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A review by bianchibooks
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee
3.0
There are probably a painful number of typos in this review, I am very bored and tired and I do not think anything I am saying is making sense right now LOL
I flew through the beginning of this book but as it continued, it started to drag and my patience towards how many pages I could finish in a single sitting started to dwindle faster than I would have liked. I appreciate authors who use vivid detail and imagery in their writing as any other reader does, but describing every single minuscule step in the mooncake baking process during the contest, for example, was not necessary to me. It is a YA novel, everyone reading predicted Dylan and his family would win the contest... and they were right! It felt like the author was delaying the inevitable just for the sake of a higher word count.
I have not read Crazy Rich Asians so I am probably not the most qualified person to comment on the relationship between the two novels, but having the story compared to Crazy Rich Asians by the characters in the story as it is happening made it seem as though the author doesn't believe this story can live on its own, which is a shame because I believe it can - it just does not appear to be given the chance to.
Some of the character elements were not fleshed out as much as I hoped for. For almost the entire novel, Theo is seen as a heartless rich boy. His relationship with his deceased Spoilermother was frequently mentioned, as was Dylan's, but I believe it would have been beneficial to include less about the mooncakes and more about the boys' grief as this would have been a way stronger point in strengthing the bond between Theo and Dylan.
Overall, I would have liked to see Megan's character developed more. All I know is that she liked Blackpink and seeing as she is basically Dylan's sister and she works so closely with him, Jade and Tim who are all relatively fleshed out characters, the constant Blackpink references gave me déjà vu.
The writing wasn't all bad though: I found the inclusion of Asian culture in this story to be very naturally fused. At some times it felt a little preachy and heavy-handed but for the most part, it provided an educational experience on tradition, and that is wonderful for a person like me who genuinely enjoys learning about how other cultures celebrate their families, friends, and community as a greater whole. It was also lovely to see Lee's passion exampled in her own writing as it is extremely obvious she is a fervent person.
For an insta-love style romance, there was the right mix of this instant love and slow burning to create a worthwhile payoff when Theo and Dylan finally actually get together as the real Theo and Dylan instead of fake dating Theo and Dylan. After that, it became increasingly sweet until I had a I am going to rip my molars out of my skull and feed them to a dog style toothache.
If you are looking for a sweet LGBTQIA+ romance, this is the perfect read to pick up for pride month. I cannot say that I'd consider reading it again, but I can say I am happy I read it once!
I flew through the beginning of this book but as it continued, it started to drag and my patience towards how many pages I could finish in a single sitting started to dwindle faster than I would have liked. I appreciate authors who use vivid detail and imagery in their writing as any other reader does, but describing every single minuscule step in the mooncake baking process during the contest, for example, was not necessary to me. It is a YA novel, everyone reading predicted Dylan and his family would win the contest... and they were right! It felt like the author was delaying the inevitable just for the sake of a higher word count.
I have not read Crazy Rich Asians so I am probably not the most qualified person to comment on the relationship between the two novels, but having the story compared to Crazy Rich Asians by the characters in the story as it is happening made it seem as though the author doesn't believe this story can live on its own, which is a shame because I believe it can - it just does not appear to be given the chance to.
Some of the character elements were not fleshed out as much as I hoped for. For almost the entire novel, Theo is seen as a heartless rich boy. His relationship with his deceased Spoilermother was frequently mentioned, as was Dylan's, but I believe it would have been beneficial to include less about the mooncakes and more about the boys' grief as this would have been a way stronger point in strengthing the bond between Theo and Dylan.
Overall, I would have liked to see Megan's character developed more. All I know is that she liked Blackpink and seeing as she is basically Dylan's sister and she works so closely with him, Jade and Tim who are all relatively fleshed out characters, the constant Blackpink references gave me déjà vu.
The writing wasn't all bad though: I found the inclusion of Asian culture in this story to be very naturally fused. At some times it felt a little preachy and heavy-handed but for the most part, it provided an educational experience on tradition, and that is wonderful for a person like me who genuinely enjoys learning about how other cultures celebrate their families, friends, and community as a greater whole. It was also lovely to see Lee's passion exampled in her own writing as it is extremely obvious she is a fervent person.
For an insta-love style romance, there was the right mix of this instant love and slow burning to create a worthwhile payoff when Theo and Dylan finally actually get together as the real Theo and Dylan instead of fake dating Theo and Dylan. After that, it became increasingly sweet until I had a I am going to rip my molars out of my skull and feed them to a dog style toothache.
If you are looking for a sweet LGBTQIA+ romance, this is the perfect read to pick up for pride month. I cannot say that I'd consider reading it again, but I can say I am happy I read it once!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Racism
Minor: Dementia