Jackie Lau

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Can I really turn this fake relationship into a real one?

Emily is now the only unmarried daughter in her family and at thirty-three, she's feeling the pressure from her mother. After going along with her mother's first disastrous matchmaking scheme, Emily wants nothing to do with her mother's latest pick, Mark Chan. Especially after feeling like he was judging her and wouldn't stay off his phone when she first meets him at her younger sister's wedding. However, Emily's mother is caring and devious, tricking Emily into a date with him and there, Emily comes up with a plan to fake date for three months to get her mother off her back, a plan Mark surprisingly goes along with.

But I concede— in my own mind, not out loud— that Mark has grown on me, and the juxtaposition of his neat clothes and cat named Ms. Muffins is weirdly delightful.

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie was a cute fake dating story where, oops, my mom was right and I do have chemistry with this guy, that had a lot of women's fiction/chik-lit to it but came in with a surprising second half (truly, I gasped) introducing some chapters with Mark's point-of-view. The first half is all from Emily's pov and focused on how she feels like her mother is disappointed in life choices and job of being a writer and her sisters all sneer at her “I don't have my life together because I don't have a husband, kids, and white picket fence”. If you're a writer and disillusioned by the publishing business, you'd probably do a lot of cathartic commiserating with Emily. I'm not in the business and as a reader, I liked how it gave some life to her character, filling out her make-up and world, but there was a lot repeated and bemoaned over and over, to the point it started to make me want to say, “No career is a picnic”'; but, again, not the target for this aspect.

Mark Chan is more than a little handsome.

I lean this more towards women's fiction/chik-lit because it did feel more like Emily's life and getting herself together, with a romance. Along with the job woes, there was also a lot of family dynamics and Emily being comfortable and standing up for herself. There did feel like some chip-on-the-shoulder misunderstanding from Emily, constantly saying/thinking her mother isn't proud of her when there is a good amount of evidence to the contrary and this also carried over to the beginning of the romance with Mark. When Emily first meets Mark, she constantly railroads over him and decides what he means or thinks instead of listening to him. It's a little before the midway point when Emily finally gets out of her own head and then apologizes to Mark for misconceptions and they start to date for real.

But how, exactly, does he feel about me?

As I said, the second half brings in Mark pov's, I had a misconception of my own and thought the whole second half was going to be from his take but we only got a few chapters through his eyes. It did help on the romance front some, though, because we see why he went along with Emily's fake dating scheme, and get some of his family dynamic, giving readers an insight into his character and why he's more a little straitlaced. I liked some of the chemistry that developed between the two when Mark got to teasing, taking Emily by surprise because of her thinking he's uptight. The few povs we got from Mark centered around physical attraction a bit more than I would have liked, giving more lust than emotional to me, but I did enjoy the open-door scenes we got (feeling a little forced at times with the du jour “good girl” vibes). So, while this had a stronger romance plot, I still felt it was more Emily's life/romance journey than Emily and Mark's romance genre story.

And then the unthinkable happens. Mark winks at me.

The ending had Emily talking things out with her mom and sister for some family resolution, which I liked but then hardly left any time for Emily and Mark to have their own, again, the romance getting a little shafted in favor of chik-lit, in my eyes, but the epilogue padded the HEA, which I enjoyed. Along with if you're a writer struggling in the business, if you're a more heavily online social media person, you'd probably enjoy the many, many references to various dramas and news stories (I feel like this is going to age the book very quickly??). I would have liked some of the writer's business and headline dramas taken out in favor of strengthening the romance but if you're a struggling writer bemoaning work, family issues, and misconstruing what a cute guy in a sweater is saying, this could be enjoyable (and eye-opening!) for you.… (altro)

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pies by Jackie Lau
Contemporary romance. Own voices. Fake relationship troupe.
Emily Hung is living her best life. She’s a published author and part time barista. But now that she’s the last unmarried daughter, her mother has stepped up the matchmaking. Emily has heard from Mark Chan over and over. To finally get her mother to back off, Emily agrees to a date with Mike but it doesn’t go well. A second date by manipulation has them agreeing to fake date to ease the pressure. They find each other more interesting the next time and the relationship goes from fake to possibly friends. Can their mothers be right?

First impressions, maternal pressure, and drunk texting lead both into a relationship that surprises them both. A bit of passion and time spent with extended family builds depth between the two.
Mark let’s silence tell his story so it took time to get to know him. Playing babysitter while Emily is writing is the most adorable chapter.
Entertaining and romantic.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.… (altro)

4.5 Stars

If you like the 'Fake Dating' romance, I think you are going to love this book. It has everything you would expect and then just a touch more. A couple of interesting twists had me powering through this novel even though, at first, I was skeptical. I did not like Emily Hung very much; I thought she was childish and ditzy. But the more I got to know and understand her, the more I liked and rooted for her. I also have to remember that I am older than the cast in this novel, and that may have colored my idea of her...if you know what I mean.

I also learned (and thank you for that) a lot about the writing and publishing industry that I never knew since Emily is an author.

The book's first half is written from Emily's point of view, and I expected the entire novel to be written that way. However, the author surprised me by switching to a back-and-forth point of view with Mark. I liked this very much, knowing what Mark was feeling.

So yes, you get your meet badly, then you need to keep Mom happy, so let's fake-date. Uh oh, I'm falling for this person. Oops, let's think about breaking up, and then tada!!!!

Yeah, it's a perfect light, fun romance novel just right for the summer!

ARC was supplied by the publisher Atria/Emily Bestler Books/Simon & Schuster, the author, and Edelweiss/ATTL.… (altro)

This is the third or fourth book that I've read recently about fake dating - usually because of a meddling mother. I will say that this is the best book that I've read with this basic theme with a nicely written couple, some close calls at the mother finding out the truth and a totally meddling mother who wants to get her final daughter married off.

Emily is the last single daughter in the family who is not married plus she is 33 and her mother decides that it's about time she gets married. Her mother makes sure that Mark is invited to her younger daughter's wedding so that Emily can meet him. Emily is totally unimpressed with Mark despite all of the wonderful things her mom had to say about him. Mark seems to be similarly unimpressed with Emily. When her mother continues to bring up Mark and all of his attributes, Emily finally calls Mark and suggests that they fake a relationship to end her mother's complaints. He very reluctantly agrees and they start to fake date. At first, they don't even see each other but talk about what their mother's will be told. After her mother almost catches her in a lie, Emily and Mark decide to see other as they continue their fake relationship. The more time they spend together, the more Emily realizes how wrong her initial impression of Mark really was. Maybe her mother really did know best.

This was a cute fake dating story. It showed the way that some parents feel a child should be married by a certain age and if not, it's time for a parent to get involved. The big question is whether Emily and Mark will get their 'happily ever after' or keep their original opinions of each other. This is a book about family, parental meddling and love. Emily is a writer so there are a lot of comments about the publishing industry and what's involved in getting a book into print. There are also some laughs along the way to a hopefully HEA.… (altro)