Reviews with content warning for Classism - Fake Dates and Mooncakes

This book was so much fun!! I was having such a blast the entire way through—from the beginning, I was laughing at all of the shenanigans, and by the end, I was STARVING. For real—I was especially craving xlb and egg tarts 🤤
Even with all of the humor and lightheartedness, there was still the moments of drama and tension (and yes, I did shed a few tears at the end). But I never doubted our main cast would make it past everything and get their happy ending 🧡 Ultimately, this was a quick read that I had so much fun with!

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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Received complimentary copy from the publisher.

While I enjoyed the book, this is definitely written for the YA audience in mind, as adults will need to suspend disbelief. A lot of things move quickly.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Underlined for an advanced copy of Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee to review! Being pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Heartstopper, I knew I had to read it. I will say, didn’t quite see the Heartstopper connection, but definitely the connection to Crazy Rich Asians. If you love rom-coms with fake dating, centered around baking/cooking, this is definitely the book for you!

This book has a lot of the classic rom-com tropes, and honestly, I loved it. Dylan and Theo are adorable together; from the first moment they meet, you can tell they have chemistry. Fake dating? You know that someone is going to develop feelings. If not both. They had an easy kind of relationship. Plus, food! We get to see a lot of Chinese culture through Dylan, especially with food, and it just makes the book even better in my opinion.

Outside of Dylan and Theo, there are some fantastic secondary characters as well. Especially Dylan’s family. They are so supportive of Theo and his dreams, and we love to see it. We also get to see the contrast in Theo and Dylan’s relationships with their families, even with somewhat similar backgrounds. Honestly, it’s part of the reason they feel so connected.

There’s cuteness, there’s the fluffiness you expect from a rom-com, and it will make a great spring read when it comes out in May!

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trippyotter's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I adore everything about Fake Dates and Mooncakes!

Through a chance encounter, Theo is determined to make things right with Drew for his best friends theatrics.

Theo finds himself smitten with Drew and his family, but things get a little awkward when Theo "secretly" helps, which leaves Drew feeling obligated to return the favor.

Despite the differences in their social classes and family drama, Theo and Drew bond over their shared grief and cultural history.

For a debut novel, this is everything I needed and so much more, from the fake-boyfriend ploy to the culinary references and everything in between.

I can't wait to read more from Sher!

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dinipandareads's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

TL;DR: Fake Dates and Mooncakes was high up on my list of anticipated YA contemporary romances this year and I was beyond thrilled to get a digital ARC! Sadly though, for various reasons, this book really didn't work out for me. I loved the cultural and food aspects of the story and Dylan's family was great as well. That said, the romance was instantaneous and I didn't really feel their romantic connection. The writing also read on the younger end of YA, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure that's what the author intended and it also clashed with the more sexually suggestive overtones between Dylan and Theo. I wanted to see more of the mooncake competition but that played a woefully small part in the story. Overall, I'm sad that this didn't end up being what I expected because I was genuinely looking forward to loving it!

There's no getting around it: the beginning of this book was rough. The writing was not what I expected as it read on the young end of YA but it also read very stilted and awkward with a lot of "telling" and no "showing". It felt like the story only skimmed the surface of these characters and their stories, which certainly made for 'easy reading' but left me wanting more in terms of depth and emotional connection. It was easy to see which parts the author felt the most comfortable and confident writing about because those were the parts that had the most detail. I really appreciated the food and cultural aspects of this story—it honestly made me so hungry while reading!—and they were one of the best things about it, but this could've been a cultural/culinary book because of how detailed the author gets about the recipes and their cultural significance. While I liked it, it only left me wishing that the other parts of the story could've received just as much attention (and it probably should've)!

The premise of this book was really interesting but it was the follow-through that was lacking. The reasons why Dylan and Theo got together were ultimately flimsy and felt disingenuous because there was so little interaction between them, to begin with, that the jump to more felt unrealistic. Dylan was an okay character but what I enjoyed most was his relationship with his aunt and cousins. I appreciated how much respect he had for his culture and how he carried the memories, language, and love for food with him, but I also wished that he had been less of a pushover when it came to Theo; though perhaps I'm biased though because I didn't like him. He lacked personality and every interaction with him felt bland and emotionless. There were things he said and did that left me feeling grossed out and made it harder to care about his character. If you're not a fan of instalove then you probably will feel the same way as I did about their romance. I didn't feel their connection because they go from strangers to "falling in love" very quickly and what made it harder for me to believe their chemistry is that I didn't really believe that Dylan actually liked Theo as a person either, he simply found him overwhelmingly hot.

Overall, it was just a big miss for me. While I know that as an adult I'm not the intended audience for this book. but I do read a lot of YA, although admittedly less in the contemporary/romance sphere these days. That said, if I'm being honest, I don't think I would recommend this to the young readers in my life if I were asked either. This had a promising premise and the potential for more was there, but the execution fell flat. Special thanks to the author and Underlined for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! 2 stars

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lqvekanthony's review against another edition

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lighthearted

3.75

Thank you to Random House Children’s for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of ‘FAKE DATES AND MOONCAKES”.

While I felt that the pacing could have been a bit better, I absolutely fell in love with Dylan and Theo — both on their own and together. They were such fantastically well written characters, and it was so easy to root for them!! I loved the author’s writing style, and the descriptions of the settings really made me feel like I was there in the moment. I would absolutely recommend putting this book on your TBR for when it releases on May 16, 2023!

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bookswithca's review

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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