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peristome 's review for:
Fake Dates and Mooncakes
by Sher Lee
lighthearted
medium-paced
This is a very cute book. It is very YA, though. I am trying not to hold that against it too much, but inevitably, I did have to give this four stars instead of five because of how juvenile the writing and characters felt at times. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing—considering the age of the characters, it was realistic even if annoying—and I enjoyed it quite a lot despite the younger skew. I also loved some of the quotes, especially this one about grief:
Grief has a way of sneaking up on you when you’re least expecting it. A song, a phrase, a scent…then you’re falling into an empty space inside that you thought you’d patched. That you thought could bear the weight.
Theo and Dylan, the main characters, are super cute. I have seen some criticism saying they didn't understand why Dylan would be into Theo, but now that I've read the book, I'm baffled by this. Theo is good-looking and Dylan finds him as much, but he's also a great listener and really shows—multiple times throughout the book—that he cares about Dylan and truly listens to what he has to say. Who wouldn't fall for a guy like that?
I do have some problems with the book, but they are pretty minimal. The main characters catch feelings way too quickly and are basically explaining their trauma to each other by their second or third conversation. The baking competition part of the book was also extremely rushed and could have been fleshed out more. Slowing things down would have improved the romance, even if it made the book a little longer.
I enjoyed the spotlight the book put on Chinese culture. I enjoyed learning the history behind mooncakes and I really want to try the mooncakes in the book. I've never had a snowskin mooncake before, but I will definitely be seeking them out if I can.
Overall, if you want a really light and fluffy read with very angst, you can't go wrong here. I do believe this would be a fantastic book for anyone in the YA age range to read.
I do have some problems with the book, but they are pretty minimal. The main characters catch feelings way too quickly and are basically explaining their trauma to each other by their second or third conversation. The baking competition part of the book was also extremely rushed and could have been fleshed out more. Slowing things down would have improved the romance, even if it made the book a little longer.
I enjoyed the spotlight the book put on Chinese culture. I enjoyed learning the history behind mooncakes and I really want to try the mooncakes in the book. I've never had a snowskin mooncake before, but I will definitely be seeking them out if I can.
Overall, if you want a really light and fluffy read with very angst, you can't go wrong here. I do believe this would be a fantastic book for anyone in the YA age range to read.