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A review by ramunepocky
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A beautifully written book that made me laugh, cry and cycle through all kinds of emotions.
I really loved our protagonist and his journey as he sets out to honour his recently deceased mother's memory by entering the Mooncakes contest that she wanted to. This book is very much about family, about the lengths we go to for the ones we love, and how, even in the face of devastation, family keeps us going. I really loved Dylan's family and how much they supported him, but also everything he was willing to sacrifice and all the effort he puts in to support them too. I also really loved all the references to Singaporean culture and how much of the food was intigrated into the whole story too.
Fake dating is my all time favourite trope, its always so much fun and I love the barely concealed pining, and I feel like this book did it okay, but it fell a little flat in places. It felt a little rushed and glossed over and like the two protagonists barely discussed the parameters of their fake dating to make it convincing to Theo's family and Theo did just throw Dylan in the deep end by not telling him a single thing about his family and the current legal situation with his Aunt and Father, or his motivations behind wanting to fake date him until it had become a problem™, a problem that could have been avoided if he'd just communicated with Dylan.
I liked the romance, I do think it was sweet, even if it was a tad bit rushed, there were so many sweet moments between the two of them that I absolutely adored.
The last part of the book, primarily the Mooncakes contest and the parts after made me sob uncontrollably until the end. I just thought the whole rembrance and memorial of Dylan's mother was absolutely beautiful, and its so sweet after to see things FINALLY go Aunt Jade's way after all her hard work and all the hardships that had befallen her
I really loved our protagonist and his journey as he sets out to honour his recently deceased mother's memory by entering the Mooncakes contest that she wanted to. This book is very much about family, about the lengths we go to for the ones we love, and how, even in the face of devastation, family keeps us going. I really loved Dylan's family and how much they supported him, but also everything he was willing to sacrifice and all the effort he puts in to support them too. I also really loved all the references to Singaporean culture and how much of the food was intigrated into the whole story too.
Fake dating is my all time favourite trope, its always so much fun and I love the barely concealed pining, and I feel like this book did it okay, but it fell a little flat in places. It felt a little rushed and glossed over and like the two protagonists barely discussed the parameters of their fake dating to make it convincing to Theo's family and Theo did just throw Dylan in the deep end by not telling him a single thing about his family and the current legal situation with his Aunt and Father, or his motivations behind wanting to fake date him until it had become a problem™, a problem that could have been avoided if he'd just communicated with Dylan.
I liked the romance, I do think it was sweet, even if it was a tad bit rushed, there were so many sweet moments between the two of them that I absolutely adored.
The last part of the book, primarily the Mooncakes contest and the parts after made me sob uncontrollably until the end. I just thought the whole rembrance and memorial of Dylan's mother was absolutely beautiful, and its so sweet after to see things FINALLY go Aunt Jade's way after all her hard work and all the hardships that had befallen her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident