Cover Image: Fake Dates and Mooncakes

Fake Dates and Mooncakes

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Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.

Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.

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in honor of his late mother, and to help his aunt’s struggling takeout business, dylan wants to win a mooncake-making competition. on a delivery gone wrong, he meets theo, who ends up asking him to be his fake date for a cousin’s wedding in the hamptons. dylan is thrust into a world of $10,000 cufflinks and family drama, and he knows their relationship is fake and he should focus on the mooncake competition, but he can’t help but fall for theo.

i just adored this book!! i wanted to read this as soon as i heard its name, and i’m so glad it didn’t disappoint. fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and i love how it was executed here. i also enjoyed reading about the mid-autumn festival and this book really made me hungry for a mooncake (even though i’ve never had one). additionally, reading about rich people is always very interesting to me simply because of all the potential drama, and sher tapped into this potential very well with theo’s family.

overall, this was a fun rom-com perfect for the ya audience. despite the heavier topics, the book felt very light and i really enjoyed it.

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Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s Underlined for letting me enjoy an ARC of this lovely story! I learned so much about authentic Chinese cuisine while reading. I enjoyed the rich, descriptive language utilized throughout the book. This is a good book for high-schoolers and would offer this to students in my classroom library.

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I had a great time reading this book!
While I liked the romance between the two main characters, the chemistry felt a little off.other than that I enjoyed, I loved learning about a different culture and diverse characters!
I loved following Dylan and Theo’s relationship and it felt realistic. While I didn’t live this story, I definitely is needed for queer young audiences to read a book about positive queer relationship!

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Fake Dates and Mooncakes is a sweet achillean rom-com for young adults, full of family and food and first love. It’s pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Heartstopper and, while it will appeal to fans of the latter’s cute queer teen romance, it is definitely its own story beyond that comparison! Dylan lives with his aunt, cousin and pet corgi, Clover, above their Singaporean Chinese take-out in Brooklyn. He wants to enter a mooncake-making contest in memory of his late mother, in celebration of his culture, and in hopes of securing exposure for his family’s overlooked and struggling business. Theo is wealthy and charming and sweet and will be firmly off the menu when we eat the rich. The golden retriever boyfriend of dreams, I’m sure. Though their first meeting leaves a bad impression on Dylan, and though their worlds couldn’t feel further apart at times, a fake dating scheme and a fancy family wedding in the Hamptons could bring the two closer than they could ever have imagined.

The wedding was definitely a highlight for me and I loved all the opportunities for heightened comedy and drama that it created. The family secrets and tensions were so fun to learn about along with Dylan and I fully believe that was the social event of the season. I kept thinking how I would’ve killed to be there witnessing it all unfold. I'm a fan of the fake dating trope and that element was something that excited me most about the book, so I loved that it came into play in this setting where the pressure was already on.

Another thing I really appreciated in this book is how, though there were obstacles to the relationship throughout (i.e. disparity in financial positions, family pressure etc.) homophobia was never one of them. Both MCs are openly queer, with the inclusion of supportive elder sapphic side characters being genuinely touching here too. This book deals with grief and bereavement along with some other heavy topics, though the overall light, heartwarming feel of the story stops it from ever delving deep enough in these that we lose that sense of hope. I loved the small memories Theo shared of his mom and how he could find connections to her and his culture when surrounded by Dylan’s warm, loving family. These sweet, domestic moments were some of my favourites and I wish we could’ve heard even more about Theo’s experience with loss - both as it was something the boys had in common and as it could’ve helped me connect more to him beyond his relationship with Dylan.

This is such a wholesome, romantic read with characters you can really root for and I’m so happy that young queer readers get stories like this!

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This one was just okay for me. The fake dating wasn’t super believable and I just didn’t adore the main characters like I wanted to. One character in a rich family and comes from privilege, and one who has not and lives a totally different lifestyle. I don’t tend to love those. I did love some stuff though! I loved learning about all of the food and baked goods that were made. The cooking competition was a fun addition. I kind of wished the book would have focused more on the reality show. I also loved the family and friend relationships. Im a sucker for a “found family” story.

This book did teach me that love can be found anywhere and any how. Opposites can attract and 2 people can find each other and fall in love even when they come from two different worlds.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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Thank you so much, Random House Children's and Underlined, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Dylan Tang is determined to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competitions for teen chefs, for two reasons: a way to celebrate his mom's memory and help his aunt Jade's struggling Chinese takeout by bringing publicity to it. But when he meets Theo Somers, everything changes. Theo is wealthy, charming and funny and he's sweept off his feet. He's convinced to be his fake date to a family wedding in the Hamptons, bu as they start spending time together, they falls really in love, distracting Dylan from his plans. But when Theo's relatives reveal their true colors, everything becomes more and more complicated. Will Dylan be able to win his competition and keep his boyfriend or will he be have to make a choice?

Fake dates and mooncakes is a sweet, funny and truly engaging rom-com, following a young chef struggling to help his family's business, between rich people, fake dating and then real dating, rich people's problems mooncakes' recipes and so much more. Dylan is a lovely main character, funny, relatable and I loved his relationship with his family, mostly with his cousin Megan, they are a brilliant duo and I love their interactions and how supportive they are of each other. When Dylan's and Theo's worlds collide, between an embarassing encounter, him being a new customers, fake dating and they slowly discovering they actually care for and love each other, Dylan's plan for saving his aunt's restaurant is a bit sidetracked. Dylan has to balance between a new boyfriend and reality, old jealous ex, butlers and threats and his loyalty to his family. I really loved reading this book, I found it funny and sweet, so involving and really beautiful. It made me smile and laugh, being embarassed for second hand embarassment, brilliant moment and cute ones. It's a lovely fairytale and I love how the author dealt with financial problems, how Dylan felt the money's pressure and how he helps his aunt's business going on and then thrive.
Between love and family, friends and new allies, this book is a true gem.

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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’m a sucker for a foodie or fake dating romance & lucky me, Fake Dates & Mooncakes by Sher Lee has both.

Dylan Tang works at his aunt’s Singaporean Chinese takeout & dreams of winning an upcoming moon cake competition so he can drive more customers to his aunt’s business.

Using a family recipe for the mooncake is also a great way to remember his mother, who passed away one month ago, & possibly to get to know Theo Somers, a handsome, wealthy charmer who Dylan has a crush on immediately after meeting.

Though they don’t have the most auspicious beginning, Dylan & Theo help each other out through a business grant-wedding date exchange.

This cute book explores the importance of Chinese culture to both characters & how that’s tinged by their own respective losses. Family support is huge in this book with Dylan’s family banding together to help him the same way he tries to help them.

Though the drama feels a bit odd to me, Theo makes a great gesture for Dylan’s sake, & it all wraps up with a heartwarming & satisfying ending.

4⭐️. Out 05/16.

Please check out a trusted reviewer's list of CWs.
[ID: Jess, a white woman, wears an orange floral dress and holds the ebook in front of a green tree.]

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Warning: Do not read this book on an empty stomach. You will be starving by the end of your reading session.

I'll admit, I am typically not a fan of these types of books. I am not necessarily crazy about the fake dating trope like a lot of people seem to enjoy. But this book just might win me over.

We follow our narrator, Dylan Tang, after he has a particularly bad day working at his Aunt's suffering takeout restaurant, Wok Warriors. In an attempt to save his family's establishment, Dylan decides to enter a Mooncake contest in the hopes of getting Wok Warriors noticed by the general population. Enter Theo Somers, an incredibly rich, son of a CEO who just happened to be present for Dylan's bad day on the job. The two form a connection, with Dylan slowly becoming smitten with Theo, before the latter suddenly asks him to be his fake date to his rich family's wedding. And unfortunately for Dylan, being a fake date to this wedding is much more drama filled than he expected.

This book, especially the relationship forged between Dylan and Theo, is just so cute. Dylan's narration in particular really adds an element to their relationship that just had me gushing over these two and just begging for them to get together already. The book is also cheesy in the best possible way: this is a plot you will only ever find in a romcom, and if that is your thing, you definitely wont be disappointed. It has all of the best tropes that would be in something like that. They have to share one bed at one point, for god's sake, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it.

The synopsis for this book is really spot on here: if you like Heartstopper and Crazy Rich Asians, definitely check this out, and you won't be disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy!

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This book was so cute! The story is adorable, and I loved the characters. I do wish the plot had been a little more thought out at the end, as I feel like the very ending of the story came a little abruptly. Overall, it was really well done though.

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Fake Dates and Mooncakes is a really cute book with loveable characters and an interesting plot. I find that the conflict in a lot of LGBTQIA+ novels focus heavily on the negative aspects such as disapproving/homophobic parents and family, but this book has none of that. The conflict is similar to that of Crazy Rich Asians with Theo being the son of an affluent businessman and Dylan the nephew of a struggling chinese takeout business owner.

Dylan and Theo meet by happenstance and eventually end up fake dating to Theo's cousin's wedding, but real feelings come to the surface.

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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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A cute YA LGBTQ romance featuring Asian American characters. I appreciate the strong family bonds portrayed in this. I'm not sure I like the financial solution at the end. It seems too simple. Like money can solve all problems. Overall, a solid LGBTQ romance.

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Oof. This one hurts a little bit. I buddy-read this with Julie and Dini. We all kind of had some similar thoughts. I just don’t think this was the book for me or my age.

First, I’ll start with what I did like…

I really love the cover. LOL. I mean it’s pretty great and inviting. I also really enjoyed all the food and culture. It’s packed full of culture. Dylan was kind of teaching Theo about his culture but helping us understand too. A couple of times, it turned into “info-dumps.”Another thing that I really enjoyed was Dylan’s family! His cousin Meg was hilarious and I would probably consider reading a book about her.

The beginning and middle of this book were the hardest parts to get through. It does get a little better towards the end but there are several things I struggled with throughout this book. There are a lot of cringe moments between Dylan and Theo. I don’t really want to get into specifics because I don’t want to give spoilers away. Most of these moments came when it had to do with the differences in their social status or in sexual aspects. I almost felt like Theo didn’t take Dylan’s feelings into consideration and he kind of steamrolled him into whatever he wanted. It was almost like he was trying to change him and I was not about that.

The writing was also hard to get through in this book. While this is a rather quick read, the writing was all over the place. There are a lot of choppy sentences and dialogue that really took me out of my flow. The pacing is off and I felt like the last bit of the book was really rushed to get it to come together.

Overall, It was just not the book for me. The family aspect, culture, and food are the best parts. I’m not kidding, I was constantly hungry while reading this book!!

Many thanks to Underlined and Netgalley for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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[arc review]
Thank you to the author, Sher Lee, and Random House Children’s Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes releases May 16, 2023

I absolutely loved this debut and saw so much of myself in this story and the characters!!

Set in New York, Dylan is a high school senior who works at his aunt’s Singaporean-Chinese takeout family business. The way he meets the love interest is through a delivery order over Labor Day weekend.

Wok Warriors is going through some financial trouble, so Dylan follows through with entering a Mid Autumn mooncake baking competition, where if he won, it would give him the opportunity to join the host — a critically acclaimed chef — to spotlight a local diverse food place in NYC (great potential exposure for his family’s business).
It’s the same competition that him and his mother wanted to enter together, but she sadly passed away from cancer before they had the chance.

I loved all of the Chinese culture, biracial rep (half Asian, half White), found family, fake dating, and reconnecting with your heritage. Even the father living in Shanghai was an oddly specific relatability that I wasn’t expecting to find.
Most importantly, although Dylan and Theo were opposites in many ways due to their differences in social class and upbringing, not once did Theo ever try to hide anything or change Dylan in any way that wasn’t his authentic self (including the well loved punny tshirts).
<i>“You’re my fake date, but I never expected you to come with a fake identity.”</i>

The grand gesture towards the end for the mooncake competition was so sweet and thoughtful!

This debut filled with family, food, and tension was so detail oriented and paced really well. The fun wedding crashing and fake dating in the Hamptons (with one bed) balanced out the complex family dynamics and underlying grief from both main characters.

I had a great time reading this and can’t wait to see what Sher Lee comes up with next!

cw: grief, loss of a parent, mentions of DUI, rehab and dementia (side characters)


My 2 cents on readers faulting this for not having spent enough time on the competition:
As someone who has actually competed in baking competitions, I can say that I found the pacing and depictions accurate. This only spanned about a month and we got to see Dylan practice making mooncakes beforehand with both his aunt and Theo on multiple occasions. There’s really not much glitz and glamour on the actual day and I liked the inclusion of describing not only the other competitors flavours but also the other festival stalls and how all of the side characters came together in support.

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Well, this was adorable. If you are looking for a heartwarming and cozy fake dating baking competition romance, this book is for you. It was just so sweet. It also made me so hungry and I want to try all these recipes immediately. I love Dylan and Theo! They are so cute together! I loved the representation and the presence of the Chinese culture. I just wished the topic of grief was explored a little more and in depth, not just told.
Overall, a fun debut and can’t wait to read more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this kind Arc in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sending and allowing me to read this book.
As soon as I started this book I realized I probably wouldn't like it. The book feels like it was written by a sixteen-year-old on wattpad. It's just not written well and the characters are so cringy. Also, I'm not a fan of how fast-paced this novel was it felt almost like instant love and that's just not my thing but I can see how it would be for some people.

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I was really excited for Fake Dates and Mooncakes, but it ultimately fell flat for me. Everything felt very surface level, from the characters, to the romance — I've never been a fan of instalove, and Dylan and Theo felt like they were in love incredibly quickly. A lot of the actions between the characters also rubbed me the wrong way, and I just felt like the main characters lacked chemistry. Overall, I just don't think this was the book for me.

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I was excited to read Fake Dates and Mooncakes, but it ended up not being the right fit for me. There were a couple of things I liked about the book. The representation was great, and I really liked Dylan’s family. They were fun and funny and so supportive of each other, and Dylan's cousin is comical. There was definitely a lot of love in his family, which contrasted Theo's well. I also liked the descriptions of food and culture, though it sometimes felt a little info-dumpy to me. I think I wanted a bit more development and more showing and less telling. And considering how much talk there was about food, I was surprised with how little a focus the actual mooncake competition was.

Many things happened in the story that I found bothersome, and the relationship between Theo and Dylan wasn't my favorite. Their dialogue felt forced, and they didn't have as much chemistry as I'd hoped. And some of Theo's actions rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like he didn't really consider Dylan's feeling many times in the story, and he should have. I also hated that no one was really held accountable for their actions, especially when it came to how Dylan was treated. The book read very young even though there were some pretty adult themes and sexually suggestive scenes. Overall, it might be a good read for the right audience, but I did not enjoy it.

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1 Sentence Summary: Dylan Tang is planning to enter a mooncake making competition to save his family’s struggling Chinese takeout business, but when a disastrous first meeting with wealthy Theo Somers somehow leads to him being Theo’s fake date at a cousin’s wedding, Dylan starts to fall for Theo; however, their worlds are completely different and Dylan can’t afford any distractions if he wants to win.

My Thoughts: This was so adorable and fun! It’s a perfect lighthearted romance and will definitely get you out of a reading slump. And the food!!!! Warning: this book will make you extremely hungry and crave Asian food. I loved all the Singaporean and Chinese culture too.

It’s marketed as Crazy Rich Asians meets Heartstopper, and that is accurate. The romance was cute and the ending was so heartwarming. My only complaint was that their relationship developed kind of unrealistically fast and seemed very much based on physical attraction.

(Also, can we talk about how gorgeous the cover is???)

Recommend to: fans of cute YA romances that feature cooking and culture.

(Warnings: swearing)

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