Confronting an influential bakery review gone wrong, an attraction to a stranger, and a conflict-of-interest scenario when said wrong wants to be righted, Landon and Aubrey are whisked(get it?) away into an adventure in California wine country and their insta-attraction makes things interesting for them.

This was a book that I really really wanted to finally get to for a very long time! And it happened. And I'm conflicted. See, the biggest appeals of this book to me from the beginning were the Asian-American representation (definitely can't tell by the cover), as well as the cooking/baking aspect that connects the MCs together! The latter was definitely a huge plus for me, as the terminology when the leads were cooking made everything more interesting.

Okay. But I do have a few things that I want to go over that did stick out during my reading process the most. I know that I had an ARC and formatting is usually a bit wonky for them, but I'm still going to stress the importance of overall clarity in the narrative structure!

I don't think it helped that the third person limited perspective would sporadically shift between the two MCs at times? Or that the general dialogue isn't necessarily the most interesting due to the similarity between all of the characters' voices, so to speak. Normally, I wouldn't notice this too much, but it definitely seemed like there were little to no distinctions between the overall personalities of the characters. It just felt stiff.

With an instant attraction rom-com, that has to involve a certain type of character, I guess you could say, but it's not as enjoyable of a reading experience when the characters don't feel like actual people. From both of the MCs here, they were characterized by their jobs and their relationships to one another, their backstories, but it felt like they weren't very complex or relatable.

I also did not like the ending for this book at all, and maybe a lot of that is a personal preference, but I absolutely hated how the final resolution worked out. The plot device that acted in bringing the couple together at the end ruined much of the organic nature of a reunion. And by the time I got to the very rom-com esque ending, I think this was one too many tropes for me.

While I didn't understand why the MCs even had a connection to begin with, because all that I feel like happened was the initial attraction, I did appreciate how the author tried to make this a feel-good sort of NA book.

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

This was such a cute book! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

When I heard romance and it's a contemporary rom-com with delicious dessert recipes ... I was all in. This book is not only funny, but also heartwarming and seems to be tummy fulfilling. This is just not just your typical contemporary romance. This is a journey of two people dealing with their careers, life, and love.

The only issue that I had was the POV of the characters are sometimes confusing. This is because the POV of the main characters are mixed in one chapter without pause or borders. And also that often times this book makes me hungry and crave for desserts.

Overall, the book has potential and has strong characters. Would I buy it at a bookstore? I would say 70% yes in hoping that the editing was fully done 🤞✌🏼. 

Note: Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the uncorrected copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought Aubrey and Landon were great, and I was impressed with how well done the pregnancy twist and, especially, not telling him at first was. It was perfectly sweet and lovely and left me wanting just a bit more.

I wanted to love this book so much, but the 3rd person narration and the multiple POVs really deterred me from connecting with either character. The dialogue felt unnatural and often it completely removed me from the story. Overall, I just had a really difficult time engaging with the narration. I do think this would be a great book for readers more adjusted and interested in reading romance with a 3rd person narrator, but unfortunately, it just wasn't a good match for me. I will not be publishing a review of A Sweet Mess, but I appreciate being given the opportunity to read and review it.

this story had it all: food, wine, and chemistry. I really liked this story and what he spoke to me. I like stories of where they are bakeries. I am hooked on those kind of stories. Always the best.

I received a “Sweet Mess” ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new author that I have been introduced to.

The book and characters are funny, witty, charming and lovable.

Aubrey and Landon meet at a bar after having a hectic day that turned into an enjoyable one night stand.
Aubrey is a pastry chef and owns the Comfort Zone bakery.

Landon is a famous food critic who gets stuck in a small town after getting a flat tire and after purchasing a cake mistakenly that’s meant for a child’s birthday party and gives the Comfort Zone a bad review that could destroy Aubrey’s business. He had no idea that the owner of the bakery is the woman he had a one night stand with. After the review is written Landon has mixed feelings because he really cares for Aubrey but refuses to write another review about bakery because he does not want show favoritism.

This is a great story that I think that you will enjoy to read how things progress with Aubrey and Landon..

Looking forward to reading books by Jayci Lee.

Overall I felt that this book was a refreshing read that I enjoyed. It was a nice little meet cute full of romance and a bit of mystery. The characters I feel were well developed and I truly enjoyed their perspectives. At times I felt like the story was a bit slow or the conversations were a bit forced but overall I enjoyed this story. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to a friend. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early read.

I requested to read and review Sweet Mess by author Jayci Lee from publishing company St. Martin. From the beginning to the this book was shooting out fireworks out of the book. With the mystery, romance and the sexual tension between the two main characters Landon and Aria. I didn't want to put the book down! It has a definite West Coast vibe, I could picture the setting just by the author writing. This will want to make a trip out to the west coast and see for yourself. This plot worked well. It flower well. This is a definite must read for a mature readers. And keep reading at the end for the recipes they were great!!

Lee’s “A Sweet Mess” is a delightfully fun delectable romance. A refreshing story featuring a small town talented baker and renowned food critic sheds light on all that is absolutely delicious, fun and extremely challenging about being immersed in the world of food. The characters are engaging, thoughtful and complex and reflect perspectives from the Korean American experience. The romantic tension is both charming and heart rending as the characters work through balancing competing professional agendas and intense personal chemistry. I highly recommend “A Sweet Mess!”

This book had a lot of promise but overall fell short for me. I really liked the chemistry between the two characters but some editing was needed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

My last book was a quick little baking-based romance that ended well, so I thought I'd stick with the theme and give this a try. It had a strong start, good main character, a sexy encounter, unfortunate circumstance/misunderstanding--it was going well. Then, things started to get shaky. The plan to rectify the misunderstanding was far-fetched, the character development stalled, the "oh-no-I-shouldn't" was dialled up, and other arbitrary elements were tossed in. Frankly, it fell apart. By the end, I was just skimming to finish. Tighter editing and revision could have saved this.

Landon and Aubrey meet by chance. She owns and runs a bakery. He is a food critic who just happened to get the wrong cake. When they meet, they don’t realize who the other is. When he writes a bad review of her bakery, after trying only that one cake, it hits her who he is.
A few months pass as Landon travels for work. When he returns home to find that Aubrey was that baker, he feels awful. He refuses to change his review because that would put his professionalism in question. He does however want to find a way to help her bakery begin to turn a profit again.
Along with his solution comes another problem. During the time apart, both their minds kept drifting back to the other. They both felt a strong connection. She’s still mad at him for what he did but Aubrey’s feelings for Landon are strong. Landon tries to keep his professionalism but his feelings are also strong.
Opinion
A sweet mess is a perfect title. This book was so sweet. I absolutely loved it.
Their meet cute was perfect. They met at her friend, Tara’s bar and had a great night together. Knowing he was leaving town, she snuck out the next morning.
The animosity towards each other heightened the stress of loving each other. They were constantly put into different positions where their professionalism could possibly be at stake. Both of them, though, were so wrapped up in the other and refused to be the one to say it. They were afraid of hearts being broken and that only added to the stress.
The climax was heartbreaking itself. I couldn’t help but want to give Aubrey a big hug and tell her it would be okay. She ended up dealing with it well. She is a strong character, much like the Korean American women I know. She doesn’t take slack from anyone and she picked herself right up and returned to her life.
Landon goes through an epiphany with his emotions. He has something in his past holding him back and throughout the book he comes to realize that it shouldn’t. That situation is not him; it was another person close to him. This helped him to understand what he truly wanted,
Overall, I think this book is wonderful. The characters are developed well and grow as the book progresses. There are plenty of problems that need solutions throughout the book without it taking on the feeling of “another problem?”
One question though. Will we be seeing another book about Tara? A scene towards the end hinted at the possibility.

My favorite romance genre is haters to lovers so I was really excited to read A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee. The premise of the storyline is perfect for a romcom and really interesting with a bakery and winery involved. I appreciate how Aubrey and Landon both are realistic characters with complicated histories. This book reminded me a lot of my recent read The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.

At times, dialogue felt uncomfortable and a little awkward between the two main characters. I wish I felt a stronger connection between the two potential lovers, but it wasn’t as strong as I would prefer for a romantic comedy. It’s hard to root for the couple when you don’t feel the connection between them. It’s like when you watch a movie and the actors they chose just don’t feel right. Still, it was pretty entertaining and enjoyable to read.

Confession time first; a couple months ago I discovered K-dramas and now I am addicted to them and if you haven't started watching them, please go, go and start watching them so I'm it's not only me spending countless hours of my day on them. And if you have been watching them, aren't they amazing?

Now back to this book, when I saw that this story was about Koren-American characters, I mean I had to read about it; first because of my obsession with kdramas and because the story line just sounded just too cute to pass up; and it mention food and who doesn't like to read about FOOD?

Aubrey Choi has small but successful bakery in California and she is saving up to expand and open a bigger location and everything is going well until she gets a bad review and everything goes down the drain. What's worse is that the review came from the man she had a one-night stand, a perfect one-night stand. He is one of the most popular food critics in California, Landon Kim.

When Landon shows up at her bakery with a plan to save her business, Aubrey knows that she shouldn't accept it but saving her business is what her life is all about so she goes along with it and along with Landon she goes.

Spending three weeks with Landon didn't seem that bad of a deal with Aubrey said yes, but the more time they spend together the more they realize their feelings are more than they realized. But will they act on it or deny how they feel.

Let's talk about much I loved the food mention in this book, loved it. The love story was just a sweet too, even though it was a little too quick at times but it was still cute, I loved Aubrey, she was funny and wasn't afraid to just go out of her way and say what she wanted. Landon was hottie, and loved to get his POV so we could understand him a little better.

Overall, such a cute love story and I totally recommend it.

Got an early eARC from Netgalley.

4 out 5 stars!

A Sweet Mess
By: Jayci Lee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First off Thank You to Netgalley, the author Jayci Lee, and publisher for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

DESCRIPTION
Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see the gorgeous Korean hunk again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.

This was a cute fast paced read that would be perfect for the beach or a rainy day indoors. The author did a great job with the characters, very relatable and real. The book is full of food and wine references so that was a big plus! The storyline was a bit predictable but still a fun to read. If you like Rom Coms, food(pastries), and wine I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

A Sweet Mess comes out July 14, 2020. Be sure to grab yourself a copy!

Aubrey Choi has the misfortune of having a food critic get a dessert which was meant for one of her clients kids Birthday day. Let's say she gets a bad review and she didn't realize that the reviewer was her one night stand. Landon realizes that he needs to fix the mess he made and approaches Aubrey with a solution to their problem. When they find themselves getting closer together Aubrey will have to decide what she is willing to risk and if Landon is willing to risk his career as well.

I enjoyed reading this baking romance. It was fun and a quick read. Would recommend if you want to add some romance and drama in your life.

Such a cute romcom! Really enjoyed it and breezed right through it. Would recommend for a weekend read or beach read.

Cute story about a pastry chef Aubrey, and a chef, Landon who's a famous food critic! 4 stars for this one.
So we meet Aubrey, she took over the bakery from her grandmother and business is booming, she's ready to expand it. She's always struggled for acceptance in her Korean family, always coming up short in her father's eyes, but she's finally making her way. So when Landon comes in to the bakery, gets the wrong cake and writes a scathing review of it, business all but drops for Aubrey, putting her future in jeopardy. Can she convince Landon to retract his review, something he's never done, so her business will pick up again? Can she also fight her attraction to Landon while trying to save her bakery? Grab this one and find out!

*Review will be posted on my blog on June 29, 2020**

My Sweet Mess is a foodie romance – meaning if you like romance and stories with cooking in it, especially baked goods, then this will be up your alley.

Aubrey is a pastry chef and owns a small bakery in a very small town. A one-night stand with Landon, a well known food critic (except not known to Aubrey), ruins her business when he does an article on her bakery.

To make amends Landon has a plan. Now it’s strictly business between them but their attraction between them is undeniable and gets in the way.

What I Liked:

*Food! I love a romance story with food in it, most especially when it centers around baked goods – since that is my weakness. So I loved all the cooking references.

*It’s a light-hearted romance and a very quick read. The story comes with its share of timely drama and resolves easily into a happy ever after. It’s a cute ending.

*I like that it’s main characters are Asian because it’s nice to see more diversity in the romance genre.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

*The story is very predictable. One-night stand, woman’s life is ruined by a man, man comes into save her business, attraction is still there, conflict, resolution – HEA. So…it’s got all the elements but nothing really stood out to make it wow me.

*I didn’t connect to the characters. Their attraction happens in an instant, which is fine, but when things become a problem and they are back together, things almost fall easily into place. There is no real tension between them, I think I wanted more tension.

*And this might be the fault of it being a digital arc but some paragraphs were running into each other and I would get thrown off wondering if it was supposed to be a new chapter. So that might just be formatting because it being a digital copy.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this was a light hearted romance novel with love of food present throughout the story. For me I wish I could connect to the characters more but ff you like a love story about food and falling in love then you will enjoy this one.