{Story Diary} Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn | Blog Tour + Moodboard

Hello, and welcome to the Dating Makes Perfect blog tour stop here at EK today, organized by Hear Our Voices Book Tours! I am so excited to share the reasons why you need to read this #ownvoices rom-com (which releases tomorrow!), as well as my favorite quotes from the book, aesthetics, fanmix and a food collage! Thanks, Hear Our Voices BT for having me on the tour, and to Entangled Teen for the review copy.

★ For fans of Jenny Han, Sandhya Menon and Maurene Goo ★

dating makes perfect pintip dunn book review story diary

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

Young Adult Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, #ownvoices

August 18, 2020 from Entangled Teen

The Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed.

Until now.

In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, “Why aren’t you engaged yet?” The sisters retaliated by vowing that they won’t marry for ten (maybe even twenty!) years, not until they’ve had lots of the dating practice that they didn’t get in high school.

In a shocking war on the status quo, her parents now insist that their youngest daughter, Orrawin (aka “Winnie”), must practice fake dating in high school. Under their watchful eyes, of course—and organized based on their favorite rom-coms. ’Cause that won’t end in disaster.

The first candidate? The son of their longtime friends, Mat Songsomboon—arrogant, infuriating, and way too good-looking. Winnie’s known him since they were toddlers throwing sticky rice balls at each other. And her parents love him.

If only he weren’t her sworn enemy.

Setting

Chicago, Illinois

[Image Source]

Reasons to add Dating Makes Perfect to your library

dating makes perfect pintip dunn aesthetic litmeme

♥ Childhood best friends to enemies to lovers (yes, expect some slow burn t e n s i o n 🔥)

♥ A different take on the fake dating trope

♥ It's a cute romantic comedy filled with humor, banter, wit, pranks, bets, charm and romance that will fill your heart with plenty of laughter and swoons. An ode to all of our favorite tropes from romantic comedies. 💕😂

♥ The sister kinship between Winnie and her twin older sisters, and the interactions between them and their parents, are just so wholesome and hilarious. Their family dynamic is something to appreciate. 👯‍♀️

♥ The friendships are an integral part of the story as well as in Winnie's life, especially her friendship with her bff Kavya

♥ All the mouth-watering Thai food that the characters enjoy and even make together as family, will just make you hungry. (Caution: Don't read this book without food within reach) 🥣

♥ The Songkran Festival takes place in the story, which is an important holiday in Thai culture 🌊

♥ The romance between the once childhood best friends turned enemies blossoms organically over time spent together, reconnecting and after much needed talks, and witnessing it flourish made this an even more heartwarming coming-of-age story

♥ On top of being an ode to romantic comedy tropes, there's also references to rom-com's like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Always Be My Maybe and Never Have I Ever 🎥

♥ Nuanced commentary on Thai culture and customs, and Asian parents expectations (i.e. dating terms/candidates, career paths, marriage age, academic studies/degree programs, the dutiful daughter, the timeline and order all of which should occur, etc)

♥ It's a lighthearted story about family, growing up, self-discovery, relationships, friendships, first love, and Thai culture that fans of Jenny Han, Sandhya Menon and Maurene Goo will absolutely adore

Rep

☀ #ownvoices Thai American main and side characters + LI

☀ Indian (Konkani) American side character
☀ Bisexual Thai American side character

Thai

Mai dai det caut: roughly translates to "absolutely, positively not"
Phuk tong: pumpkin

Falang: foreigner

Ouan: term of endearment/nickname meaning "fat"

Sabai: happy or comfortable

Wai: a traditional greeting that is of a slight bow with palms together in a prayer-like fashion

Naga: a mythical serpent from Southeast and South Asia

Wat: a Buddhist temple or monastery

Chaiyo: cheers

Ramwong: a popular Southeast Asian folk dance performed at festivals and parties

[There's a good chance that I got some translations wrong, so if I did, please feel free to correct me so I can fix it. Thank you!]

Dating Makes Perfect pintip dunn aesthetic moodboard

We're like three sides of an isosceles triangle. I'll never match their lengths or their angles, but they'd be hard-pressed to exist without me shoring them up. I think.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

Maybe that's where our closeness comes from. I'm not sure. All I know is that saying goodbye to them feels like yanking out a small but important organ. Not the useless appendix, but maybe a thyroid?

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

Food is not just a sliver of our culture but also a thread that connects the entire tapestry of who we are.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

“No touching, either.”
“Seriously, Papa? If I’m going to practice date someone, there might be occasions when touching is appropriate. A handshake at the beginning of the evening, for example.”
“You can wear gloves,” he says firmly.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

"I have no interest in hugging overly tall boys with overly large egos."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

~~Yes you do~~ Girl, no one would blame you regarding the latter.

"I don't hate you. I never have."

My heart leaps against my chest. He doesn't? But that can't be right. He's implied as much on countless occasions, even if he's never come right out and said it.

He smiles. "I only loathe you."

Of course. I knew that's what he meant.

I bare my teeth. "Well, I loathe you, too. With the heat of a thousand suns, over the span of a thousand lives."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

That's just a little taste of Winnie and Mat's ~~hate~~ "loathe" toward each other. 😉

"I'm just saying, maybe it's time to pursue your own path. Be your own person."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

The key is to surround ourselves with people who will help us become the person we want to be. That includes people who encourage us to take steps in the right direction.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

**Quotes are from an unedited advanced review copy and are subject to change in final publication**

Food

Just a few of the delicious food that's featured or mentioned in the book. 🤤

Dating Makes Perfect Fanmix

[Fanmix compiled by me]

I’m a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. I graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received my J.D. at Yale Law School.

My novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance.

In addition, my books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. My other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.

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