I really enjoyed this one! Romance mixed with baking is a perfect combo for me. I liked the chemistry (albeit forbidden romance?) between Aubrey and Landon. I was a little unsure about the ending, but I ended up really liking it. And loved the side characters of Aria and Tara!

They met and had a one night stand. He wrote an unfavorable review of her bakery and things go downhill from there. After Landon realizes the bakery belongs to Aubrey he tries all he can to make amends. They both felt something more in that one night together than they had with anyone else in their life. With both of their jobs on the line because of this review, they have to decide which is more important, what people think of them or a future together.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This is a book you don't want to read on an empty stomach. Not because there is anything gross in it, but because there is so much food in it, you will instantly be hungry. Aubrey is the owner of a bakery in a small town in California. Landon is a food critic. They have an instant attraction to each other, but once they find out who the other is, their feelings really change. Aubrey and her entire town now hates him Landon, and Landon can't help but try to make things better for her.
Will they be able to find a common ground or will they be at odds forever?
I really enjoyed this book and I think all romance lovers will enjoy it as well.

This may be my favorite read of the Summer yet! A perfect blend of slow-burn romance, angst, and swoony moments everywhere you look... with gorgeous setting to let it all soak in too. A Sweet Mess brings together a pastry chef and a food critic... sparks fly from the moment they meet and then sparks fly the moment said food critic practically ruins the bakery with a harsh review.

This book took me by surprise as this is a new to me author and I had no idea what to expect. What I got from Jayci Lee was a beautifully written story about two people who were destined to meet and fall in love. Aubrey Choi and Landon Kim couldn't have been more perfect for each other... their chemistry was insane, their likes and interests were so similar, and their time spent together in a villa left smile after smile on my face. Aubrey's character was strong, driven, yet funny, sweet, and compassionate. Landon's character was the the perfect jerk on the outside, sweet on the inside, gorgeous, leading man who you couldn't help but fall for. Together they brought out the best in each other and you are rooting for them from the get go.

The story, the main characters, the friends, the setting... ALL of it, worked perfectly! A Sweet Mess is meet-cute, contemporary romance at its best. So if you are looking for a fun escape, this is it. I can't wait to read more from this author. Definitely recommend!

Completely delightful read! I am so guilty of judging this book by its cover! I thought the cover is adorable, but I have been burned by new authors with cute covers and I was so hesitant to read. This story is so much more than the blurb describes. First off I loved that both the main characters are Asian Americans of Korean Descent. Lack of diversity is so prevalent in romance (The Ripped Bodice actually does a survey of all the new books with people of color in them each year) and when you do have a lead character who is not white, their romantic partner often is. Needless to say this was immensely refreshing and the addition of Korean food and culture woven into the storyline added to the richness of the story.

This is the story of Aubrey a baker and Landon a food critic/producer. My favorite thing about Aubrey is that she is an adult. A sensible, independent female, runs her own business, goes out for drinks on her own makes mature decisions. It seems like a little thing but it can make or break a book for me.

I thought this was going to be your basic enemies to lovers trope over some competing viewpoints. Nope, nope, nope, nope.com this is an unfortunate turn of events that almost costs Aubrey her bakery and Landon's attempt to be a true hero in every sense of the word. The chemistry and electricity between these two is off the charts. The author Jayci Lee used food almost as a 3rd main character in this story and let me tell you I was drooling! The description of each dessert had me resisting digging through my cabinets. Every meal sounded better than the last. I am 100% craving Thai food now and I know it won't live up to what was described because that was just mouthwatering.

For a while I thought this book was going to avoid some of the typical event that lead to drama and Climax in the story. And while some of the things you think will happen do, Jayci Lee still manages to surprise me with some of the characters' decisions at the end.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley and voluntarily give my review.

Aubrey Choi has been successful staying in her Comfort Zone and baking for her small town in California. Comfort Zone is her bakery, the one she built herself with love and the recipes of her grandmother. And it’s done well. In fact, she’s thinking about finding a bigger space for her pastries. But when a misplaced birthday cake almost turns disastrous, Aubrey has to bake fast to save the day, and save the birthday party from failure.

Later that day, she joins her best friend for a beer at the local brew pub, where a handsome stranger catches her eye. Aubrey enjoys her evening blowing off some steam with the handsome stranger, and ends up staying far longer than she had originally intended. She ends up sneaking out of his room early the next morning, her morning baking calling to her.

Restaurant critic Landon Kim was passing through a small town when the smells of a bakery beckoned to him. His car had broken down on his way to the restaurant he was going to review, and Comfort Zone called to him with the daily special, a chocolate cake. Landon was enjoying the cake until he hit the gummy worm. He was immediately disappointed in the pastry chef who would put such a thing in her cake without warning the customer. Since he couldn’t make it to the restaurant he was supposed to review, he wrote a scathing review of the bakery instead.

And then he found out that the pastry chef he skewered with his review was his one-night stand.

Landon doesn’t review places twice, and he refuses to retract his review. But he feels bad about reviewing the bakery only on the one dish, and after a barrage of emails from Aubrey’s customers, he now understands that what he had been accidentally given was a special order birthday cake, which is why it had gummy worms. He does want to make it up to Aubrey, so he gets her a guest spot on his friend’s cooking show.

Since Landon’s scathing review put Aubrey and Comfort Zone on the brink of bankruptcy, she agrees to doing the show. But when she finds out that it will be several weeks of living in a romantic villa with Landon, memories of their night together turn her thoughts form baking to something else entirely. And the look in Landon’s eyes tells her that he feels the same. They both know need to keep things professional to stay focused on the show and to protect their reputations, but will that be enough for them to keep their hands off each other?

Jayci Lee has written a spicy and sweet romance set in the food world and starring two of the most determined, stubborn characters you can imagine. A Sweet Mess is as comforting as sweet buns right out of the oven and as intense as the darkest of chocolate. This charming story combines a powerful love story with soul-searching personal growth, lubricated liberally with wine, laughter, and moonstones.

I really liked A Sweet Mess. I thought these characters were great together, and I loved following along as they made decisions that had long lasting consequences for their relationship and for their lives. I was expecting a light- to mid-weight rom com, but this had some genuine substance as the story moved along. But I genuinely loved these characters and rooted for them from the first page through to the last. A Sweet Mess is like a great meal where you eat dessert first—it starts off light and sweet and then as you keep eating, you find your bites getting richer and more substantive until you’ve cleaned your plate.

Egalleys for A Sweet Mess were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I really enjoyed this refreshing romantic comedy. The story was really good, it was well written and the pace was perfect, it was slow when it needed to be slow, and fast moving when it needed to be fast moving. It was quite a simple, cute story but beautifully told and reminiscent of a genre I love : Korean drama, “kdrama”. The way the story is presented is a breath of fresh air, it never got boring and never dragged. I was also thoroughly invested in this story until the last moment.

The story is tied together nicely. It actually focused around food and careers, but didn't stray away from the romance. What is interesting is the character development of the main characters that comes across as very realistic. Even if you don't like some of the characters at the beginning, the author does a wonderful job of not suddenly, but consistently integrating the backstories and character growth in a timely fashion. The romance between the leads was great. They had great chemistry, which made the development of their relationship feel organic. The characters' personalities also meshed pretty well, allowing them both to be equally active in the development of their relationship, rather than have one character pursuing the other. In a way, it felt like they were both walking towards one another and met right in the middle. This is still a very lighthearted story, with some angsty moments. There are plenty of palpably cute and swoon-worthy moments between Aubrey and Landon.

Landon was smart, mature and respected Aubrey's opinions and decisions, yet he appeared self-centered at times and things went downhill for Landon and Aubrey very quickly. Aubrey was intelligent, spunky and desperate to save her business from the consequences of Landon’s actions. To say that Landon and Aubrey started their relationship on the wrong foot is an understatement, but Landon was able to make up for his mistakes. Yet, I wanted to see him grovel more.

Y'all know I love me some cute culinary romances! This gem from St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley was such a cute summer read!! Although the communication in the romance was a bit frustrating at times, I really enjoyed their chemistry together. It may have started a little too insta lovey for my taste, their relationship faces trials and develops over time. The food described in this book will make you drool! And the settings and scenery are gorgeously described as well. It did suffer from a tiny bit of drag in the middle, but it picked up again in the end.

Aubrey and Landon's story serves readers the perfect blend of comic nuttiness, frienemy saltiness, and happily ever after fluff. With the most exquisite gastronomically centered tale of two chefs that one could imagine sandwiched oh so perfectly in-between.

One can't help falling in love with both the spunky "never say die" persona of leading lady and bakery owner, Aubrey Choi. Especially when paired with the class, polish, and heart of leading man, Landon Kim.
Even though in most cases, one is never quite sure where loyalties or blames lie. Due to the comedy of errors that ensues after Aubrey's assistant, Lily, accidentally sells celebrity food critic, Landon, a gummy worm infested bundt cake. About which he then writes and is forced to publish; an unfavorable review. Which sends Aubrey's once booming business into an unchecked nosedive.
A fate which Landon is determined correct. Because he and she, each unaware of just who the other was.

Shared a hot and passionate night that neither of the two can seem to forget.
But don't exactly have the time to remember.
Because his plan has is them joining forces in a race against the ravages of time and bad press. To save her bakery, his reputation and both of their hearts.

Jayci Lee's expressively descriptive writing style is perfect for both the emotional and culinary adventures that one becomes a party to when reading this book. She literally brings the story to life through the sights, smells, tastes, and feelings that her audience is allowed to sample like so many "tasting plates".
Just when one thinks that they have mastered the nuance of a particular scene or scenario. There is yet another character, plot twist, or turn of phrase, that completely changes the bitterest of beginnings into the sweetest of endings.
With each discovery that Aubrey and Landon make about themselves and each other; adding just the right amount of emotional depth along the way.
Bravo Miss Lee!!!!
This reviewer thanks you for a Michelin Star worthy romantic masterpiece. That one just can't help raving about.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for proving the digital review copy on which my unbiased and unsolicited critique is based.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

A Sweet Mess is certainly sweet, indeed!

I love a good foodie romance, and A Sweet Mess delivers! I am so happy to have been introduced to Jayci Lee through this wonderful book. There is a great ease to her writing and a lightheartedness to this story that I enjoy in contemporary romance. I’m not sure I’d call this a true “enemies to lovers” story, but there are definitely elements of the trope here.

Aubrey is a go-getter! I love her passion for baking and drive to make it on her own. Landon seems a little stiff at times, but as his layers are peeled away, I grew to really like him too. The steam level is lower, in my opinion, but you can still sense the chemistry they have — I had so many warm & fuzzies for Aubrey and Landon!

A few issues I had: 1) The pacing towards the end didn’t quite sit right with me, and 2) I thought things wrapped up a bit too quickly and too neatly.

Overall, A Sweet Mess is adorable and fun and worth a read! I saw the news that Daniel Dae Kim is going to produce and star in a movie adaptation of this book, so read it before you have the chance to watch it because this book has all the makings of a fantastic on-screen rom com!

*Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Please note that it, in no way, had an effect on my opinion or review.

Thanks to St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This was such a cute book! I thought it was funny and loved the cooking aspect of it!

A Sweet Mess was definitely a sweet read. This one was super cute and definitely made me crave sweets. I will be on the lookout for more from this author!

A Sweet Mess is a wonderfully written, genuine, emotional romance featuring well-developed characters, including, refreshingly, lead characters of Korean American descent, and sumptuous desserts and meals baked and cooked with rich detail that will delight readers’ senses. Aubrey Choi left her father’s dominating and repressive control to pursue her dreams as soon as she could, determined to prove herself despite her father’s declarations that she would fail and need his help cleaning up her mess. Now she happily owns and operates a successful bakery in a small town, her only regret being her somewhat estranged relationship with her mother. All work and no play—totally focused on growing her business—Aubrey cannot resist the sexy stranger, Landon Kim, who walks into her best friend’s pub one night. She uncharacteristically has a one-night stand with him, slipping away the next morning without saying goodbye. Unfortunately, a celebrity food critic, who turns out to be one in the same as her one-night stand, publishes a scathing review of a child’s birthday cake mistakenly served to him in place of the daily special, which has the negative effect on her business of decreasing her clientele and jeopardizing her dream.

Landon ends up in Aubrey’s bakery after a blown tire leaves him stranded during a trip to review a restaurant. Initially pleased with the delicious chocolate desert, he finds himself disgusted by its internal contents and determines to write a review to put the baker in their place. He goes to wash away the awful desert at a local brewery and meets a gorgeous woman who throws his carefully planned and controlled life into The arrogant, self-possessed food critic prides himself on always being in control of his emotions, his actions, and every aspect of his life. But from the moment he meets Aubrey, she sparks something inside him that sneaks past his barriers. After the night of his life, that had left him unexpectedly wanting to pursue more with her, he’s not thrilled to wake up alone the next morning without even a goodbye, a note, number, or anything. He tries to shake it off and return to his life but has trouble forgetting her and their short time together.

After the review is published and Landon and Aubrey discover each other’s identities they are brought back into each other’s lives again unexpectedly. Letters and emails from Aubrey and citizens of her town explaining that the cake was an accident and requesting that he come and review her bakery a second time are ignored by Landon, who stubbornly remains convinced he cannot post a second review because it will affect his professional reputation. Landon’s beliefs are tied up in his past issues stemming from his father’s selfishness and impracticality that nearly cost them the family home and did ruin Landon’s opportunities to chase his dreams. All of which has made him so closed off, controlled, and inflexible when it comes to his career and his personal life. Although he will not apologize for the review or admit that he was wrong, he comes up with a plan to help keep Aubrey from losing her business because he can’t live with being responsible for something that might make him seem anything at all like his father.

Landon’s close friend Aria is a celebrity chef and together they are producing a cooking show for which Aria suggests Aubrey would be a good candidate. So, Landon returns to Aubrey’s town to invite her to participate in the show, but not without first insulting her and failing to take responsibility for his mistake. In his mind he believes he is, by righting the wrong he has done her. Initially, this makes it a little hard to root for Landon, but as the novel progresses and his character is further explored and developed you begin to understand him more. As Aubrey prepares for the show, she and Landon travel to a friend’s villa and are forced into close quarters for a few weeks while she tests recipes and meals, testing both their wills to resist the all too visible and incredibly strong attraction between them.

The chemistry between Landon and Aubrey is intense and fiery, but there is so much more between them than just sexual chemistry or sex. Lee’s development of their characters and the relationship between them over their time at the villa is nicely done as she subtly shows the characters changing as the relationship grows deeper and closer. Her narrative flow is crisp, and her description is nicely done. While the sex is not described in any graphic or specific detail, this doesn’t detract from the novel at all because the attraction, connection, and chemistry between the characters is splendidly developed and described in the novel. These two have been deeply affected and scarred emotionally by their upbringing and their relationship with their father, which has impacted how interact with their families and view themselves. For Landon, he fears becoming his father, for Aubrey she fears becoming his mother. Out of self-protection and emotional trauma they have regretfully distanced themselves from their family and people in general.


I love the friendship between Aubrey and Tara and the character of Tara in particular. She has a great since of humor, and she doesn’t allow Audrey to hide or push her away. She keeps it real with her and is always in her corner, even when she may not like what Tara has to say. Their friendship reads as a deep, genuine friendship and it doesn’t vanish after Aubrey meets the man of her dreams. Luckily, Landon is blessed with a similar friendship with Aria as well. With well-drawn characters, sexual chemistry hot enough to singe your fingers, and vivid description, A Sweet Mess is a humorous, sweet, emotional, romantic, and smorgasbord of fancy desserts, meals, wines, Korean comfort foods that will delight each and every one of the reader’s senses. It is a thoroughly enjoyable, original romance.

This book had me from the first page to last page. It was funny touching and a wonderful world. To have a story built around Asian American’s struggles and how family is important is so wonderful. These two characters were drawn together from similar histories to love of food. Food is part of the family in Asian culture. I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher on Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book BAKED me happy! A cup of romance... A heaping teaspoon of humor... A sprinkling of steam... A dollop of friendship... A peppering of family... A pinch of angst... Jayci Lee has written a sweet and charming romcom that made me swoon, smile and crave cake. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy have instant attraction and end up sleeping together. Girl and boy are certain their paths will never cross again. Boy mistakenly gets cake with gummy worms in it from girl’s bakery. Boy writes negative review of girl’s bakery. Girl is pissed at boy. Boy tries to redeem himself. Girl is not having it, but girl cannot deny chemistry between girl and boy.


This book was a lot of fun! The audio was narrated by Natalie Naudus. She did a wonderful job with Aubrey and Landon‘s voices. The story is told in third person and sometimes I have trouble connecting with books told in third person, but the audio narration really immersed me in the story. As much as I liked this book I have a couple tiny niggles. I found it hard to believe that Landen’s one review of Aubrey‘s bakery would damage her business so tremendously. But admittedly I’m not up on the food critic scene. Also the final bit of drama in the story was so annoying, I felt like a lot was made out of nothing. But all in all this was a delightful story. I loved both Landon and Aubrey, the food, the friendship, their moms, and the HEA.

This book in emojis 🍰 🍓 🥧 🍷 🛀🏼 👩🏻‍🍳

*** Big thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

While at first glance the cover is cute (is that the chocolate bundt cake?), I’m going to point out that since this is an illustrated cover, there is zero excuse for whitewashing the two Korean main characters. I previously read Jayci Lee’s Harlequin debut, Temporary Wife Temptation, and loved it, so I was very excited for this book. It completely lived up to my enemies-to-lovers expectations!

“If I’m going to have a chat with a complete stranger, I might as well have an interesting one.” A deep blush stained her cheeks, and her lashes fluttered to hide her eyes. “Besides, you’re leaving tomorrow. I was hoping we could pack a lot into tonight.”


Aubrey’s content with her life – her bakery has a steady business of locals and tourists, so much so that she’s set to move to a larger location soon. As for a relationship, who has the time, well except for a casual one-night-stand after a hard day at the bakery (her assistant sold a 6-year-old’s chocolate-peanut butter-gummy worm monstrosity to an unsuspecting customer) with a hot stranger. Landon’s had an even worse day. Stranded by a car mishap on his way to review a restaurant, he hoped to at least enjoy a delicious snack at the local bakery, but he certainly wasn’t counting on some arrogant baker throwing gummy worms into an otherwise delicious cake – or the hot stranger sneaking out without even saying goodbye after their night together. But when he finds out after writing a scathing review that the owner of the bakery is none other than his mystery woman – and that the cake was meant for a child’s birthday party – he knows he has to make amends. What could be better than casting her for his friend’s new cooking show? Except that means they’ll have to spend three weeks together and their attraction is only getting stronger.

“Is this what home feels like? His chest tightened with wonder and panic, but he allowed the warmth and tranquility to wash over him. It was a stolen moment of happiness—isolated and timeless—and it imprinted itself permanently on his mind.”


Aubrey is just lovely. Yeah, she’s got family issues (who doesn’t?) but she’s overcome them and is successfully running her own bakery – at least until Landon’s review sent her customer base running. Her bakery is more than just her business, it’s her true home, and the thought that she could lose it is devastating. Which is why, when Landon comes back with his offer, Aubrey accepts, even after he directly accuses her of possibly sleeping with him to get a good review. So you can see why, for me, Landon originally starts out in “oh hell no” territory, between the awful review and that accusation. Luckily, we also get his POV in the book, so we know that he’s sincere about fixing the harm he caused, even if he can’t quite apologize for it. Landon’s spent the past decade traveling the world, not even bothering with having a car, and he prides himself on being organized and controlled. He’s never impulsive – not anymore – so he can’t understand why being around Aubrey makes him do rash things.

“If she could forget about her infatuation with Landon, she would have an amazing time at Bosque Verde. As simple as that. Once they became friends, everything would be wonderful.”


Their immediate attraction is sizzling hot. After the review debacle, Aubrey decides they’re better off as friends, though having to share a house for three weeks may push her luck. Their chemistry is off the charts, and there’s just an absolute boatload of lust, longing and angst, which makes their inevitable connection even sweeter. Both are dealing with the fallout of family problems – specifically, lots of dad issues – so sometimes this complicates their relationship, not to mention that they both think it would be highly unprofessional to sleep together again.

“Do you love me?”
“Hell yeah. I love you like mad. Why do you ask?”
“You have to kill me. If you sense that I’m about to go to the Horny Side, you must kill me. If you love me, then you will do this for me. Sleeping with him again will be the ultimate humiliation, and it could ruin our reputations and careers. It could ruin everything forever.”


There’s so much delicious food, and I especially loved Aubrey’s relationship with her cooking, especially when she talked to her sorbets to try to get them to freeze correctly. I also loved the California wine country setting, and I’m already planning a trip to the moonstone beach whenever it’s safe again. I also loved Aubrey’s friendship with Tara, and I’m definitely hoping that we get a sequel with her. Each character’s family relationships were also explored, especially the one between Aubrey and her mother. There were a lot of complicated feelings they had to work through, and I thought it was handled well. The ending was a bit overdone for me (very soap-opera-y), though I loved the grovel.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, and I was ecstatic to see that Daniel Dae Kim already picked this up to make into a movie. Jayci Lee is definitely on my authors-to-watch list, and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Landon Kim, A former chef turned food critic, gets stuck in a small California town when the car he borrowed stops working. While the car is being fixed, he stops in a local bakery and buys a cake. The problem becomes when the cake he bought, filled with peanut butter and gummy worms, was actually made for a precious 6 year old girl. Landon's review of the bakery and cake was done before he found that out. And he refuses to change his review of the bakery.

Aubrey Choi's bakery heavily depends on tourist and mail orders to keep her business flourishing. And she struggles after Landon's review. But there is hope. Although Landon won't change his review, he decides to help her instead by getting her on a friend's cooking reality show. While filming, they share a villa, and the sparks they try to hide come out in full force, and could possibly spell a recipe for disaster.

This was my first time reading a book by this author, but it truly won't be my last. I loved the evolution and the growth of both Aubrey and Landon. I loved the surprises in the story, and I also loved what happened to the secondary characters, and how they added so much more to the story. I really enjoyed this story, and I can't wait to see what comes next from this author.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. All Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Buy This Book
Sweet, and delectable, A Sweet Mess is a confection of a book, perfect for reading while soaking up sun and binging on summertime sweets. Make sure you have plenty of the latter handy, because this story will have you hankering for lots of sugar.

One wrong transaction turns Aubrey Choi’s world upside down. When her teenaged part-time employee sells a Frankencake to the wrong customer, it turns Aubrey’s successful, currently peaceful bakery into ground zero for a major meltdown. The six-year-old who had ordered the gummy worm-filled monstrosity desperately wanted that special cake for her party that afternoon. Aubrey is all about meeting customer expectations and has no intention of letting a sobbing, unhappy child ruin her stellar reputation for outstanding service, so she whips up a new chocolate bundt cake with peanut butter and gummy worm filling and hand delivers it to the birthday girl.

One wrong turn almost costs food critic Landon Kim his life. When a tire blows out on his car, Landon experiences a moment of sheer panic but manages to successfully steer the vehicle to the side of the road. Then he finds himself taking a bumpy, uncomfortable tow-truck ride to a charming town whose only garage is closed for the afternoon. Stuck in a picture perfect slice of Americana, Landon decides to make the best of it by giving in to temptation and trying out the chocolate bundt cake the local bakery has as its daily special. The first bite is heaven and Landon is thoroughly impressed with the baker’s skill. The second slice has him choking on an unexpected obstruction, a gooey piece of slimy candy which has inexplicably made its way into his otherwise awesome pastry. Attributing the appalling addition to “arrogance and callousness” on the part of the chef, he throws out the rest of his cake and heads to the local brewery. Hopefully he’ll have better luck there.

He does. He meets a beautiful woman named Aubrey, also trying to relax after a stressful day, with whom he shares an awesome one night stand. He heads home happy and relaxed, but his first moments back at the office strip him of his recently acquired chill. A convoluted plot mess which I won’t bother to unpack here forces Landon to write a restaurant review and since the only food he’s recently had was the bundt cake, he pens a scathing exposé of his near death- by-chocolate experience at the small town bakery Comfort Zone.

Aubrey can’t believe her bad luck. She’s just signed a lease to rent a new building and expand her business when the review comes out and destroys her company. Online orders and out of town visitors, the lifeline of her bottom-line, dry up. She’ll be lucky if Comfort Zone makes it through the next few weeks.

When a sobbing teenager barges into Landon’s office and explains just why he was given the choking hazard confection, then tells him his review is about to cost Aubrey her business, he feels awful. Not only did he do an innocent woman a huge disservice, it turns out the damaged party is none other than his gorgeous one night stand. Because the magazine can’t afford to set a precedent of retracting bad reviews, Landon doesn’t feel he can write an apology editorial explaining his mistake. Still, he wants to do right by Aubrey so he offers her a spot on the new celebrity cooking show he’s producing. The program will give her the opportunity to showcase the kind of scrumptious sensations she specializes in for a national audience. She agrees because it’s the only way she can think of to get out of her downward financial spiral.

The shining jewel of this story is the humor. I loved all the little snippets of comedic snark such as:

West Los Angeles drivers weren’t the most patient lot. They blared their horns if someone sneezed wrong. He shouldn’t judge, though. Who wouldn’t be irritable with a diet consisting entirely of kombucha and green juice?

Some of the descriptions of character actions/attitudes had me giggling aloud:

Then Landon flared his nostrils like an angry bull and clenched his jaws tight enough to crack a molar. What? Did a bee sting his ass?

There’s a great moment at the start of the story revolving around the names of some local ales that captures perfectly the witty banter the text indulges in. I’ll let you discover that scene for yourself but suffice it to say, I love the sexy zingers and one liners that make up the couple’s dialogue.

The romance itself could be described the same way – sexy, with plenty of heat between the sheets, but filled with zingy, quippy conversations that help our lovers make a heartfelt connection.

The characters fit perfectly into this frothy piece of fiction. Aubrey, with her whimsical desserts and sweet-as-sugar personality, is an ideal heroine for any story revolving around a bakery. She’s an easily likable young woman, ambitious but not so driven that she doesn’t have a life outside work and easy going enough that most people would thoroughly enjoy having her as a friend. She has issues with her past, a requisite for a central character in a romance novel, but those issues slide so conveniently into the plot and are resolved so easily the author could have replaced everything concerning them with the words ‘insert character development here.’

Landon is a beau ideal from central casting, gorgeous, talented, successful and with the required commitment phobia that is the epicenter of many a romance hero. He’s an excellent match for Aubrey. He, too, has issues from the past which are also worked out with speed and simplicity. For both he and Aubrey, their life traumas fit so neatly into the narrative of the storyline that it’s painfully obvious that they were written strictly to get us from point A to point B.

Some books transcend their genre and others are defined by it, and this book is definitely the latter. Every aspect of the story feels like it came from a Family Feud board of top ten things you would find in a romance novel plot. For the most part that worked for me, although I did find it irritating when it came to the way problems were handled within the tale. Mere acquaintances would wave a magic wand that resolved major hurdles for our heroine, and single conversations would resolve decades old hurts. Money was never an object except as a set up for the hero or one of his friends to play rescuer.

Those sound like complaints but really they are minor annoyances that keep A Sweet Mess from rising above good to great. Objections are often made about genre formulas but this bubbly, buoyant tale isn’t meant to be something new and awe inspiring. It’s meant to be something fun and familiar that will provide a few hours of enjoyable distraction and it succeeds at doing exactly that. If you are looking for something light and easy, look no further.

Loved this light-hearted rom-com! The characters were interesting with a good backstory and I loved the whole cooking part of it even though I'm not much of a cook myself.

The chemistry between the characters was palpable and I enjoyed the will-they-won't-they part of it all.

Definitely recommend this one! Just don't read it on an empty stomach :D

I loved this book! I’ve been on a romcom kick the last few months and this one did not disappoint. I was hooked right from the beginning and thought it was a neat idea to have the H write a scathing review on the h’s bakery. The h was a bit more forgiving than I would’ve been! I loved the bakery setting and how Aubrey and Landon came together throughout the story. Their chemistry was great and I enjoyed reading about the Korean culture. I can’t wait to check out more books by Jayci Lee!

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee is a delightful sweet romance. We meet our heroine, Aubrey Choi, as she runs a popular local bakery, and becomes upset when there is a mix-up and a cake she made for a young girl’s birthday party was given to the wrong person. With the child upset, Aubrey promises to make another one in time for the party, but worries about who did get the cake with strange things inside, such as gummy bears & peanut butter (upon the request of the young girl). That night, at the bar she meets and has a one-night stand with handsome hot stranger.

Landon Kim, our hero, is a famous food critic, who is stuck in a small town while his car is being fixed. He is the one who got the wrong cake, and decides to write a horrible review. To his dismay, after the article is written, he learns she is the beautiful young lady with whom he had a glorious one-night affair. Landon’s boss tries to convince him to write a follow-up article explaining the mix up, and that it was intended for a child birthday; but Landon refuses, as he does not want to ruin his reputation. He learns that Aubrey’s bakery has lost many customers, and she is having problems meeting the expenses. Landon, with help from his friend, a popular tv food show star, will offer Aubrey a chance to show her great baking and cooking skills on TV, helping to redeem her reputation; she jumps at the chance. Though Aubrey is not too happy with Landon, especially with them going to spend 3 weeks in the wine country where they will film the show.

What follows is a fun romantic and comedic story, as both Aubrey and Landon do their best to not act on their lust for each other. I really loved both Aubrey and Landon as they truly made a great couple. But at times I wanted to smack Landon, as he always thought of his career first, and even when he wanted to help Aubrey, he thought it best to step away. One of the best things about this book was all the wonderful delicious food and pastries recipes, as well as different kinds of wine. A Sweet Mess was a delightful sweet, sexy sizzling romance, a wonderful couple, great secondary characters and so much fun. This is the first book I have read by Jayci Lee, who wrote a fabulous passionate story that you can’t help but enjoy from start to finish. I suggest you read A Sweet Mess.