Lily Chu Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Lily Chu
Lily Chu loves to order the second cheapest wine, wears perfume all the time, and staying up way too late with a good book. Lily writes romantic comedies that are set in Toronto with strong Asian characters.

Lily enjoys walking around the city to look at people and eavesdrop on passing conversations. She will usually return from such walks with a selection of things that she probably didn’t need yet still grabbed her attention in stores. She once came back with bandages, a pair of socks with cats on them, a book about ninjas, and coffee beans.

When Lily writes, she has this general idea of where she wants to take her story. She is not fond of plotting, so she’ll typically write a five-to-ten page outline as her guide. One of the lines in her outline will always be that some stuff happens and they fix the problem. She leaves the nitty-gritty of how this will happen to Later Lily to worry over.

At one point she got into K-pop and was astounded by just how much she didn’t know about it. There was this gigantic industry that she was totally ignorant about. Fans would go mob airports for their idols that she could have passed while on the street without even blinking an eye. It gave her this idea about a woman that had zero interest in K-pop and would have no clue when an idol appeared into her life. What would even happen when she found out? How would the idol feel about being accepted for who he was, rather than the public version of him? It was a huge amount of fun to write and research.

In late 2019, there was a bunch of issues about representation bubbling up in the romance world. Lily knew already that there weren’t too many biracial characters in books, but she soon realized that she had become so used to it that she didn’t even expect to see people like her in stories. So the novel, and by extension Gracie, came out of this choice to try and fix that.

Gracie, a character in “The Stand-In” was inspired by some of Lily’s own experiences, and those of people that she knows, as well as her own amazing self as she committed her to the page.

“The Stand-In” spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and it was named one of the absolute Best of 2021. It was also named Target’s Book Club Pick for May. “The Comeback” was named one of Audible’s Best of 2022.

“The Stand-In” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2022. Ways to totally upend your life. Get fired by your handsy and gross boss. Fail to do your laundry again. Get mistaken for a famous Chinese actress. And fall head-first into a glitzy new world.

Gracie Reed is doing just fine. She got fired by her overly “friendly” boss, sure, and yeah she still has not gotten her mom into the nursing home of their dreams, but she is healthy, she is happy mostly, and she is somewhat holding it all together.

However when this mysterious SUV pulls up next to her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Sam Yao and Wei Fangli, Gracie’s world gets turned on its head. This famous actress has got a proposition: because of their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. Only one catch. Gracie is going to have to be escorted by Sam, who is the most attractive, and infuriating, man that Gracie has ever met.

If this means getting the cash that she needs for her mom, then Gracie is in. before long she moves into this world of luxury that she never even knew existed. However resisting Sam, and playing this role of an elegant movie star, proves to be tougher than she had ever imagined. Particularly once she learns the true reason that Fangli so desperately needs Gracie’s help. In the end all of the lists in the world will not be able to help her keep this elaborate ruse without losing herself, and her heart.

Readers enjoyed getting to see Gracie learn how to enter and be a part of this world of fame and wealth. Her developing friendship with Fangli was also lovely to read about. There are these fantastic conversations about depression and anxiety between the two of them, too.

“The Comeback” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2023. The “perfect” daughter living her dad’s dream out. Laser focused lawyer that is diligently climbing up the corporate ladder. Shocking love interest of South Korea’s hottest of stars.

Ariadne Hui thrives on routines. So what if everything in her entire life planned down to the minute, that’s how she likes it. If she is going to make partner in Toronto’s most prestigious of law firms, she has to stay focused at all times.

However when she comes home after yet another soul-sucking day just to find a gorgeous yet unfamiliar guy camped out in her living room, focus is the very last thing that is on her mind. Particularly when her roommate explains that this is Choi Jihoon, her cousin that has just arrived from Seoul in order to mend a broken heart. Choi only needs a few weeks to heal and rest; Ariadne is going to barely know he is there. Sure.

Jihoon is chaos and kindness personified, and it is not that long before she is falling and hard. However once one wrong step leads to a world shaking truth, Ariadne finds that is thrust onto the world’s stage: not as the steely and competent lawyer that she has fought so hard to become, however as the mystery woman on the man’s arm, one the whole world claims they know. Now with her heart, her future, and her entire sense of self on the line, she’ll have to cut through all of the pretty lies to find the truth of her relationship, and find the Ariadne Hui that she is ready to be finally.