A Sweet Mess is the first book in the A Sweet Mess series. This book is told from dual points of view by Aubrey Choi and Landon Kim.

Aubrey is a pastry chef and Landon is a popular food critic. Aubrey made a special item for a birthday party, and her helper accidentally served it to Landon. Landon met Aubrey that night and they spent a night together. When he gets back to his home, he's on a deadline for his story and writes a story on Aubrey's business.

When Aubrey finds out who he is she tries everything to get him to come back and really try her food. He refuses to because he never gives places a second chance. However, after trying her food for real, he gets her on a tv show to redeem herself.

As they spend time together they start to have true feelings together. However, he's scared people will realize he's only giving her a second chance because they spent time together. Can he get over his fear of the public's opinion? Will Aubrey forgive him for how he treated her in the beginning? Will Aubrey and Landon get their happily ever after?

A POC romance with food and drama...
Truly enjoyed my time reading but certain major scene just didn't do it for me. They were messy and didn't match with the character's previous tone.

First of all, I want to visit this town and eat at this bakery. Secondly, these characters were so relatable and watching their sweet romance unfold amidst many obstacles was just perfect.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review and I wish I had nicer things to say. I got very strong Hating Game vibes. This book centers on a korean american couple and I honestly forgot that most of the time. The writing style was very odd and clunky, which sucked because I adored the premise and thought the beginning was very cute.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorites. Especially if there's a past that made them enemies, like this one has.

A Sweet Mess was highly anticipated to me last year, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it. Unfortunately it didn’t work as well for me as I hoped and I felt it was a bit overhyped. I really enjoyed the baking aspect but found myself struggling to care about the characters. I may try to finish it eventually, but for now it was a DNF

Being a mood reader can be hard. I'm fairly certain I could love this book, however it wasn't grabbing my attention at the time I went to read it. For now, it is a DNF from me, but I can see loving it, especially being centered around a baker! There is a chance I may come back to in it the future and will update my review at that time.

If you’re looking for a cute romantic read this is your jam. Although I wish the author dragged out the begging a little more... wow never thought I’d hear myself say that! There just needed to be more build up for when Landon found out Aubrey owned Comfort Zone, the bakery he totally bashed to the world as a food critic.
Then again some of it seemed rushed. Like she forgave him too easily after he found a fix. I’m not a huge fan of fade to black sex scenes but if you’re looking for clean-ish romance this is an excellent choice.
There seemed to be a few times where they would leave parts of the story unanswered. Like Aria needed Landon’s help for something but as the audience we never found out why. Also why didn’t Aubrey ask???
Still I can’t help but want to read book two with Tara and Seth!

Thank you for the journey Netgalley.

Enjoyed this single night to friends zone to more. Food and so much more food! You will get hungry reading this one! Even their time together is great- loved their special days. The chemistry in this one is hot from the start!

I feel like this book should come with a disclaimer: Will Crave Sweets!! I loved Aubrey’s bakery and the whole aspect of her business – more women owners should exist in novels, especially those who are working their butts off to expand and sustain. The food in this book was enough to make me want to continue reading; between the descriptions and dishes, I probably raided my fridge as soon as I was done.

This book is a sweet love story of a successful man struggling with his path forward, and a woman set on her path struggling to ensure success – it was delightful seeing how they intertwined and interacted. Sometimes it felt too wrapped up in a bow, or too perfect…but honestly, the story itself is just so sweet you can’t help but root for them no matter what, and I’ll forgive any plot issues for the end game of their love story. I will say I liked the beginning much more than I liked the ending, as I felt it wrapped up both too quickly and without any real depth, and really pulled in all sorts of romance tropes that were pretty unnecessary. But it’s still a classic love story that will scratch the itch for a sugary sweet romance.

I wasn't sure about this at first, they really seemed to repel each other and the cake mix up seemed contrived. But it was fun in the end, glad I stuck with it.

This book was such a sugary sweet romance novel. Okay, that might have been a little punny since the main characters are literally sitting on a Bundt cake on the cover. But I loved how this book tied in all of my favorite things: cooking shows, baking, and romance.

I really liked the concept of this one but I don't think it held up, unfortunately. It didn't hold my interest like many of the other contemporary rom-coms on the market right now. That said, I would absolutely pick up another by the author in the future as I have heard great things about their other books!

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ADORABLE!!!! I absolutely loved this book so much.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee is a light hearted romantic comedy about a workaholic pastry chef and a food critic with abandoned dreams of opening a restaurant. In a setup reminiscent of a Hallmark film, Aubrey and Landon bond over their shared Korean American ancestry and love of food and share a one night stand (ok this part isn’t so Hallmark) thinking they will never see each other again. Until Landon realizes that the pastry chef whose business he slammed in his recent review is none other than Audrey. He formulates a plan to save her business and they are drawn together again.

I appreciated that this was a rom com with passionate characters who were obviously into each other that also kept the hanky panky behind closed doors. The sparks and witty banter flew and made their attraction and romance believable without being overly explicit.

I also really loved all the Korean food descriptions! I looove Korean and Korean/American fusion cuisine and I love seeing diverse authors and main characters in the romantic comedy space!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The trope introduced in the last third is my least favorite rom-com trope and the way the characters dealt with it felt starkly different from their personalities and actions in the first ⅔ of the book. I’m not going to spoil anything for other readers, but I was pretty disappointed with the last ⅓ of this book.

I think Lee is a great writer and I will definitely give her books another try but this one was not for me. I enjoyed the characters in the first ⅔ of the book and I love rom-coms that involve copious food descriptions. A Sweet Mess was very well written so I think others less frustrated by certain rom-com tropes would probably really enjoy it!

Thank you Net Galley and St Martin’s for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was sweetly unexpected. I loved reading about diverse characters and I am so glad we are getting so much more of these stories! This was my first book by this author and definitely won't be the last!

A Sweet Mess was fun, sweet, made me laugh and was a great read from start to finish.

We have Aubrey, the people pleaser, who owns her own bakery and is proud of all that she has accomplished. She has not always had it easy with her family life, but she is a determined young woman who has set out to prove that she can make it in the world. She definitely has done a great job! Her community loves her baking and she has even decided to expand her business into a bigger space (not an easy task for any young person). But all of this spirals out of control when she meets a handsome young man, has a one night stand and then he leaves an awful review of her bakery! Did I mention, he was a famous food critic?? His review has the potential to destroy her business and we can almost immediately see the impact it has.

Everything that Aubrey has worked so hard for with her business could now come crashing down around her, and she will not sit back and let this happen . When Landon realizes his mistake, he tries to make it up to her and the pair start down a very interesting path that involves wine country, a stay together at a beautiful home and a live appearance on a baking show (can’t give away too much but it was good!).

The plot was fantastic – full of humour, it was sexy (these two have such a strong connection), but also focuses on some difficult topics (it is done in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed). These two had a rough start despite their attraction towards each other, and they would make a perfect couple from what we can see on the outside but can they make it through the drama that surrounds them?

A Sweet Mess is a fun read that is perfect for the summer months, that you can enjoy on the beach or in the backyard by the pool.

A Sweet Mess is more sweet than messy. It all starts with a gummy worm cake and ends with the sweetest ending. First time reading this author. I will be back for more.

2.5

Aubrey Choi lives in a small town in California and runs her own bakery called Comfort Zone. Her part-time worker Lily accidentally sells the wrong cake to Landon Kim, a celebrity critic who's passing through town. Landon hates the cake and writes a scathing review. Things get complicated when Landon and Aubrey meet and spend an amazing night together without knowing who the other really is. When Landon's review jeopardizes Aubrey's business he sets out to right his wrong. Landon offers Aubrey the chance to appear on his friend's cooking show where she will create new recipes and clear her bakery name. Here's the catch they have to share a villa together for three weeks.

This book was cute. I flew through it in one sitting. I loved that the main characters were Korean and that they both shared a passion for food/baking. It was clear that Landon and Aubrey were in love. They had chemistry from the moment they met but Landon really messed up. Aubrey refused to be his secret. Then the surprise pregnancy trope happened and my enjoyment of the book kind of dwindled. I liked that Landon stepped up when it was important. I enjoyed the side characters. I loved that both Aubrey and Landon had such great mothers.