The Stand-In

Gracie is Chinese Canadian who looks very much like Chinese Actress Wei Fangli. After paparazzi capture a picture of Gracie at a coffee shop, Fangli offers to pay Gracie to take the movie star’s place temporarily. Gracie agrees in order to put her mother in a better nursing home and in exchange she has to attend events and be accompanied by Fangli’s ‘friend’ Sam Yao who is named Sexiest Man in the world. What can go wrong?This was a great debut rom-com, I had a lot of fun reading this. I loved the friendship that developed between Gracie and Fangli, and it was great seeing Gracie help Fangli get the help that she needed. I really liked the conversations about depression and anxiety. Sam and Gracie get off on a rough start, but after spending some time together, they both start to fall for each other. The banter between them was funny and their romance was very sweet.Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Also, if you are taking part in Asian Readathon this is a great book to read for one of the challenges especially challenge 4, as this cover is gorgeous.

This book had been on my list of highly anticipated reads for the year and I can say, it did not disappoint.The description slightly reminded me of The Parent Trap so I was IMMEDIATELY sold on the idea. it was fun and silly at times, but did not shy away from tackling real life issues such as mental health, professional failure and complex family dynamics.The only (very minor) issue I had with the story was that it felt slightly slow to start but it quickly changed pace which I enjoyed.I would read this book a million times over and I am 100% buying a physical copy right now.4.25 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!!

When Gracie gets mistaken for a famous actress, she is offered the opportunity to impersonate the other woman in exchange for the cash that she desperately needs.This story was sweet and I really loved the characters - Sam and Fangli and their friendship in particular! The book is a little bit too long - at times it started to drag somewhat. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This was an ARC that came out this month (according to NetGalley but last year according to some editions so who knows) and I picked it up mostly because of the cover. It's pretty, it's fun, it speaks to a good contemporary romance. I'm normally a bit hesitant on body double/switch plots but this surprised me with how enjoyable this was.Gracie is a woman struggling with a boss who manages to toy the line with sexual harrassment just enough to make her uncomfortable but not enough for her to actually be able to report him. Her mum also has dementia and Gracie needs to get enough money to pay for a spot at this private nursing home she wants to put her in. Along comes a famous Chinese actress and an offer Gracie can't refuse (though she tries at first) which is to be her stand-in for publicity so the actress can focus on the play she's in and recovering from what she thinks is burn-out. This actress is perfect on the outside, elegant, charming and has never put a foot wrong in her life, so Gracie has big shoes to fill. Plus she'll be standing in along with Sam Yao, Wei Fangli's closest friend.I really enjoyed this book. The reason why I have trouble with the body double/life swap plots is that my sensitivity to secondhand embarrassment is very high and I normally just feel sorry for the people who interact with the body double or the person they're replacing. Also with Sam Yao, there are shades of the fake dating trope in there which isn't my cup of tea either. However, this book neatly skirted all those issues altogether by making Gracie competent as acting like Wei Fangli and those mishaps she made weren't life-altering/career damaging ones. And her and Sam's relationship developed really nicely, from enemies to friends to lovers and I really enjoyed seeing the two of them together.But I absolutely loved the whole plotline between Gracie and Wei Fangli, not only because Gracie helps Fangli but she supports her in seeing things from a different POV (especially after she had heard so many things about how she should just cure herself). I love how there isn't a love triangle between Gracie, Sam and Fangli and I really love the ending between Gracie and Fangli. I loved the building of their relationship too and I wish we could have seen a little more of the two of them in the second half of the book becasue it felt like Fangli disappeared for a little while there.That said, there were two major sources of conflict between Gracie and Sam and I feel like the first source of conflict (with Gracie's mum) could have been expanded on and then the second one (with the phone conversation) could have been lessened down so Gracie actually thought to talk to Sam or Fangli before she made the decision. It made it feel like Gracie was being foolish for the sake of the plot which I didn't appreciate. When a source of conflict could be solved with two characters having a conversation, I'm not a fan generally.The romance was nicely developed, I loved the friendship between Gracie and Wei Fangli as well the subplot about Gracie and her job, and the writing style was really easy to get on with. Gracie was a character I could root for from the start and I could definitely recommend this book.4 stars!

The Stand In was another chance find for me as it was included in our audible subscription.The story follows main character Gracie. She’s juggling the loss of her job with her financialobligations for her mother’s care. An opportunity arises for her which is almost too good to be true so she can scarcely turn it down.Throughout we get to know Gracie and her background better and it comes to light that there might be a little more to the similarity with Fangli.This was very easy to listen to. I liked the premise behind the story and who wouldn’t want to be a stand in! The romance was a little predictable but I liked the twist and how the characters navigated it.Lily Chu’s next release - The Comeback - is due out in July so I’ll be looking out for that!

This is a good, well-rounded debut.I absolutely loved the Chinese and generally diverse character group here.I didn't fall in love with the main character. I felt that she could've had more personality and been a little less morose. That being said, I felt a lot of empathy for her. The consistent theme of her to-do lists was really cute and a nice touch. I enjoyed the unusual aspects of the book. Women weren't pitted against each other and Lily Chu didn't shy away from really tough topics. I respected that.Sam as a character could've been developed slightly more but boy, did I swoon HARD! His friendship with FangLi was nice to see.Overall, it was enjoyable but not too exciting. It didn't capture me as much as I wanted it to. I'd love to read more books about Chinese characters. This is the biggest strength of this book.