Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie
A Novel
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4.5 • 15 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Jackie Lau, author of the “full of heart” (Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author) The Stand-Up Groomsman, returns with a charming rom-com about a young woman’s desperate attempts to fend off her meddling mother…only to find that maybe mother does know best.
Mark Chan this. Mark Chan that.
Writer and barista Emily Hung is tired of hearing about the great Mark Chan, the son of her parents’ friends. You’d think he single-handedly stopped climate change and ended child poverty from the way her mother raves about him. But in reality, he’s just a boring, sweater-vest-wearing engineer, and when they’re forced together at Emily’s sister’s wedding, it’s obvious he thinks he’s too good for her.
But now that Emily is her family’s last single daughter, her mother is fixated on getting her married and she has her sights on Mark. There’s only one solution, clearly: convince Mark to be in a fake relationship with her long enough to put an end to her mom’s meddling. He reluctantly agrees.
Unfortunately, lying isn’t enough. Family friends keep popping up at their supposed dates—including a bubble tea shop and cake-decorating class—so they’ll have to spend more time together to make their relationship look real. With each fake date, though, Emily realizes that Mark’s not quite what she assumed and maybe that argyle sweater isn’t so ugly after all…
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Love sometimes hides where you least expect it—and in the case of this charming rom-com, it could be hiding in the boring guy you’re only dating to shut your mom up. When unlucky-in-love Emily’s mother won’t stop pushing her into a relationship with her friends’ high-achieving son Mark, the pair agree to play along, maintaining a fake romance to keep everyone happy. Until, of course, real feelings start cropping up unexpectedly. Author Jackie Lau strikes a breezy balance: There’s tension as the pretend couple try to keep up appearances while figuring out what they really want, but also plenty of wry comic observations about everything from overbearing parents to millennial fears of intimacy. Plus, Lau gives her characters realistic quirks and relatable emotions, from Emily’s successful siblings pitying her singledom to her feelings of inadequacy as a struggling novelist making ends meet in a coffeehouse. If you’ve ever felt wedged between your own plans and the expectations of others, you’ll love this witty, upbeat romp.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lau (The Stand-Up Groomsman) delivers a heartfelt and hilarious rom-com about a woman whose insecurities and assumptions blind her to the good intentions of the people around her. Now that both of Emily Hung's younger sisters have gotten hitched, her mother has turned the full focus of her matchmaking onto Emily—and the 33-year-old writer-slash-barista doesn't know how much more she can take. At her sister's wedding, Emily's mother pushes her at sweater vest–wearing family friend Mark Chan, forcing the two to make awkward small talk. Though Emily acknowledges that Mark, a successful engineer, is handsome, she insists, through snarky first-person narration, that he's not her type and, because he scrolls through his phone during their conversation, she assumes he's uninterested and judging her career choices and chaotic lifestyle. Despite this rocky meeting, Emily's mother is still determined to set the two up, and Emily, who just wants to focus on writing, realizes the only way to satisfy her is to make her believe her matchmaking has been successful. Emily presents this fake-dating plan to Mark, who agrees with surprisingly little fuss—but the deception becomes complicated when Emily's mother's prying leaves them no choice but to actually go on the dates they're lying about. The result is a funny and addictive take on a favorite trope complete with sincere family dynamics and a heroine who, while sometimes painfully un-self-aware, still proves easy to root for. Lau brings the goods.
Customer Reviews
Uplifting and hopeful
Very cute, uplifting story that will leave you incredibly happy!