Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is a super cute fake dating romance! It follows Emily who feels like she can never live up to her parent's expectations despite being a published author and Mark who her mother is desperate to set her up with. Since Emily is the last unmarried Hung sister at 33, she feels all her mother's attention on her. She and Mark decide to start fake dating to get Emily's mother off her back. I found this to be a fast-paced romance with a focus on relationships with parents and siblings. I will say that the first half of the book was not my favorite because while Emily and Mark were fake dating, they didn't go on dates they just made up stories. I felt like we knew absolutely nothing about Mark because they had only exchanged a few sentences so it was hard to believe when Emily decided she had feelings for him. However, the second half really turned around because we got Mark's POV. This helped in developing his character which I appreciated. At this point, I could also see how much Emily liked having him in her life so all those interactions were really sweet. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I will say that yes, cherry pie is an important theme in the book!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

This was such a fun, cute fake dating romance.

Emily Hung is the last single Hung sister and with her sisters all married and providing her mom with grandchildren Emily is the sole focus of her mother's matchmaking. When Emily finally meets "The Mark Chan" she is definitely less than impressed. Her mother has been non stop talking about all things Mark Chan and she will be damned if she'll fall for the guy her mother thinks is the one.

Now, if fake dating Mark Chan gets her mother off her back then that's a win in Emily's books. Seriously, what could go wrong? A few fake dates, maybe be seen in public and boom the heat of mama Hung is gone. That is until she starts catching feelings when she starts to see the real Mark and not who she wrongly assumed he was.

First read by the author and it most definitely will not be the last.

**Received ARc through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

Fake dating! In this we have some high pressure from family to be married which leads to some fake dating with the guy Mother set her up with.
It was cute.
I love some dual pov romance and at first with this it wasn’t and I was like… fine it’s still cute but in the second half it turns to dual pov and I really enjoyed it. I love some dual pov when one (or more) is pining hard.
I think the best part for me was the mother daughter relationship and the talks they had. 😭

Thanks to netgalley and Atria for an eARC.

The mother/daughter relationship in this book had me in tears by the end. Apparently I really connected with the whole idea of your parents being proud of you even if you did things a little differently than they'd planned. I loved how their relationship developed throughout the story, and all the family dynamics in general.
I also loved Mark. He was so sweet and understated and had the best cat. I even really enjoyed all of Emily's rants about her publishing career (maybe because I'm a writer too) and Millenial life in general. I found it all really relatable. All around, I enjoyed this book and kept feeling myself being pulled back to it. I definitely recommend it!

Jackie Lau’s books are witty and hilarious. She delves into Asian relationships, especially the mother-daughter relationship. In this book, a fake dating to appease a mother’s nagging turns into a real relationship riddled with doubts and insecurities. Such a fun read,
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A writer with a meddling matchmaking mother insists she has found the perfect guy for her... so she decides to fake date him to get her mom off her back... except she might actually be falling for him. Emily Hung is a writer and a barista, she's chasing her dreams and just trying to get by. She isn't the daughter her parents hoped for and her mother is convinced that if she has a husband/boyfriend, she'll be perfect. Her mother is obsessed with getting Emily to date Mark Chan, the son of her parents's friends who is just so perfect. Emily just wants her mother to stop matchmaking her... so what better way than to get Mark to agree to fake date her after their very awkward first to meet ups. Mark surprisingly agrees, but with Emily's mother watching and having eyes everywhere to see all their dates... Emily and Mark have to actually go on the dates as proof. Yet the more time they spend together, the more Emily is beginning to realize that Mark might actually be the perfect guy (much as she hates to admit that her mother was right). Yet with Emily's family drama, a relationship that started out fake but is beginning to feel very real, and a book to be written, she's got her hands full and something might break. This was an overall pretty cute read. It's an easy read and the drama is fine, I think if you are looking for an easy contemporary romance read, this is for you. Mark is a sweet romance lead, I just was hoping for a bit more from their relationship, and I kinda wish Mark had more depth. Overall, it's a cute and fine read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

3.5/5

This was a pretty cute rom com.

I loved the premise- family pressure leads to fake dating. But the FMC was a little hard to like, even though the MMC was incredibly sweet and likeable. And the pacing was kinda slow, which made it hard to stay interested for long periods.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this early.

4.25 stars. The fake dating premise was a lot of fun. I loved the chemistry between the leads. There were some P&P vibes too, with Emily making some wrong assumptions about Mark. It was a very millennial contemporary romance, with Emily joyfully looking up articles to see what millennials “ruined” on any given day, among other things. The structure was also interesting (in a good way!) — the first 50% is told from Emily’s perspective, and the back half told from alternating POV. Finally, and most importantly, there is a cat called Ms. Margaret Muffins.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is a fun story. It's premise is fake dating to ease familiar pressure. It was mildly riminess of Bridget Jones Diary and P&P.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital review copy.

love, lies, and cherry pie was marketed as an enemies to lovers, fake dating romance, which i will have to disagree with in terms of the “enemies to lovers” part. mostly, it’s emily hating mark for silly reasons and kind of turns out as more of an annoyance to lovers, in my opinion. however, despite this, i think that their romance was very sweet; i am a lover of the trope of opposites attract, and this definitely fit the bill.

the strength of this novel really lies in emily, and just how relatable i found her and her struggles of just trying to survive in the world while staying true to herself and her dreams. it kept me hooked when i admittedly might have stopped reading otherwise. i loved the way lau also tied in some complex family dynamics, and the meta commentary on publishing as well, even though at times i feel like too much time was spent speaking on her career instead of developing the romance a bit more or even fleshing out mark’s pov a bit. i got a taste of their romance, but felt as if it could have been really fleshed out if less time had been taken on chapters where she does nothing but talk about how stressful publishing is. it also made the ending feel a bit rushed and out of nowhere since we didn’t see their relationship ship really build too much.

overall, it was a fun read however, and has intrigued me into reading more of lau’s novels.

thank you to atria books and net galley for the arc!

Really enjoyed this one! Fake dating is always fun and well we know how it will end but I enjoyed the road to get there. Would recommend to others for easy breezy

Never having read any novels by Jackie Laue, “Love, Lies and Cherry Pie” seemed like a good place to start with this new author to this reader. Well, I am glad a took the chance to read this story because I truly loved this rom-com. The characters, Mark and Emily are children of Asian immigrants who are fun individuals with all the quirks of both families and the entertainment they bring with trying to set up these two people. There is witty conversation and the trope of enemies to lovers…fake dating that leads to romance was enjoyable. This book was cute and as I have never read anything else by this author, I can say it is my favorite thus far 😊. A delightful story with family dynamics that I think should be read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and Atria Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publishing: May 7, 2024
Pages: 352

Jackie Lau has made her main character, Emily Hung, a LitFic author, which results in some meta commentary about the current state of publishing, especially for an Asian-Canadian author who is doing ok, but not charging up the charts. She’s got a three book contract, but she’s working two other jobs, and sharing an apartment. She’s feeling disrespected by her family, especially her mother, who keeps throwing Mark F’ing Chan at her head. After the two don’t hit it off at Emily’s youngest sister’s wedding, her mom lies to get them on a brunch date. Emily decides a fake dating scheme will get her mother off her back and Mark agrees to participate. Because her mother has eyes everywhere, Emily and Mark realize they need to go on in person dates. As Emily gets to know Mark, she realizes he isn’t the person she assumed he was. He’s quiet, but not judgemental. He’s also funny, sexy, and has a cat whose name you need to experience for yourself.

Mark remains an enigma to the reader until just past the halfway point. Once Emily starts to see him as a real love interest and not a means to an end, Mark gets his own point of view chapters. As much as this is a romance between Emily and Mark, it’s also a meditation on the complexities of our relationships with other people. A lot of Emily’s assumptions turn out to be wrong, but so do the assumptions of others. With the exception of one character, who doesn’t get much page time, no is really a villain.

As one expects in a Jackie Lau written, Toronto set romance, the food is excellent.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Atria Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Love, Lies and Cherry Pie is such a cute romance!

Emily Hung is tired of hearing about Mark Chan, he's all her mom talks about. She finally ends up meeting Mark Chan at a wedding and they get off to a rocky start, but don't worry, Emily's mom is not deterred. After yet another meeting Emily decides to suggest a fake dating scheme to get her mom off her back. I'm a sucker for faking dating and Emily and Mark did not disappoint. It was cute and funny, especially as Emily really struggled to know how much to share with her mom. They make such a cute couple and it was wonderful watching them fall in love.

Gosh, what can I say about this novel? Simply, I loved it. Yes, I requested it purely on the basis of its cover art (it’s a running joke in my family just how much I love cherries), but it blew my expectations away.

That said, I had difficulty getting through the beginning act, mostly because I continuously attempted to read it in the wrong environment (i.e. anywhere with extraneous noise). However, as Emily and Mark’s fake dating relationship took off, so did the pace at which I read.

As a person with a mother similar to Emily’s, the successful siblings and marriages notwithstanding, I related to her internal conflict, as well as to her external struggles (namely, the lack of stability and not feeling put together at 33). However, I wasn’t drawn to Mark until the POV chapters were introduced and his perspective was given; because Emily was right, he was a bit stuffy (I’d like to think I wouldn’t be attracted to the sweater-vest wearing type either).

The course of the novel changed my mind and while I did not read it all in one go, it was lovely and deserving of a piece of pie.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great romcom and had some really sweet moments.
I didn't want it to end!

Another spread, another book!
This one was a new release by the incredible Jackie Lau!
Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is a modern story where you can find love, family drama, and a lot of self-doubt!
I truly enjoyed the storyline!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice:🌶🌶

This is an interesting story. The characters are very diverse and fun. Mark and Emily are both children of Asian immigrants. The plot is great as the parents try to get the two to date. What starts out as fake dating, with some awesome disasters, eventually turns into the real thing. Readers will enjoy the witty conversations between the characters as well as funny conversations with the cat. There are some poignant mother daughter interactions which also add great depth to the plot. An enjoyable read overall.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is an enemies to lovers fake dating romance. Emily's family will not leave her alone about getting married. She's tired of hearing about her dating life from her mom and she's also tired of hearing of about Mark Chan. Her mom thinks Mark is the perfect man but Emily doesn't feel the same. She convinces Mark that fake dating would get her mom off her back but people keep showing up at their dates. They are forced to spend time together in order to fake it better but things start to change as they get to know each other. I thought this one was pretty cute but the first half just felt so long and drawn out.

There’s a sparkle to Jackie Lau’s writing that leaps off the page. Her contemporary romances seem deceptively simple but under the surface there is complexity and insight. The heroine of Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie, Emily Hung, is a published author but still struggles making ends meet between her writing and as a barista at a local coffee shop. Her mother can’t help trying to intervene in her life: she sets Emily up with Mark Chan, a “suitable” match. Who is definitely not Emily’s type. In an attempt to get her mother off her back, Emily proposes that she and Mark “fake date”. Everyone knows where this romance trope leads to. But the success of this novel is in the details. I liked how Lau weaves in an immigrant family story in Toronto, Canada. I particularly enjoyed listening to Emily’s inner monologue: the difficulty of writing being interrupted by social media scrolling and funny animal videos. It’s always a treat when a book “gets” the internet and how people interact with it. I really liked Mark and his cat Ms. Muffins. And finally, this book doesn’t shy away from family dynamics that need to be worked out. Another delightful contemporary romance from Jackie Lau!

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.