📖: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pies
✍️: Jackie Lau
⭐️: 2 of 5

Troupes & Themes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fake Dating

Trigger/Content Warnings:
- Language

My Thoughts:
Unfortunately, this was not for me, and I had to DNF this at 10%. I did not enjoy the authors writing style. I do like first-person pov, but there was too much info dump as the characters narrated their lives. I also did not like like Emily, like at all. She immediately got under my skin. Off the bat, she is rude, condescending, and self-righteous. I do enjoy enemies to lovers troupe, but sometimes they can be too much, especially when its more of a bully situation. I found Emily to be extremely hateful for absolutely no reason. I don't tolerate people like her in real life, and I just couldn't finish this.
Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

What a cute romcom full of fake dating, lies and deception by more than one character in the story.
Mamma is set on making sure Emily meets and marries Mark Chan. Who is Mark Chan and why does Emily take an immediate dislike to him? What develops in the relationship between the two? Check out the book to find out.
I recommend this as a fun light hearted read.
Thank you NerGalley and Atria Books for my ARC.

I liked this! This was so cute and wholesome. The fake-dating trope is one of my favourites and I was so well done, it had me giggling throughout the whole book. I loved the tension between Emily and Chan. Their chemistry was amazing and I enjoyed following their journey.

the big, crazy and chaotic family of an Asian household was so interesting to experience and I loved their friendships and wildness. Along with that the pressure to be successful and marry a doctor was highlighted. I enjoyed seeing Emily's voice in the beginning and it then switching to multiple POV.

Overall this was so fun and I love the representations.


Thank you to Atria books for sending the free eARC!

I'm very torn on the rating for this book, but I think I'm leaning toward 3.5 stars. Emily wants to fake date Mark to get her mom off her back, while Mark agrees so they can actually learn more about each other. At first it's fake fake dates, then real fake dates, then real real dates, as they start to fall for each other in this sweet romance.

The POV of writer Emily is hilarious. I fall into that age bracket and related to a lot of her complaining about getting older and reflecting on her 20s. I also enjoyed her writing and publishing thoughts. I liked her mom's motive in the end, but not Emily's reasoning for why she broke it off with Mark--I'm glad everyone told her that was a dumb reason lol

As for Emily and Mark's relationship, I really wasn't invested or buying it, to the point I almost gave up on that plot, but then we got his POV which was great, except we still didn't learn much about Mark. I can't tell you much about him except he loves his cat and mom, has a tense relationship with his dad, and treats Emily well. We kinda only see his present state, and it mostly revolved around her, so he lacked a little depth, but he was a really sweet, considerate, and nice guy. I think the sex scenes could've been fleshed out more or just been closed door. Kudos if you come that fast, but I can't get over her climax after 2 licks and him entering her and other similar scenes.

Overall all it was a good read.

I love this cover!

I found this cute and funny and had me laughing out loud while reading. i really liked the writing and was the first from this author. I loved how it showed how the family was always trying to meddle in their lives and drove them crazy :)

It was somewhat predictable but that was ok with me as it was worth the read.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I got an ARC of this thanks to @atriabooks ! It was very cute and did make me tear up a little at the end. It focuses on the main character, Emily, her being a writer, her feeling like a disappointment to her family, and her unwillingness to date Mark Chan.

I could have used more from Mark’s POV because by the end, I felt I didn’t really know him. But I did like that we got SOME POV from him.

I totally recommend this book. It’s like Pride & Prejudice meets the fake dating trope.

If I had to summarize this book in a few words it would be:Cinnamon, spice and everything nice!

This book was funny, touching and has some spice to it. And you guys know I love my spice.

I related to this story so much, the fact that you date someone and your like "Ew I won't like them if my mom likes them" and then it turns out, mother is actually always right.

I give it a 4/5!

I did find this one to really cute and funny. I liked the talk of writing and I liked the dates throughout. I liked the look into family and how as much as we don't want them to, they tend to try and meddle in our lives.
This did feel predictable though. But I liked the funny and cute differences throughout.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This was such a fun and light read. Just what I needed at this time. I enjoyed the fake dating and matchmaking tropes very much. This book was funny and Emily and Mark were perfect!

*thank you to Netgalley and a publisher for the arc*

Loved this one! what a cute read ! needed a palate cleanser and this one hit the mark!
fun,quick and easy to read! definitely recommend!

This was so cute! A lovely, fun, fake dating romance which such heart. I love the complex feelings and thoughts that both main characters had. A sweet, cute lovely read.

A solid romance with a great balance of heart, chemistry, and fun tropes. Emily and Mark are a cute couple and I was pleasantly surprised by how everything wrapped up.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie was a delightful, funny, and sweet book. This book was nothing like I expected, but it is one of the best romcoms I’ve read.

Overall, this story was about family. Whether it’s chosen or the one you’re born into. Jackie Lau does an excellent job of portraying the pressure of having set expectations from your family. While most of these misunderstandings could be solved with a little communication, we understand that sometimes communicating with family can be difficult.

Emily was so easy to understand and feel for. With her dreams of being a full-time author, 3 jobs, and a meddling mother?? I’d be more than a little exhausted. How she had time to even fake a relationship? I’ll never know. Mark Chan, you are the best!!! Getting his POV in the second half was so surprising, but I loved every bit of it! I enjoyed getting to know Emily’s roommate and friend, Paige and Ashley. Not only did we see the main character’s issues, we got to know about the side characters as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much. I will be looking at more of Jackie Lau’s work. Her writing is wonderful in this book. This was a delightful afternoon read.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I enjoyed reading the book, I felt it was predictable. Familiar story of super meddling mom playing matchmaker with daughter. She has 4 sisters, all of whom are married, leaving her the only single one! It’s a funny read and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to the mom. Emily holds her own with her mom and other meddling family members, staying true to herself and her goals.

4.5 stars
Thank you Atria for gifting me this e-arc.
The whole book is so cute. As an Asian, this book resembles me in so many ways

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Super cute book that he me giggling at times, grinning a lot and swooning a few times also.

The story might not be new but it was highly enjoyable. I think Emily & Mark are a wonderfully matched couple, much to Emily's dismay and her mother's joy.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to Atria books for an advanced copy of this book.
I liked this. It wasn’t what I thought it would be from the synopsis and I loved that.

Emily’s mother is incessant with marrying her off but even more so to Mark Chan. At first she brushes it off but then she creates a scheme to get her mother off her back with Mark’s help.

They’re both so awkward together it was funny. They’re an unusual pair and it works. You ever see a couple and wonder how they got together cause it makes no sense? This is kinda what it is but you get an inside look of how perfect they are. This book was quirky, funny and unexpected. Definitely would recommend if you like a quick easy read.

This was a good read with some very cute moments and a surprising storyline compared to most romances.
The story opens with an instant dislike between the two MCs, followed by a slow unravelling of why. Enter numerous obstacles like fake dating and suppositions that go too far, and a mean sister, and you have all the ingredients for the couple to fail.

Emily was a very believable character, with all the angsts of her generation and basic needs for survival in a time that makes life difficult for those born in the '90s and on. Her ongoing monologue of anxiety-ridden thoughts might annoy some readers and feel like filler in places, but having a mind that goes a mile a minute myself, it didn't bother me.

Mark, the love interest, is different too, but with him it's like opening box after box until you get to the small gift inside, and then you find out some men are the exact opposite of what you see is what you get, in a good way.
(For those who are not fans of sex scenes, there are 2-3 in the book.)

The cultural thread throughout of a meddling, pushy mum who will do whatever it takes to get her last single daughter married has been done frequently, but there's a difference to this one, which I think readers will enjoy.

All in all, you'll be glad you read it.
3.7 rounded up to 4 stars.

4.25 stars

Romantic comedy with fake dating and sloooow burn. Initially I thought this was going to be a chaste romance because for at least the first half of the book there was zero physical interaction between any character, let alone the MC's. But happy to be wrong, and loved the long drawn out romantic part of the story. There was so much to enjoy from this novel, from the info about how the publishing world works, to all the descriptions of the food they consumed, and the fact that the story takes place in Toronto (I'm in Montreal, we're neighbors). I was less charmed by the issue between Emily and Mark near the end, it was a created problem for the sake of the plotline and not really a plausible "real life" problem. Other than that, loved Jackie Lau's writing style. I will most definitely pick up another of her books.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Enjoyed very much!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie.

I loved this book!

The characters are all really well written. Even minor characters are forgiven full characters and distinct personalities. The main character of Emily and Mark are both great.

I enjoyed reading the story from both of their perspectives.

I would definitely recommend this book!