I loved this fun read by Lily Chu. It's a different take on the trading places with a princess trope. I find it hard to believe it would work in real life, but I was able to suspend disbelief enough that it did in the reading. I appreciated the real talk about mental health and the real talk about not talking about mental health issues as well. The more that makes it into the zeitgeist, the better off we will all be!

Fangli and I look the same but we’ve had very different experiences on what our face represents to other people. Hers can be considered on its aesthetic merits. Mine is still a social statement.

★★★★☆

fans of ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ adaptiations (It Takes Two, Monte Carlo, The Princess Switch), get ready for The Stand-In! while the two look-a-likes in the book don’t exactly switch places, the basic premise of the story definitely gave me this type of vibe

i thought this was a very easy contemporary read! Gracie’s desperate need to stay organized but nothing working felt painstakingly relatable, but i’m glad she got it to work in the end

i loved Sam and i appreciated his determination to always calmly talk things out with Gracie whenever a problem or argument arose. good communication is attractive !!! which is also why it irked me a little that near the end a miscommunication plot came up, but i guess it was for the sake of creating a complication

i did feel that the story could’ve possibly included a little bit more action in the plot; e.g. more events, blunders or close calls etc. and despite the fact that it mentions topics of depression and anxiety, i thought it was a fun (clean) romcom and definitely an enjoyable read!

thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the e-arc!

The Stand-In delivered exactly what I expected, a beautiful love story filled with friendships, family, connection and a touch of drama.

Gracie was a lovely character, who was warm, caring, flawed and funny - so 100% relatable!

I appreciated that mental health was acknowledged and talked about in a way that was positive and supportive, the characters weren't made to feel there was something wrong with them.

Sam was a great male lead, offering the grumpy to the grumpy/sunshine trope I am a big fan of!

The Stand-In was an enjoyable read, one that I will happily recommend to friends - 3 1/2 stars from me!

Thanks NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and of course Lily Chu for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Gracie Reed is in a predicament: she needs a job and she needs money to put her mother into a nursing home with good care. When Chinese cinema's golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao approach Gracie to be Fangli's stand-in due to their uncanny resemblance, Gracie eventually realizes that it's her best shot out of her tough spot.

This was a really cute celebrity romance and friendship story that also gave an accurate portayal of depression and anxiety, workplace sexual harrassment, and Alzheimer's. The balance of sweet moments to hard storypoints was perfect. While it was a predictable story and a little on the long side, I enjoyed seeing how everything unfolded and thought it was a really enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC!

I’m very picky when it comes to reading romances and I thought the premise as well as the cover of this book was so cute.

It turned out to be a slow-burn romance that dragged for me. I picked it up and out it down multiple times. Ultimately I DNF it at 60%.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Stand-In
by Lily Chu
4 stars
Gracie decided to take a sick day and as she was out and about, suddenly a camera started going off and the next day her picture was all over social media. She was mistaken for a Chinese actress Fangli who looks so much like her except for a few things. After losing her job since she took a sick day without being sick. Gracie gets stopped by the Famous actress who's willing to pay her to take her place for some events cause she is overly exhausted. Gracie can't decide if she should do it, on one hand, the money would be great she could pay her bills and get her mother that has Alzheimer's into a better home. On the other, she doesn't know how to act shes worried that shell be found out and Fangli's co-star and best friend Sam has no confidence in Gracie and hates the idea of it all.

This story picks up fast but then drags out a long way. I love the way Gracie is afraid of what could happen and how she wants to organize her life and she's trying. Her life is all over the place and she needs to get it together. I liked Sam he was grumpy and real. He stood by Gracie even when she was worried she couldn't do it he read her emotions good and he's loyal. He is constantly loyal and worried about his best friend Fangli. This book was just a little too long for me and Gracie not wanting to hear anyone out and jump to conclusions got to me but in the end, it was a good read.

Thank you, Net Galley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC for an honest review.

The Stand-In really took me by surprise and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought that I would. I went in expecting a somewhat cheesy/easy to read romcom, but actually got really interesting commentary on family, sexual harassment, mental health and (very light) commentary on class.

I loved Gracie. I thought she was a really relatable and down to earth protagonist, and all the scenes with her mum broke my heart! I was not expecting to read about dementia, but every scene with her mum left me a bit misty eyed. The character that stood out the most for me, however, was Fangli. She was my favourite part of any scene that she was in, an I actually wish that we saw more of her. The romance between Gracie and Sam was sweet too. I felt as though it was a little rushed, but I still found myself rooting for them!

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this, and I have a feeling that if booktook gets their hands on it, it'll be a big hit!

The delightful cover lured me in, my love of Chinese dramas made me think this would be a fun read, and the very first page made me fall in love with this most relatable heroine. I adored The Stand-In and am so excited to recommend it in my bookshop!

Gracie Reed is such an endearing character, I wanted to be her friend and help her find a way out of the terrible (and all too realistic) circumstances that try to defeat her at the start of the book, and cheered her on as she discovered her own self-worth as well as love by the end of it. I really liked that while this is a romance novel it's also about Gracie's journey - her relationship with her mother, her friends, and the self-acceptance she absolutely deserves. That's some wish fulfillment reading we can all appreciate. Having the Sexiest Man Alive fall head over heels for her is a pretty good happy ending too, of course :D

This is a fluffy, trope-filled, hope-creating book and I hope we get so many more just like it.

This has enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and fake identities… so it’s a good time, of course! I really liked the premise of taking on a fake identity; this is a trope that I always love in movies but don’t find many books about. Though this is a premise that rarely comes up in real life, the way the story is structured makes everything feel very real and multi-dimensional. It’s a rom-com, but it also takes on more serious issues, such as workplace harassment, personal identity, and mental health. These elements are balanced well. The three main characters are all lovable, and I never questioned their motivations or integrity. Sam’s progression from being a little cold towards Gracie to eventually warming up to her didn’t feel rushed. There’s a revelation towards the end of the book that caught me a little off-guard, but otherwise, this is basically a masterpiece of rom-com goodness.

Fake dating? Slow burn? General adorable all round cuteness? Tick tick tick! I absolutely loved this book!

There’s a thing that certain specific books have where they read almost like watching a film. And that was the case with this book. I could so clearly visualise the characters and the plot and it was such a joy to read!

The mistaken identity, celebrity look-a-like trope is very much overdone in the movie world but I’ve not seen a lot of books with it in and it reads like an absolutely DREAM! I loved the dynamic that Fengli and Gracie had, how they stated off as being such different people but as the book went on you began to realise how similar they in fact were.

Gracie herself was such a lovely heartwarming character. I really felt invested in her and I loved all her quirks and traits. Her and Sam gave me serious heart eyes from the very beginning and my only criticism is that we didn’t see enough of them! I’m a greedy romance reader and I wanted to see more of the pair of them together in all the adorableness!

I felt that this book addressed several matters really well. Racism, mental health, sexism and workplace discrimination (at all levels). It felt illuminated and powerfully written about without interrupting the beautifully written plot and character development.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me! The Stand-In is out on 3rd May 2022 - be sure to give this one a go if you’re a fan of a good rom com with a fab plot and beautifully written characters! I loved it!

the stand-in by lily chu was marketed as a rom-com, so i went in expecting something light and fluffy and i was pleasantly surprised to see how mature this book was. sure, it's got its fluffy moments and a few rom-com shenanigans, but it also touches on some heavier topics regarding mental health and self-discovery, and i truly loved reading it! i also liked how the romance was handled - you get to see them become friends and then lovers and i think their relationship was developed very well.

i've seen reviews mention how weak gracie was and i definitely disagree. i didn't think of gracie as weak at any point of the novel, she was just someone that was forced by bad circumstances to become a spectator in her own life, i suppose. i truly think she was depressed at the start of the book and by the end of it we see a gracie with a lot more personality and a lot more motivation, so she's not a boring character by any means. i loved watching her discover herself by being someone else for a bit, she had such a glow-up. plus she was really funny.

sam and fangli were both very interesting characters and i liked how fangli's deteriorating mental state was handled. mental health is a topic a lot of people avoid, but the book didn’t shy away from shining light on how hard it is to deal with your problems when everyone is watching your every move. i adored fangli's relationship with gracie, they were both very lovely. gracie's problems with anxiety and her tendency to make a tiny problem into a catastrophe is something i related to a lot and i appreciated how the book handled this topic. sam and gracie were adorable together and i loved watching them fall in love. i appreciated the fact that it wasn't insta-love, as i was kinda expecting it based on the synopsis. their banter was fun, but i love the scenes where they're both soft quite a lot. sam has some trouble with his mom, that's trying to control his life and i loved how gracie handled the situation.

the scenes with gracie's mom broke my heart, not going to lie. dementia is such a difficult disorder to cope with, especially when it affects someone dear to you. gracie tried her best to give her mom the support she needs and i truly loved her for it.

i really liked the ending - gracie figuring out herself and then figuring out her relationship with sam. i was kinda worried that the book might take the route of "i found love so now im perfectly fine", but it thankfully didn't. truly, she's a complex characters and i liked her transformation. the book isn't all sad, it had some funny moments as well and i liked seeing how clumsy gracie was at the beginning. her trying to imitate fangli was a disaster at first, especially with sam constantly "bullying" her for it.

overall, this is a book i see many people enjoying and i'm definitely reading the author's future works as i really liked their voice and the writing style!

**ARC Review**
Thank you to Net galley, Sourcebooks and Lily Chu for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book releases on May 3rd, 2022.
Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly "friendly" boss, and yes she still hasn't gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she's healthy, she's (somewhat) happy, and she's (mostly) holding it all together.
Until the famous actress Wei Fangli and Sam Thao pulls up next to her with a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie's ever met.

I loved how Lily made Fangli, Sam and Gracie so lovable not to mention Gracie's mother. I also can't thank Lily enough for feeding into my book boyfriend obsession with MR. SAM THAO.
And Gracie accepts grudgingly how hot Sam is until he opens his mouth which had me in tears laughing! I definitely was NOT ready for a plot twist which i should have seen coming but didn't?

THIS IS MY NEW FAV GRUMPY SUNSHINE BOOK, i also want to add into how Anjali was such a good friend to Gracie through everything from the boss accidents to the paparazzi accidents. She is a friend we ALL need in our lives. Also Todd is a piece of shit.
Call me sappy, but this book also had me crying over Fangli and Gracie too! so read to find out why.

*MAY HAVE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON*
some parts i loved
'How dare he look so good? Someone that attractive should have a little horn they toot to prepare normals like me for their arrival'
' Hot or not, he's being a dick and i don't like it. Not-starstruck Gracie roars back and hip checks Nice gracie out of the way.'

The Stand-In is such a fun, easy read where the 'doplegangers switching places' trope is a part of the girls' story and actually explained!
Gracie is fired for standing up to her sleezy boss, struggling to pay for her mother's nursing home of choice, and only just holding everything together when she is caught by a paparrazi mistaking her for Wei, a famous actress in Chinese cinema with the perfect life - on screen at least! As expected, Gracie and Wei meet and end up switching places to help each other out; Wei needs a break from the spotlight, and Gracie will be compensated enough to cover her mother's ideal home- simple, right?
This is a fun, well-rounded story that I thoroughly enjoyed!

this book was so sweet! i really enjoyed getting to read this one early!! it was so much fun and exciting and full of surprises! please check this one out soon!!!!

Ok first of all let's talk about the cover. I love it.

Now, the book itself. Thankfully, I also loved it! The Stand-In is a fresh take on a classic story (think Prince and the Pauper), and it was enjoyable from start to finish. Gracie isn't always the strongest character, but her actions make a lot of sense for someone who struggles with anxiety and depression. Her love and devotion for her mother is really heartwarming, too.

I also really appreciated that Gracie had her own side hustle going beyond just agreeing to be Fangli's stand-in! To me, that added a fresh take to the story. Overall, I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and was sad to say goodbye to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

These are the hard reviews to write- I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. It just "is".

Gracie was frustrating. She jumped to crazy conclusions often. She also failed repeatedly to take control of anything. There was very little character growth, and what little there was was mainly based around the app she was developing.

I liked Sam a lot :)

The plot was predictable. I instantly knew where it was going.

Overall, I enjoyed it.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The whole concept of this book was fun and something new but it was a bit predictable. On top of that, I didn't like how Gracie handled some situations in her life and because of that she seemed to be impulsive, weak and lacked maturity. She whined a lot and it was really difficult to get into the book in the first half for me. On top of that, Gracie's boss was gross. The second half however was more enjoyable to me. The cover and fake dating tropes were intersting. Also it did a fair portrayal of self-esteem issues. It was an okay-ish read but a little bit boring tbh.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me the ARC copy of this book

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and this was the perfect book to lift me out of it. It had everything I was hoping for: a gutsy, imperfect protagonist, a slow-burn romance, found family, and enough real-life issues to make it feel three-dimensional and rich. Plus, it's set in Toronto, which was really fun.

I'll be recommending this one widely, and I'm already looking forward to reading Lily Chu's next book!

'"There are enough people in the world ready to put you down. Do you need to join them?"'

In The Stand-In we meet Gracie Reed who is doing just fine, thank you very much. Yes, she is trying to figure out how to pay for her mother's care as the Alzheimer's is getting worse, more so now that her sleazy boss has fired her for something silly. What happens next is perhaps a little hard to believe, but let's suspend disbelief and roll with it. A big car stops next to Gracie in the street, and before she knows it, she rolls head-first into a rather glitzy and glamorous life, as a famous Chinese actress, Wei Fangli, asks Gracie to become her body-double for a while. Did I mention that Fangli's broody, but incredibly well-built friend, Sam, is part of the package? Initially against his wishes? Yeah... recipe for an interesting story.

I thought The Stand-In was an incredibly cute, slow-burn of both a friendship and romance story. Gracie is a relatable character, and the way her relationships with both Fangli and Sam develop is wonderful to see. What I liked even more, though, is that the romance is not the main thread in the book. This is ultimately a story about a daughter caring for her sick mom. A movie-star burning out because of all the expectations. A young woman trying to find her way in the world, learning how to trust her gut and go after what she wants, especially after having been made to feel like nothing by a sleazebag of a guy. Friends deeply caring about their friends going through tough times (Sam for Fangli, Anjali for Gracie). A son standing up to an overly controlling mother. Family being reunited. And so much more.

Despite dealing with so much, I never felt like this book was too heavy. I do feel like some of the storyline towards the end came out of nowhere, and I am not sure whether it was necessary, but that's just me being picky. If you love slow-burn novels that also cover a number of other issues, with likable characters all around (except for Todd of course), this is one you need to pick up!

This is a great romcom that reminds me a lot of The Princess and the Pauper (yes, I am referring to the Barbie version, not Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper), except much more Hollywood. From the beginning, you can pretty much tell where this story is going. There aren’t really many surprises - it’s fairly obvious to the reader that Gracie and Fangli are a little too similar to each other, and that Mei has feelings for Sam and dislikes Gracie. That being said, this is a great cheesy romcom when you’re in the mood for a feel good story that is nice and neatly tied up at the end. The only thing that I wish would have been a little more exciting/finished is Gracie’s response to her boss, Tom, and Sam promoting Gracie’s project, Eppy. I was disappointed that in both situations, Gracie essentially relies on Sam to come to her rescue despite saying she wants to handle things herself. That being said, I like the way Gracie helps Fangli with her mental illness and discusses the stigma surrounding asking for help and caring for yourself mentally. A great, light, and fun read!