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The Stand-In
HOW TO UPEND YOURGet fired by gross, handsy bossFail to do laundry (again)Be mistaken for famous Chinese actressFall head-first into glitzy new worldGracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly "friendly" boss, and yes she still hasn't gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she's healthy, she's (somewhat) happy, and she's (mostly) holding it all together.But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema's golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie's world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive-and infuriating-man Gracie's ever met.If it means getting the money she needs for her mother, Gracie's in. Soon Gracie moves into a world of luxury she never knew existed. But resisting Sam, and playing the role of an elegant movie star, proves more difficult than she ever imagined-especially when she learns the real reason Fangli so desperately needs her help. In the end all the lists in the world won't be able to help Gracie keep up this elaborate ruse without losing herself...and her heart.
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2021
1561 people are currently reading
26583 people want to read
About the author
Lily Chu
7 books1,803 followersLily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book.
The Stand-In, The Comeback, and The Takedown are released in audio as Audible Originals, and are performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s critically acclaimed books have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and have been named in Audible’s Best of the year lists.
In print, The Stand-In was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
Translation rights have been sold for seven languages.
The Stand-In, The Comeback, and The Takedown are released in audio as Audible Originals, and are performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s critically acclaimed books have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and have been named in Audible’s Best of the year lists.
In print, The Stand-In was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May.
Translation rights have been sold for seven languages.
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June 1, 2022Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: I share publisher and an editor with this author; we’ve had no personal contact
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
Apparently despite talking about a few specific incidents in vague detail and no elements of the plot that are not established in the opening chapters or else are not obvious from the fact the book is a romance, this review needs a spoiler warning. You have, therefore, been spoiler warned.
I wouldn’t have heard of this book except for an extraordinarily bad take: so, y’know, make of that what you will. If you ask me, there are few powers stronger than the need to disagree with someone.
Anyway, The Stand-In is a surprisingly sincere and grounded book, despite its self-consciously absurd premise. But I guess, for me, that’s the appeal of a really good romcom: you start with a daft idea or a particular trope, but then you treat your characters and their lives seriously. In this case the daft idea is that the heroine, Gracie Reed, just so happens (for the record this is explained later) to look notably similar to the famous Chinese actress, Wei Fangli. After losing her job due to shenanigans from her sexually harassing boss (a job she felt she couldn’t leave because she’s paying for her mother’s medical care), Gracie is offered a frankly bizarre opportunity from Fangli: Fangli is in Canada, performing in a play, and her management team want her to be seen “out and about” with her usual escort, the gorgeous and equally famous Sam Yao. Fangli is tired though and wants to rest, so she offers to pay Gracie a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pretend her to be in public while she’s rehearsing for the play. It’s clearly a bananas idea but Gracie has felt trapped in her life for a long time—and the money would big help—so she agrees.
What follows is … remarkably unbananas. Yes, there’s some romcom-style zaniness here, including some towel-dropping and Spanx-related incidents, but mostly this is a book about people: about how see ourselves, versus how the world sees us, and the complexities of navigating the difference. As a theme it’s incredibly deftly explored, whether it’s the heroine’s multiracial identity, the reality of lives in the public eye for Sam and Fangli, Gracie’s mother history, the details of which she’s gradually losing to Alzheimer’s, the distorted mirror offered by depression and anxiety, or the way we can lose ourselves in abusive situations. There is no getting away from the fact the heroine starts the book in a bad place—an entirely understandable bad place by the way—lonely, concerned for her mother, still grieving her father, her confidence eroded by a toxic work environment she feels unable to escape. For the record, and because I feel it’s important to say this explicitly, I never felt Gracie was weak or passive: I felt she’d been forced by circumstances into situations that made her feel that way. Those are very different things. And watching her learn to see herself with clarity again—to find her confidence and her independence again—while it’s a slow and slightly painful journey, rather than a big dramatic moment of triumph, was, to me, incredibly satisfying.
It sounds a strange thing to say about something that has the premise of “wouldn’t it be cool if you got to pretend to be a movie star and hang out with an incredibly sexy man, desired by millions” it’s actually a very … quiet book. And I mean that in an entirely positive way. It’s a book that understands the value of ordinary things as much as it seems to celebrate extravagant ones. And while, I admit, there’s sort of something very “have your cake and eat it” about having people with access to extraordinarily privileged lifestyles secretly hanker after emotional connection, ferry rides, and bubble-gum, it’s done in an incredibly sincere and charming way. I think, overall, the book does a good job of handling the complexities of its own premise, balancing the advantages of wealth and fame that Sam and Fangli experience against the very real sacrifices (especially in terms of privacy) they’ve made for their careers.
I also loved that, while Gracie’s developing romantic relationship with Sam (obviously she was getting with the absurdly sexy film star, obviously) was a significant element of the book, it was no more significant than her developing (non-romantic, I hasten to add) relationship with Fangli. I didn’t measure it with a teaspoon but my sense was that the book gives equal weight, and almost equal page count, to both relationships: when things go wrong, as they inevitably do, Gracie actually gives priority to repairing things with Fangli. I think what’s extra notable about this—above and beyond the fact that it’s rare to find a romance that is willing to make such space for other relationships—is that I personally didn’t find that it diminished the romance at all. I looked forward to the scenes between Sam and Gracie, because they have great chemistry and their relationship (once they get past their initial mistrust of each other) is genuinely lovely, but I also looked forward to the scenes with Gracie and Fangli because they both so clearly needed a friend, and this relationship, too, is genuinely lovely. I know I said above that The Stand-In is a quiet book, in terms of its storytelling, and its focus on small change over grand gestures, but it’s choices like these that make it a bold book too.
There’s also some fairly heavy subject matter in here, in terms of mental health, workplace harassment, toxic family dynamics, and the fact Gracie’s mum has Alzheimer’s. I can, of course, only talk about my own reactions but, for me, I really appreciated how the book handled these subjects. Gracie is essentially living with anxiety and depression: she’s on medication, she’s had therapy, her internal thoughts reveal her tendencies towards catastrophising and anxiety spirals, and she mentions having previously experienced episodes of depression, but because she’s sought help she’s self-aware about her own behaviour. I really enjoyed spending time with a heroine for whom struggles with mental health are a fact of life rather than a crisis she’s in the middle of: I like that it was a natural part of the book, but not—for Gracie—the point of the book. Similarly, I found the sections with Gracie’s mother very poignant. But, while they’re sad, for sure, they’re not … presented as irredeemably and unremittingly tragic.
I think because we’re all terrified of dementia (as well we might be, and I’m definitely not trying to claim it’s anything other than a bad thing), there’s a tendency to treat such conditions as the end of life, rather than part of life. Obviously caring for her mother takes an emotional and financial toll on Gracie (the problem with her current care facility is simply that it is competent and utilitarian, and Gracie would simply like her to be somewhere nicer) but we are allowed to see her mother having good days, as well as bad days, and it’s clear the relationship continues to have value for everyone involved in it. The situation is hard, yes, because it would be, but it's not presented as an impossible sacrifice that is consuming or ruining Gracie’s life. Again, I felt this was an unusually balanced perspective on something that is often presented in a highly unnuanced way.
And now I’ve probably made the book sound like it’s about a lot of grim stuff. It’s not at all. While it’s not necessarily the com-iest of romcoms (Spanx and towel-dropping aside) I will say that the heroine’s wry, down-to-earth, endlessly engaging voice guides the reader gently through the heavier sections. Gracie is, honesty, a pleasure to spend time with. Her narration made me laugh out loud several times. On top of which, there’s a subplot about her developing her own planner system which … as someone obsessed with planners and planning … I found really well observed and highly relatable. Especially the way every single one of her to-do lists in the early section of the book includes a failed attempt to do laundry. I feel so seen it’s practically an attack.
My main niggle revolves around the crisis point of the book: the possibility of a newstation getting hold of information about Gracie and Fangli’s identity-swap. The person ultimately responsible for this does it because they’re jealous of Gracie’s closeness with Sam and … ehhh. I’m not sure the world really needs any more “a jealous womanz did it” plot points? Or perhaps it would have landed better if the character had been better developed all round, I don’t know. I also got a teeny bit weary of the amount of times Fangli and Sam tell Gracie they’re just friends. I think they must say it about … like … I mean, it felt like ten times each by the end of the book. And while I do understand we’re not fully rational creatures, especially where love is concerned, and especially in the context of two gorgeous, talented film stars, but like … just believe them girl, come on. I did wonder, though, if this was a bit of a straight thing. Like, if I was uncomfortable with every close, long-standing relationship my partner has with a dude … well … I’d be crawling up the walls every Wednesday when six or seven of them come round to lock themselves in a dark room together and breathe heavily while pretending to be elves. I mean, in a rolling dice way. Not as a … like … a sex thing. At least, I don’t think it’s a sex thing. Oh my God.
And, finally, there’s an emotionally significant scene where Gracie’s mum thinks Sam is her long-lost brother and Gracie essentially forces Sam to pretend he his. This is partially about comforting her mum, who is distressed, but it’s also about making Sam do something for her that he doesn’t want to do to prove her cares at least as he cares about Fangli. It’s a really taut, beautifully written scene, with lots of complicated emotional dynamics in play. And I don’t mean to overly celebrate a heroine behaving badly but it felt like a realistically insecure reaction to a messed-up situation, and I appreciated that it felt like such a mean little piece of relatable human ugliness, rather than any sort of grand or glamorous betrayal. Because I think there’s a degree to which, in fiction at least, we are more comfortable portraying and forgiving dramatic acts of cruelty over small acts of selfishness. As I said: this is a book that makes bold choices. Unfortunately—while I didn’t need Gracie to do a full on grovel—the plot sweeps on and she never really gets an opportunity to properly apologise. And it felt important to me that she did, because while it WAS a minor act of being a bad person, it was also one that struck against Sam in some vulnerable places.
But anyway: this book is a rare pleasure. It’s one of the most usual romcoms—sweet, but complex, subtle but daring, and admirably in control of its themes and its storytelling—I’ve read for a while. I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in the subgenre, or who never quite manages to cross laundry off their to-do list, to pick it up.
Relevant disclaimers: I share publisher and an editor with this author; we’ve had no personal contact
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
Apparently despite talking about a few specific incidents in vague detail and no elements of the plot that are not established in the opening chapters or else are not obvious from the fact the book is a romance, this review needs a spoiler warning. You have, therefore, been spoiler warned.
I wouldn’t have heard of this book except for an extraordinarily bad take: so, y’know, make of that what you will. If you ask me, there are few powers stronger than the need to disagree with someone.
Anyway, The Stand-In is a surprisingly sincere and grounded book, despite its self-consciously absurd premise. But I guess, for me, that’s the appeal of a really good romcom: you start with a daft idea or a particular trope, but then you treat your characters and their lives seriously. In this case the daft idea is that the heroine, Gracie Reed, just so happens (for the record this is explained later) to look notably similar to the famous Chinese actress, Wei Fangli. After losing her job due to shenanigans from her sexually harassing boss (a job she felt she couldn’t leave because she’s paying for her mother’s medical care), Gracie is offered a frankly bizarre opportunity from Fangli: Fangli is in Canada, performing in a play, and her management team want her to be seen “out and about” with her usual escort, the gorgeous and equally famous Sam Yao. Fangli is tired though and wants to rest, so she offers to pay Gracie a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pretend her to be in public while she’s rehearsing for the play. It’s clearly a bananas idea but Gracie has felt trapped in her life for a long time—and the money would big help—so she agrees.
What follows is … remarkably unbananas. Yes, there’s some romcom-style zaniness here, including some towel-dropping and Spanx-related incidents, but mostly this is a book about people: about how see ourselves, versus how the world sees us, and the complexities of navigating the difference. As a theme it’s incredibly deftly explored, whether it’s the heroine’s multiracial identity, the reality of lives in the public eye for Sam and Fangli, Gracie’s mother history, the details of which she’s gradually losing to Alzheimer’s, the distorted mirror offered by depression and anxiety, or the way we can lose ourselves in abusive situations. There is no getting away from the fact the heroine starts the book in a bad place—an entirely understandable bad place by the way—lonely, concerned for her mother, still grieving her father, her confidence eroded by a toxic work environment she feels unable to escape. For the record, and because I feel it’s important to say this explicitly, I never felt Gracie was weak or passive: I felt she’d been forced by circumstances into situations that made her feel that way. Those are very different things. And watching her learn to see herself with clarity again—to find her confidence and her independence again—while it’s a slow and slightly painful journey, rather than a big dramatic moment of triumph, was, to me, incredibly satisfying.
It sounds a strange thing to say about something that has the premise of “wouldn’t it be cool if you got to pretend to be a movie star and hang out with an incredibly sexy man, desired by millions” it’s actually a very … quiet book. And I mean that in an entirely positive way. It’s a book that understands the value of ordinary things as much as it seems to celebrate extravagant ones. And while, I admit, there’s sort of something very “have your cake and eat it” about having people with access to extraordinarily privileged lifestyles secretly hanker after emotional connection, ferry rides, and bubble-gum, it’s done in an incredibly sincere and charming way. I think, overall, the book does a good job of handling the complexities of its own premise, balancing the advantages of wealth and fame that Sam and Fangli experience against the very real sacrifices (especially in terms of privacy) they’ve made for their careers.
I also loved that, while Gracie’s developing romantic relationship with Sam (obviously she was getting with the absurdly sexy film star, obviously) was a significant element of the book, it was no more significant than her developing (non-romantic, I hasten to add) relationship with Fangli. I didn’t measure it with a teaspoon but my sense was that the book gives equal weight, and almost equal page count, to both relationships: when things go wrong, as they inevitably do, Gracie actually gives priority to repairing things with Fangli. I think what’s extra notable about this—above and beyond the fact that it’s rare to find a romance that is willing to make such space for other relationships—is that I personally didn’t find that it diminished the romance at all. I looked forward to the scenes between Sam and Gracie, because they have great chemistry and their relationship (once they get past their initial mistrust of each other) is genuinely lovely, but I also looked forward to the scenes with Gracie and Fangli because they both so clearly needed a friend, and this relationship, too, is genuinely lovely. I know I said above that The Stand-In is a quiet book, in terms of its storytelling, and its focus on small change over grand gestures, but it’s choices like these that make it a bold book too.
There’s also some fairly heavy subject matter in here, in terms of mental health, workplace harassment, toxic family dynamics, and the fact Gracie’s mum has Alzheimer’s. I can, of course, only talk about my own reactions but, for me, I really appreciated how the book handled these subjects. Gracie is essentially living with anxiety and depression: she’s on medication, she’s had therapy, her internal thoughts reveal her tendencies towards catastrophising and anxiety spirals, and she mentions having previously experienced episodes of depression, but because she’s sought help she’s self-aware about her own behaviour. I really enjoyed spending time with a heroine for whom struggles with mental health are a fact of life rather than a crisis she’s in the middle of: I like that it was a natural part of the book, but not—for Gracie—the point of the book. Similarly, I found the sections with Gracie’s mother very poignant. But, while they’re sad, for sure, they’re not … presented as irredeemably and unremittingly tragic.
I think because we’re all terrified of dementia (as well we might be, and I’m definitely not trying to claim it’s anything other than a bad thing), there’s a tendency to treat such conditions as the end of life, rather than part of life. Obviously caring for her mother takes an emotional and financial toll on Gracie (the problem with her current care facility is simply that it is competent and utilitarian, and Gracie would simply like her to be somewhere nicer) but we are allowed to see her mother having good days, as well as bad days, and it’s clear the relationship continues to have value for everyone involved in it. The situation is hard, yes, because it would be, but it's not presented as an impossible sacrifice that is consuming or ruining Gracie’s life. Again, I felt this was an unusually balanced perspective on something that is often presented in a highly unnuanced way.
And now I’ve probably made the book sound like it’s about a lot of grim stuff. It’s not at all. While it’s not necessarily the com-iest of romcoms (Spanx and towel-dropping aside) I will say that the heroine’s wry, down-to-earth, endlessly engaging voice guides the reader gently through the heavier sections. Gracie is, honesty, a pleasure to spend time with. Her narration made me laugh out loud several times. On top of which, there’s a subplot about her developing her own planner system which … as someone obsessed with planners and planning … I found really well observed and highly relatable. Especially the way every single one of her to-do lists in the early section of the book includes a failed attempt to do laundry. I feel so seen it’s practically an attack.
My main niggle revolves around the crisis point of the book: the possibility of a newstation getting hold of information about Gracie and Fangli’s identity-swap. The person ultimately responsible for this does it because they’re jealous of Gracie’s closeness with Sam and … ehhh. I’m not sure the world really needs any more “a jealous womanz did it” plot points? Or perhaps it would have landed better if the character had been better developed all round, I don’t know. I also got a teeny bit weary of the amount of times Fangli and Sam tell Gracie they’re just friends. I think they must say it about … like … I mean, it felt like ten times each by the end of the book. And while I do understand we’re not fully rational creatures, especially where love is concerned, and especially in the context of two gorgeous, talented film stars, but like … just believe them girl, come on. I did wonder, though, if this was a bit of a straight thing. Like, if I was uncomfortable with every close, long-standing relationship my partner has with a dude … well … I’d be crawling up the walls every Wednesday when six or seven of them come round to lock themselves in a dark room together and breathe heavily while pretending to be elves. I mean, in a rolling dice way. Not as a … like … a sex thing. At least, I don’t think it’s a sex thing. Oh my God.
And, finally, there’s an emotionally significant scene where Gracie’s mum thinks Sam is her long-lost brother and Gracie essentially forces Sam to pretend he his. This is partially about comforting her mum, who is distressed, but it’s also about making Sam do something for her that he doesn’t want to do to prove her cares at least as he cares about Fangli. It’s a really taut, beautifully written scene, with lots of complicated emotional dynamics in play. And I don’t mean to overly celebrate a heroine behaving badly but it felt like a realistically insecure reaction to a messed-up situation, and I appreciated that it felt like such a mean little piece of relatable human ugliness, rather than any sort of grand or glamorous betrayal. Because I think there’s a degree to which, in fiction at least, we are more comfortable portraying and forgiving dramatic acts of cruelty over small acts of selfishness. As I said: this is a book that makes bold choices. Unfortunately—while I didn’t need Gracie to do a full on grovel—the plot sweeps on and she never really gets an opportunity to properly apologise. And it felt important to me that she did, because while it WAS a minor act of being a bad person, it was also one that struck against Sam in some vulnerable places.
But anyway: this book is a rare pleasure. It’s one of the most usual romcoms—sweet, but complex, subtle but daring, and admirably in control of its themes and its storytelling—I’ve read for a while. I strongly encourage anyone with an interest in the subgenre, or who never quite manages to cross laundry off their to-do list, to pick it up.
June 8, 2022
before i launch into why this book didn't work for me, i want to preemptively make clear that if you are a cishet man reviewing the stand-in, we do not give a FUCK what you think about the fmc's actions during moments of workplace sexual harassment 😂😂🤣🤣 and in fact your insistence that gracie should have ""stepped up"" to her harasser perfectly illustrates why this shit keeps happening in the real world. if your first instinct is to place the onus of prevention on the VICTIM and not the PERPETRATOR LITERALLY ABUSING HIS POWER, you are suffering from something called patriarchal brain rot and you need to go get that surgically removed. expeditiously. i am wishing you the best of luck on your journey to discovering empathy❤️
now that i've gotten that out of the way.
i really wish romcoms tackling serious subject matter like sexual harassment could be a little bit more subtle in their delivery. in this genre, there seems to be an instinct to turn villainous characters into total caricatures to drive a point home, which continues to boggle my mind. your primary audience is adults. we do not need caricatures to experience empathy (and in fact caricatures will fail to elicit even the slightest bit of sympathy in readers like the one referenced above, so you might as well be a bit more skillful with your character writing).
we don't need you to be so heavy-handed when making clear your moral stance on exploitative men. you could more effectively communicate the insidiousness of men in power by allowing them to be normal guys? who don't only speak in wicked one-liners about your fmc being a naughty girl? this idea that sexual harassment is immediately and easily legible, that it arrives in a perfect package of unending evil delivered by a powerpuff girls villain, that perpetrators are overt and impossible to miss, grossly misunderstands why men are so effective at abusing and silencing women. awful men are effective because they are all just some guy.
they are normal men who don't always bat-signal their evil to the world at large. men who also display positive traits and have great, strong friendships. men who are well-liked and kind when it serves them. the problem with navigating a world run by men is that any of them could hurt women, even the ones who seem great at a glance. any. and that is a lesson that women come to understand and carry with them at a very young age. that's the reason why these commercial romance subplots always bug me. the way these power dynamics are written about really waters down the subtlety and nuance of sexual abuse, especially in the workplace. i want more from this genre. more complexity. more thoughtful writing.
other issues i had with the stand-in:
• gracie's characterization is an erratic mess. this is the problem with establishing her and her inner conflict through passivity first and foremost in relation to a villainous boss caricature. this central conflict (passivity) is immediately abandoned as soon as she's fired and agrees to work for fangli. she promptly transforms from mousy and fearful (even in her long-term friendship with anjali) to fiery tigress, able to advocate for herself with little to no prompting. the speed and inconsistency with which this occurs leaves a lot to be desired.
• anjali is so fucking rude to gracie for no reason?? 😭🫣 this is supposed to be our fmc's only and closest friend? and this is how she talks to her, with no remorse:
and this kind of secondhand characterization of gracie makes her sudden 180 even less believable. it's not character development if there isn't any gradual growth. every other book i pick up in this genre makes me feel like this....
me, in tears, shaking romcom writers by their lapels: TAKING YOUR OC FROM ONE TRAIT TO ITS COMPLETE INVERSE OVERNIGHT IS NOT DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S JUST NOT!!!!!!
• sam's character is similarly hot and cold. he goes from literally despising and berating gracie for weeks to suddenly laying down his weapons, earnestly apologizing, and turning into a romantic prince without warning. GIRL WHAT?!?!?!?!? WHAT CHANGED??? YOU SUDDENLY WOKE UP WITH EMPATHY? first of all, why the fuck are you taking your anger out on the body double your best friend fangli hired and not YOUR BEST FRIEND FANGLI???? WHO LITERALLY CHOSE TO APPROACH AND HIRE GRACIE???? second of all, YOU'RE A BITCH!
sam's frigid treatment of gracie is so one-sided that it actually hurts. like can i get some balance? back and forth? a little bit more mutual enemies to lovers? a little less bully/victim to lovers??? also it's so funny to me that sam is like, "there's always an audience [watching celebrities like us]. you've just had the privilege of being able to ignore it." not YOU, AS A MAN, SAYING THIS TO A WOMAN OF COLOR? A WOMAN OF COLOR!!!!!!!! THE FACT OF HER EXISTENCE IS AN UNENDING PERFORMANCE TO EVERY MAN SHE WILL EVER ENCOUNTER. HER BODY DEMANDS A CONSTANT AUDIENCE, WITH AND WITHOUT HER CONSENT. BITCH!
and then gracie gets blamed for trying to improv her way out of sticky celebrity situations like damn maybe if you multimillionaire motherfuckers actually put in the prep and covered all your bases instead of expecting a normal non-celebrity woman to understand the particulars of global fame 🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣 blaming gracie for not studying fangli's autograph before an event is so funny to me. YOU PEOPLE ARE PAYING A STRANGER YOU FOUND ON THE STREET??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?! NOT A PROFESSIONAL?
no.
• the fanfiction levels of delusion gracie exhibits after knowing sam for a literal week is actually sickening. i am diagnosing her with Y/N disease. talking about "of course i'm nothing special to him 😔💔 just plain jane not unique or worthy of his fifteen carat love 😫💔💔💔" after seven days. AT THIS POINT, SAM YAO WOULD WILLINGLY AND PROUDLY TRADE YOU FOR A BAG OF COOL RANCH DORITOS? HAVE SOME DIGNITY???? SOME SELF-WORTH???
and then when sam suddenly decides to apologize and shed his coat of big bitch energy, this is the reason why: "Fangli is upset because of our fight last night." how about your conscience???? your morals????? your understanding of basic human decency???? even your stomach??? are none of these things also upset? do you seriously need another adult woman to compel you to stop being mean to the first adult woman? really? REALLY, BITCH?
so sam's shitty characterization is abruptly retconned with no reward or actual development and he enters his prince charming era. to make matters worse, chu then speeds past any of the resulting changes in the gracie/sam dynamic? with a ton of time-lapse narration? literally one page after sam apologizes? it's suddenly, "Because Sam, to my utter surprise, has become invaluable." STOP. SOTPPOTPOSFKLSMDFS. STOP TELLING. SHOW ME!!!! WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS COME FROM. YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST THROW IN A QUICK LITTLE PARAGRAPH SUMMARIZING HOW AFFECTIONATE SAM SUDDENLY IS TOWARDS GRACIE? AND I'M GONNA BE OKAY WITH IT?????????????/,G.SDFG?ESDFG?.DF/G,SDMFG NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i hate. the. time-lapse. stylistic. choice. so. much. SHOW ME THE DEVELOPMENT. GIVE ME CUTE MOMENTS WHERE I CAN SEE THEIR DYNAMIC SHIFTING. THIS IS LITERALLY THE BARE MINIMUM FOR ROMANCE BOOKS. this is my main issue with this book. there is no way for sam and gracie to have any chemistry when their development/dynamic is blunted, dulled, and flattened at every turn (on top of sam having zero personality, but that is a conversation for another day). why the hell do these two like each other so much? there's no compelling reason. none whatsoever. we see no reason, especially from sam's end, considering he could have his pick of any woman in the world as a rich celebrity.
"[sam's] been texting me off and on over the last few days" and "sam has changed toward me since our talk" and "our relationship has shifted dramatically." OKAY YOU'RE SAYING ALL THESE THINGS. WHERE IS THE PROOF? THE EVIDENCE? DEFEND YOUR THESIS. THERE IS NOTHING TO BACK THIS UP. STOP TELLING MESD,FGSDKFGLKS
• lily chu's prose has no personality. not a single bit. it is what some would call invisible prose. it is so lacking in detail and effective description that i felt like i was reading an unedited blog entry whipped up for an audience of zero (0) by a casual non-writer. the technique used here is haphazard. the same prepositions are gleefully overused again and again in a single sentence. phrases like "ovary masseuse" are employed unironically. the dialogue is clunky and unnatural, littered with non sequiturs, and the cheesy movie clichés are constant ("You'd be quite an attractive girl if you smiled more." "I was born ready." "Earth to [FIRST NAME].").
• there is hannah montana levels of logic avoidance happening in this world. i know gracie is not slapping a wig on in five seconds and walking out like no one, including the paparazzo's HD DSLRs, will notice her edges. i know her idiot asshole boss is not the only human being in this reality capable of recognizing her while in disguise. I KNOW SHE DOES NOT WALK OUT OF FANGLI'S HOTEL IN DISGUISE LIKE NO ONE WOULD NOTICE? FOLLOW HER? PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER? SEE HER WITH A TALL FIT ASIAN MAN WEARING A BALL CAP AND REALIZE?????? AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
• HOW DID GRACIE NEVER HAVE TO ANSWER FOR LITERALLY EMOTIONALLY COERCING SAM TO DO SOMETHING HE DID NOT WANT TO DO????????? LIKE 😭😭😭😭 OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF SOCIAL COMPULSION + ABUSING YOUR SOCIAL CAPITAL, CONSIDERING YOU HAVE LITERALLY EXPERIENCED IT FROM A BOSS?????? AND THEN YOU PULL THAT SHIT ON THE GUY YOU CLAIM TO BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH??? AND YOU GUYS NEVER ADDRESS IT???? YOU MAKE UP AND PRETEND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN? NO APOLOGY? NO REMORSE?!?@#?!>23,1M23 ,GSFNGDKLGF
the one piece of this novel that i genuinely enjoyed was the fangli x gracie sublot and eventual twist. i wanted more of that. more of that dynamic. more of that history. more of that emotional reward. the rest of this narrative could have been scrapped. 1.6/5 stars.
also, if a man ever did this in front of me, i would simply grapple-hook out of the fifth floor of my five-star hotel and never look back:
EWWKJEWHRWKJERWJRWJE. DISGHSUTUSTING. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THIS IS SUPPOSED THE WORLD'S SEXIEST MAN? SECOND TO NONE? OOZES CHARISMA AND CHARM? NO. THIS IS EMOTIONAL TERRORISM.
i picked this book up per talia hibbert's recommendation and all i can say is.........don't go where i can't follow, talia💔😔
now that i've gotten that out of the way.
i really wish romcoms tackling serious subject matter like sexual harassment could be a little bit more subtle in their delivery. in this genre, there seems to be an instinct to turn villainous characters into total caricatures to drive a point home, which continues to boggle my mind. your primary audience is adults. we do not need caricatures to experience empathy (and in fact caricatures will fail to elicit even the slightest bit of sympathy in readers like the one referenced above, so you might as well be a bit more skillful with your character writing).
we don't need you to be so heavy-handed when making clear your moral stance on exploitative men. you could more effectively communicate the insidiousness of men in power by allowing them to be normal guys? who don't only speak in wicked one-liners about your fmc being a naughty girl? this idea that sexual harassment is immediately and easily legible, that it arrives in a perfect package of unending evil delivered by a powerpuff girls villain, that perpetrators are overt and impossible to miss, grossly misunderstands why men are so effective at abusing and silencing women. awful men are effective because they are all just some guy.
they are normal men who don't always bat-signal their evil to the world at large. men who also display positive traits and have great, strong friendships. men who are well-liked and kind when it serves them. the problem with navigating a world run by men is that any of them could hurt women, even the ones who seem great at a glance. any. and that is a lesson that women come to understand and carry with them at a very young age. that's the reason why these commercial romance subplots always bug me. the way these power dynamics are written about really waters down the subtlety and nuance of sexual abuse, especially in the workplace. i want more from this genre. more complexity. more thoughtful writing.
other issues i had with the stand-in:
• gracie's characterization is an erratic mess. this is the problem with establishing her and her inner conflict through passivity first and foremost in relation to a villainous boss caricature. this central conflict (passivity) is immediately abandoned as soon as she's fired and agrees to work for fangli. she promptly transforms from mousy and fearful (even in her long-term friendship with anjali) to fiery tigress, able to advocate for herself with little to no prompting. the speed and inconsistency with which this occurs leaves a lot to be desired.
• anjali is so fucking rude to gracie for no reason?? 😭🫣 this is supposed to be our fmc's only and closest friend? and this is how she talks to her, with no remorse:
"It took you two years to try our red lipstick, for God's sake, and you've even stopped doing that. You only wear two colors, black and boring. How are you going to handle worldwide attention even if it doesn't go to shit? [...] You can't be that delusional."
and this kind of secondhand characterization of gracie makes her sudden 180 even less believable. it's not character development if there isn't any gradual growth. every other book i pick up in this genre makes me feel like this....
me, in tears, shaking romcom writers by their lapels: TAKING YOUR OC FROM ONE TRAIT TO ITS COMPLETE INVERSE OVERNIGHT IS NOT DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S JUST NOT!!!!!!
• sam's character is similarly hot and cold. he goes from literally despising and berating gracie for weeks to suddenly laying down his weapons, earnestly apologizing, and turning into a romantic prince without warning. GIRL WHAT?!?!?!?!? WHAT CHANGED??? YOU SUDDENLY WOKE UP WITH EMPATHY? first of all, why the fuck are you taking your anger out on the body double your best friend fangli hired and not YOUR BEST FRIEND FANGLI???? WHO LITERALLY CHOSE TO APPROACH AND HIRE GRACIE???? second of all, YOU'RE A BITCH!
sam's frigid treatment of gracie is so one-sided that it actually hurts. like can i get some balance? back and forth? a little bit more mutual enemies to lovers? a little less bully/victim to lovers??? also it's so funny to me that sam is like, "there's always an audience [watching celebrities like us]. you've just had the privilege of being able to ignore it." not YOU, AS A MAN, SAYING THIS TO A WOMAN OF COLOR? A WOMAN OF COLOR!!!!!!!! THE FACT OF HER EXISTENCE IS AN UNENDING PERFORMANCE TO EVERY MAN SHE WILL EVER ENCOUNTER. HER BODY DEMANDS A CONSTANT AUDIENCE, WITH AND WITHOUT HER CONSENT. BITCH!
and then gracie gets blamed for trying to improv her way out of sticky celebrity situations like damn maybe if you multimillionaire motherfuckers actually put in the prep and covered all your bases instead of expecting a normal non-celebrity woman to understand the particulars of global fame 🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣 blaming gracie for not studying fangli's autograph before an event is so funny to me. YOU PEOPLE ARE PAYING A STRANGER YOU FOUND ON THE STREET??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?! NOT A PROFESSIONAL?
Despite the dickish way he delivered the message, Sam was right.
no.
• the fanfiction levels of delusion gracie exhibits after knowing sam for a literal week is actually sickening. i am diagnosing her with Y/N disease. talking about "of course i'm nothing special to him 😔💔 just plain jane not unique or worthy of his fifteen carat love 😫💔💔💔" after seven days. AT THIS POINT, SAM YAO WOULD WILLINGLY AND PROUDLY TRADE YOU FOR A BAG OF COOL RANCH DORITOS? HAVE SOME DIGNITY???? SOME SELF-WORTH???
and then when sam suddenly decides to apologize and shed his coat of big bitch energy, this is the reason why: "Fangli is upset because of our fight last night." how about your conscience???? your morals????? your understanding of basic human decency???? even your stomach??? are none of these things also upset? do you seriously need another adult woman to compel you to stop being mean to the first adult woman? really? REALLY, BITCH?
so sam's shitty characterization is abruptly retconned with no reward or actual development and he enters his prince charming era. to make matters worse, chu then speeds past any of the resulting changes in the gracie/sam dynamic? with a ton of time-lapse narration? literally one page after sam apologizes? it's suddenly, "Because Sam, to my utter surprise, has become invaluable." STOP. SOTPPOTPOSFKLSMDFS. STOP TELLING. SHOW ME!!!! WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS COME FROM. YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST THROW IN A QUICK LITTLE PARAGRAPH SUMMARIZING HOW AFFECTIONATE SAM SUDDENLY IS TOWARDS GRACIE? AND I'M GONNA BE OKAY WITH IT?????????????/,G.SDFG?ESDFG?.DF/G,SDMFG NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i hate. the. time-lapse. stylistic. choice. so. much. SHOW ME THE DEVELOPMENT. GIVE ME CUTE MOMENTS WHERE I CAN SEE THEIR DYNAMIC SHIFTING. THIS IS LITERALLY THE BARE MINIMUM FOR ROMANCE BOOKS. this is my main issue with this book. there is no way for sam and gracie to have any chemistry when their development/dynamic is blunted, dulled, and flattened at every turn (on top of sam having zero personality, but that is a conversation for another day). why the hell do these two like each other so much? there's no compelling reason. none whatsoever. we see no reason, especially from sam's end, considering he could have his pick of any woman in the world as a rich celebrity.
"[sam's] been texting me off and on over the last few days" and "sam has changed toward me since our talk" and "our relationship has shifted dramatically." OKAY YOU'RE SAYING ALL THESE THINGS. WHERE IS THE PROOF? THE EVIDENCE? DEFEND YOUR THESIS. THERE IS NOTHING TO BACK THIS UP. STOP TELLING MESD,FGSDKFGLKS
• lily chu's prose has no personality. not a single bit. it is what some would call invisible prose. it is so lacking in detail and effective description that i felt like i was reading an unedited blog entry whipped up for an audience of zero (0) by a casual non-writer. the technique used here is haphazard. the same prepositions are gleefully overused again and again in a single sentence. phrases like "ovary masseuse" are employed unironically. the dialogue is clunky and unnatural, littered with non sequiturs, and the cheesy movie clichés are constant ("You'd be quite an attractive girl if you smiled more." "I was born ready." "Earth to [FIRST NAME].").
• there is hannah montana levels of logic avoidance happening in this world. i know gracie is not slapping a wig on in five seconds and walking out like no one, including the paparazzo's HD DSLRs, will notice her edges. i know her idiot asshole boss is not the only human being in this reality capable of recognizing her while in disguise. I KNOW SHE DOES NOT WALK OUT OF FANGLI'S HOTEL IN DISGUISE LIKE NO ONE WOULD NOTICE? FOLLOW HER? PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER? SEE HER WITH A TALL FIT ASIAN MAN WEARING A BALL CAP AND REALIZE?????? AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
• HOW DID GRACIE NEVER HAVE TO ANSWER FOR LITERALLY EMOTIONALLY COERCING SAM TO DO SOMETHING HE DID NOT WANT TO DO????????? LIKE 😭😭😭😭 OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF SOCIAL COMPULSION + ABUSING YOUR SOCIAL CAPITAL, CONSIDERING YOU HAVE LITERALLY EXPERIENCED IT FROM A BOSS?????? AND THEN YOU PULL THAT SHIT ON THE GUY YOU CLAIM TO BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH??? AND YOU GUYS NEVER ADDRESS IT???? YOU MAKE UP AND PRETEND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN? NO APOLOGY? NO REMORSE?!?@#?!>23,1M23 ,GSFNGDKLGF
the one piece of this novel that i genuinely enjoyed was the fangli x gracie sublot and eventual twist. i wanted more of that. more of that dynamic. more of that history. more of that emotional reward. the rest of this narrative could have been scrapped. 1.6/5 stars.
also, if a man ever did this in front of me, i would simply grapple-hook out of the fifth floor of my five-star hotel and never look back:
Sam [...] reaches down and runs his hand over his shirt, tugging the material enough to outline his chest for a brief and wondrous moment. He lowers his head and seeks my eyes with his. His lips part as he walks over [...]. His eyes turn from my eyes to my mouth, and he bites his inner lower lip before looking into my eyes again. I stop breathing. Sam stands close enough to lean down and whisper in my ear. "I'm a very good actor."
EWWKJEWHRWKJERWJRWJE. DISGHSUTUSTING. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THIS IS SUPPOSED THE WORLD'S SEXIEST MAN? SECOND TO NONE? OOZES CHARISMA AND CHARM? NO. THIS IS EMOTIONAL TERRORISM.
i picked this book up per talia hibbert's recommendation and all i can say is.........don't go where i can't follow, talia💔😔
July 19, 2021
I enjoyed The Stand-In so much! I loved the fun concept of standing in for a celebrity because you’re a lookalike. The audio is narrated so well – Phillipa Soo does an incredible job bringing not just Gracie, but also Sam and Fangli to life. And look at that beautiful cover! If you love romances set in the movie star world with all the glitz and glam (as well as the not-so-glamorous side), I highly recommend you try this audio.
Gracie Reed is our Chinese-Canadian heroine who looks so much like famous Chinese actress Wei Fangli that she’s offered the chance of a lifetime by Fangli to take the movie star’s place temporarily. In exchange for money that will help put Gracie’s mother in a nursing home, Gracie will pretend to be Fangli, go to fancy events, and accompany Fangli’s friend and supposed boyfriend, Sam Yao, who also just happens to be the sexiest man alive. How can a girl say no to all of that?
This story was so much fun! I loved watching Gracie learn how to enter and be a part of this world of wealth and fame. The developing friendship between Gracie and Fangli was lovely to read. As she gets more comfortable in her new role, Gracie also learns that Fangli’s life isn’t as perfect and fancy as she thinks. There are great discussions about anxiety and depression between them.
The romance between Sam and Gracie is definitely a highlight. They are prickly with each other right from the start. Sam is quite judgmental and arrogant but Gracie is quick to knock him off his pedestal. I adored the banter between them and their slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance. Though I will admit that towards the end of the book Gracie asks Sam to do something that made me totally side-eye her.
The Stand-In is an entertaining and surprisingly down-to-earth read. All of the characters have their own flaws but that makes them all the more endearing and relatable. It’s a great audio to pick up!
Gracie Reed is our Chinese-Canadian heroine who looks so much like famous Chinese actress Wei Fangli that she’s offered the chance of a lifetime by Fangli to take the movie star’s place temporarily. In exchange for money that will help put Gracie’s mother in a nursing home, Gracie will pretend to be Fangli, go to fancy events, and accompany Fangli’s friend and supposed boyfriend, Sam Yao, who also just happens to be the sexiest man alive. How can a girl say no to all of that?
This story was so much fun! I loved watching Gracie learn how to enter and be a part of this world of wealth and fame. The developing friendship between Gracie and Fangli was lovely to read. As she gets more comfortable in her new role, Gracie also learns that Fangli’s life isn’t as perfect and fancy as she thinks. There are great discussions about anxiety and depression between them.
The romance between Sam and Gracie is definitely a highlight. They are prickly with each other right from the start. Sam is quite judgmental and arrogant but Gracie is quick to knock him off his pedestal. I adored the banter between them and their slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance. Though I will admit that towards the end of the book Gracie asks Sam to do something that made me totally side-eye her.
The Stand-In is an entertaining and surprisingly down-to-earth read. All of the characters have their own flaws but that makes them all the more endearing and relatable. It’s a great audio to pick up!
August 4, 2021
I washed out of this because Gracie is an overcooked spaghetti noodle. She takes zero responsibility for her life and just kind of wanders through it hoping things will get better without actually doing anything to make it happen. I'm pretty sure we're supposed to have sympathy for her crap life, but then she keeps doing things to perpetuate the crap and I just can't.
Easy example: her laundry. The couple of days of narrative I persisted through has "do laundry" on her list of things to do. And she never does it. She doesn't have anything better to do but whine. She choose the whine. This is not attractive or engaging.
Hard example: being sexually harassed on the job. This is so awful it's kind of the nuclear bomb of sympathetic engagement. Only. Does she really have to be so weak about it? We even get a scene of it and she's saying things even as she thinks "I don't know why I say this" and it drained all the empathy I wanted to have for her. I hate that this kind of thing can even exist in the workforce and there shouldn't be an expectation that women defend themselves from this kind of thing. But if it happens, someone has to step up because if nobody bothers then it'll go on happening forever. This is an important issue. It deserves all the consequences. When it happens, you stand up, even if it risks your job. You do it because a job that takes place in the midst of sexual harassment isn't a job worth having. Deliver pizzas instead if you have to. But no. Gracie is all "my mom needs luxury accommodation in her illness so I have to be sexually harassed". And while I have all the sympathy for the mom's needs, there's just no way the mom, herself, would tell Gracie "yes, dear, please be sexually harassed so that I can be more comfortable."
The final straw came after Gracie is fired under stupid circumstances and not only does she not stand up and say anything then when she literally has nothing to lose, but it takes days and days afterwards of twiddling around doing nothing and not once does she think "hey, there's an offer I had that would be multiples of my current salary for a couple of months of stand-in work." And I'm all, what?!? Were you not present when this offer was made? Are you not going on and on about your financial straits*? Shouldn't this standing offer at least cross your radar, even if only so you can articulate why you aren't on the phone right now making a deal?!?
My take away is that the author expected the reader to have lots of sympathy while giving only the barest of reasons why she should. It didn't work for me. By the time I stopped, I just didn't care any more if Gracie took the job or if she wandered the streets whining about how bad doing laundry is.
* Originally "straights". Here's the convo in my head when that was pointed out (I played both roles. My head is a strange place):
Me: We should just cross it out and then add the correction.
Ed: What? Why?
Me: Like "straightsstraits"
Ed: I got it. Why?
Me: Because it's funny!
Ed: Nope.
Me: Seriously? Like they're financial. But their straight.
Ed: They're
Me: I knew that. I was tweaking you.
Ed: sigh . . .
Easy example: her laundry. The couple of days of narrative I persisted through has "do laundry" on her list of things to do. And she never does it. She doesn't have anything better to do but whine. She choose the whine. This is not attractive or engaging.
Hard example: being sexually harassed on the job. This is so awful it's kind of the nuclear bomb of sympathetic engagement. Only. Does she really have to be so weak about it? We even get a scene of it and she's saying things even as she thinks "I don't know why I say this" and it drained all the empathy I wanted to have for her. I hate that this kind of thing can even exist in the workforce and there shouldn't be an expectation that women defend themselves from this kind of thing. But if it happens, someone has to step up because if nobody bothers then it'll go on happening forever. This is an important issue. It deserves all the consequences. When it happens, you stand up, even if it risks your job. You do it because a job that takes place in the midst of sexual harassment isn't a job worth having. Deliver pizzas instead if you have to. But no. Gracie is all "my mom needs luxury accommodation in her illness so I have to be sexually harassed". And while I have all the sympathy for the mom's needs, there's just no way the mom, herself, would tell Gracie "yes, dear, please be sexually harassed so that I can be more comfortable."
The final straw came after Gracie is fired under stupid circumstances and not only does she not stand up and say anything then when she literally has nothing to lose, but it takes days and days afterwards of twiddling around doing nothing and not once does she think "hey, there's an offer I had that would be multiples of my current salary for a couple of months of stand-in work." And I'm all, what?!? Were you not present when this offer was made? Are you not going on and on about your financial straits*? Shouldn't this standing offer at least cross your radar, even if only so you can articulate why you aren't on the phone right now making a deal?!?
My take away is that the author expected the reader to have lots of sympathy while giving only the barest of reasons why she should. It didn't work for me. By the time I stopped, I just didn't care any more if Gracie took the job or if she wandered the streets whining about how bad doing laundry is.
* Originally "straights". Here's the convo in my head when that was pointed out (I played both roles. My head is a strange place):
Me: We should just cross it out and then add the correction.
Ed: What? Why?
Me: Like "
Ed: I got it. Why?
Me: Because it's funny!
Ed: Nope.
Me: Seriously? Like they're financial. But their straight.
Ed: They're
Me: I knew that. I was tweaking you.
Ed: sigh . . .
October 27, 2021
I enjoyed the first half much more than the second. I'd managed to suspend my disbelief about the setup of the book, but it got harder and harder as the story went on. Gracie was slightly annoying but not unbearable. Wei Fangli and Sam Yao were interesting enough that my attention was held.
Gracie pretends to be Wei Fangli (at Fangli's request) and it was pleasant to listen to in the early stages - - especially since the narrator, Phillipa Soo, was amazing. But we got the romance part and I couldn't bring myself to care. Every twist and reveal was what I'd guessed from the first chapter. Including but not limited to:
-Ordinary (but not really that ordinary) girl likes rich, famous, unattainable movie star. But he could never like her back, could he? Yes, of course he can and does.
-Will they get together? Yes.
-Will there be a dilemma, made worse by eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions? Yes, of course.
-Will everything ever be resolved? Yes, and quite quickly.
If those things don't bother you, I'd recommend this. For me, each predictable point bothered me more, perhaps aggravated and how quickly my enjoyment plummeted.
I will give another book by this author a go because I did like her writing and this was her first book. I'd love it if she wrote a sequel that focuses on Wei Fangli. Also, if they ever made this into a film I would watch it, mainly out of curiosity to see what actor would be given the daunting task of playing Sam.
Gracie pretends to be Wei Fangli (at Fangli's request) and it was pleasant to listen to in the early stages - - especially since the narrator, Phillipa Soo, was amazing. But we got the romance part and I couldn't bring myself to care. Every twist and reveal was what I'd guessed from the first chapter. Including but not limited to:
-Ordinary (but not really that ordinary) girl likes rich, famous, unattainable movie star. But he could never like her back, could he? Yes, of course he can and does.
-Will they get together? Yes.
-Will there be a dilemma, made worse by eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions? Yes, of course.
-Will everything ever be resolved? Yes, and quite quickly.
If those things don't bother you, I'd recommend this. For me, each predictable point bothered me more, perhaps aggravated and how quickly my enjoyment plummeted.
I will give another book by this author a go because I did like her writing and this was her first book. I'd love it if she wrote a sequel that focuses on Wei Fangli. Also, if they ever made this into a film I would watch it, mainly out of curiosity to see what actor would be given the daunting task of playing Sam.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2025
➳ 3.75 ☆! 🎨 spoiler free + mini review
⤷ noo the ending was too quick! but i love our couple 💌
₊‧꒰my thoughts꒱ ‧₊
⤷ so cute! ever since i saw the cover ive been intrigued, it just screams summer/spring. better yet, the book actually takes place during the summer! but anyway, i enjoyed this overall. my fav characters probably had to be fangli and sam. sometimes gracie frustrated me, but the growth is true, and shes very real. also the plot is so fun! gracie (FMC) is going to pretend to be a world famous actress (fangli) but oop she also falls in love with another famous actor (sam) who is kind of like a bodyguard 🤭 anywho, premise sold me! my only qualm was that it was kind of difficult for me to get into it at first, but after it was very fast-paced! plus, her writing is quirky, fun, and enjoyable, so, no brainer 🥳🥳 ill def be thinking about this book and recommending during summer! please check for TW's such as SA, family member health issues, + more! but this book is very light-hearted. OH AND the lil plot twist at the end did get me 👀👀
if you need something quick, this may be for you!! also love the asian rep 🫶ENJOYY!
“no one else can be you. no one else can tell your story like you. you are unique. so write the movie you want to see.”
---------------------
🎨| preview!!
gahhh need a fun rom-com to get me thru this month. k13 reading slump anyone?? 😭 ANYWAYS IM OFFICIALY BACK WOO HOPE EVERYONES JUNE IS GOING WELL 💐🥹
⤷ noo the ending was too quick! but i love our couple 💌
"i want to start living my own life and stop putting it on hold for others."
₊‧꒰my thoughts꒱ ‧₊
⤷ so cute! ever since i saw the cover ive been intrigued, it just screams summer/spring. better yet, the book actually takes place during the summer! but anyway, i enjoyed this overall. my fav characters probably had to be fangli and sam. sometimes gracie frustrated me, but the growth is true, and shes very real. also the plot is so fun! gracie (FMC) is going to pretend to be a world famous actress (fangli) but oop she also falls in love with another famous actor (sam) who is kind of like a bodyguard 🤭 anywho, premise sold me! my only qualm was that it was kind of difficult for me to get into it at first, but after it was very fast-paced! plus, her writing is quirky, fun, and enjoyable, so, no brainer 🥳🥳 ill def be thinking about this book and recommending during summer! please check for TW's such as SA, family member health issues, + more! but this book is very light-hearted. OH AND the lil plot twist at the end did get me 👀👀
if you need something quick, this may be for you!! also love the asian rep 🫶ENJOYY!
“no one else can be you. no one else can tell your story like you. you are unique. so write the movie you want to see.”
---------------------
🎨| preview!!
gahhh need a fun rom-com to get me thru this month. k13 reading slump anyone?? 😭 ANYWAYS IM OFFICIALY BACK WOO HOPE EVERYONES JUNE IS GOING WELL 💐🥹
May 3, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars! this book was so much fun; despite a few mini-gripes, i really really enjoyed this.
every time i come across an ownvoices rom-com set in toronto-
and in many ways, the stand-in truly was a dream - a love story i fell into the same way gracie fell for sam.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
gracie reed is a biracial chinese-canadian woman living in toronto - and she's down on her luck. not only must she contend with fallout from her boss's sexual harassment, she's also been fired at a time when she most needs a job: her beloved mother has alzheimer's and gracie is fighting to get her into the nursing home that will support her the way she deserves.
but gracie's life changes in many incredible, irrevocable ways when she's approached by wei fangli and sam yao, china's cinematic golden couple, in toronto for the summer and in need of gracie's help. gracie and fangli bear a remarkable resemblance to each other, and gracie agrees to be fangli's stand-in. what ensues is stardom and friendship and romance, as gracie is swept up into the glitter and luxury of fangli and sam's world.
will she be able to pull it off? what happens when she starts falling for infuriating, sexy sam? and, most of all: will gracie stay true to herself throughout it all?
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
i adore the contemporary romance genre, particularly ownvoices narratives by and about women of colour. and the stand-in exemplifies why i'm drawn time and again to these stories: here we have an earnest, imperfect, endearing protagonist grappling with issues of identity, family, loneliness, and yearning for love in a multitude of forms.
above all, this novel was a lighthearted romp rife with all the pleasure of wish fulfillment (and absurd yet entertaining plots). at the same time, it's undergirded by serious issues that enriched the rom-com narrative, as gracie navigates her experiences as a biracial woman; her grief and love for her mother and her mother's culture and past; sexual harassment and misogyny in the workplace; and what it means to carve out one's own identity and path.
i related deeply to gracie's struggles with accommodating other people to the detriment of our own needs and welfare. this is much more complex than simply condemning "people-pleasing" - especially for east asian women in the west, who often 1) confront, navigate, and subvert stereotypes of being docile and accommodating; and 2) engage in emotional labour (including people-pleasing) to cope with racism and sexism. the book highlights these complexities.
there were two main parts that dimmed my otherwise incandescent reading experience. first, i grew quickly tired and frustrated that gracie continually accused sam of placing fangli above herself. i think, given how sam's known and (platonically) loved fangli for many years - and only known gracie a few weeks - this would, in theory, make sense...? besides, i wasn't a fan of the implication that men and women (and people of other genders) can't simply love each other fiercely as friends; does sam really have to choose fangli *or* gracie? i was empathetic when this happened initially - i understand that this is part of gracie working through her insecurities - but didn't enjoy the fact that this, of all things, constituted the third-act conflict.
second, there's a scene toward the end where gracie forces sam to do something that he's not comfortable with, and that he's already expressly said no to; when he refuses, she hurls insults at him and makes him do it anyway. i understand that gracie was swept up in the moment and desperately needed sam to help her calm her mother. what i didn't understand, however, was why gracie was never held accountable for her actions - though she recognized it as wrong, she was never given an opportunity to apologize and flesh out that moment in a way that would've made it clear that intention doesn't equal impact.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
last but CERTAINLY not least: oh, how i loved reading gracie live her life in toronto, a city so near and dear to my heart! i absolutely can't wait to read more of lily chu's writing.
lily chu, you had me the moment i laid eyes on your bio - "romantic comedies set in Toronto with strong Asian characters" are one-hundred-percent my JAM.
many thanks to netgalley and sourcebooks casablanca for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
every time i come across an ownvoices rom-com set in toronto-
and in many ways, the stand-in truly was a dream - a love story i fell into the same way gracie fell for sam.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
gracie reed is a biracial chinese-canadian woman living in toronto - and she's down on her luck. not only must she contend with fallout from her boss's sexual harassment, she's also been fired at a time when she most needs a job: her beloved mother has alzheimer's and gracie is fighting to get her into the nursing home that will support her the way she deserves.
but gracie's life changes in many incredible, irrevocable ways when she's approached by wei fangli and sam yao, china's cinematic golden couple, in toronto for the summer and in need of gracie's help. gracie and fangli bear a remarkable resemblance to each other, and gracie agrees to be fangli's stand-in. what ensues is stardom and friendship and romance, as gracie is swept up into the glitter and luxury of fangli and sam's world.
will she be able to pull it off? what happens when she starts falling for infuriating, sexy sam? and, most of all: will gracie stay true to herself throughout it all?
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
i adore the contemporary romance genre, particularly ownvoices narratives by and about women of colour. and the stand-in exemplifies why i'm drawn time and again to these stories: here we have an earnest, imperfect, endearing protagonist grappling with issues of identity, family, loneliness, and yearning for love in a multitude of forms.
above all, this novel was a lighthearted romp rife with all the pleasure of wish fulfillment (and absurd yet entertaining plots). at the same time, it's undergirded by serious issues that enriched the rom-com narrative, as gracie navigates her experiences as a biracial woman; her grief and love for her mother and her mother's culture and past; sexual harassment and misogyny in the workplace; and what it means to carve out one's own identity and path.
i related deeply to gracie's struggles with accommodating other people to the detriment of our own needs and welfare. this is much more complex than simply condemning "people-pleasing" - especially for east asian women in the west, who often 1) confront, navigate, and subvert stereotypes of being docile and accommodating; and 2) engage in emotional labour (including people-pleasing) to cope with racism and sexism. the book highlights these complexities.
there were two main parts that dimmed my otherwise incandescent reading experience. first, i grew quickly tired and frustrated that gracie continually accused sam of placing fangli above herself. i think, given how sam's known and (platonically) loved fangli for many years - and only known gracie a few weeks - this would, in theory, make sense...? besides, i wasn't a fan of the implication that men and women (and people of other genders) can't simply love each other fiercely as friends; does sam really have to choose fangli *or* gracie? i was empathetic when this happened initially - i understand that this is part of gracie working through her insecurities - but didn't enjoy the fact that this, of all things, constituted the third-act conflict.
second, there's a scene toward the end where gracie forces sam to do something that he's not comfortable with, and that he's already expressly said no to; when he refuses, she hurls insults at him and makes him do it anyway. i understand that gracie was swept up in the moment and desperately needed sam to help her calm her mother. what i didn't understand, however, was why gracie was never held accountable for her actions - though she recognized it as wrong, she was never given an opportunity to apologize and flesh out that moment in a way that would've made it clear that intention doesn't equal impact.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
last but CERTAINLY not least: oh, how i loved reading gracie live her life in toronto, a city so near and dear to my heart! i absolutely can't wait to read more of lily chu's writing.
lily chu, you had me the moment i laid eyes on your bio - "romantic comedies set in Toronto with strong Asian characters" are one-hundred-percent my JAM.
many thanks to netgalley and sourcebooks casablanca for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 13, 2022
The world really said, let there be a ☆ five star read☆
January 25, 2023
4.25 stars for this debut rom-com.
This one was a super cute, clean, slow burn celebrity story that was a hoot.
Gracie is being harassed at work by her boss, Todd. She's having trouble standing up to him, so she reaches out to a lawyer, but she doesn't have the proof he needs to take Todd down. Then she gets fired and starts to worry about how she'll pay for the care her ailing mother needs.
Fangli is a famous actress in China, but is currently working on a play in Canada with her famous bff, Sam. She's getting worn out and really needs a break. She seeks out Gracie, who happens to resemble her greatly. They form a 2 month agreement where Gracie will go to events with Sam and pretend to be her.
Sam is totally not on board with this arrangement at all and thinks it's going to backfire. They basically just tolerate each other until, eventually, after getting to know each other, they form a bond and begin to enjoy each others company.
I love that she created EPPY when she wasn't getting the results she needed with the programs that are available for life planning.
I liked all the characters and the book was well written. Except, at times, Gracie did bother me with always finding it hard to believe Sam really could like her for her and not when she was pretending to be Fangli. I enjoyed watching Gracie and Fangli's friendship develop.
There were elements of depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer's that were realistically written.
Overall, this was a solid debut novel and I'd read her work again.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Lily Chu for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Heather Adores Books
This one was a super cute, clean, slow burn celebrity story that was a hoot.
Gracie is being harassed at work by her boss, Todd. She's having trouble standing up to him, so she reaches out to a lawyer, but she doesn't have the proof he needs to take Todd down. Then she gets fired and starts to worry about how she'll pay for the care her ailing mother needs.
Fangli is a famous actress in China, but is currently working on a play in Canada with her famous bff, Sam. She's getting worn out and really needs a break. She seeks out Gracie, who happens to resemble her greatly. They form a 2 month agreement where Gracie will go to events with Sam and pretend to be her.
Sam is totally not on board with this arrangement at all and thinks it's going to backfire. They basically just tolerate each other until, eventually, after getting to know each other, they form a bond and begin to enjoy each others company.
I love that she created EPPY when she wasn't getting the results she needed with the programs that are available for life planning.
I liked all the characters and the book was well written. Except, at times, Gracie did bother me with always finding it hard to believe Sam really could like her for her and not when she was pretending to be Fangli. I enjoyed watching Gracie and Fangli's friendship develop.
There were elements of depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer's that were realistically written.
Overall, this was a solid debut novel and I'd read her work again.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Lily Chu for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Follow me ➡ Heather Adores Books
July 18, 2021
It's a good story overall but it was too long and it dragged out a lot. I enjoyed Sam and thought he was a stoic grumpy character!
April 4, 2022
I wanted to read this book because the pretty cover and loved the premise. It started and jumped into the plot FAST. I enjoyed the character development and the main characters interactions with one another. The boss is a JERK and the way that ended, let me down. The ending to the book itself was great! I fell in love with Gracie and Sam. Loved the deep story underlining with depression and wanting to just live your life to the fullest. Was a beautifully written story. Look forward to reading more books by Lily Chu!
I received this book (in book format) to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.
I received this book (in book format) to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.
August 26, 2022
This was quite good. I didn't expect to love this mainly since it involves the celebrity and hidden/swapped identity tropes. Reminds me so much of the Barbie movie Princess and the Pauper (literally one of my favorite movies of all time).
Premise: Gracie is a regular Chinese-Canadian woman who's down on her luck and just got recently fired by her asshole boss, when she gets an offer by popular Chinese actress Wei Fangli to be her stand-in temporarily since they're doppelgangers. In return, Gracie will get enough money to put her mother in a better nursing home. But, accompanying Gracie is Fangli's best friend (and boyfriend, according to celeb news) Sam Yao, who doesn't believe Gracie will pull this off and instead thinks she'll ruin Fangli's reputation.
Right off the bat, I liked that the hidden identity trope wasn't used against the love interest (Sam was in it and knew the plan from the start). Gracie and Sam sorta had an enemies-to-lovers thing going on, but oh my god I fell in love with Sam so hard.
I listened to the audio as it was free on Audible. This was Phillipa Soo's first time as an audiobook narrator and she did an such amazing job. It's a crime she didn't sing in this as well (I really hope she gets to in her next audiobook projects! She played Eliza in the Broadway Hamilton musical for those who are unfamiliar).
Premise: Gracie is a regular Chinese-Canadian woman who's down on her luck and just got recently fired by her asshole boss, when she gets an offer by popular Chinese actress Wei Fangli to be her stand-in temporarily since they're doppelgangers. In return, Gracie will get enough money to put her mother in a better nursing home. But, accompanying Gracie is Fangli's best friend (and boyfriend, according to celeb news) Sam Yao, who doesn't believe Gracie will pull this off and instead thinks she'll ruin Fangli's reputation.
Right off the bat, I liked that the hidden identity trope wasn't used against the love interest (Sam was in it and knew the plan from the start). Gracie and Sam sorta had an enemies-to-lovers thing going on, but oh my god I fell in love with Sam so hard.
I listened to the audio as it was free on Audible. This was Phillipa Soo's first time as an audiobook narrator and she did an such amazing job. It's a crime she didn't sing in this as well (I really hope she gets to in her next audiobook projects! She played Eliza in the Broadway Hamilton musical for those who are unfamiliar).
February 5, 2022
This was so sweet. I do wish the bad boss hadn’t gotten off as easy, but I understood the machinations around the characters. Gracie & Sam were great. Loved the ending.
March 12, 2022
It took me a while to get through this but mostly because I've been in a weird brain-space. I'm usually not one for books featuring celebrities but I couldn't resist this one because of the pretty cover. I'm happy to say that this wasn't just a pretty cover. I really enjoyed the story within too. Gracie was a relatable main character and I enjoyed watching her navigate this new world in which she had to stand-in for a famous Chinese actress, Wei Fangli. She also finds love in the form of Fangli's costar, Sam. While there is a light romance in the book, I mostly enjoyed the growing bond between Gracie and Wei Fangli. I almost hope that Fangli will get her own story. I think there's a lot of potential for a great story for her.
Content notes: workplace sexual harassment, depression, anxiety, death of a parent, dementia
Content notes: workplace sexual harassment, depression, anxiety, death of a parent, dementia
November 23, 2022
I thought this would be a fun and sexy listen but instead it was a bit of a downer, there was no sex and the last 20-30% of the book had me rolling my eyes so much with all the miscommunication and cowardice from the h.
I feel bad saying this because this book tackles issues like mental health and sexual assault in the workplace which I think are important subjects to include in romance books but in this case it really REALLY overshadowed the romance.
All the issues were wrapped up way too easily as well.
I feel bad saying this because this book tackles issues like mental health and sexual assault in the workplace which I think are important subjects to include in romance books but in this case it really REALLY overshadowed the romance.
All the issues were wrapped up way too easily as well.
August 30, 2021
Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars
This was such a fun read/listen! I LOVED the narrator, Phillipa Soo! She made this book even more of an absolute feel-good read than it already was! I loved this so so much! Also this is free with the audible plus catalog! Very much recommend:)). It has wonderful mental health rep, awesome bi-racial rep, lovely romance, hilariousness abound, & glitz & glamour!
This sort of reminded me loosely of themes in Tokyo Ever After minus the royalty!
This was such a fun read/listen! I LOVED the narrator, Phillipa Soo! She made this book even more of an absolute feel-good read than it already was! I loved this so so much! Also this is free with the audible plus catalog! Very much recommend:)). It has wonderful mental health rep, awesome bi-racial rep, lovely romance, hilariousness abound, & glitz & glamour!
This sort of reminded me loosely of themes in Tokyo Ever After minus the royalty!
September 16, 2023
DNF - I couldn’t get into this
November 30, 2022
3*** stars
Sweet, clean, slow-burn romance.
I had my eye on this since its release bc I was so drawn in by the cover (I know you know how that can affect our reading choices *lolll) and while my rating might not reflect it all that well, I actually liked this story.
But it was loooooong! And very slow going - hence the rating. I think if the story had been woven a lot tighter it would’ve been much more enjoyable.
*this audio is free on audible with an active subscribtion.
Sweet, clean, slow-burn romance.
I had my eye on this since its release bc I was so drawn in by the cover (I know you know how that can affect our reading choices *lolll) and while my rating might not reflect it all that well, I actually liked this story.
But it was loooooong! And very slow going - hence the rating. I think if the story had been woven a lot tighter it would’ve been much more enjoyable.
*this audio is free on audible with an active subscribtion.
August 5, 2023
4.5
Libri che ti lasciano con il sorriso♥️
Buongiorno readers
Lo so che ultimamente siete tutti innamorati pazzi per lo Spicy, ma io amo anche le storie romantiche, tenere e soft, quindi visto che ne ho trovata una nuova che ho A M A T O, ecco anche un carosello di recap di libri in cui non c’è lo Spicy!
.
TUTTI PAZZI PER NOI DUE è un nuovo bimbo da proteggere, parola di Tris🤣 È la commedia romantica che amo e poi questa cover secondo me vale già la spesa
Lo consiglio a chi si innamora delle storie dove c’è uno scambio di identità, per intenderci per chi ha amato “Nei panni di una principessa”
.
Gracie è una ragazza qualsiasi nel momento in cui tutto sembra andare male.Vita amorosa? zero. Lavoro? Stressante, con situazioni che la mettono in difficoltà per poi direttamente essere licenziata ingiustamente. Problemi economici? Presenti perché vuole trasferire sua madre malata in una struttura migliore. Sogno nel cassetto? Creare un app di planning su misura per le sue esigenze
.
Ecco, se sistemata per bene, Gracie è identica a un’attrice cinese famosissima. Fangli è stanca, non riesce a gestire più tutto ed è qui che chiede aiuto a questa ragazza scoperta per caso. Un accordo vantaggioso per entrambe: Gracie dovrà presenziare ad alcuni eventi e red carpet ovviamente in compagnia di Sam, il bellissimo migliore amico e collega di Fangli che però tutti credono il suo fidanzato e in cambio verrà pagata profumatamente
.
Tra cambi di look e lezioni di portamento, segreti familiari e prese di coscienza, le vite dei tre cambieranno del tutto
.
Sam è subito ostile verso Gracie nonostante lei sia guidata dalle più buone azioni. Sentite odore di vicinanza forzata con un pizzico di Hate to love slow burn? Ecco, avete ragione. Ho sorriso continuamente durante questa lettura
.
Nonostante la leggerezza nella narrazione, il libro coglie l’occasione per parlare di tematiche forti come l’ansia e la depressione, la pressione sociale e famigliare nelle scelte di vita, il mobbing, il sentirsi culturalmente inadatti perché figli di due etnie diverse. Insomma fa anche riflettere ma sorridendo
⁉️qualcuno di voi ha già letto il libro della Chu?Pareri?
Apprezzate anche libri con zero Spicy?
Libri che ti lasciano con il sorriso♥️
Buongiorno readers
Lo so che ultimamente siete tutti innamorati pazzi per lo Spicy, ma io amo anche le storie romantiche, tenere e soft, quindi visto che ne ho trovata una nuova che ho A M A T O, ecco anche un carosello di recap di libri in cui non c’è lo Spicy!
.
TUTTI PAZZI PER NOI DUE è un nuovo bimbo da proteggere, parola di Tris🤣 È la commedia romantica che amo e poi questa cover secondo me vale già la spesa
Lo consiglio a chi si innamora delle storie dove c’è uno scambio di identità, per intenderci per chi ha amato “Nei panni di una principessa”
.
Gracie è una ragazza qualsiasi nel momento in cui tutto sembra andare male.Vita amorosa? zero. Lavoro? Stressante, con situazioni che la mettono in difficoltà per poi direttamente essere licenziata ingiustamente. Problemi economici? Presenti perché vuole trasferire sua madre malata in una struttura migliore. Sogno nel cassetto? Creare un app di planning su misura per le sue esigenze
.
Ecco, se sistemata per bene, Gracie è identica a un’attrice cinese famosissima. Fangli è stanca, non riesce a gestire più tutto ed è qui che chiede aiuto a questa ragazza scoperta per caso. Un accordo vantaggioso per entrambe: Gracie dovrà presenziare ad alcuni eventi e red carpet ovviamente in compagnia di Sam, il bellissimo migliore amico e collega di Fangli che però tutti credono il suo fidanzato e in cambio verrà pagata profumatamente
.
Tra cambi di look e lezioni di portamento, segreti familiari e prese di coscienza, le vite dei tre cambieranno del tutto
.
Sam è subito ostile verso Gracie nonostante lei sia guidata dalle più buone azioni. Sentite odore di vicinanza forzata con un pizzico di Hate to love slow burn? Ecco, avete ragione. Ho sorriso continuamente durante questa lettura
.
Nonostante la leggerezza nella narrazione, il libro coglie l’occasione per parlare di tematiche forti come l’ansia e la depressione, la pressione sociale e famigliare nelle scelte di vita, il mobbing, il sentirsi culturalmente inadatti perché figli di due etnie diverse. Insomma fa anche riflettere ma sorridendo
⁉️qualcuno di voi ha già letto il libro della Chu?Pareri?
Apprezzate anche libri con zero Spicy?
May 19, 2022
I've been trying to get more mileage out of my Audible membership, and The Stand-In is among the more enjoyable Audible Originals I've tried so far. It's a real testament to the strength of the characterization and the narration, though, that I was able to get my logistics brain past its constant issues with the execution of the premise. Ultimately, I did really enjoy this: but if, like me, your ability to just sit back and not nitpick premise logistics waxes and wanes, I'd recommend waiting till you're in the right mood to pick this one up. Because really, there's a LOT to love.
The premise is that the heroine, Gracie, gets photographed by the paparazzi one day as she goes about her business of being a very regular person. Turns out, she's a dead ringer for a famous movie star, Wei Fangli, who is in Toronto for work (with her very attractive costar and eventual love interest for Gracie, Sam Yao). Fangli hunts Gracie down and asks her to be her "stand-in": to attend public events with Sam, pretending to be Fangli, so that Fangli can rest from her exhausting public schedule. Gracie needs the job and the money - in part to be able to afford better care for her mother, who had dementia - so she says yes. Thus begins her experience passing for international superstar Wei Fangli, and falling for her gorgeous costar.
So, here's the thing. I always feel a bit bad when I pick up a book with a zany premise and then end up being disgruntled that the premise is too zany. Almost everything I typed above is... right there on the label of the book. I knew what I was getting into, and in some ways it feels very unfair to judge the book for it. But I guess what bothered me was how blatantly the parameters of the premise fluctuated to fit the needs of the plot. When Gracie is out giving interviews and being photographed and appearing on film as Fangli, nobody ever suspects that she's someone else. When she's running around Toronto as herself- sometimes with Sam, once actually with Fangli - nobody ever so much as mentions that she looks a little bit like the very famous movie star associated with the person standing right next to her. A wig and sunglasses simply cannot accomplish that much. There are a dozen little convenient inconsistencies like this (the idea that Gracie-as-Fangli only speaks English because Fangli wants to practice her already perfect English particularly bothered me). But again... it's not like I didn't sign up for this? So I tried very hard not to dwell on it, as much as my brain fought me on that.
Anyway, if you can accept, as I eventually managed to, that this kind of inconsistency is what's required to make the premise work, The Stand In goes to a lot of fun - and serious, and poignant, and emotional - places with said premise. On the fun side, the book felt a bit like a glorious mashup of my two favorite Audrey Hepburn movies: My Fair Lady (as Gracie learns to talk and walk and dress like a rich fancy superstar) and Roman Holiday (as Sam and Fangli get to be normals for a day of city sightseeing when out in semi-disguise with Gracie). For every logistical detail that irked me, there were another one or two really well-observed moments about the stress and privacy invasion of being a celebrity, or the way a bit of access to wealth and luxury goods can change the way people treat you. Plus, I love a good non-sports training montage, and I had a lot of fun reading the passages about Gracie's "Fangli practice."
The characterization was also just lovely. I was rooting for Gracie all the way, and I loved her growing friendship with Fangli SO much. And Sam was just a delight. The book perfectly judged the pacing and emotions of unraveling him from a seemingly-uptight-and-snobby-jerk, to a ... still-uptight-but-only-because-he's-caring-and-protective friend to Fangli and love interest to Gracie. I actually think my favorite relationship in the book was between Sam and Fangli: he was so caring and devoted to her in an entirely platonic way, which is something I love to see highlighted in romance. Though I have to say, it was then extra-frustrating to see Gracie continually misinterpret this clearly platonic relationship, for plot-convenient reasons, as something to be romantically jealous of. Still. Nothing will take away my joy at seeing two characters so deeply love and care for each other in the face of (within the world of the novel) a fanbase who wants them to bang and (meta-literarily) a pervasive genre assumption that a straight man and woman who know each other must always eventually be banging.
There are some heavier topics in here as well, including caregiving for an aging parent, sexual harassment at work, and mental illness, as well as the racism faced by Fengli and Sam as Chinese actors in America, and by Gracie as a biracial woman. The author had a light touch and a sensitivity to all of these issues that, I felt, allowed them to become a logical part of the world of the novel, without ever feeling tonally inconsistent.
Overall, I recommend The Stand-In. Just keep in mind that if, like me, you have a Cranky Logistics Brain, you may want to wait for the right reading mood to strike, because this one is definitely worth it.
The premise is that the heroine, Gracie, gets photographed by the paparazzi one day as she goes about her business of being a very regular person. Turns out, she's a dead ringer for a famous movie star, Wei Fangli, who is in Toronto for work (with her very attractive costar and eventual love interest for Gracie, Sam Yao). Fangli hunts Gracie down and asks her to be her "stand-in": to attend public events with Sam, pretending to be Fangli, so that Fangli can rest from her exhausting public schedule. Gracie needs the job and the money - in part to be able to afford better care for her mother, who had dementia - so she says yes. Thus begins her experience passing for international superstar Wei Fangli, and falling for her gorgeous costar.
So, here's the thing. I always feel a bit bad when I pick up a book with a zany premise and then end up being disgruntled that the premise is too zany. Almost everything I typed above is... right there on the label of the book. I knew what I was getting into, and in some ways it feels very unfair to judge the book for it. But I guess what bothered me was how blatantly the parameters of the premise fluctuated to fit the needs of the plot. When Gracie is out giving interviews and being photographed and appearing on film as Fangli, nobody ever suspects that she's someone else. When she's running around Toronto as herself- sometimes with Sam, once actually with Fangli - nobody ever so much as mentions that she looks a little bit like the very famous movie star associated with the person standing right next to her. A wig and sunglasses simply cannot accomplish that much. There are a dozen little convenient inconsistencies like this (the idea that Gracie-as-Fangli only speaks English because Fangli wants to practice her already perfect English particularly bothered me). But again... it's not like I didn't sign up for this? So I tried very hard not to dwell on it, as much as my brain fought me on that.
Anyway, if you can accept, as I eventually managed to, that this kind of inconsistency is what's required to make the premise work, The Stand In goes to a lot of fun - and serious, and poignant, and emotional - places with said premise. On the fun side, the book felt a bit like a glorious mashup of my two favorite Audrey Hepburn movies: My Fair Lady (as Gracie learns to talk and walk and dress like a rich fancy superstar) and Roman Holiday (as Sam and Fangli get to be normals for a day of city sightseeing when out in semi-disguise with Gracie). For every logistical detail that irked me, there were another one or two really well-observed moments about the stress and privacy invasion of being a celebrity, or the way a bit of access to wealth and luxury goods can change the way people treat you. Plus, I love a good non-sports training montage, and I had a lot of fun reading the passages about Gracie's "Fangli practice."
The characterization was also just lovely. I was rooting for Gracie all the way, and I loved her growing friendship with Fangli SO much. And Sam was just a delight. The book perfectly judged the pacing and emotions of unraveling him from a seemingly-uptight-and-snobby-jerk, to a ... still-uptight-but-only-because-he's-caring-and-protective friend to Fangli and love interest to Gracie. I actually think my favorite relationship in the book was between Sam and Fangli: he was so caring and devoted to her in an entirely platonic way, which is something I love to see highlighted in romance. Though I have to say, it was then extra-frustrating to see Gracie continually misinterpret this clearly platonic relationship, for plot-convenient reasons, as something to be romantically jealous of. Still. Nothing will take away my joy at seeing two characters so deeply love and care for each other in the face of (within the world of the novel) a fanbase who wants them to bang and (meta-literarily) a pervasive genre assumption that a straight man and woman who know each other must always eventually be banging.
There are some heavier topics in here as well, including caregiving for an aging parent, sexual harassment at work, and mental illness, as well as the racism faced by Fengli and Sam as Chinese actors in America, and by Gracie as a biracial woman. The author had a light touch and a sensitivity to all of these issues that, I felt, allowed them to become a logical part of the world of the novel, without ever feeling tonally inconsistent.
Overall, I recommend The Stand-In. Just keep in mind that if, like me, you have a Cranky Logistics Brain, you may want to wait for the right reading mood to strike, because this one is definitely worth it.
October 3, 2021
like the premise...
started it because of the beautiful cover...
and almost DNF it because I was bored...
TW: depression
started it because of the beautiful cover...
and almost DNF it because I was bored...
TW: depression
October 6, 2021
Gracie Reed is making a purchase at a local bakery when a camera begins flashing. The next day her picture is all over social media. She has been mistaken for Wei Fangli, a famous Chinese actress who could be her double. When a vehicle pulls up beside her on the street, Fangli is inside and wants to make a deal. She will pay Gracie to act as her stand-in at parties and grand openings while she takes a little time off. Fangli's co-star Sam Yao is not happy about this situation. He is afraid Gracie will use Fangli to make a name for herself with the press. At first Gracie doesn't take the idea seriously; but she needs the money to move her ailing mother into a new nursing home. She accepts the offer; but is not happy to learn that Sam will be her escort at most of the parties.
The story starts out a little slow with Gracie feeling that she has no control over her life. She is obsession with organizer/planning apps that she uses to try to structure her life and actually get things done. On top of that, her boss is sexually harassing her, but she can't quit because she is paying for her mother's care. But once she meets Fangli and Sam, she sees how hard they work and how different their lives are from hers. Gracie becomes friends with Fangli, helping the actress make changes in her life. She also falls for Sam, a guy who is wary of the power she has over his friend Fangli.
This is an audible original narrated by Phillipa Soo. She does a fantastic job with this story. She made Gracie, Fangli, and Sam come alive. I found this story fun and thoroughly enjoyed it. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
The story starts out a little slow with Gracie feeling that she has no control over her life. She is obsession with organizer/planning apps that she uses to try to structure her life and actually get things done. On top of that, her boss is sexually harassing her, but she can't quit because she is paying for her mother's care. But once she meets Fangli and Sam, she sees how hard they work and how different their lives are from hers. Gracie becomes friends with Fangli, helping the actress make changes in her life. She also falls for Sam, a guy who is wary of the power she has over his friend Fangli.
This is an audible original narrated by Phillipa Soo. She does a fantastic job with this story. She made Gracie, Fangli, and Sam come alive. I found this story fun and thoroughly enjoyed it. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
August 20, 2023
3.5
Tutti pazzi per noi due è il new adult perfetto per chi non ama lo spicy e vuole perdersi in una storia d'amore super cute con forced proximity e scambio di identità fra una ragazza comune e un'attrice di fama mondiale.
Gracie è uguale alla super attrice Fangli, che, stanca, ha bisogno di qualcuno che si finga lei per presenziare agli eventi mondani e red carpet. Con la complicità del partner di Fangli, Sam, Gracie si troverà catapultata nel mondo delle stelle...
Ero al mare quando ho letto questo libro e mai scelta fu più azzeccata: è una lettura molto carina, a tratti tenera e a tratti commovente (tratta argomenti come il razzismo, la salute mentale e l'alzheimer); riesce ad essere divertente e dolce e il romance è davvero molto soft.
Non c'è spicy e anche la chimica fra i personaggi non è quella a cui siamo stati abituati negli ultimi tempi. è fatta di dolcezza, di piccoli gesti e piccole attenzioni, di due mondi opposti che si scontrano e poi si avvicinano.
Non un capolavoro, ma è stata una lettura piacevole, rilassante, che mi ha lasciata col sorriso sulle labbra!
Tutti pazzi per noi due è il new adult perfetto per chi non ama lo spicy e vuole perdersi in una storia d'amore super cute con forced proximity e scambio di identità fra una ragazza comune e un'attrice di fama mondiale.
Gracie è uguale alla super attrice Fangli, che, stanca, ha bisogno di qualcuno che si finga lei per presenziare agli eventi mondani e red carpet. Con la complicità del partner di Fangli, Sam, Gracie si troverà catapultata nel mondo delle stelle...
Ero al mare quando ho letto questo libro e mai scelta fu più azzeccata: è una lettura molto carina, a tratti tenera e a tratti commovente (tratta argomenti come il razzismo, la salute mentale e l'alzheimer); riesce ad essere divertente e dolce e il romance è davvero molto soft.
Non c'è spicy e anche la chimica fra i personaggi non è quella a cui siamo stati abituati negli ultimi tempi. è fatta di dolcezza, di piccoli gesti e piccole attenzioni, di due mondi opposti che si scontrano e poi si avvicinano.
Non un capolavoro, ma è stata una lettura piacevole, rilassante, che mi ha lasciata col sorriso sulle labbra!
August 13, 2022
[ 3.25 stars ]
“I want to kiss you because I want to kiss you. I don’t know how to break it down. I can’t tell you that it’s twenty percent the way you smile at me when I help you out of the car, or sixteen percent the way you laugh at your own jokes.”
“Not that I look like Fangli?” Sam grimaces.
“I’ve had to kiss Fangli for weeks onstage and it’s like kissing my sister. You are not Fangli and I want you.”
When I received this e-arc five months ago I didn't think anything of it and I literally forgot I just had this sitting in my kindle library. So when I magically got the motivation to finally read this I could not put it down. I honestly loved how the characters all had their own flaws and problems, Fangli and Gracie's struggles were also struggles I suffer from myself so I found them very relatable.
The romance was also very cliche and classic but still left me swooning over the tiniest things. Sam Yao, I love you forever <333
once we hit the 80% mark I saw "that" coming very classic plot twist but I wouldn't change a thing about it :)
My only problem was with the no epilogue like I said should be illegal I NEED THE CLOSURE OKAY.
long story short if you loved The princess switch you would absolutely love this book :)
thank you net gallery for this e-arc!
“I want to kiss you because I want to kiss you. I don’t know how to break it down. I can’t tell you that it’s twenty percent the way you smile at me when I help you out of the car, or sixteen percent the way you laugh at your own jokes.”
“Not that I look like Fangli?” Sam grimaces.
“I’ve had to kiss Fangli for weeks onstage and it’s like kissing my sister. You are not Fangli and I want you.”
When I received this e-arc five months ago I didn't think anything of it and I literally forgot I just had this sitting in my kindle library. So when I magically got the motivation to finally read this I could not put it down. I honestly loved how the characters all had their own flaws and problems, Fangli and Gracie's struggles were also struggles I suffer from myself so I found them very relatable.
The romance was also very cliche and classic but still left me swooning over the tiniest things. Sam Yao, I love you forever <333
once we hit the 80% mark I saw "that" coming very classic plot twist but I wouldn't change a thing about it :)
My only problem was with the no epilogue like I said should be illegal I NEED THE CLOSURE OKAY.
long story short if you loved The princess switch you would absolutely love this book :)
thank you net gallery for this e-arc!
May 29, 2022
4.5* The characters, the romance, the switcharoo plot, the humour, the friendships, the mental health rep and discussions surrounding mental health, its stigma and accepting help... I LOVED IT ALL.
This was one of the most enjoyable rom-coms I've read in a while, whilst also having a wonderful depth to it, particularly surrounding mental health, culture and family history. I couldn't get enough and highly recommend listening to Phillipa Soo's audiobook narration!
TW: racism
This was one of the most enjoyable rom-coms I've read in a while, whilst also having a wonderful depth to it, particularly surrounding mental health, culture and family history. I couldn't get enough and highly recommend listening to Phillipa Soo's audiobook narration!
TW: racism
March 25, 2022
DNF. I’m more than halfway through this book and the more I read, the less I like it. It’s giving me major victim blaming vibes and I also feel like the sexual harassment plotline was used as a mere plot device and not handled well… The writing style was not my cup of tea and the book was overall extremely boring, ugh. Also, where’s the romance?!
May 23, 2023
The Princess Switch but the duchess is Chinese movie star, Wei Fangli, and she switches with jobless Gracie who takes her place at the most prestigious and fanciest of events on the arm of voted Sexiest Man in the World (and rightly so) Sam Yao
July 21, 2021
I'm a pretty wide-ranging reader, but there are a few types of books I almost never read. Self-help, religious, chick-lit, and romance among them. I think I've read a true romance novel once in my life, and I found it boring. Besides the fact that it's pure wish fulfillment for women (which is fine, but I'm not a woman), something about the fact that it's literally a genre requirement that there be a Happy Ever After makes them seem utterly predictable and formulaic to me. You already know from the cover blurb who the couple is that's going to wind up together in the end, and that everything that happens in between will just be a series of obstacles and misunderstandings and complications before they get there.
But every now and then I like to grab something that I wouldn't normally read. And this popped up as an Audible freebie, and the plot looked mildly amusing, if reminiscent of about a dozen rom-coms. So I gave it a listen.
And it was... okay. The plot is pretty much the blurb. Gracie Reed is a mixed-race Chinese-Canadian living in Toronto, working for a creepy boss who's a cartoonishly awful sexual harasser, when a pair of Chinese movie stars pull up on the street and ask her to get in their car so they can proposition her.
No, not that kind of proposition. (Yeah, the author plays that one for a couple of laughs.) Gracie, it turns out, is a near look-alike for Wei Fangli. (The author goes to great lengths to contrive explanations for Gracie being an ordinary-looking girl who can be mistaken for a beautiful movie star.) Wei Fangli wants a little break — to avoid the media, and some of her more trying social engagements. She offers Gracie a ridiculous amount of money to be her "stand-in" for a couple of months.
Oh, and coincidentally, Gracie's cartoonish sexual harasser boss just fired her, and Gracie's mother has progressing dementia and really needs to be moved to a nicer nursing home.
The final ingredient in this romance, of course, is the male lead, who is Sam Yao, sexiest man alive, first Chinese man to win an Oscar, Wei Fangli's best friend (but absolutely not romantically interested in her), and of course he thinks this is a stupid idea and the first third of the book is him behaving exactly how you'd expect an arrogant A-list movie star forced to work with a peon to behave.
Naturally, the second third of the book is Gracie and Sam learning to like each other, Sam softening up and revealing his cuddly, goofy, squishy real self and gradually falling in love with Gracie, and Gracie trying to get Wei Fangli to seek help for her depression.
The last third of the book introduces the obligatory misunderstandings and complications, the big fight that has Sam and Gracie separating, sure they'll never see other again, and then the big improbable twist that brings everyone back together for a HEA.
So yes, it was very predictable and formulaic. Once Gracie crack's Sam's shell, he's basically perfect in every way. Wei Fangli is sweet and a plot device to deliver a "therapy and meds are your friend, kids!" message, and Gracie is both a dorky plain-Jane everywoman with every generic insecurity and hangup that her female readers will have, and someone capable of eventually launching her own business and also getting glammed up to movie star levels. Add a few musings about her status as a mixed-race Chinese, and the obligatory awful white people who make racist comments now and then, and it's the perfectly appropriate modern romance.
The Stand-In was light and entertaining and I enjoyed it, but it did not leave me with a hankering to indulge in any more stories about a plain Jane protagonist who finds her grrl!power and adorkables herself into a HEA with a super-hot, super-nice, super-rich dude.
But every now and then I like to grab something that I wouldn't normally read. And this popped up as an Audible freebie, and the plot looked mildly amusing, if reminiscent of about a dozen rom-coms. So I gave it a listen.
And it was... okay. The plot is pretty much the blurb. Gracie Reed is a mixed-race Chinese-Canadian living in Toronto, working for a creepy boss who's a cartoonishly awful sexual harasser, when a pair of Chinese movie stars pull up on the street and ask her to get in their car so they can proposition her.
No, not that kind of proposition. (Yeah, the author plays that one for a couple of laughs.) Gracie, it turns out, is a near look-alike for Wei Fangli. (The author goes to great lengths to contrive explanations for Gracie being an ordinary-looking girl who can be mistaken for a beautiful movie star.) Wei Fangli wants a little break — to avoid the media, and some of her more trying social engagements. She offers Gracie a ridiculous amount of money to be her "stand-in" for a couple of months.
Oh, and coincidentally, Gracie's cartoonish sexual harasser boss just fired her, and Gracie's mother has progressing dementia and really needs to be moved to a nicer nursing home.
The final ingredient in this romance, of course, is the male lead, who is Sam Yao, sexiest man alive, first Chinese man to win an Oscar, Wei Fangli's best friend (but absolutely not romantically interested in her), and of course he thinks this is a stupid idea and the first third of the book is him behaving exactly how you'd expect an arrogant A-list movie star forced to work with a peon to behave.
Naturally, the second third of the book is Gracie and Sam learning to like each other, Sam softening up and revealing his cuddly, goofy, squishy real self and gradually falling in love with Gracie, and Gracie trying to get Wei Fangli to seek help for her depression.
The last third of the book introduces the obligatory misunderstandings and complications, the big fight that has Sam and Gracie separating, sure they'll never see other again, and then the big improbable twist that brings everyone back together for a HEA.
So yes, it was very predictable and formulaic. Once Gracie crack's Sam's shell, he's basically perfect in every way. Wei Fangli is sweet and a plot device to deliver a "therapy and meds are your friend, kids!" message, and Gracie is both a dorky plain-Jane everywoman with every generic insecurity and hangup that her female readers will have, and someone capable of eventually launching her own business and also getting glammed up to movie star levels. Add a few musings about her status as a mixed-race Chinese, and the obligatory awful white people who make racist comments now and then, and it's the perfectly appropriate modern romance.
The Stand-In was light and entertaining and I enjoyed it, but it did not leave me with a hankering to indulge in any more stories about a plain Jane protagonist who finds her grrl!power and adorkables herself into a HEA with a super-hot, super-nice, super-rich dude.
May 23, 2022
I don't really know what to say about this book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really enjoy it either. It was a decent read, yet I don't think that there is anything making this book stand out from the others. The book talks about important topics such as burnout and mental illness, but I don't feel they were explored or portrayed well enough. There was nothing that made me root for any of the characters, the story was very predictable and by the end of the book I was left with the feeling of 'that's it?'
One thing I congratulate the book for is trying to fix the friendship before the relationship with the love interest.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley!
One thing I congratulate the book for is trying to fix the friendship before the relationship with the love interest.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley!
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