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luluwoohoo 's review for:
The Stand-In
by Lily Chu
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Stand-In by Lily Chu (audiobook narrated by Phillipa Soo)
☀️☀️☀️
A lighthearted romance that was mostly fun, but clung to its tropes so much that it failed to excite or surprise.
The premise is a cliche itself but I was willing to embrace it. Gracie being a convenient near-perfect visual match for Fangli, losing her job and requiring serious money at the exact time she's required to help, already stretched the powers of believability. That being said, the first half of this book was set up surprisingly well to make the kooky ride enjoyable. Where it fell apart was the second half, which was far too long and drawn out in the progression of the romance, as well as the surprise reveal and poorly executed miscommunication trope/third act break up.
There were a few too many logical inconsistencies that pulled me out of the narrative, namely the strange limitations of Fangli's private investigator, and how often Gracie and Sam went out in public together without mishap.
Gracie as a character was entertaining but not as well thought out as she could have been. Her hang ups sometimes felt contrived and resolved too quickly, and her overall arc didn't really grow steadily as it should have. Fangli was by far the strongest character and I wish I'd had more scenes with her. Sam is a decent love interest but his shift from 'enemies' to 'lovers' was too fast without obvious reasoning. I thoroughly enjoyed Soo's narration for all characters - she did an excellent job.
For a simple story I was probably expecting a bit more nuance and subtlety when exploring big themes like mental health, burn out, biracial struggles, etc. than the author gave, but without those the story would have been lacklustre. Overall I did enjoy this but felt it had potential to be even better with some more drafting.
☀️☀️☀️
A lighthearted romance that was mostly fun, but clung to its tropes so much that it failed to excite or surprise.
The premise is a cliche itself but I was willing to embrace it. Gracie being a convenient near-perfect visual match for Fangli, losing her job and requiring serious money at the exact time she's required to help, already stretched the powers of believability. That being said, the first half of this book was set up surprisingly well to make the kooky ride enjoyable. Where it fell apart was the second half, which was far too long and drawn out in the progression of the romance, as well as the surprise reveal and poorly executed miscommunication trope/third act break up.
There were a few too many logical inconsistencies that pulled me out of the narrative, namely the strange limitations of Fangli's private investigator, and how often Gracie and Sam went out in public together without mishap.
Gracie as a character was entertaining but not as well thought out as she could have been. Her hang ups sometimes felt contrived and resolved too quickly, and her overall arc didn't really grow steadily as it should have. Fangli was by far the strongest character and I wish I'd had more scenes with her. Sam is a decent love interest but his shift from 'enemies' to 'lovers' was too fast without obvious reasoning. I thoroughly enjoyed Soo's narration for all characters - she did an excellent job.
For a simple story I was probably expecting a bit more nuance and subtlety when exploring big themes like mental health, burn out, biracial struggles, etc. than the author gave, but without those the story would have been lacklustre. Overall I did enjoy this but felt it had potential to be even better with some more drafting.
"Fuck shoulds[...] It's not a bad thing to want to keep peace in your life, and care for the people in it. That a bad person can manipulate it, doesn't mean it's wrong. To be kind and generous is a gift."