I loved The Stand In! From the first page, I couldn’t put it down! I found Gracie to be such a sweet and resilient character. The way she took care of her mother was so kind. Also the romance was so swoon worthy! I cannot wait to see what this author writes next!

I liked this book, but I think I would have liked it a lot more if I knew what I was getting before I started. The cover and blurb give the impression of a cute rom-com—girl is asked to be a stand in for a major celebrity and falls for her handsome co-star—but what we get instead is a surprisingly serious narrative with quite a lot of heavy topics.

The story begins with our protagonist Gracie dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. She is beaten down by the increasingly aggressive comments of her direct superior at work. She is desperate to keep her job because her mother has advanced Alzheimer’s and she needs the cash to put her in a better care facility. One day she is photographed by a paparazzo who mistakes her for a famous actress to whom she bears a startling resemblance. She is then fired from her job, and the celebrity, Fangli, offers her a job impersonating her to ease her workload.

You would think hijinks would ensue at this point—after all, Gracie is a normie living the life of a celeb, with the fashion, attention, and money to go with it. Usually there would be at least a section of a story like this where some fun would be had before the sobering reality sets in that the grass isn’t always greener, yada yada. But in this case, there was no joy.

Gracie is stressed and unhappy throughout the story. The handsome co-star Sam is rude and dismissive of her for much of the story, and frankly it takes way too long before his behaviour changes. Fangli, despite being an important part of the premise, is absent from most of the story because it turns out she is dealing with depression, and can’t get out of bed for days in a row.

I don’t want to give any more of the story away, but there are more serious topics that do get brought up throughout the course of the book. I’m not saying it’s a bad book for including these topics, but the weight of the topics definitely seems incongruous with the lighthearted blurb on the back of the book.

It is also a very character-centric story, meaning we spend a lot of time in Gracie’s head, rather than moving forward with a plot.

Overall, I believe this was well-written and did have interesting topics that it touched on. I liked the Asian-Canadian representation. But I think as a romance it fell a bit flat. The tone did not match the marketing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine being approached by a Chinese actress superstar Wei Fangli, who offers you more money than you could make in years if you just agree to be her stand-in? This is exactly what happens to Gracie Reed. We first meet Gracie after she meets with a lawyer who informs her she does not have enough proof to file a sexual harassment suit against her handsy manager. Unfortunately, quitting isn’t an option until she finds a new job. Her mothers dementia has gotten worse and without a job she can’t afford to pay for her care. So naturally the offer is very tempting.

"Why do I follow her into the car? Do I have a death wish? I might, but right now I'm also very sick of being Gracie Reed and doing normal safe Gracie Reed things. Whatever happens now will at least be different, and after today I want that desperately."

This book was so fun. On a personal level it was very exciting to read a book set in Toronto, being familiar with many of locations mentioned was fun and really helped me feel emerged in the story. It had a similar feel to the movie The Princess Switch. Grace agrees to help Fangli as her stand-in so Fangli can get some much needed rest. Gracie soon finds out submersing herself into the world of glitz and glamour is a lot of work, leaving little room for error when all eyes (and camera lenses) are on you. Gracie struggles to find her groove and she is convinced Sam Yao, Fanglis Oscar winning smokeshow of a co-star, is only helping her to protect Fanglis image. However, as they get to know each other a relationship starts to bloom … or maybe Gracie is the only one who feels it, is this all an act for Sam?

"It's too bad that his new friendliness makes him more appealing. Not physically, because you can't improve on perfection, but simply as a person."

This book was the perfect mix of romance and women’s fiction, I simply couldn’t put it down. There were so many layers and tropes to this story and Lily Chu knocked it out of the park. Often when there are multiple storylines it can feel forced but Chu intertwined them beautifully. I loved the character development, Gracie starts out in a very dark place dealing with her bosses unwelcome advances, her mothers deteriorating state, still grieving her father and dealing with her own depression. As we get further into the book we start to see how she start to understand that how you see yourself and how others perceive you are two different things. Her relationship with Sam is a slow burn (my favourite), they went from being in a faux relationship to friends to lovers all with a celebrity/mistaken identity spin. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary romance. Sure some of the storylines are a bit predictable but for me there were so many other things happening that it kept me on my toes and invested throughout.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Gracie Reed is a unique character who gets stuck in a sticky situation that ends up up being beneficial in the long run. As Gracie struggles to discover who she really is, deals with mess that is life sometimes, and falls in love, you can't help but adore her.

The Stand-In is a little slow and the plot isn't in-depth, it is solidly okay! It's a light read with a HEA and incredibly hot rich man, but I'm not sure I would want to read her other books at this point in time.

3.5 Stars | Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC.

Stand In was for the most part a wholesome and cute Cinderella story. It reminds me of a lot of the Asian novellas/dramas that I’ve seen where the romance is a slow burn and clean. It is refreshing to read an adult story that isn’t just about the spice. It isn’t just a cute and lighthearted rom-com, Stand In also touches on so many themes and struggles especially ones that a young Asian woman may face in society. and it does so in a very organic manner. I also appreciate the fact that it tackles the stigma behind Mental Health, especially in Asian communities. The pacing was slow in the beginning and the premise sounds ludicrous. But I’ve seen enough Asian novellas that I didn’t mind it at all. It was very on-brand for the genre and I appreciated it. Gracie is a chaotically relatable heroine and I oftentimes saw myself in her. (I too am a bullet journal wanting to design her own planning app. Ha!) She has spent her life in the shadows not wanting to stand out. She is a people-pleaser at her very core and has lived a mostly safe life. In Stand-In she slowly steps out of her comfort zone, learns to make her own choices, and slowly figure begins to stand up for herself, and begins to make meaningful connections. Gracie and Sam were okay to be at the beginning but I was completely rooting for them at the end. Perhaps it was the writing but I think their chemistry could have been written better, but as I said, it gradually became more prominent as the story went on. The twists were predictable but I didn’t mind it and I in fact shed a tear or two because of it. Overall, Lily Chu is a wonderful new voice and I can’t wait to read her future work.

DNF at 40%
I really wanted to like this book. It has a fun premise, an adorable cover, I love the fact it's set in Toronto and features a Chinese-Canadian heroine. But I wasn't clicking with Gracie and found her really wishy-washy. It took me four days to read 40% and there was still five hours left in the story according to my Kindle. I set it aside a few times and kept trying, but I just don't care about the characters or the story enough to continue.

Such a cute and wholesome read! I really enjoyed the whole book and the characters. If you need something that will be a breath of fresh air, this one is for you!

A breath of fresh air in this genre!
A romance book where romance isn't the main priority. There is more to the plot than two people falling in love. It beautifully tackles themes of mental health, identity, fame, and self-discovery. It's diverse, thought-provoking, and ridiculously cute. I would gladly read it again.

This is an enjoyable fun read. I appreciated the BIPOC characters. The fun premise played out like a Korean soap opera along With the hot hot male love interest.

I can definitely see this becoming a romcom movie.

Honestly, I just absolutely loved this book. The cover itself is absolutely beautiful and the dynamics of the characters made me thoroughly enjoy this delightful doppelganger story.

It wasn't the trivial girl meets slightly richer girl and switch lives to find that "the grass is greener" story. The Stand-In goes deeper and touches on topics like having a parent's with declining health and awareness, mental health, biracial identity, racism, love, social dynamic, harassment, and looking for a group to belong with. Did Gracie's relationship with her mom and her struggle with integrity make me tear up a bit? You betcha. Did I love the romance? Absolutely. But oh, how I loved the story of friendship and understanding between Gracie, Fangli, and Anjali.

I will absolutely revisit this book again and look forward to having a physical copy of my own in my personal library. I am certainly a fan of Lily Chu now.

Now, please, someone get me set up on Eppy ASAP.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this was such a cute story, a little predictable at times but in a good way! There were a few twists throughout the book that I saw coming but I definitely think they added to the story! If you enjoy a slow burn, Gracie and Sam's story is definitely for you! I liked how the friendship and connection between Gracie and Fangli developed, and I also appreciated how Lily Chu addressed some really important topics through this friendship. I feel that Chu did an excellent job of addressing these important topics such as sexual harassment in the workplace, depression, anxiety, the stress and struggles of a family member with Alzheimer's, being biracial and dealing with racism, which in turn made the characters within the book more relatable. I did feel the plot was maybe a little rushed at the end, but overall a cute read!

This was a cute story; I liked that it focused on more than just the romance and dealt with mental health in a nice, but somewhat understated way. It also was fun seeing another side to acting that wasn't Hollywood. I did see a few of the "twists" coming, but the overall story was unique enough that I didn't mind. I did like Sam and Fangli quite a bit; Gracie was a bit on the blah side unfortunately. Thankfully, she did evolve as a character throughout the book though and I liked seeing her gain some self-worth by the end.

The Stand-In is absolutely excellent. It had me laughing, crying, and heavily relating to Gracie's struggle to organize her life. ⁠
After being confused for famous Chinese actress Wei Fangli, Gracie is approached by the actress herself and asked to stand-in for her at events. Fangli needs a break, Gracie needs the money, and how hard can it really be to pretend to be an A-lister? Sam, another A-list actor and Fangli's friend, is opposed to the whole idea, but gets roped in due to his friendship with Fangli. ⁠
Gracie and Fangli have an instant connection, and I loved that their friendship bloomed throughout the story and became more than business. Sam was such a perfect grump that his transition to love interest was so swoon-worthy. ⁠
This book does deal with some heavier topics, but Lily Chu perfectly blends the heavy in with romcom moments while not detracting from either that I will absolutely read everything she writes in the future!⁠
Definitely pick this one up!

As a Canadian reader, I'm always on the hunt for contemporary romance novels written by Canadians and set in Canada. The Stand-In is an excellent debut from Toronto-based author Lily Chu and I would absolutely recommend it to other readers (whether they are Canadian or not)! I just ordered a physical copy for myself.

There was a lot I really liked about this book:

1) Gracie Reed's love of lists reminds me a lot of one of my favourite Abbi Waxman books, "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill." I loved how these were included in the book between chapters.

2) While this book is indeed a romance, there are also many important topics that are addressed in the book like sexual harassment in the workplace, struggles with anxiety and depression, supporting a family member with dementia, as well as being biracial and experiencing racism. All of these elements made Gracie's character and her experiences feel very real and provided a lot for readers to connect with or think differently about.

3) I normally don't love the fake dating trope (especially with a celebrity character), but Chu really sold me in terms of how this works with Gracie's character development and finding confidence in herself.

Thank you very much to Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an ARC on NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Gracie is Chinese Canadian who looks very much like Chinese Actress Wei Fangli. After paparazzi capture a picture of Gracie at a coffee shop, Fangli offers to pay Gracie to take the movie star’s place temporarily. Gracie agrees in order to put her mother in a better nursing home and in exchange she has to attend events and be accompanied by Fangli’s ‘friend’ Sam Yao who is named Sexiest Man in the world. What can go wrong?

This was a great debut rom-com, I had a lot of fun reading this. I loved the friendship that developed between Gracie and Fangli, and it was great seeing Gracie help Fangli get the help that she needed. I really liked the conversations about depression and anxiety. Sam and Gracie get off on a rough start, but after spending some time together, they both start to fall for each other. The banter between them was funny and their romance was very sweet.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Also, if you are taking part in Asian Readathon this is a great book to read for one of the challenges especially challenge 4, as this cover is gorgeous.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC.

Omg, this was better than I expected. I love the characters so much and Gracie is such a relatable character. I expected Fangli to be a terrible one, but she was sweet all through, and the way Sam grew on me...what a man! I need more of Gracie and Sam!! Plus I loved how Gracie took charge of her life. A+ for character development. Overall, this was such a lovely read!

Lastly, petition to make Eppy a real thing.

📖Book: The Stand-In
🎵Narrator: Phillipa Soo
⭐️Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏼Author: Lily Chu
📚Genre: Romance | AudioBook
🗏 Pages: 361– slow-pace (short chapters)
💌Tropes: Celeb look-alikes switch places, Rivals to lovers, fake dating (kind of), found family
⚠️TW: Mental Illness, Sexual Harassment, Dementia, Racism, Panic Attacks, Death of a Parent, Xenophobia

When Gracie lies to take off the day to see if she can nail her creepy boss, she gets mistaken for a famous actress Fangli. Gracie is approved by her celeb look-a-like and is offered a decent sum of money to pretend to her at night for the next two months. Sam, Fangli's best friend and actor co-star, is against the idea but is willing to do anything for his friend. Desperate after losing her job, when her boss shows her the photograph, she takes a leap and does it. You are thrown into a world of luxury, with Chanel and runaway shows, but also see the quieter side of Toronto with its ferry and island. I adore the audiobook of this and felt like Phillipa Soo was playing Gracie in the movie in my head. The physical copy of this book is even better. I'm so glad Target decided for it to be its monthly book club pick. Make sure to grab either grab this yourself or request it from the library. You will want to read/listen to this.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Sourcebookcasa for the advanced reader earc of "The Stand-In" in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Stand-In was a cute, quick read. Gracie was a relatable disaster, which I always appreciate. I desperately want an actual Eppy app to fix my life, but reading through her development of it was not always super interesting. The "twist" was not so much a twist, and in general it was a pretty predictable plot—but it was a fun little novel.

“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯.”
ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ, ɢʀᴀᴄɪᴇ! ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ, ɢɪʀʟ!

THE STAND-IN by Lily Chu is a cute fake-dating, enemies to lovers romance and a love letter to Toronto.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥:
One day Gracie Reed is mistaken for Wei Fangli, a Chinese A-list movie star. The next day, Fangli is making a wild offer — she wants Gracie to impersonate her for 2 months which includes having the insufferable Sam Yao, sexiest man in the world, as her arm candy. Sounds like “swoon” sailing, right?

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕤:
It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s sweet and it will charm the socks off of you.
At the same time, it tackles depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s and workplace harassment. Chu also expertly delves into life in the spotlight and the sacrifices that accompany it. I loved Gracie and enjoyed watching her relationship develop with both Sam and Fangli.

𝕋𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕣:
I lit up with every single Toronto reference and now I’m ready to hit the streets again! Catch me at Kensington Market sipping on some Mexican hot chocolate while reading and people watching.

Below are all the Toronto places mentioned in the book (let me know if I’ve missed any!):
CN Tower, Toronto Music Gardens, Centre Island, The Rec Room, Steam Whistle Brewery (the train museum), Kensington Market, The Mugshot Tavern, David Pecaut Square, Nathan Phillips Square, Yonge-Dundas Square, The Museum of Contemporary Art.

Recommend to a friend? Yesss, friend! It cute! Think “The Princess Switch” vibes.

Final Thoughts:
Can I I get a sequel?
This would make a cute movie.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

3.5/5 Stars!

The Stand-In is more than just your average switcheroo romcom and by that, I was pleasantly surprised.

Gracie is our Chinese-Canadian lead; full of sarcasm and a biting wit even while she's navigating All of the bad things. After being photographed being out and about on her day; the press seems to thing she's a dead ringer for the famous Chinese actress Wei Fangli. The crazier part? So does Wei Fangli.

Wei offers Gracie the chance, and the money, to pose as her during events and while Gracie is understandably skeptical—she can't pass up the chance. She just has to put up a good enough front, and deal with Fangli's irritatingly gorgeous costar, Sam, in the process and she's home free.

This, of course, is important because her boss is harassing her, and if she pushes back, she'll lose her job. Worse, she won't be able to afford the nursing home her mother desperately needs. The feeling of helplessness, the depression and fear that Gracie goes through in her headspace about this situation was terribly real. I was not expecting to go into this book and be presented with a narrative on mental health, harassment, Alzheimer's—and much more. These aspects really grounded the book that otherwise is based entirely around a wild and crazy premise.

The romance was not as much to the forefront as I expected either, and that was also a pleasant surprise, as we got to follow Gracie as she grew into someone who was able to face her challenges head on instead of just rolling with the waves. She is not a weak character, she is a human character. And it is easier than we think to get lost in situations that seem unfathomable when we're inside them. Gracie and Fangli's friendship really stole the show here as well and it was beautiful to see. We DEFINITELY need more female friendships in all forms of media. I enjoyed it entirely more than any of the romance, even if Sam and Gracie grew on me eventually.

This book was just fun. It was simultaneously light and not. Insane and perfectly normal. For a book about pulling a double-switch on the public, it sure had a lot of heart.

*My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.