There is so much to fall in love with in this story about two boys from wildly different socioeconomic stratas: the sweet and wholesome romance, the endearingly flawed characters, the OTT lavish luxury, the very real family dynamics, and THE FOOD. The food descriptions were fantastic and had me drooling - being of Chinese-Malaysian heritage means a I grew up with a lot of this cuisine, so reading this book really felt like coming home.

The book tackles some big themes. It addresses issues around class, grief, and loss in a way that never feels forced or heavy-handed. I appreciated the way that the author explored these issues without slowing down the narrative or detracting from the overall lighthearted tone. I highly enjoyed this read!

I mean you had me at the cover! How bloody cute is it?!
This was such a fun read! I devoured it in almost one sitting. I loved so much about this book: the fake dating, the chemistry between the two leads, Dylan and Theo (swoon), the cultural references, the cooking references—OMG, the cooking references! This part was just fabulous. Fair warning though ... don't go into this book hungry.
I look forward to Sher Lee's next work as this debut was everything a rom-com should be! Highly recommend!

ARC was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and and Sher Lee for sending me an advanced E copy of this book in exchage for an honest review, you all helped kick this year off to a great start!

Fake Dates and Mooncakes was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I couldn't believe that I had the chance to read it before it officially came out. I was also nervous because I was afraid that I had hyped it up so much in my mind that there wasn't any way it could compare. However, I'm happy to report that I had just as much fun and enjoyed it as much as I had hoped.

In this touching romantic comedy we follow Dylan Tang's mission to win a mooncake festival to honor his recently deceased mother and to help his Aunt Jade keep her restaurant open. In the process he meets and falls in love with Theo, a rich boy from a world that feels miles apart from Dylan's. Through a series of touching and sometimes hilarious ups and downs their relationship is tested.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes is truly a wonderful mixture of romance and comedy that doesn't only focus on the blossoming relationship between Dylan and Theo, but also highlights the importance of family and heritage. Some of my favorite moments in the book were when we were together with Dylan's aunt and cousins learning about the history of Singaporean Chinese food. I love the message of food being so powerful that it brings people together from all walks of life and how food is an universal bridge to one's past.

I also appreciate that the romance felt fleshed out and healthy especially given that the two main characters are 17-18. I know many young, queer people will be picking this book up and to know that they'll see a healthy relationship depicted makes me really happy.

A wholesome romance between two young men from different socioeconomic brackets, this book has pretty much everything that's trending in YA right now. Between the fake dating trope, the baking competition, the AAPI and LGBTQIA+ rep, and the themes of privilege, family, and self-worth, this should check all the boxes for a YA novel. While I loved the representation and the premise (and the gorgeous cover), the dialogue felt stilted to me. Many of the conversations between the main characters felt unnatural and not like how teenagers, even smart, mature ones, would speak to each other. I also felt that some of the moments of impact were heavy handed; discussions of big corporate business and capitalism are important, but this book made them feel cheesy and forced.

Overall, this was middle of the road for me. While I loved the characters and the premise, I just didn't feel that this is something I'd recommend on merit.

Oh my - I am in love with this story and with Dylan and Theo! This ended up being so much more than I expected, and it's got this beautifully executed love story that's so much deeper than the cover might suggest. This story was funny, heartfelt, and just plain fantastic.I laughed, I cried and I hoped with these amazing characters.Highly recommended!

A CERTIFIED SLAY

Today’s *spoiler free* review is brought to you by YZ🍀

📌 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕: A WordWanderlust’s ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Read

📁 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Young Adult, Romance Comedy, LGBTQ themes, BL

📚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔: It is not everyday a Singaporean author reaches out to you with a brilliant pitch for her debut novel - a Young Adult Romance Comedy that promises to be a crossover between Heartstopper and Crazy Rich Asians. And it is also not everyday where I can proudly and confidently that Sher did just what she had promised! Taking a step further, I think this is a Singaporean version of Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, and Royal Blue - one of my favourite YA Romcoms of all time.

I am not exaggerating when I say FDAM’s first chapter pulled me out of a massive reading slump that lasted for a couple of months. If you have seen our IG story a few days back, I was drawn by Sher’s ability to storytell. Detailed and dramatic, the way Sher set up the opening scene immediately caught my attention. The following chapters until the very last one were a breeze - increasingly captivating and vivid. This is a feel-good romcom, something that plunged me into a reading frenzy as I sat down after lunch and completed the entire novel in a 4 hour sitting. The characters are diverse. It is not everyday you see Asian characters in English LGBT BL novels, and certainly not ones with a Singaporean heritage and background. Sher did Singaporean cuisine due justice and she shared glimpses into Singaporean Chinese heritage and culture - I am sure foreign readers will be increasingly intrigued by this little red dot!

Characters were flawed but properly developed by the end of the book. They showed depth of emotions and Sher crafted such an innocent yet mature relationship between Dylan and Theo while remembering to develop the main character’s relationships with side characters as well. There were no redundant characters nor details present in the book, as each individual and scene added depth to the story. Dylan and Theo were the cutest ever! One small quip, however, was that I wished that Sher unpacked the trauma of loss Dylan and Theo both had even further - I feel that this would allow us readers to appreciate the innate connection Dylan and Theo shared even further and reveal more about each character’s past! Maybe this can be something to consider for a sequel?

FDAM also took me by surprise at how open and progressive the characters were. Reading FDAM provided for me an escape from the harsher nature of reality. In Asian societies, especially Singapore’s conservative one, queer relationships are not always so readily accepted nor embraced. Yet in FDAM, Sher chose not to emphasise on discrimination and prejudice. In FDAM’s world, Dylan and Theo’s relationship was just as natural and romantic as any other - something I hope society can progress towards. FDAM comes just in time as Singapore finally repealed the discriminatory Article 377A (the criminalisation of sex between men) and it is for me a symbol of progress towards greater equality. For this, I thank Sher for allowing me an escape, no matter how momentary, and a strong reminder of how much more beautiful society can be if everyone celebrated love.

Here at WordWanderlust, we are always actively supporting local Singaporean literature. Works such as Sher’s FDAM depict the talent inherent in Singaporean authors and literature. I believe that FDAM, as a Young Adult LGBT Romance Comedy, pushes the boundaries of Singaporean literature further and I hope to see more works such as FDAM in local bookstores. I strongly encourage everyone, especially our Singaporean friends, to give FDAM a read and I hope Sher’s masterpiece inspires more lighthearted LGBTQ positive works in Singaporean literature.

Fake Dates and Mooncake is available for request on Netgalley! Go request a copy now!

🖋️ 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆: It’s as if the storm outside has electrified the invisible molecules in the air, forcing them to collide and creating an imbalance that’s waiting to be discharged somehow

This has been a highly anticipated read since the cover dropped back in November. I have been at the edge of my seat waiting to get hands on this book. Having the arcs get distributed this month was a dream come true. I was beyond ready to dive into the world of Dylan and Theo.

They were beyond lovely. I am a sucker for a wholesome romance and they gave me exactly that. Wholesome was served on a platter alongside with strong positive family dynamics and dysfunctional family dynamics. Having rich families go crazy cuckoo bananas will never fail to entertain me. Theos family was a hot mess and I thoroughly enjoyed that. It was a bit cheesy and almost too much at times but I still ate it up.

I do wish the flow in the storyline was smoother. There were a few things I didn’t think were necessary since they didn’t contribute to the story. Sometimes irrelevant details surfaced while some events could’ve used more details. But overall this was a lovely ya read. It gave romance and food like it said it would. It was cutesy and I have been needing that.

A fun and exciting debut that's as adorable as its cover, and can easily be devoured in just one sitting!

Sher Lee provides an amazing debut with Fake Dates and Mooncakes!
This book is not only adorable, but fully lives up to its name, with a fun plot driven story that had me swooning on more than one occasion.
Although it can be clichéd at times, they are done in the best possible way, with lovable characters that you root for since the very beginning to the very end, the rom-com vibes for this book are there from the get go, while also giving an amazing insight into asian culture.
It truly does live up to the description of being Heartstopper combined with Crazy Rich Asians, and with a debut such as this, I cannot wait for more from Sher Lee!

Aww, look at this cover. Isn’t it stunning? I adore it so much, and it made me want to read the book badly. So my heart beat a little faster when I found the ARC in my email. Because what if my expectations were too high?

I shouldn’t have worried, though. Fake Dates and Mooncakes is as optimistic as Heartstopper, as fluffy as A Little Bit Country, and as vivid as Lose You to Find me (Erik J. Brown, not out yet). When I started reading, a smile grew on my face. Butterflies whirled through my belly when Dylan and Theo were in The Hamptons, and that first smile never left my face. Those two boys were so adorable together! I loved Dylan's bond with his family, but my heart ached at times because of Theo’s relationship with his dad. I wanted to hug him at those moments and I was so happy Dylan’s family welcomed Theo so warmly. What made this story extra special was the presence of Chinese culture, especially the food. All those descriptions made me drool!

Sher, I swooned over your perfect debut and am eagerly waiting for your next book. I need it now! Thanks so much for letting me read Dylan’s and Theo’s story early!

'Fake Dates and Mooncakes' was such a delightful book! It tells the story of Dylan and his family as they work together at his aunt's Chinese takeout restaurant in Brooklyn. Dylan lives and works with his aunt and two cousins. Their family dynamic is so special. It was beautiful to read about the love and support that they gave to each other, and no matter what, they had each other's backs.

The restaurant is struggling, and Dylan enters a mooncake contest to try to help the restaurant gain some more customers. As he works with his aunt to perfect the family recipe, he begins to see how important family and cooking are to him. The author, Sher Lee, had such amazing descriptions of the food, and it made me so hungry! I felt like I was in the restaurant with them.

Enter Theo. Theo is a rich, attractive boy that Dylan happens to meet on one of his food deliveries. Theo asks Dylan to be his fake boyfriend/fake date for an upcoming family wedding. Theo agrees, but he sees that he doesn't fit in with Theo's rich family. Dylan and Theo are fake dating, but could their feelings for each other be real?

Dylan and Theo kept showing up for each other, and their dynamic made me smile so much.

I loved everything about this book! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an ARC of this book.

A really fun, lovely book that left me drooling. Sher brings it with the incredible food descriptions, and they're not even the best part! I loved watching the growing relationship between Dylan and Theo, the wholesomeness of Dylan's entire family dynamic, and all the snippets of Chinese culture I should know about as part of my heritage but don't (I related too hard with Theo on that point!). I also appreciated how the book was based on communication and not MIScommunication, and how everyone actually talked to each other to resolve issues! A fantastic book I thoroughly enjoyed and read far too quickly because I couldn't stop!