DNF at 35%

I really tried to finish this book, but just could not do it. I had such a hard time with the main character due to her victim mentality and immaturity. I couldn't stand Mark or any of the supporting characters either. I see that some reviews say it got better by the end, but I truly could just not get any further.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy.

THE CUTENESS! I cannot. Even. It had family saga, family drama, cats, love, and more love. It had the overbearing parents, feelings pulling them together and pushing them apart. I will always come back to romance, and this shows why. Lau knows how to write believable characters and make the romance feel alive. I looooved it! 4.7!

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie was a fun read. It is chockful of realistic characters with their own personality quirks. Emily is a writer who works as a barista to help pay the bills while waiting for her big break in the publishing world. Her roommate Paige hates her job and vents her frustrations at the gym. Mark is a quiet person who prefers keeping to himself in a city of millions.

The first half of the book is told from Emily’s POV, but the story then switches between her and Mark. There were times when I was reading the first half when I wanted to know more about Mark and what he was thinking and feeling. When we only have Emily’s POV, she knows everything and everyone’s motives. But as the relationship changes, we learn that maybe she’s scared of what she doesn’t know.

The story’s spice level is non-existent through the first half of the book. But as the relationship changes, so does the spice level. It doesn’t become super spicy, but there are some on-the-page intimacy scenes.

While the characters have their quirks and flaws, they all grow and change. One may say that they mature, but it’s more that they open up to each other and realize maybe they didn’t know the whole story like they initially believed.

Who do I believe should read Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie? Answer a couple of questions for me first. Do you enjoy reading romance books that feature fake dating? What about romance books with family drama? Or that places importance on the characters’ cultural identities? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should read Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie!

I was excited to hear Lau had a brand new book out as she’s become one of my favorite Romance writers on my auto-buy list! Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie takes us through the formulaic trope of fake dating that turns into something more.

This novel was entertaining read from beginning to end. From Emily’s friends to her lively and sometimes overbearing (but in a good way) family each character’s colorful personalities brought so much to the table. Because of these characters and misunderstandings due to unexpected circumstances the story has much comic relief and keeps a very lighthearted tone throughout the book.

The romance between Emily and Mark being awkward and then slowly warming up together despite their big differences was cute. The lengths they would go to for their fake dates was heartwarming actually, especially when they start to build up a strong rapport with each other. They made a cute couple and the novel includes a few spicy scenes but as whole felt more like a sweet contemporary romance.

Outside of the romance I liked the aspect of Emily’s journey of adulthood and trying to figure out her career, romance, and feeling stagnant in her own life. I could relate to her character a lot and the discussion of what it truly means to be an adult.

“There’s not only one way to be an adult,” I say. “Just because I don’t have a husband and kids— that doesn’t mean I haven’t grown up.” Sure, sometimes I have trouble believing I’m allowed to call myself an adult, but I won’t admit that to her. “It’s not like it affects you; it’s not like I’m expecting you to give me anything. I still take care of myself.”

My only complaint about the novel is that most of the story took place in Emily’s pov and I wish we got more snippets from Mark as we get so few in the story. It would have gave his character even more depth and it would have been interesting to get some his first thoughts to meeting Emily instead of just reading from her pov.

If you haven’t read Lau’s novels yet, I suggest you give this one a read for its inclusion of a bit of family drama, societal expectations, laugh out loud moment, and an enjoyable romance.

I really enjoyed this one. It checked a few of my favorite romcom boxes: fake dating, opposites attract, and pushy family meddling.

Emily is the only single daughter left in the Hung family and she’s feeling the pressure. Her mother (and his) want her to date perfect Mark Chan. She finds that somewhat repulsive - doesn’t he wear sweater vests? But to get them off their backs, they agree to fake date. Turns out, there’s more to Mark than meets the eye.

This was an entertaining read: cute, funny, and with a bit of spice.


Thank you @Atriabooks and @simonandschuster for the gifted digital arc.

This was lovely! I really adore Jackie Lau's indie published romances and while this has a different tone and heat level than those, her voice and Chinese-Canadian (specifically Toronto) elements really shine through. This is a fake-dating, dislike-to-love, with Pride and Prejudice nods. It's not a total retelling but the nods and winks are there. Emily is a writer and barista who is 33 and the only one of her sisters who is not married. She feels pressured by her mom and older sister especially to settle down or "be more adult." Mark is the person her mom can't stop talking about and their meet cute is not so cute, they do not get on when they first meet but Emily's mom is a true Mrs. Bennett who will not stop talking him up and talking to her daughter. Emily and Mark reluctantly decide to start fake dating to placate their parents but of course it becomes real. There's great descriptions of food, an adorable cat with an Instagram page, discussion of the publishing industry and this is one of the first romances that actually has talked about the pandemic and current cost-of-living and housing market issues. It just makes everything more realistic and lived in, not depressing.

You can count on Lau's characters to be well defined, funny and for the family members to be so important to the story for the hero and heroine. At times, I was, like Emily, frustrated by her family, but at the end, I was really touched with how her mom was portrayed. Highly recommend Lau's books and this is no exception!. And yes, the Cherry Pie has a cute tie in... don't worry!

I love a Jackie Lau book. Her brand of rom-com hits all the right rom-com notes for me. This is a fake dating with an overly involved family extravaganza.

I identified with Emily pretty strongly. There were even certain thoughts that felt like they were lifted out of my brain. I just kept reading and nodding and thinking Emily is my people.

I think a lot of folks might find Mark a little bland but he too is my people. On the quiet side but thoughtful and aupportive…and can we talk about Ms Muffins? I love a guy who unapologetically loves his cat.

It’s not explicitly stated but like many of Jackie Lau’s main characters, Emily and Mark both read as neurodivergent to me. Hanging out in both their POVs made me feel like my brain was stretching out and letting out a deep relaxing breath. Speaking of POVs, we start the first half of the book strictly in Emily’s brain and then get a dual POV for the second half. I was a little surprised at first but I think it ultimately worked well.

I freely switched back and forth between ebook and audio and both Catherine Ho and Feodor Chin did a lovely job on the narration.

**I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

OMG I love Emily and Mark!! This is Fale Dating written to perfection. I absolutely fell head over heels for this book. I will be buying a hard copy to put on my to keep shelf. It was in the top 10 books I've read this year!! "Chef's Kiss" perfect!!!
I just reviewed Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

The idea behind the romance and plot was cute, but I had a lot of difficulty nevertheless getting through the book. I think the writing style just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie; it was super sweet!

All Emily's mother does lately is talk about Mark Chan, especially now that Emily is the only one of her sisters unmarried, She just knows her mother will stop at nothing to get her married off. After all, she's 34, a barista, a struggling writer, and a tutor -- none of the things her parents expected for her or worked for when they came to Canada. She's tired of disappointing her mother...

So when Emily actually meets Mark, she convinces him that the only way to stop her mother's meddling is to fake date. Surprisingly the sweater-wearing, seemingly boring Mark, says yes. Now they just have to convince their families!

This was cute, a bit spicy, sweet, and funny. The romance part was great; I loved Mark once we really got to know him. I like how Lau introduced Emily's family and friends, and we really got to see more of Emily's relationship with her mom - I love how that played out!!

This was my first Jackie Lau novel but it won't be my last! Such a cute book!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review, All opinions are my own.

4 stars!

"Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie" is another hit for Jackie Lau! I loved this 30-something fake dating romance between Emily and Mark. Emily's mother wants her to get married so badly. Emily is the oldest of five daughters, and all of her younger siblings are established, married, and/or have kids. Her mother has her sights set on Mark for her. Emily thinks Mark is uptight at first and judges him unfairly, but he's really just reserved and a bit quiet. They agree to fake date to get their parents off their backs. The more they get to know one another, the more they see they were wrong about each other. False feelings eventually lead to real ones, and Emily cannot fathom falling for someone her mother picked for her. Like in many of Lau's other books, she infuses some much-needed humor with the romance and sneaky dating shenanigans. There is also a hefty dose of family troubles and the emotions they bring, courtesy of her nosy mother and meddling sisters who always assume their time is more valuable than Emily's simply because she is a barista by day and a struggling author by night. I enjoyed this book for the most part, though I do think that Emily was a bit too judgy at first. She and Mark seem diametrically opposed to one another, so it seems as if her mother has chosen poorly for her... until it's obvious that they are perfect together and everything clicks into place. Eventually, when their feelings become too big to keep lying about, they have to figure out how to handle the ensuing, chaotic family dynamic they have put themselves in. I will admit, I was a little taken aback when the book randomly shifts into Mark's perspective halfway through the book. I do like dual POVs, but I found it a little jarring to all of a sudden be taken into Mark's thought process out of nowhere, once we had finally established a rapport with Emily. Even when we get Mark's POV, I do think his character could have been a bit stronger. I feel like there are only one or two noteworthy things about him (he has a cat, and he wears sweater vests). Nevertheless, I did like this book! I think it's a cute, fast read, and I have a hunch mostly everyone will enjoy it. I loved the self-deprecating humor Lau always brings to her novels. She also has a lot to say about aging (how things got more expensive, how people get paid less, how some don't see certain professions as actual work, how it's insane that there is a certain time when you "should be married"), as well as how ridiculous it is for media and the like to blame millennials for any of the issues facing them right now (when we really have Ronny Reagan to thank for that!). A great read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jackie Lau, Atria Books, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie, Jackie Lau, 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enyyjoyyyyed this book. Emily’s mom wants her to get married, and she’s got the perfect guy in mind, Mark Chan. If Emily hears his name once more she’s going to scream. Emily decides the best way to get her mom off her back is to actually date Mark Chan. She makes up a few fake dates, but they realize they’d better go on some actual dates. As they date, Emily finds out that Mark is actually nicer and funnier than she ever imagined.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really wanted to love this one but I realized by 30%, that it was not the book for me.

I was struggling to vibe with the writing style and I found myself losing interest.

I heard from many friends that they loved the book but I definitely felt like I wasn’t the right audience.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books for letting me give this a chance.

I related to Emily SO HARD in the first page - 33 years old, happily unmarried, but being interrogated by her precocious 5-year old niece. For her mother, it seems impossible that anyone could be happy in Emily's shoes. But she has her own path - that of a published author!

Now.... books about author characters fall very low on my favorite trope list. In fact, its a major turn off for me. But I stuck around because page one also had a Pride & Prejudice reference. I think this book redeems itself in two big ways: first, Emily is a heroine character. Sure, she has to work as a lowly barista and live with a roommate to afford rent in Toronto. But she's proud of her career. She's happy to put in the work and make the necessary sacrifices, because she knows that this is what she wants to do with her life.

Secondly, this is not a book about a book. You are not jumping in and out of two stories. Instead, you're watching Emily handle the reality of people she knows reading her book. She's terrified that family will think her characters are passive aggressive imitations of them. Her mom has opinions about the adult scene she wrote. In fact, this anxiety creates one of the best reveals at the end of the book that made the entire journey worthwhile. That being said, there are many fictional references to the today's publishing landscape. Writers and influencers may find it fun to read or a little too self-aware.

I would still highly recommend it for the splendid fake dating. Even though it is bizarre to fake date someone your mom tried to set you up with, it was written so smoothly that I had to side with Emily. Sounded like a good plan to me. I wanted to hug the male love interest because you could just tell that he was being misjudged. Honestly, it made me cheer for them even more! Mike Chan is so supportive and understanding. He is what my dreams of made of, certainly.

The development from faking to feeling was so tender-hearted. Millennials will feel very seen in this approximation of modern dating. It's a mature yet optimistic love story about seeing beyond first impressions, and a family drama worthy of the Bennet's that will lift you up in the end. The slow-burn pays off in open-door spice and a delightful HEA.

A delightful rom com that blends humor, family dynamics, and a dash of Canadian charm. I loved the Canadian content and the heartwarming ending.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute novel that is centered around fake dating. I enjoyed the development of Emily and Mark's relationship. They also added an mother daughter emotional factor. Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for an easy read romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my review. Below are my honest opinions and thoughts.

This is my only my second book by Jackie Lau (I previously read Donut Fall in Love) and I will definitely be reading more of her books. I enjoy her writing style and there were several moments throughout the story that had me laughing so hard that I was snorting. There were some swoony, kick my feet and grin moments throughout as well. Fake-dating is a trope that I really enjoy, and I think it was done well in this book.

I enjoyed watching Emily (FMC) evolve throughout the story. She is a writer, barista and tutor struggling with imposter syndrome and feeling like she's failing as an adult. Even though she has a published novel, she's worried she isn't going to make it as an author and is broke and living with a roommate. She's the oldest daughter and her four younger sisters are already all married, successful in their careers and starting their families. Her mother means well but is meddlesome and trying to set her up with Mark Chan who is quiet and reserved. I loved the slow burn and how she really didn't like him at all when she first met him. They tried to fake-date but Emily felt like her mother had people spying on her and reporting back to her mother, so they decide to fake-date for real. I loved how supportive Mark was of Emily and how he allowed himself to be vulnerable with her and open up. Their relationship felt organic and natural and didn't seem rushed to me, which I was happy about. The book was well paced, and I enjoyed the characters a lot. Watching Emily grow into herself and build her confidence was inspiring.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. Read if you enjoy:
Dual POV
fake dating
family drama
rom com
slow burn
protective MMC

I finished this book two weeks ago and have put off writing this review since. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately for me, I have realized (through reading this book) that if I think one of the characters is TOO mean or judgmental toward the other character and cannot figure out ANY reason that the other character would like them, I can't buy into the romance. And that's really what happened here. Emily is very opposed to dating Mark because her mom keeps talking about him and she's just not interested in her mom setting her up with this man. So when they meet at her sister's wedding, she takes everything he says in the worst way and continues to judge him. She does that during the entire first half of the book. The second half is better, but unfortunately, with the set up we got, I just wound up not really enjoying the reading experience overall. I would say that you should pick this up if you like:
- unlikeable female main characters
- adulthood is hard (millennial angst)
- very involved family members
- misunderstandings
- the meta concept of the main character being a writer

OK this was just the cutest! In an attempt to get her mom to stop matchmaking Emily decides to just tell her mom she's dating the most recent guy she's pushed on her. He is going along with it quite willingly. They were just fake fake dating then proof was needed so they start going on real dates and real feelings start. But she thinks it's one-sided. Can I tell you how much I squealed when I realized that he went along with this cause he knew it would be the only way she would actually date him because they were so opposite. She thought he was uptight but it turns out she didn’t know him at all. But her sister ugh it reminded me of a time my sister pulled that on me, just to deflect from herself. Why do the older sis always think the younger one has it easy? Just cause they don't have kids yet. Also side note her moms selecting criteria and method was the best and so thoughtful but I will let you read that for yourself.

Such a cute book cover and name! It’s a fun and delightful read. I breezed through it and recommend it!