While I thought there was a lot of good stuff here, I felt like it was too short to accomplish all it tried to. I feel like it needed another 100 pages to expand on everything and make it feel more meaningful. Would still recommend to teens who prefer shorter fiction!

I loved everything about this book, it was cute and fun and different. The contrast with characters made the love story so much more enticing. I would read this book over and over again.

I don’t say it often, but when publishers compare books to those with huge success that have already come out, I despise it. I despise it because it’s never accurate. And then my expectations end up through the roof and most times the book barely breaks a 3 star from me. But this book? THIS BOOK?! I totes got the Heartstopper and Crazy Rich Asian vibes. And it paired so well together. Definitely one of my top rom coms of the year!

Ok so first off let’s talk about the best part….. The food! There’s both savory and sweets in this one so don’t go reading this when you’re hungry. I can admit I definitely had to get some Chinese take-out after I read it because I was so invested. It also made me desperate to try a mooncake. I understand it probably won’t be like the one in the book because of the freaking special ingredients, but can we all admit that we were all drooling by the time they made it? No? Was that just me? Whatever. Everything they made sounded amazing and now thinking about it I want dumplings all over again.

The next thing was the romance and the tropes. Ok so I’m a HUGE fan of fake dating already, but it just hits different when it’s fake dating to a wedding. This specific trope is my absolute fave, so imagine my surprise when it popped up in the book. Y’all know I read the synopsis one time, like when I just find it, and I don’t even read it all the way through. Just the Nikki buzz words. So months later, I had no idea what this was even about. BUT on the flipside tho, it also had one of my least fave tropes, millionaire/billionaire boyfriend. Why is this my least fave? Because they be wanting to spoil their partner and their partner always does the same thing, acts like they can’t take it. WHY NOT?! I could never be a heroine lolol

The romance itself was very cute tho. It was like a really fast, instalove kind of deal tho. And contrary to what I normally think of instalove, I LOVED that part. Maybe I’ve just read too much adult romance lately, but they’ve all been like long drawn out slow burns. Idk, maybe you’ve heard me say this here before a time or two, but I HATE THEM. They never get together until like 70% left in the story and even then they still have a freaking third act break up. Thankfully this one didn’t have that. Their attraction was immediate, they had a really awkward meet cute, and they still prevailed.

The only reason this wasn’t perfect was the pacing. Everything happened so fast. It was always like “BOOM BOOM BOOM!” And while I liked that for the instalove, the rest of everything else suffered. Everthing was resolved quickly so I didn’t feel like there was really a conflict and I never really knew the characters besides the ones that kept popping up.

The narrator was great. I never really had a complaint about them. I did check and they are an Own Voices narrator and I love that. They have really been a hit for me lately. Their inflections are right and there are no forced accents or dialects. And this narrator does that for Fake Dates.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope y’all will too! Not only is the cover cute, but so is the inside. And yes the corgi is definitely a character. I think the only thing that could have made this better would be if Lee gave the dog a chapter from it’s POV. Hopefully that’ll be something to look forward to lol

The Name! The Cover! The Corgi!!! This book has all the tooth-rotting fluff you think it should have. It gives Queer-Young-Adult-Crazy-Rich-Asian Vibes when Dylan Tang has a not-so-meet-cute with ultra-rich Theo Sommers. Right off the bat, Dylan knows he doesn’t fit into Theo’s glitzy world, but he’s trying to save his aunt’s struggling restaurant. So if Theo needs a fake date to take to the Hamptons, Dylan is ready to oblige!

One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the plot did not center around queer trauma, and as the reader we were able to experience a really heart-warming story about the young men. This book is the literal epitome of wholesome.

Sher Lee does a fabulous job of incorporating her culture, language and of course FOOD into this novel. I want to eat the mooncakes that Dylan makes so bad!!!

At times the pacing felt a bit off, but I enjoyed the writing nonetheless and really hope to read more from Sher Lee in the future! And I hope this book finds its way into the hands of all the young queer people out there!

-NYC/Hamptons
-Southeast Asian Rep.
-Queer Rep.
-Foodie
-Fake Dating
-Only One Bed
-Strong Family Dynamics
-A Bit Insta-Lovely

TW/CW: Death of Parent (Cancer & In Past), Elitism.

ARC provided by Random House Children's via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own

Uhg this was EXPERTLY done! I’ve been reading a lot of books that involve some element of class disparity in them lately, and this one handled class differences pretty well. I’ll admit, I did expect there to be an element of “Theo stop throwing money at things to try to fix my life” but I’m choosing to view this gap as an opportunity for a sequel ;) I loved the arc of this story and the emphasis on family and culture as the driving forces in this novel. Excellent work!

Representation: asian gay men, asian mother figure, white lesbian side character, Black lesbian side character, recovered alcoholic rep

spice level: none

This was cute! I will say that I struggled a little bit with the beginning with the ages of the children working in the restaurant. I understand that might be a cultural difference that I’m struggling with, but as someone who struggles with PTSD from a restaurant I cannot fathom putting children in such a brutal environment. I had a pretty hard time getting into the book after that, but the moon cakes contest, the sweet young romance, it was adorable and fun and almost everything I was anticipating walking into this story based on the cover. And speaking of the cover, it is so so cute! Overall I enjoyed the book. I just struggled with a couple of the restaurant related elements.

I want this to be a movie because it reads like the perfect romcom with the fast pace and tight plot against the vivid core of Singaporean Chinese culture and food represented in this novel. The tender exploration of grief was something I wasn't expecting, but it was really heartfelt, and I really appreciated the tentative way in which the romance developed. Besides the MC and the LI, each of the secondary characters also felt strong and unique, and I'm thoroughly impressed by this debut. I can't wait to see what Sher Lee comes up with next!

Also, Clover the corgi is a STAR.

This was a cute queer YA rom-com about two oblivious boys who are into each other fake dating because they can't admit they have feelings for each other. Maybe a bit contrived at times, but it was a cute, sweet story overall. And I really enjoyed all the cooking and baking.

This was a cute, quick romance that I was able to finish in a couple of days. I'm so happy to see more queer stories for teens and this is a great entry into the space. Thanks to Random House Children’s Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was an absolutely adorable book full of sweet romance and joy. I loved the underlying themes of family and standing up for oneself, and the ending had me in the happiest of happy tears. The mouth-watering descriptions of dishes and mooncakes definitely gave me some food cravings, in the best way! Highly recommended!

Sweet, heartwarming, and quirky cute, I loved my time with Dylan. He was such a sweetie pie lead, and his awkward bashful self who just wanted to do some good and help his family and maybe hold hands with his fake boyfriend warmed my little heart.

This was a mildly chaotic read with its 10k cuff links and fancy Ferraris and red eye round trips to Singapore. But I guess that’s what rich people do with all their money? Idk. I’m not sure how serious I was supposed to be while reading this but I was completely unserious the entire time. There were so many points where I chortled out of the sheer absurdity. Threatening to sue over green onions??? PLS!! THATS SO FUNNY!!

But in all seriousness I loved the familial love, the ode to tradition, and the shenanigans of first love. And the food????? I need it all in my belly, now.

3.5⭐️ rounding up even tho the insta love was a little too insta and the rich were just too rich, we had a good time

**thank you NetGalley for this eARC even though its been published already & I waited until pride month to read it🌈🫶🏼**

Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians... what more can you ask for? This book is a warm, gooey hug. Loved Dylan. Love all the tropes, except for the miscommunication, but I wasn't thrown off by it by any means. Great book and loved reading it.

This book was like a sugar rush for my K-Drama loving soul. Think Crazy Rich Asians meets Morgan Matson style adventures. I really fell in love with the characters - especially our MC Dylan and his family. Reading their story and their interactions felt like getting a warm hug from your favorite person. This of course had some solid romance tropes for fake dating - turning into real feelings, fake dating at a wedding, rich family vs poor family, and some miscommunication BUT it was very fun. I am kind of surprised this was YA...it felt like it was written for a younger audience especially since the MC is a senior in high school but I think it would have made more sense as a New Adult/Adult title with both characters in their mid-college years. The book skirts the idea of adding spice but it felt unnecessary for the intended audience simply because that plot line wasn't fully fleshed out enough to figure out if it wanted to keep things PG or if it wanted to go further. So it was just a bit murky which I don't like when it comes to YA or Adult. Overall....this was a quick and easy win for me!

Dylan Tang wants just one thing: to find some way to help his aunt save their struggling Singaporian-Chinese takeout restaurant. With foreclosure looming over them, the only solution seems to be entering and winning the mooncake baking competition hosted by a famous TV chef and win them the prize: a spot on the number one food spot TV show and make Aunt Jade's incredible cooking famous. You know, something simple.

And then during a genuinely horrible delivery route, Dylan meets Theo-half-Chinese, handsome, rich, and in a world completely different from Dylan's own. When a deal is struck and Dylan finds himself headed to the Hamptons as Theo's fake date to stick it to his snooty family, things start to blossom from a little crush into serious feelings.

But after people in Theo's life start making things super uncomfortable, Dylan isn't sure where he lands anymore-is it love or is this rich boy more infatuated with his way of life than with Dylan? And with the contest coming up, disaster striking left and right, and life plans shifting underneath him, does Dylan even have time for Theo and his brand of bougie drama?

I have no complaints. We've got a queer love story matched up with sharp snaps against racism, elitism, and privilege. And for you trope lovers, we've got a nice pairing of fake-dating and one-room-only-one-bed. Yes, we are also dealing with a touch of love at first sight, but this was too adorable for me to be bothered.

This was a great LGBTQ romance with a ton of AAPI rep and enough yummy food to make my stomach growl the entire time I was reading. A perfect Pride month read and one I highly recommend.

This was the absolute sweetest story. I loved Dylan and Theo. Dylan’s family was an excellent supporting cast of characters. The food references, Chinese cultural details, and queer representation were top notch.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes is the perfect book for rom-com and food lovers! The story follows Dylan and Theo, two boys from completely different worlds. A YA book reminiscent of Crazy Rich Asians.

Dylan works hard to help his aunt’s takeout restaurant make ends meet. No matter how hard they struggle, the bills seem to keep piling up. When an opportunity to enter the Mid-Autumn Festival moon-cake competition arises, Dylan decides to enter. Entering the competition is bittersweet. Last year, Dylan had plans to enter with his mom before she passed away. Winning the competition will bring much needed publicity to his aunt’s restaurant. And it will also be a way for Dylan to honor the memory of his mother.

The meeting with Theo Somers is completely by chance. Dylan meets him on a delivery run. Theo is cute,charming, and extremely rich. And somehow, their paths keep meeting. After helping Dylan with a huge favor, Theo proposes a trade: be his fake date to a family wedding.

Dylan can do that, can’t he? But as the wedding weekend continues, their fake relationship starts to feel less fake and more real. Can two people from totally different worlds make it work?

This book was so good! I loved it. It’s always so fun to read books about food, and this book was no exception. I especially enjoyed getting to learn about moon cakes! I am so hungry for one now, lol. And of course, Theo and Dylan were adorable. This was a bit of an insta-love book. I normally don’t care for insta-love, but it worked in this one! I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a new romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute little mlm young adult romance that lost a couple points from me due to the insta-love. There were times I swooned, and other times where I was shouting in my head, "you just met each other! Why are we talking 'love' right now?"

The food descriptions were so well done that it made me hungry, though, so that gained it some points back. And I will never be mad about a cute dog, especially one featured on the cover, and most especially a corgi rescue! No offense to all the humans, who were compelling characters in their own right, but Clover is my number one favorite character in this book, now and forever.

this was such a cute read! really enjoyed the relationship between dylan and theo. it often felt very insta lovey but it was such a cute and quick read. so if youre looking for something lighthearted and easy to read i highly suggest it.

fake dates and mooncakes 🥮 was PHENOMENAL!! the way the author put so much care and love into each and line was heartwarming. i instantly fell in love with dylan and theo and aunt jade and megan and tim. the characters felt so real and i felt honored to be able to be with them on this journey. i love the fake dating trope and this book did not disappoint! also the attention to detail when it came to the food was astronomical! i was so hungry reading this and actually forced my sister to take me to our favorite chinese takeout a few times haha. i love reading and experiencing cultures outside of my own and sher lee just did amazingly at the detail and traditions that’s all throughout the book. i just loved this read!! now all i want is to go to my local farmers market and buy mooncakes 🥮 from this wonderful lady in my city who puts so much care and love into everything she bakes. she actually reminds me of aunt jade from the book! can you tell i am absolutely in love with fake dates and mooncakes?!

Overall, this was a fairly quick and very cute book! I think that YA readers will be very happy with the representation, family wholesomeness, and romantic aspect of Fake Dates and Mooncakes.

It took me a little bit to get into the story, as I found that at first the characters were just explaining their background/purpose in a very obvious manner. There was almost a hint of insta love in the beginning, but it did take until the end of the book for the relationship to flourish, which I was happy with (I don't typically like insta love haha). Theo went to extraordinary lengths for Dylan, and if I was in Dylan's place, I think I would be wayyyy too caught off guard by it. But Theo's care for Dylan is evident, and by the end of the book, you're left with a very heartwarming, comforting feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This review reflects my honest opinions.