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4 Stars / Contemporary / Review

Review: Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most reviled woman in America after turning down a proposal on a reality dating show. When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego’s newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell.

When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada’s image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient.

Title:Fake It Till You Bake It
Author:Jamie Wesley
Series:TBC
Pages:336
Category / Genre(s):Contemporary
Trope(s):Enemies to Lovers
Fake Relationship
Workplace Romance
Point of View:Third Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h)
Location:San Diego, California, USA
HEA:โœ”๏ธ
Release Date:21st June, 2022
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A cute and sweet treat

4 stars

This is my first book by Jamie Wesley and also – hopefully – the start of a new series about a trio of professional American football players who own and run a cupcake shop. And having enjoyed this one, if August and Nicholas get their own stories, I will definitely be grabbing those up, too.

The writing is really fresh, lighthearted and drew me in right away. Itโ€™s the kind of book that you pick up to read just a little and suddenly you find yourself finishing yet another chapter.

When we first meet Jada sheโ€™s being a little bit snarky. Add to that, the fact that sheโ€™s universally hated for a small incident on a national TV dating show, and I was sure that I would hate her. And yes, sheโ€™s a teeny bit abrasive at times, and sometimes too honest, and determinedly independent – but I couldnโ€™t help but like her. Sheโ€™s sassy – which gives her fantastic banter with Donovan but sheโ€™s also got extremely relatable vulnerabilities. And I know sheโ€™s fictional but I also loved her dress sense!

I have equally as much love for Donovan. While heโ€™s always something of a type-A personality, the way he gets all uppity and stern when around Jada just made me happy. The pair just rub each other the wrong – or the right – way and the spark was delicious as the cupcakes. I love a bit of enemies-to-lovers, getting all riled up goodness!

It wasnโ€™t just Jada and Donovan that had a great relationship in the book. Donovan and his two business partners / friends / teammates were bromance banter goals. They were hilarious and I devoured any scene they were together in. Fingers crossed that this pair get their own stories as Iโ€™m already half in love with them, too! Bonus points if one of them end up with Jadaโ€™s bestie, Olivia!

“…as sweet and delicious as the cupcakes made by Sugar Blitz.”

I really enjoyed this tale and it really started off strong. It was when it got towards the end that it started to lose its depth. It was as if the ending needed fleshed out a bit more. SPOILER: I mean, thereโ€™s the inevitable break-up which Donovan does not see coming. And then 3 months passes before he makes his move. They express that they missed the other and theyโ€™re back together. Now Iโ€™m not normally one to lobby for more talking between my main characters in a book but I wanted Jada to explain her issues so they could grow as people and as a couple. I felt it was an opportunity missed to really solidify their relationship. SPOILER END. But there was still a happy ending so I was more than happy with that. And thereโ€™s an epilogue! YAY!

This book is as sweet and delicious as the cupcakes made by Sugar Blitz. I mean, this book should either come with some sort of warning for all the scrumptious cupcakes it describes – or perhaps it should come with free cupcakes. Either way, youโ€™re going to want to stuff your face – either with this book, with cupcakes or both. Looking forward to the next and very pleased to have discovered a new author in Jamie Wesley. 4 stars.

As an aside, I donโ€™t care what anyone says – I HATE the word till. Until or โ€™til for me. I will happily die on this hill but, thankfully, this has absolutely no bearing on my rating of this book.

4 stars

* I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion *

Jamie Wesley has been reading romance novels since she was about 12 when her mother left a romance novel, which a friend had given her, on the nightstand. Jamie read it instead, and the rest is history.

She started her first manuscript, a contemporary romance, after she graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 and couldn’t find a job. Life got in the way as it often does, i.e. she found a job, and she didn’t finish the story. However, she never forgot about it and finally got serious about completing it in 2009. And then she finished a few more stories. In 2012, her manuscript, TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, was named a finalist in RWAโ€™s Golden Heart competition and was published by Entangled Publishing in 2014.

Jamie holds a masterโ€™s degree in sport management (yes, that’s a real thing ๐Ÿ™‚ ) from the University of Texas at Austin, so it probably comes as no surprise that she loves sports and spends an inordinate amount of time rooting for her hometown Dallasโ€™s pro sports teams and her alma maters.

She also adores Walt Disney World, shopping, and pop culture. Want to know if your favorite TV show is going to be canceled or what the newest Disney attraction is? Ask Jamie. She’ll probably know the answer.

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