e-Audio, 09:33:39
Narrated by: Nia Serge & Jaime Lincoln Smith
Release Date: November 19, 2024
Published by: Spotify Audiobooks
Read from: November 19-20, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this e-book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Abandonment, Addiction, Misogyny, Death of a Parent, Grief
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sparkly Covers, Own Voices, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Sports RomanceAfter accidentally going viral on social media, a cupcake-baking football player gets assistance from a social media maven—and his best friend’s little sister—to help promote his new bakery.
August Hodges was supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes. Emphasis on silent. That is until his impromptu feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity goes viral, making him the hottest bachelor in town. With a new location in the works, August and his partners decide to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to help cement their place in the community. But the hiring of his best friend’s younger sister, the woman who has haunted some of his best dreams for years, was as much of a shock as his new-found fame.
Social media manager Sloane Dell fell hard for her brother’s best friend the moment she met him more than a decade ago, but that teenage infatuation cost her dearly. Still, she accepts her brother’s request to revamp the bakery’s social media presence to take advantage of August’s newfound popularity, knowing it’s the big break her fledgling career needs. She’ll just ignore the fact that August is still August, i.e. sexier and sweeter than any man has a right to be. And that he drives her crazy with his resistance to all her ideas.
They vow to leave the past in the past. But when an explosive make-out session makes it clear their attraction burns hotter than ever, Sloane and August are forced to reconsider what it means to take a risk and chase your dreams.
As they’re both about to find out, all’s fair in love and cupcakes.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was a hard one to review. I didn’t actually care for the first one so I wasn’t super excited for this one. But then I got a copy in the mail and I wanted to make sure I read it and gave it a review. For this I was thankful tho because I actually liked this one so much more!
Ok so this one is definitely a slow burn and y’all know that annoyed me lol But when they started flirting I was like fineeee ok. And then when the things started happening, they started happening lol It was like a switch flipped. The only thing was, since it was a slow burn, it was too slow. For them to be adults, I was wondering the whole book why no one opened their mouth and said “I DO like you” It was very weird how they couldn’t say anything. And yes I know that miscommunication is real, but when it’s been years and they’re not young anymore, JUST SAY IT WITH YOUR FULL CHEST LOL
The rest of the romance was pretty basic. There was nothing that really set them apart from the other one. This one also had a viral something and then they were co-workers all of a sudden. I wanted some variety since like I said I wasn’t the first one’s biggest fan. Like the story was different enough, but it just wasn’t enough of a difference for me. I DID like the flashbacks tho. That definitely helped with learning more about their backgrounds and helped fill in the blanks when they weren’t flirting yet.
The baking was cute in this one too. I love seeing the man baking and his reason why he’s doing what he does?! Whew Chile I can’t say I blame him. I DID wish there was more there tho. She basically told us the conflict with his dad and they reconciled at the same time. Why not spread that out throughout the story? Give it more depth. Because let me tell you I would have rather read about the drama with his dad than that damn lady. She was literally mad for no reason. She didn’t know them people from a can of paint and was just mad to be mad. Extra af and annoying lol Because who tf needs to do all that instead of just asking what it is they plan to do? And the husband with no spine that didn’t tell her to chill tf out was annoying too lol (If you’re wondering, yes I was very passionate about that. Like girl, let this Black man BE!)
I also saw that this has been categorized as a sports romance. And I don’t feel like it is. Sure he had a background in sports, and there’s a nod here and there when talking about him on the field etc, but it really had nothing to do with the sports. It was “off season” yeah, but it just had nothing to do with sports, so I just didn’t want to call it that. I did just say that sports were involved, but I don’t think it was enough to warrant a full genre. Is that weird? Idk how to explain it.
This book was really fun, but it wasn’t without its faults. I believe this was my favorite of the series. I hope this next one is a little different than these first two. I also lowkey hope that he acts the same way he did in this one. He was hilarious.
Overall, I give this
