Lunar New Love

by Ophelia Silk

How about a fake dating trade-off?

Minh has a problem. They've accidentally told their grandmother they'd come with their partner for Tết Holiday - Vietnamese Lunar New Year - this Saturday, and it's too late to take it back. Not only has Minh not been to a family gathering since their disastrous coming out three years ago, they also don't have a partner to show up with. The solution? A fake partner. And of all the people Minh knows, the perfect match turns out to be Cass Beauregard, the one member of their friend group they can't get along with.

Cass has a goddamn problem. The day she dumped her cheating boyfriend, she challenged him to an eventual double date to show him just how fast she could find somebody else and how much she didn't need him. But now said double-date is on Sunday and Cass still doesn’t have a new partner. The solution? Minh Loisel-Tran and their own problem. When they ask her to fake date them for Têt Holiday, Cass agrees on the one condition that they do the same for her the next day.

Minh and Cass are polar opposites: one too soft and the other too brash. There is no way one weekend of fake dating is going to go well... or is there? Minh and Cass might not be as incompatible as they thought. Will this little deal be just a parenthesis in their usual disagreements, or could it lead to something more?

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Fake Dating, Fiction

ebook

Published February 1, 2022

About the author

Over the years, Ophelia Silk has lived and loved across the globe. New adventures in romantic locations are always on her agenda, but she enjoys a night in with her cat and a good book any day of the week. She hopes her own stories will whisk readers away to extraordinary places, with characters who, through trials and growth, always end up with the happy ever after we all deserve. There is absolutely no reason to believe she is secretly several authors in a sexy trench coat. (Though, for the record, all of her trench coats are incredibly sexy.)

Reviews

[AnnMaree Of Oz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited - unique story of two AMAB genderfluid people, one bi and one pan - both dealing with insecurity and expectation, but having two opposing responses to it.

This is set in France, and one of our MC's is of Vietnamese heritage, and this story deals with them going back to their grandparents place 3 years after 'coming out' as genderfluid and pansexual, to enjoy the Lunar New Year holiday.

Minh is they/them and has ADHD as well as a lot of anxiety around rejection, after what had happened with their family when they came out. While the family is now mostly supportive (there is one asshole uncle and aunt) the response from their then girlfriend of being 'too much' really ingrained into them, meaning they are constantly second-guessing themselves and don't believe they are worthy of love and acceptance. Minh is a sensitive soft little marshmallow you just want to wrap in a hug.

Our other MC is Cass (also called Apollo) goes by both she and he pronouns depending on their mood for the day and calls themselves Bi and is also very genderfluid, wearing skirts and heels and make-up. They are the complete opposite of Minh. Cass is has a viper sharp, razor-wire tongue that she sarcastic lashes out with, to stop herself from feeling vulnerable. She wears a downright "bitchy" persona like a badge of honour, because they are so scared of letting down those walls. Especially around the squishmallow Minh. Both run in the same friend group, but never really connected because of their so very different personalities. Minh choosing to ignore Cass' barbs, and Cass only being aggressive in nature because she feels so vulnerable and 'seen' with someone like Minh.

When both need fake dates, they agree to a weekend and find more in common than expected. This was an emotionally fulfilling and enlightening story, of coming home and opening yourself up and pulling down those defense mechanisms and understanding why we do the things we do - what makes us tick etc. All those young adult things we learn about when in university and beyond.

I enjoyed the internal monologues and how both recognized their own issues and were trying hard to overcome them, especially for each other. Recognizing that both techniques were not helpful either to themselves, or each other.

Generally a feel good growing up story that I would recommend.

[Amanda at Bookish Brews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, fun, funny, lovely, emotional, beautiful, validating, soft

Lunar New Love is a book that I feel like I’ve been waiting for my whole life. It’s a wonderful Christmas-style romantic comedy but instead of bringing their partner home for the holidays, Minh is bringing their partner home for Tết, Vietnamese Lunar New Year. I have a deep soft spot for mixed representation in literature, but Minh is mixed Viet, just like me, which made Lunar New Love so special to me. This story is full of heart, healing, and joy, and I’m so happy I got a chance to read an early copy.

Quick Summary: Minh hasn’t come home for Tết in three years, ever since their catastrophic coming out, but this year will be different. But when Minh accidentally tells their family that they are bringing home a partner for Tết, they have to scramble to find someone, anyone, who will pretend to be their partner. Unexpectedly, the perfect fake partner turns out to be Cass, the one person in their friend group who they just can’t get along with. Cass needs the same favor returned to her the very next day for a double date with her cheating ex. It seems like the perfect deal is a fake dating trade-off.

The personality clashing between Minh and Cass was a delight for so many reasons. Minh is soft and sweet, quiet and reserved with a big heart, Cass on the other hand has a rough exterior and comes off rather brash. The characterization here allowed their clashing to be both hilarious, painful, and joyous, much like it always is when we come together with people who are different from us. It is also a wonderful parallel for how each of them face the world. Each of them has their identities to work out and discover about themselves which clashes with the world around them. But the way that their relationship mends in those brilliant and difficult ways is exactly how they work on their respective relationships with the world too.

Full review on my blog Bookish Brews

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[Jillian Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I try to think of how to describe this read, all I can think of is “delightful!” Lunar New Love is an absolute joy to read, full of everything you could ever want out of a fake dating concept. The set-up of Minh and Cass’s unexpected romance had me cackling from the first scene, and the interactions between them were beyond sweet. And while this book revels in tried and true romance tropes, it never feels played out or hollow. Instead, it reads as a love letter to our favorite tropes, and a reminder of why we love them in the first place! Entwined beautifully with the fake dating, the fanservice, and the “there was only one bed!” reveal, there’s a really sweet and beautiful story about learning to accept the love that’s offered to you, even when the world makes you feel like you don’t deserve it. A beautiful message for anyone, but especially for queer and neurodivergent readers, who will likely find solidarity in Minh and Cass’s identities and struggles. There’s so much heart in this story, and I really can’t recommend it enough!

[Jos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up because I think it takes a lot of skill to convince me that two people could fall in love over a weekend. The only downside was that how the author described things and how my brain builds sets or the "movie" in my head did not quite mesh.

To clarify this is a romance between two nonbinary leads, one gender fluid that uses (she/he pronouns) the other more agender leaning (they/them pronouns). Both are AMAB. The characters are college age and live in France.

Lots of trauma but a perfect mix of angst and softness in between. I loved how trauma played a part in the stubbornness and how we were given a pretty decent insight into both character's histories to make the mopey times feel believable. I am also glad it was not longer than it was. The shorter length prevented too much repeating and kept the story contained only to the necessary parts.

Overall, something I would recommend if you are looking for different nonbinary/trans perspectives. Also if you would like a non-white queer perspective with a generally good family. Some of the language the characters use is current slang (arguably even nearing the end of its life) so I could see the novel feeling more dated in a few years.

[Aster]

it was a bit short for a love story but I have a soft spot for the references to French student life and traditions mixed with the Vietnamese side of Minh's family.

I'm not the biggest fan of the way word/qualifier AMAB was used in this, especially in reference to nonbinary characters but well so many authors, trans or cis, keep writing stuff like that.

Also naming yourself Cassandra/Apollo is so appropriate for someone of Cass' background, like Parisian/French bourgeois energy

[Gingerly-Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this fun and fresh take on fake dating! The French setting (with extra derision for Paris!) is delightful, especially with actually French (and also Vietnamese in Minh's case) characters instead of American expats ;P. The mixture of French and Vietnamese culture is a breath of fresh air filled with both funny and tender moments, and the queerness of both characters marries and conflicts with their cultures in sometimes painful but ultimately realistic and heartwarming ways. The character arc of Minh's sensitivity clashing with Cass's sharp-edged boldness is also handled beautifully and will leave you rooting for these two to get their happy ending!

[Asha - A Cat, A Book, And A Cup Of Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance at all, but I’m always down to read any Ophelia Silk book, so I approached Lunar New Love with a little bit of trepidation; I knew it would be good, but I wasn’t sure if it would suit my taste personally. However, I absolutely shouldn’t have worried. I read this as a kind of break after a run of disappointing fantasy, and it was the perfect palate cleanser. It’s fun, and laugh-out-loud funny in places, but it’s also sweet and heartfelt, and incredibly cosy. I never once felt short-changed because it wasn’t magical as well!

I have so much to say about this book, I barely know where to start. Let’s pick the characters at random, because this is at its heart a character-focused story. I think this is the first time I’ve read a romance where both leads have been non-binary, and I thought it was such a lovely, nuanced depiction of two very different queer experiences: Minh is agender and uses they/them pronouns, while Cass is genderfluid, sometimes using she/her pronouns and answering to Cassandra, sometimes going by Apollo and he/him pronouns. Minh is out to their family, who have accepted them after a wobbly start; Cass has broken off all contact with their abusive family. Minh is quiet, open, gentle; Cass is sharp, defensive, dramatic. At first, their queerness is literally the only thing they have in common, and it’s fascinating to see them awkwardly begin to connect when they agree to pretend date for one weekend. I loved how deeply real they both felt – you can absolutely see how their experiences have shaped them, but also, they both still feel like works-in-progress, like people who are able to (and may indeed want to) grow and change.

Fake dating is a trope I really enjoy in any romance, and I really liked the take on it here; not exactly enemies-to-lovers, more ‘that one person in your friendship group that you don’t actually like that much’-to-lovers. Cass and Minh are, at first glance, poor candidates to even be friends, since one is a big softie and one is a prickly sarcasm machine, but I absolutely loved watching them navigate those differences and find ways to interact with each other that work for them both, especially because the changes in communication aren’t motivated by romantic interest, just by the wish to be a decent person. There’s a kindness that suffuses this book that’s quite separate from the romance thread, and I really enjoyed how that gave everything – even the trickier content – a feeling of safety and comfiness. This isn’t just true of the two leads, either – all the scenes with the bustle of Minh’s family are delightful, and I loved seeing the adults of the family offer such gentleness and love to both Minh and Cass. It’s so cosy, and that part of the book has such a perfect holiday feel.

There are some difficult themes here, though, and I do urge anyone who is sensitive to depictions of emotional abuse to tread carefully; Minh’s history with their ex, in particular, felt very emotionally intense. Even though the descriptions of any kind of abuse or queerphobia in the book are never gratuitous in their language, and the story doesn’t focus on the incidents so much as the healing, there’s a realism to how deeply both leads have been hurt by people in the past. I really don’t want to make it sound like this is a particularly dark book, because it really isn’t – it’s actually very fluffy! – but healing from trauma and learning to trust a new partner are strong themes.

One thing I really enjoyed about this was the focus on the normality of boundaries, comfort, and consent in relationships; it’s handled absolutely effortlessly by the author. By that, I don’t necessarily mean that it’s easy for the characters to handle their own boundaries, as that’s a major part of the emotional arc for each, but that the narrative deals with consent and boundaries as an integral, necessary part of relationships, and pulls it off with such smoothness that it never feels preachy, just a practical part of life. Even when they’re not getting on, Minh and Cass are always respectful of each others’ pronouns and physical boundaries (and so, for the most part, are the rest of the characters) and I really appreciated seeing how non-negotiable this decency was. It made me think how much I wish this was the norm for everyone; it’s wonderful to see a fictional relationship just address things with such ease.

I’m saying a lot about the vibe of this book and not a lot about the plot, because I think that with romance that’s what you need to know to tempt you. So, if you’re looking for a cosy, adorable read that is wonderfully, diversely queer and incredibly sweet, I can’t recommend this enough. Five out of five cats!

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had such a wonderful time reading this book!

The set-up for Minh needing someone to take along to their grandparents' house was perfect and I enjoyed how it was rooted in their character and their ADHD - heaven knows I've zoned out a million times in conversations and said "yes" without even hearing what was said to me.

The contrast between them and Cass was great and made for an interesting character dynamic. It was particularly enjoyable to see Cass struggle with a rarely exercised protective instinct that caused huge issues for her because the main thing she was trying to protect Minh from was herself.

Both of these characters and their respective reactions to Minh's family were fantastic and I really appreciate that Minh's family (well, the majority) acknowledged that they fucked up in the past and tried to do their best not to misgender them and to show them they were loved. There was just an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance there and of the family members trying to do their best, while still emphasising that they definitely did fuck up.

One detail I liked in particular was the constant mutual affirmation of their respective identities, of Minh and Cass checking in with one another at all times, such as Minh's first question in the morning being "Which name and pronouns are you using today?"

I also got a lot of satisfaction out of the confrontation with Pierre and the way Cass made him feel like a complete moron. Lovely!

[Christine Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow another amazing storyline

Wow another amazing storyline I loved the main characters chemistry was incredible their banter their desire to stand up for each other was epic congratulations

[Sana]

QUEER FAKE DATING WITH A NB MAIN?! LET'S GOOOO

[Ngoc Diep · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so so soft omg <3 a cute story set around tết, we love to see it :3

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute lil queer love story. It got surprisingly descriptive at the very end after having basically only kissing up to that point, but it was adorable.