Fake Dates and Mooncakes

by Sher Lee

Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians in this heartfelt, joyful paperback original rom-com that follows an aspiring chef who discovers the recipe for love is more complicated than it seems when he starts fake-dating a handsome new customer.

Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.

Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.

In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.

Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?

• ISBN10: 0593569954
• ISBN13: 9780593569955
• Publish Date: 16 May 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593569955

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

DNFed at 16%. Read from August 2nd 2023 to August 3rd 2023.

The writing is OK! I made the mistake of starting the book and, since I was having that little inkling in my head that I wasn't really enjoying it, reading some reviews for it... So I ended up seeing a lot of valid points and I was ultimately turned off from reading it. The plot just seemed to keep going and going, with a bit of infodumping - which I'm fine with, but at some point it felt like the book was turning into that only.

At the same time, I could feel the insta-love vibes more or less... so, sorry! But I didn't hate this, so I might try other books by the author.

[Inkslinger]

'Fake Dates and Mooncakes' is a delightfully queer, Not-So-Meet-Cute in the vein of To All the Boys I've Loved Before.  

 

Dylan is a quiet, hard working guy who's struggling to preserve his connection with his late mother and the culture he grew up in, while trying to balance school and helping to save his aunt's Chinese takeout. Surrounded by his loving, supportive family.. for the most part, life is pretty good.

 

Theo seemingly has it all. He's gorgeous, wealthy, and worldly for his age. There's a kindness to him that Dylan finds almost suspicious. So, when he talks Dylan into being his fake boyfriend for a family wedding, Dylan spends the weekend sort of waiting for the catch and trying to remind himself that none of it's real.

 

The pair are both lovely and I really enjoyed the slow, inevitable way they were drawn to each other initially. Though they met under strange, even uncomfortable circumstances, I found myself really wanting to see things go well for them.

 

While Dylan's family is great, Theo's leaves a little something to be desired. For the most part, they're inherently self-absorbed, unpleasant people.. with just a few exceptions.  

 

The romance was sweet, not overdone at all and I love that Lee did not just jump them right into physical intimacy. I also really enjoyed the glimpses of Dylan's heritage through the proverbs his family had carried with them, the expression of how they conveyed their traditions and feelings through their creation of meals, as well as little anecdotes relating to their spiritual beliefs.

 

This was a really cute, quick read and I didn't want to put it down. I look forward to seeing more stories from this author and would recommend the book to anyone looking for something relatively light that's filled with hope and joy.

 

(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and given freely.)