Fake Dates and Mooncakes follows Dylan, a teenage boy who works in his Aunt’s takeaway, as he is suddenly swept up into the wealthy world of a fortune-five-hundred heir and his complex family politics.

When young millionaire Theo discovers that Dylan’s aunt’s business is struggling, he offers to help in exchange for Dylan acting as his fake date to a family wedding, but this is complicated instantly by Dylan’s very real feelings towards Theo. As the two get closer and find themselves caught up in each other’s worlds, Dylan and Theo struggle to define what they really are to each other and whether they can even fit into the others’ incredibly different lives.

This book is such an adorable, light-hearted read. Although some of the stakes are quite high for both Theo and Dylan, it doesn’t often read that way and remains a light and sweet story all the way through, with an adorable fake-dating romance interspersed with a wholesome storyline about family and heritage (and mooncakes). Dylan and Theo are both incredibly likeable characters and I liked the majority of the side characters as well, despite a few of them feeling a little one-dimensional.

Although parts of the story felt quite implausible, I was completely sucked into it and really enjoyed watching Theo and Dylan’s romance develop. If you’re looking for an easy read with an innocent, cosy romance, I would absolutely recommend this.

This book has fake dating, one of my favourite tropes, so I knew I had to read it. To be honest, at one point I realised I had got so caught up in the romance I forgot about the mooncake competition!

Lee’s writing is easy to read and the book moves at a great pace. It’s so easy to imagine walking into Aunt’s Jade’s takeaway, ‘Wok Warriors'; that it definitely had me craving the delicious food described - even more so when how to make certain dishes were discussed. Equally, as part of this, I loved learning all the different parts of Chinese culture and celebrations through this book. This is precisely why we should advocate for own voice’s books and get them into more hands, rather than banning them.

Despite the wedding setting, each character has a distinct personality so it is easy to distinguish them from each other. Sometimes reading about rich people and their drama can seem boring or irrelevant to everyday life (at least for me personally) but the dynamic between Dylan and Theo is captured really well, equally the dynamic with Theo and his family. All the characters feel well developed and believable but I can’t write a review without mentioning one of my favourite characters - Clover the dog! Dogs are such great judges of character so I very much enjoyed Clover’s reactions and his relationship with Dylan. As a side note, Clover really exists - he’s one of Sher Lee’s pet corgis, the other is called Spade but alas does not feature in this book.

This is a cute story about how opposites attract and the importance of family and culture. Well worth picking up as your next read.

Aaaaah! This review is going to be hard. Just to start it off right, I LOVED this book! It's so sweet, and I loved both Dylan and Theo. I fell in love with Dylans family, and his hope to connect more to his mom. Then the complete opposite with Theo and his dad. My heart ached for both of them.

I loved all the references to Chinese culture and food, I haven't been able to find mooncakes, but I'm certain I'll find them someday! Anyway, back to the book. I felt calm and comforted during the entire story, much like when I read Heartstopper, so I do understand why it's being compared to that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan’s Children’s Books for this ARC! What a fantastic debut!

This is a YA queer romance between two teenage boys from very different backgrounds and a love that defies those differences. Dylan is juggling school and helping out at his Aunt Jade’s struggling takeout along with his two cousins Megan and Tim. Dylan’s only hope to save their takeout is to win the Mid-Autumn festival mooncake contest and earn a spot on the famous Lawrence Lim’s show “Off the Eaten Path”. One day Dylan takes an order for delivery and meets Theo, a rich and privileged prep school attendee with a heart of gold. The two hit it off and Theo asks Dylan to be his fake date to a wedding in the Hamptons but the lines between fake and real quickly blur.

This was so cute and perfect for Pride month! The story was the perfect blend of romance and plot and I really enjoyed seeing Theo and Dylan’s relationship blossom. I also loved the found family aspects and the way Dylan helped Theo to connect with his own heritage and culture. This book made me so freaking hungry, the food sounded delicious! I want to try a mooncake now! Also there was a BTS and numerous K-Pop references so that gets bonus points.

Dylan as a character was easy to connect with and the stakes felt high with his family takeout. I just wanted them to succeed. Clover was my favourite character, I love that fact that she is named after one of the author’s dogs! The only tiny complaint I have is that some of the dialogue was a little stilted and unnatural at times but this is a debut so keep that in mind when going into this and the author did a fantastic job with everything else.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a cute but also emotional and high stakes LGBTQ+ romance and I can’t wait to see what else this author pulls out of the bag!
Release date: 25th May 2023

2.75 stars

‘Fake Dates and Mooncakes’ isn’t at all what I was expecting. This book is a sweet teen rom-com full of well-loved romance tropes. Personally, I thought that it would have been better suited to adult characters. The PG-13 sugar-daddy type relationship between the characters was rather uncomfortable, as despite the insta-love and acting as if they’re in a relationship the entire time (even outside of the fake-dating scenes), their interactions and relationship are predicated upon Theo helping Dylan out financially at every turn. Dylan mentions to Theo, on the day after they meet, that he is at risk of being evicted from his family restaurant/home, causing Theo to gift him and his family $5,000.

As well as this, there are some confusing aspects of conflict throughout, with seemingly huge and dramatic issues arising, only to be solved with little to no effort mere pages later. Despite all this, the actual writing of the book is good, it is just the pacing of some plot points, and some aspects of the relationship that I truly wasn’t a fan of. However, I think that a younger teen audience could appreciate this fun book that I may have been taking too seriously.

I recieved this book from Netgalley free of charge in return for an honest review.

I really liked the cover art and felt like i had to find out what the story was between the two adorable guys on the cover.

Frist we meet Dylan and his cousins working away in their familys take away Wok Warriors. They love it , but they also know they are just on the brink of being closed down and finding themselves homeless.

After a disastrous delivery to a rich customer ends with one star reviews on multiple on line sites . Dylan is more desperate than ever to find a way to save the family reputation .

The next day in walks Theo Somers to apologise for his friends behaviour. Dylan instantly crushes on Theo.

That night a contest flyer for moon cakes blows into the take out as they are closing up.

Its offering the perfect way to save their take away .

So will love and luck come together and win the day? Find out in this amazingly heartwarming read.

Fans of Heart stopper will love this read.

Hello, new favourite book coming through!

Sometimes a book will find you just when you needed it and Fake Dates and Mooncakes came to me when I was most in need of a fun, comforting read!

In case you couldn’t tell already: I LOVED this book and I had so much fun reading it! I didn’t want to put it down at all and I easily binge read it in a few sittings. It’s got such a sweet romance with adorable leads and so much heart!

Given my own personal situation with some rather poor news regarding a family member’s health, I actually took a message of hope from this one. Like people may be gone but they’re still there, in a way and can still be part of things. Dylan made me feel like everything’s going to be okay even if it doesn’t feel like it right now!

The entire cast of characters were loveable and absolutely charming! Not just Dylan and Theo themselves but side characters like Terri too! I NEED her to get her HEA! Like I need to see it in acute detail after all she went through!

Dylan and his family’s struggles with keeping things running were relatable and I was rooting for them from the beginning to win the competition and come out on top! No matter how tough things got, they persevered and kept trying which was a much needed and lovely message!

Misunderstandings are quickly solved, there’s drama the likes of which you usually only see in dramas as well as fluffy, tooth rotting scenes of adorableness, there’s a cute corgi and there’s so much heart to this! It just feels like a cosy, sweet, comforting, wholesome read.

I’d also like to thank this book for allowing me to screech “omg the BUTLER did it?!”.

The romance was super sweet as well, with a few hurdles to overcome here and there! But like I said, there’s fluff and I do love a grand, dramatic gesture! Theo really did the most for Dylan and I may have swooned!

There’s a really lovely theme of family and remembrance that also had me in my feels more than once, and I loved how everyone always came together despite the hardships!

I’ll be honest, this book made me super hungry as well and I’ll definitely have to hunt down some recipes to try out and track down some mooncakes so I can try them!

Dylan and the gang really brightened my days and provided me with a good dose of laughter, delighted squealing, happiness and escapism!

Sher Lee will definitely be an auto-buy author for me in the future and I’m already looking forward to Legend of The White Snake!

Devoured this book, my goodness it deserves every five star rating it's getting.

I adore books that open my mind to new things and so the rife culture in FD&MC was a joy to read. I loved all the phrases and meanings that were woven into the plot and have to admit to getting misty eyed multiple different times.

We love a fake dating moment and this was so lovely to watch unfold. I'm blown away that this was a debut and can't wait to see what Lee writes next.

Thank you!

I loved this book SO much. The characters, the culture, the friendship between them. My favourite YA book of the year so far, and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future!

This book is definitely going up there on my top reads of 2023. Heartwarming, sweet, funny and great representation of LGBTQI+ couple, as well as Fake Dating, Only One Bed and an adorable Supportive Family, add in the cutest dog and a cooking competition and honestly could you want anything else!

Fake dates and mooncakes!!
Ahhh the sweetest YA queer love book I read in recent times.
This book has,

✨ Insta love
Though Dylan and Theo had instant connection, the way their relationship grew made me so happy and their love made me go aww all the time.
✨ It was lovely to see how amazing and supportive Dylan's family members and cousins are.
At the same time, Theo's absentee father made me sad for him. He is the bestest guy there and my favourite in the whole book. He deserved the world.
✨ Fake dating + Only one bed
Ahhh can never say no to these two
✨ Secondary characters!
Aunt Jade was absolutely amazing and Megan was so fun. And Terry, I liked her.
✨ Cousin's wedding!
✨ The sweetest pet - Clover, the cutest corgi. His woof melted my heart and he has a back story. Though it's sad, I loved how he has this amazing set of people to look after him now.
✨ I can't not talk about the food love. They all sounded yummy and just made me hungry!
✨ Last but not the least, the mention of Chinese culture, history and traditions. They made the book extra special and it was amazing to know. I loved the stories Aunt Jade shared and the perceptions behind it.
TW: death of a parent

Highly highly recommend this mooncake of a book! 💜❤️

This was a really sweet and fast read about finding the connection with ones heritage. I really loved the relationships with Dylan's family. The ending was a little cringey but I can accept it for how cute the rest was.

I’ve been excited for this book since I first saw it announced, and then became even more excited when I saw this absolutely stunning cover, and now I’m so happy to have read it finally! The book is shorter than I expected at only 250 pages, and I would’ve loved to have spent longer with the characters just for more depth, but I do think the author did a fantastic job of allowing you to get to know the characters and care for them even with such a short length of time. It was really quick and easy to read, and so cute, the romance was adorable. I think I did struggle with how insta-lovey it was - Dylan developed a crush on Theo within like 5 minutes, and I just wish there had been more time for the feelings to grow more naturally. BUT I loved the mooncake competition, and learning so much about Asian culture and food, and the history behind the Mid-Autumn festival.

This is so heart-warming and adorable, I loved the fact it is a wonderful and joyful LGBTQ+ read that doesn’t use conflict, coming out as it’s main theme, not that these aren’t important stories to be told, but you also need happiness and joy, which this book definitely is. There needs to be many, .many more books showing queer people living their everyday lives, loved, accepted and free. You can’t help but smile when you read this, I’d tear myself away from the book and have a huge smile on my face. Sher Lee is a fantastic author, effortlessly bringing together emotion and leading the reader through the story, showing them so much heart, heart-break and so many humorous scenes to balance the emotional ones. Joyful and uplifting, with fully fleshed and relatable characters , great pacing throughout and some very poignant and heart stealing moments, this is a book I can wholeheartedly recommend

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a sweet YA romance with two heroes with completely different lives: Dylan spends his spare time helping in his aunt’s Singaporean Chinese takeout, Theo lives in a mansion and drives a Ferrari. Their first meeting is less than optimal but when Theo turns up at the restaurant sparks fly. And soon Dylan is pretending to be Theo’s boyfriend at a family wedding. But Theo’s family is nothing like Dylan’s and neither is the life he leads. Dylan isn’t sure whether he can fit in in Theo’s wealthy, gala-attending life - or if it’s even worth trying. The solutions to the problems the duo face are a little easy in the end - but then it’s a YA and that’s how it goes. But the romance is lovely and all the food that is written about sounds delicious and it all made me hungry. A nice way to spend a few hours.

I am a sucker for fake dating and this book delivered, it was so adorable. There is similarities to Crazy Rich Asians and the wedding was one of my favourite aspects of the book.

Really fun YA romance which had a load more substance than some others I’ve read! I loved learning about the culture and the truly wholesome relationship

Fake Dates and Mooncakes is the much anticipated fake dating YA romcom from debut author Sher Lee. Dylan Tang just wants to win a mooncake making competition to help save his family Chinese takeaway and to honour the memory of his mother. When he meets handsome rich boy Theo on a delivery he doesn't believe there's any future for them, but then Theo continues to show up and invites him to be his fake date for a family wedding in the Hamptons.

Firstly, there are lots of good things about this book. The artwork from by Myriam Strasbourg (IG: peaches.obviously) is gorgeous, and all of the content around food and cultural heritage and identity was wonderful and really engaging and really the highlight of the text, with descriptive language that evokes real feeling and love.

However, as a romance the book didn't work for me. I never really got any understanding of the bond between the two or felt it develop, or a sense of who Theo was as a character. There was no real reason for them to be fake dating so this plot didn't really make a huge amount of sense to me and felt kind of like an unnecessary complication, artificially triggering the miscommunication trope.

The pace is rapid, as Dylan is thrown into the world of the very rich and exposed to the complicated family politics of Theo's family, however it's so rapid that there's no time to breathe or see the characters react or adapt to what's just happened. BIG things happen constantly but then it's just on to the next one without any real emotional repercussions which is jarring.

I almost feel as though the book would have worked better by slightly aging up the characters and pushing into a New Adult category instead. They often didn't feel or act like teenagers for the most part, and with the exception of a couple of discussions about colleges and their futures their ages weren't really relevant to the plot. There were some glimmers of sexual and romantic tension that were genuinely well written and could have possibly blossomed into something more if given the room, and I do wonder if making them older would have given them that space. I'd really like to see what Sher Lee could do if writing for an older audience.

Overall, it's not a bad book at all and I could definitely see this working for a lot of people, especially those who enjoy a more soapy, breakneck narrative, but unfortunately I need more heart and less plot.

Strong writing with a lot of big themes explored. I found the characters really adorable (even if my favourite character is really the corgi) and they seemed to genuinely like it each other. I do feel they should have gotten to know each other slightly better before trauma dumping on each other, but I also understand relationships in books don’t work the same way as in real life. However, excellent characters, a fun plot, a good exploration of some strong themes, and lots of representation too. All in all a fun wee read.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

If you’re looking for a short and sweet queer YA romance, look no further! This book honestly feels exactly like a cupcake (I’d compare it to a mooncake, but I have yet to try one, unfortunately!) It’s just a few small bites of fluff and sweetness, and honestly a perfect book when you’re in that kind of mood.

While the book definitely touches on some heavier topics, like grief and loss, it does so in a way that manages to still keep the book light. This does mean that some people might find it a bit shallow at moments, but that means it’s also good for when you just want something softer to read too!

I think my main complaint is that it just sometimes felt too shallow, a problem worsened by the fact that there’s also just a lot of drama. Again, the drama is generally kept quite light, even if what happens can actually be considered quite intense, but it also means that the book feels as if it flits from one disaster to the next sometimes, and not always in a good way. While I’m glad we didn’t get too bogged down with some of those events, I also wish we’d sometimes slowed down a bit, and got to see some calmer and sweeter moments between the MCs again, especially near the end.

Overall though, I think a lot of people will like and enjoy this book, if not love it, and I hope it finds plenty of readers when it releases soon!

Review will go live on my blog on May 26