Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

March 1, 2024

Lau tells the captivating story of Emily Hung and Mark Chan. Emily, pressured by her mother's matchmaking attempts, proposes a fake relationship with Mark to keep their parents at bay. As their pretend romance deepens, however, their feelings become real. Alongside this blossoming love, Emily's strained relationship with her family, especially her older sister, takes center stage. A last-minute family trip opens up an opportunity for Emily to face her feelings for Mark and a much-needed conversation with her estranged family. Lau skillfully explores themes of family dynamics, personal growth, and defying societal expectations. Readers who enjoyed Lau's previous novel, The Stand-Up Groomsman, will appreciate the engaging enemies-to-lovers trope and the strong female protagonist's quest to find her own path. This story invites readers to reflect on generational communication and the pressures of living up to familial expectations, and the book also highlights the author's writing prowess, which will appeal to readers who appreciate character-driven romance novels. VERDICT An inspiring romance for those seeking a story of personal growth, familial reconciliation, and true love.--Michelle Mistalski

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Starred review from March 18, 2024
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. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary.