actions show more love and care than words could ever reveal.

I love the story of Mork’s uncle and his male friend who lives with them and how they built this life together, without any legal name for the relationship. You see why Mork turned out to be this amazing person because of their love. And he proves it again and again by being so open hearted about his feelings for Tawan. Similarly, I liked the portrayal of Tawan’s professional life and since it takes inspiration from Author’s own profession , there was a lot of sincerity in this part of the book. In the smallest of scenes, the author has managed to bring in a lot of respect for the medical community and a peek into the human behind the professional. Tawan’s friend Nadia’s search for love makes for another thought provoking story arc. The relationship advice this book imparts in different conversations is damn brilliant and such wise words are rarely said. MYILY is a very non-toxic, clean and fluffy strangers to lovers story.

If I really had to pick faults with this, I would say that I wish I had a little less time on these two men getting together and a bit more as lovers. At times, Tawan felt too naive for his age and I never got a satisfying closure with his ex boyfriend.

Overall, I really love this book as even the second time I read, it was as enjoyable. I have not been able to watch the live adaptation yet but I hope they have retained the innocence and the heart of this story.

Rating- 4 out of 5