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.

This book was cute, but it wasn’t my favorite love story. I did enjoy the book and it kept me interested, but it was a very slow burn. I did like the characters and the author did a great job of you being invested in them which helped to keep the book moving along. I did love the aspects of a meddling family and fake dating and those were really fun in this story.

While there were some things I liked about this book, enough at least for me to finish, it missed the mark for me. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Mark and Emily—-it all felt very flat. I also got really tired of Emily’s constant droning about her career as an author. I totally get that it’s hard, but I felt that it overshadowed the romance…..I wanted more personality for Mark and Emily, less complaining.

I absolutely adored this book - Ms. Muffins, fake dating, and Emily's inner monologue had me devouring this book! I will say at first Emily's monologue annoyed me, but I grew to love it. Mark Chan had to win me over to, but once he did I was kicking my feet and giggling like crazy - truly feel in love with him and was sad to end this book. Overall I thought Jackie Lau did an amazing job writing the family dynamics and navigating the dating market in your 30s.

Thank you to Atria Books for an arc!

Emily Hung is tired of hearing about the perfect Mark Chan. It’s all her mother talks about. Emily is desperate to get her mother to leave her alone about Mark. She decides the best course of action is to fake date Mark. At first, Emily can’t stand Mark and lying about going out on dates isn’t enough to appease her nosy mom. So the two begin to go out on actual fake dates. Maybe her mom was onto something with Mark. Can Emily move past her mother’s meddling and acknowledge her growing feelings for Mark?

This is an enemies to lovers story that will keep you laughing and swooning at Mark.

A sweet slow burn romance that also is about families, fitting in and societal and cultural expectations.

Writer Emily Hung is the only one of her sisters that is not married and settled down, never mind the fact that she has a roommate and is working part time at a coffee shop.
She is not living up to her immigrant parent's expectations.
So what if her dream has always been to be a writer and she has one book published? Where is the stability in that?

Enter fake dating, a slow burn romance and learning to trust yourself and who you are and understanding that your growth might just be a little different that everyone else. Also Mark Chan is a real sweetheart of a guy. A cat lover and an artist? There is more to Mister Sweater Vest than meets the eye.

Also Canadian! Second generation Canadian story! It has got so much! A sweet as pie read!

Jackie Lau's books keep pulling me in so much, they're so fun to read. This has all the Bridget Jones vibes, which was so entertaining. I loved Mark as a love interest, and initially felt sad that we didn't get his POV, but then we did get his POV in part 2 of the book, which made up for a lot. This was ab absolute joy to read.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is another fun rom-com from established romance author Jackie Lau. Much like her other books, this one is centers on the modern-day second generation of a Chinese family who emigrated to Canada. Set in Toronto, this tale is about Emily, the last of her five sisters to still be single. As in Lau's other books, the meddling, matchmaking matriarch plays heavily in the plot. Emily is being pushed to date Mark, the successful son of friends of Emily's parents. The pair decide to fake a relationship in order to get Emily's mother to leave her alone so she can focus on her writing career. Of course, once they begin their fake dating, someone starts catching real feelings...and lots of confusion and drama ensues.

One unexpected part of this book is the realistic look at the publishing business and how it treats authors, especially women and authors of color. I have read many of Jackie Lau's other romances, and this one isn't as spicy as, say, the Holidays with the Wongs series. Overall, it was a quick, fun read that I would recommend to rom-com readers.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to preview this e-galley and review it.

This has some cute moments but Emily's mom also bugged me so much!
Emily's mom basically forces her to take a chance on Mark, a man she can see as being good for her daughter. But Emily is sick of her Mom trying to set her up. So she fakes fake dating Mark to get her mom off her back but her mom also seems to have family/friend spies around that "didn't see them where they said there were" so they start going on real fake dates.

Mark seemed so nice and I don't think deserved Emily's ire at first. I love his cat named Ms. Muffins. Mark was so kind and patient with her though as they start doing the real dates and then start falling for each other. Their first real kiss had me laughing.
I was angry at how one of her sister always seemed to look down on Emily for her jobs and not being married 🙄

I didn't know what to expect from this author as it's my first read of hers and there are some more spicy moments but they are also fleeting if that makes sense.

LOVE, LIES, AND CHERRY PIE is a sweet and steamy rom-com that made me laugh out loud throughout the book. Emily and Mark’s fake dating worked well for me (I love that trope), and there wasn’t as many miscommunications as I’d anticipated. This was a more mature love story of two adults in their thirties, and I found it very relatable as a result. Shout out to Ms. Muffins the cat, the quotes that opened each chapter, and the realistic trials and tribulations of being a writer and the many issues with the publishing industry.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I thought it was a fun and easy read. The story follows the female main character Emily, who is an author/barista in her 30’s currently working on her second book. Right away, we see that Emily has a lot of pressure from her family, especially her mom, for being the only unmarried sister in her family. Not only is Emily struggling to write this new book but she is constantly being nagged by her mom to go on a date with the male main character Mark. After hearing so much about him, Emily finally meets the famous Mark, that her mother won’t stop talking about, at her sister’s wedding and decides he is far too judgmental. As the story goes on, Emily has the brilliant idea to “fake date” Mark and hopefully get her family to stop bothering her about being single. The story unfolds in a very lighthearted and fun way following Emily and Mark’s fake relationship that could potentially turn into more.

Jackie Lau does a great job at writing a very relatable female main character that is simply finding her way in her life while also trying to please her family. Overall, this was a very fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance before its release date.