★ Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

Jackie Lau. Atria/Bestler, $17.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-66803-076-9

Lau (The Stand-Up Groomsman) delivers a heartfelt and hilarious rom-com about a woman whose insecurities and assumptions blind her to the good intentions of the people around her. Now that both of Emily Hung’s younger sisters have gotten hitched, her mother has turned the full focus of her matchmaking onto Emily—and the 33-year-old writer-slash-barista doesn’t know how much more she can take. At her sister’s wedding, Emily’s mother pushes her at sweater vest–wearing family friend Mark Chan, forcing the two to make awkward small talk. Though Emily acknowledges that Mark, a successful engineer, is handsome, she insists, through snarky first-person narration, that he’s not her type and, because he scrolls through his phone during their conversation, she assumes he’s uninterested and judging her career choices and chaotic lifestyle. Despite this rocky meeting, Emily’s mother is still determined to set the two up, and Emily, who just wants to focus on writing, realizes the only way to satisfy her is to make her believe her matchmaking has been successful. Emily presents this fake-dating plan to Mark, who agrees with surprisingly little fuss—but the deception becomes complicated when Emily’s mother’s prying leaves them no choice but to actually go on the dates they’re lying about. The result is a funny and addictive take on a favorite trope complete with sincere family dynamics and a heroine who, while sometimes painfully un-selfaware, still proves easy to root for. Lau brings the goods. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (May)