This was such a fun, sweet, and enjoyable read that brings all the feelings in teenage love as well as the emotions faced during loss and grief. From the first page I was in love with Dylan and the rest of the Tang family! He does so much for his family, including the moon cake competition for his mom’s memory and his Aunt’s restaurant. His cooking and baking were so well written that I got incredibly hungry during reading. Dylan is funny, a great cook, and cares so much about the people he loves, including Theo. The two of them were great and had me kicking and screaming at their scenes together. Prior to the relationship, Dylan’s internal monologue was a great perspective of having a crush. And then we get them faking dating together at a fancy wedding! It was too much for my heart and I loved seeing them go from fake to real dating! However, this was such a quick read that I wish was a little longer and we got to see more of Dylan and Theo’s relationship.

Overall, this is a great ya romcom and I highly recommend you read it when it comes out!

Read if you like…
•fake dating
•baking competitions
•Crazy Rich Asians but YA
•corgis

So cute! I loved the characters and the plot is like a YA Hallmark rom com. This is a great read about growing up and finding out who you are, especially after loss and change.

When I first saw that this was being marketed as a Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians, I wanted to be all over this. Both of those titles are extraordinary and incredibly representative, but sadly I wasn't feeling this one as much.

I already know I don't read YA as much anymore because it just never clicks for me, so I don't dock anything since I go into YA books not liking them. That's no one's fault, I just don't mix with that genre anymore being that I'm a grown woman who exclusively reads mature books.

Fake Dates and Moon Cakes was adorable. Everything about it was so heartwarming, the family bonding and meddling, the delicious descriptions of food and desserts, and the corgi. Oh my gosh, Clover was SO cute. The writing style was easy enough to read too, I did enjoy it!

My only two issues with this title were that the romance within was sadly lackluster and the actual food contest was hardly ever mentioned. I think that it already had so many plot points to hit and not enough time was focused on the entire plot of the book. I hardly remember conversations about the contest other than the ending.

Theo was a little shallow at times, and so was Dylan, but they're teenagers. It's what they do best. They did not have any chemistry, I feel like a lot of their conversations and interactions were forced a little much, even for a YA novel. Without the chemistry or even a connection between these two characters, the majority of the novel was just very bland. It had a wow factor, which only goes so far for me in most books and it had an adorable corgi.

For a debut novel, this was a really light read and extremely educational. I love learning about and trying out new foods so some of these foods mentioned in the book are definitely high on my list of different foods to try, starting with mooncakes.

Thank you so much Random House Children's - Underlined for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review of my thoughts and opinions.

Oh this is such a delightful book. Makes me hungry just reading it. Not that I want to make my own mooncakes, but I definitely need to seek them out when they become available, and eat some, though I doubt I’ll find any as good as Dylan makes in this lovely rom-com young adult romance.

Dylan works at his aunt's take-out. One evening, he has to also make deliveries, because they are down one driver. He does a meet cute with, what he presumes, is the boyfriend of his customer, Theo, because he is in his underwear, and calls him Baby. (Turns out they are just good friends, and he has called him BB, his nickname.)

The customer is pissed, however, that they got the order wrong, and writes a horrid review, which brings their ratings down, so Theo comes to apologize for his friend's behavior. And so begins the fake dating, because Theo wants to pretend he has a boyfriend so he won’t be bugged to get one, and Dylan goes along because he has fallen in love with him, so he has to pretend to be his boyfriend, while all the time wishing he was.

It is all quite cute. The writing is lovely, and even though it is a little crazy, it all makes sense.
Oh, and the mooncakes? Dylan is trying to create his late mother’s mooncake recipe for a contest with a foodie show, so that he can get publicity for his aunt’s place.

Highly recommended for those who love their rom-coms mixed up with cooking, and food, and delightful boys in love.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

My latest foray into Books That Will Leave You Starving™ was the absolutely adorable Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee. This debut rom com about two boys from totally different worlds who have the destiny to meet across a thousand miles was absolutely lovely in every way, and the very, very food centric story had me drooling from start to finish.

Dylan Tang is your average teenager, working at his Aunt Jade's struggling restaurant, Wok Warriors, and living with Aunt Jade and his two cousins after his mother's death. One fateful night, Dylan has a run-in with a super wealthy, very entitled customer who is, apparently, "ALLERGIC-TO-DUMBASSES" and goes out of his way to tank Wok Warriors' online reviews. When this douchebag's (very cute) friend Theo shows up at Wok Warriors to apologize with a $100 tip and it turns into an impromptu mini-date, Dylan begins to see that the ultra wealthy may not all be as bad as he'd thought. Through a series of adorable events, Dylan finds himself accompanying Theo to a weekend-long wedding in the Hamptons as Theo's fake date--to keep his family off his back and to keep any well-meaning matchmakers at bay. Are the feelings that Dylan begins to develop real, or is he far too deep in the charade? Even more important, will all of his and Aunt Jade's practice help them secure a win at the Mid Autumn Festival mooncake making competition, hosted by a celebrity chef that will surely bring the attention (and with it, money) that the restaurant desperately needs? Or will their shady landlord evict them before they get a chance to prove that Aunt Jade's place is special?

I loved this book so much that I read it in one sitting--I just couldn't put it down! (Well, that's a lie, the one time I put it down was for the Rihanna concert formerly referred to as Super Bowl LVII.) Sher Lee does an excellent job of describing things as Dylan sees them, especially when he steps into the opulent world of the Somers family. You can really feel the lavishness of every portion of their daily life, and the stark contrast to Dylan's life living with 3 other people in a two bedroom flat above a Singaporean Chinese takeout. This was a fairly low-stakes rom com, but definitely held up in the drama department, because of course when a normal person befriends someone wealthy, they have to have ulterior motives, right? And please don't get me started on the food--my mouth will start to water just thinking about xiao long bao, dim sum, and snow-skin mooncakes. Oh, and I will not rest until I find and make a recipe for Hainanese pork chops--they sound absolutely heavenly.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes also deals with the feeling of displacement that many mixed-race people may feel. Theo's mother died tragically in a car accident when he was five, and with her, any tie to his Chinese heritage was gone; he wasn't taught any more about Chinese traditions, lore, and history. Where Dylan is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects of Chinese, Theo isn't able to speak or understand either, and discusses his internal struggle with feeling like he's lost the Chinese part of himself.

This book also handles grief well. Dylan has lost his mother recently, and Theo lost his at a young age, but in a tragic and "was-it-my-fault?" way. Both characters deal with their grief in their own ways, but the sense of understanding grief, and the differing family dynamics in this book was lovely to experience.

a very easy to read, fun, swoony and tropey romcom about with two Queer boys making and eating tons of food.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was a sweet and fun YA romcom! I don't normally read YA romcoms but I do think this one was cute and done well. Dylan and Theo's romance was so sweet and their characters were super lovable. I also love a romance that includes food, it sounded so yummy! I also loved the sprinkles of knowledge on Chinese culture, it was super interesting! An easy read for sure!

It's a very sweet (pardon the pun) concept, but the actual writing wasn't quite active enough to move us forward in a gripping way, and it felt very YA (not a bad thing, but our usual readers are older or younger). It won't be a good fit for our libraries, but I do hope it does well!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes was the perfect blend of a YA romcom. The budding love between Dylan and Theo was sweet and charming and the incorporation of food and dessert made me constantly hungry. Lee does a fantastic job at writing in tidbits of Chinese culture and the history behind mooncakes and the Mid Autumn Festival (I felt like I was always learning something new and I’m Chinese). I absolutely adored the side characters and the heart of the story being the importance of support and community was incredibly touching..

So so cute. I devoured this in one sitting! The romance was so sweet with a their meet-cute being less than ideal, Theo and Dylan's personalities jump off the page. I can't stop thinking about Mooncakes and how I want to try one!
I'm weak for a good fake dating scenario and this one delivers without pushing into the weird territory of lying to each other. Some books let the characters define all their firsts as a fake couple and this really let the characters define themselves and their relationship in spite of the circumstances surrounding their relationship. It made things very believable. The wealth gap is stark in this book but it's so well handled I can't fault it at all. In fact, I enjoyed all the discussion around their upbringings and lifestyles more than I expected. And the ways in which they compliment each other without bringing money into it are so wholesome even though money/power is a huge part of plot in this book.
Honestly, flawless. I wouldn't change a single thing. From pacing, to characters, plot, antagonists, writing style, this has it all and I can't wait to see more from this author in the future.
If you're looking for a delectable YA romance with enough meat on it's bones to withstand multiple reads, than this swoon worthy story is just what you've been waiting for.

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about the history of mooncakes, and the love story was sweet.The characters were loveable, and i really rooted for the MC.

While there are many things to love about this book from the mooncakes, to the corgi, to the actual hilarity from chaotic families, to the pure adorableness of the relationship, I just found this book wasn't for me.

I thought this was a really cute book, just like the cover!
I feel like you get exactly what you expect from this book, in the best way!

It was an optimistic, sweet, fake dating book. Dylan and Theo are just so cute together!
These two were so complimentary to each other. Theo is an extrovert. Dylan an introvert, which makes for such a fun dynamic! I say again it was a super cute LGBTQ+ YA book.

Additionally, I thought that the exploration of the Chinese culture was so intriguing! I think the author did a really good job of including the culture in the values, morals, traditions, and food. (LOL) I just really loved how wholesome this story was.

Received an e-arc from the publisher through netgalley!!! Absolute joy of a read—the story was perfectly well done but what got me fully and wholeheartedly was the bits of Singaporean American culture hidden inside. From the food names to the asian grocery stores, Sher Lee captured not just the nuance of being queer and a person of color, but also the inherent relationship between a singaporean and food as well :).

Although easily predicable, the story flowed beautifully and was all around a fun read (and an absolutely perfect YA)! Would recommend endlessly for anyone to read.

This one was so adorably fluffy! I picked it up purely because of the cover, and I have no regrets. The entire thing was a pure boost of serotonin!

My favorite thing about this was definitely the family aspects. Dylan's entire family was so cute. I loved watching them support each other, and how unfailing that support was. I also loved how quickly they embraced Theo. Even when Dylan wasn't quite sure of his feelings, his family was, and it was adorable.

As for the relationship between Dylan and Theo, I really enjoyed it too. I do wish we'd gotten a bit more content with them together as a couple, but that's a minor complaint. They had amazing banter and chemistry, and their will-they/won't-they game was fun.

I already know this cover is going to be featured on Bookstagram constantly, it's that pretty. So, do yourself a favor and pick up the book when you see it. You won't regret it!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Huge thank you to Sher Lee, Randomhouse and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just TOO sweet. I can’t. My heart is full to bursting. These boys, these families, I am in so much love.

This has been described as Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians and, honestly, that’s so, so true.

Dylan and Theo are far too adorable together. I was rooting for them from the first moment they met, all the way through until the end. They balanced each other so well, and I loved that Dylan not only reminded Theo what was important, but helped him connect with his mother and their shared heritage.

I loved the supporting cast, too. All of them were so fun and vibrant and brimming with life, all in such different ways, and I loved seeing them all come together towards the end.

I also really enjoyed learning about Chinese culture. This book has so much history and information woven throughout and I enjoyed it so much. Also, now I’m craving xiao long bao!

I can’t recommend this book enough!

This story was fun from the start - two teenage boys coming of age in a complicated city where money and station instantly highlight their differences. If you are looking for a sweet story of two new friends falling in love, this one is for you! This was an easy read to fall right into as the main characters had chemistry from the start. I would call this trope heavy in a good way.

When I first started reading I had no idea that this was a YA romance. But still this book was a good read for me. The main reason I don't like YA anymore is because of the character development. I didn't expected much from it but it was great.

Everything was well executed and this is a good one time read. The characters were amazing too but I wished that Theo's father and his aunt would have stop fighting.

The characters are so cute and the romance is so fast-paced. It reads like a c drama!!! Sher Lee is a clever writing and I felt something for every character in this book. Well done!

“有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢”

An LGBTQ YA novel written by a Singaporean, featuring a male protagonist with a Singaporean heritage and background? YES, please!

Dylan Tang is a high school boy who lives with his aunt and helps out in her Chinese takeout in Brooklyn after his mother’s passing. Hoping to save his aunt’s struggling business and in memory of his mother, Dylan wants to win a mooncake-making competition. While running a delivery, he meets Theo Summers, the son of a business magnate. Though charmed by Theo’s smiles and personality, their worlds are poles apart. But as they spend more time together and Dylan gets dragged into rich-people problems, will they be able to overcome all odds and also save his aunt’s business?

Written in first person from Dylan’s POV, I absolutely loved how the Singaporean Chinese culture and heritage was brought out in the story - the food (chye tow kway, hokkien mee…), calling unrelated people ‘auntie’ and ‘uncle’, the seventh lunar month... To be able to see a representation of things so familiar to me in a book is such a delight. The story of Chang’e and Houyi was beautifully woven into the story, consistent with the theme of Mid-Autumn, along with historical facts about how the custom of eating mooncakes originated back in ancient China.

The romance between Dylan and Theo was adorable - from their disastrous first meeting, to a budding attraction, fake-dating and all that palpable flirtatious tension, to finally getting together despite your typical Asian drama romance obstacle. I also found both characters to be well developed, with Dylan a little more so than Theo.

The theme of family shone brightly in this story - Dylan with his loving aunt and cousins, and Theo’s crazily complicated one.

The writing is strong and the story flows smoothly. I enjoyed the humour and Dylan’s punny T-shirts! I had such a wonderful time with this debut novel and can’t wait to read more from Sher Lee! 4.5/5 stars