First and foremost, thank you Netgalley and Rosie Chase for providing me a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so fun and exciting! The baking contest and the promise of love pulled me into this book, and I wasn't expecting the adult writing that the story had. Even though it was a short book, so character and story development can only go so far, I think that it was pretty well done. I do wish we got a little bit more of the baking contest and the main character, Sam, finding her true self a little bit more. but I wouldn't give up all those cute and sexy scenes with the Cake King either. I honestly didn't want the book to end and I was so interesting in the story. Overall, a great, fun, and easy read that I feel like everyone would love and enjoy!

Warning: there is some sexually descriptive scenes within this book, so be cautious.

This was a short book with a cute romance. I loved all the descriptions of food and how it served as such a point of bonding/commonality for all the main characters. The thing I didn't love about the book though, was that it didn't have much story arc or character/relationship development. It felt as though the main characters got together in the first 50 pages or so without much context or build up of tension between them. All that said however, it was fun to read and if you're looking for something light and easy, this book might be for you!

this book almost had me. There were points where I was so into and then it would just change direction or genre almost. It really tried to be great this book, and in some parts it was. I loved the cake contest and the story line had potential. Can’t pin point exactly what it was that threw me off it. I think in time Rosie can write an excellent book, with just some more practice and some more advice/reviews. Overall still a nice quick read

Michael Godwin, the Cake King, has summoned several bakers from across the country to Lexington in order to hold his own private bake-off to determine who’ll bake the cake for his celebrity sister’s wedding. Sam’s not quite sure what she’s doing in a room full of big name bakers, considering she just does desserts at a tourist restaurant in Appalachia, but she’s determined to win the prize in order to help save her family’s restaurant. Nellie and Eric took her in after her grandmother died, and while the restaurant is successful, they’re drowning in medical debt. Problem is, she can’t keep her eyes off Michael, and it seems like he can’t keep away from her, either. Is he just a distraction that’ll lose her the competition, or could a bake-off fling turn into something more?

“This was all just magic.
And Michael might be the Cake King but I wasn’t a princess.”


Sam has a lot of self-confidence issues. She feels like she doesn’t fit in with the bakers around her, and she definitely doesn’t fit in to what she imagines the Cake King’s life to be. Michael’s sweet and kind, and turns out he’s as great a kisser as she imagined, but his glitzy Cake King world isn’t where she belongs. Michael came off a bit flat as a character for me – I’ve never been a big fan of the “why yes I’m rich but aw shucks I’m just a country boy”-style guys – but he and Sam have definite chemistry. The insta-love? Also not a fan of that, but what really bothered me was that they started their relationship while she was still competing in the bake-off…. and none of the other competitors seemed to care. At that point, I basically just disengaged the rational part of my brain and went along for the ride.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m Sam. I’m a baker.”
Why I said my profession in addition to my name, why I said I’m a baker and not a friend, why I said anything other than my name was a mystery to me. It’s just what came out. Apparently, it was how I self-identified.”


So now that I’ve basically thrown the whole plot out the window, what’s left? Well, the sex scenes are steamy and pretty varied for a novella. There’s very little conflict between Michael and Sam – pretty much all of the angst is from Sam’s worries that she doesn’t fit into Michael’s life and that it’s only a matter of time before he throws her to the curb. The baking competition itself doesn’t play as much of a role as I’d have liked, but it’s very GBBO-style. Sam becomes pretty good friends with some of the other competitors, and talkative, raunchy Rei serves as a good foil for her throughout the book. Also, do not read this novella hungry! Besides the delicious baked goods, there’s also lots of delicious southern food (mmm, chicken and dumplings and collard greens) and lots of restaurants (shawarma, sashimi, yum).

Overall, the book is pretty ridiculous, but it’s also so sweet and fluffy (and steamy) that I have a hard time holding that against it – so 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. The rest of the series seems to be in Kindle Unlimited, so I’ll probably give them a try as well!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was not at all what I expected. I knew it was a shorter romance, and from what I had seen, I thought it would be a cute romcom between the two main characters. What I didn't expect was the steaminess and graphic language throughout the entire book. It was a short read, which I'm thankful for, as the content was much more than I had wanted to experience. The transitions of the book between chapters felt a bit awkward sometimes and I didn't think some parts of the book flowed well.

I really didn't enjoy this book. I don't know how sexually graphic is was going it be. Too much information about things I didn't want to know.

The shorter format of this book had both pluses and minuses. On the upside, it cut out a lot of the filler you typically find in books in this genre. On the downside, it didn't leave enough time for character development, making many of the characters, Michael in particular, seem very one-note and made Sam & Michael's romance feel very rushed. I had also hoped for more of the actual competition. All this unfortunately makes it unlikely that I'll read the other books in this series.

1.5*

I wanted more of the baking contest and less of the sex. The description of the book sounds like the main character will find her true self etc. etc. This doesn't describe the book at all, there are sex scenes almost every other chapter and the baking contest is just a background to the whole romance. The pacing was just all over the place, and transitions from 'normal' scenes to sex scenes were quite inconsistent.

I liked the descriptions of food and baking; I would gladly spend reading more pages about that rather than about sex that consisted of (for me) quite honestly very gross dirty talk.

I wouldn't mind reading other books in the series if the division between the story and the sex is more balanced and less f-words all over the place. I swear a lot and say lots of f-words too, but if it's half of the dialogue it's a bit too much. As I said, I enjoyed the baking contest, there was a potential in the premise. I also liked the positive portrayal of female friendship and the queer characters on the side. The friendship and support of Rei throughout the story was a nice surprise because reading the first chapter I was afraid that she is going to be just the bitchy rival.

I wouldn't say to stay away from this book, but just keep in mind that even though the cover is cutesy and seems like a romance, it's could be probably more accurately categorized as erotica.

An arc was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars. A short, sweet, and smoking hot tale of love at almost first sight. I enjoyed the setup of this book. It felt fresh and if you love reality Bake off competitions then this will be your jam. I look forward to continuing to read about the others introduced in this first book.

The Cake King is a short novella, easy to read perfect if you want to spend some hours relaxing with a nice and delightful story.

Rosie Chase did a good job writing this story about Sam and Michael journey. They are two likeable characters and I wanted the best for them, I cheered for them to reach their happiness throughout the book.

2.5 ⭐

Soo this book was something else. This book was something I kind of half expected but not quite. I think this is a story that has so much potential of it hadn't been so short and if the majority hadn't been sexy times and sex talk (which were hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud at the library, having to explain that one was a true trip)

The story is about a girl who enters a banking competition to win a job with the most famous, and of course, hot baker, the Cake Kings. A change of plans emerge when her feelings and tension and his start to get involved.

It wasn't my type of book, which was really a bummer because I enjoyed the writing style (except the sex talk, honestly, that was so bad It was good) and the characters, i just wished it had been longer and more developed, more focus on the romance and friendships. I think I would read something else from the author, it has potential.

This book is for those who love some baking, sexy times, and sexy times with baking metaphors. A lot of those. It's a fun light read that gets you out of your head.

I really enjoyed the baking portions of it and that it was ventured around a baking competition. I used to watch too much of the food network! I felt that Micheals and Sams relationship did move pretty fast in my taste as you don’t really learn about any connection between them until it is thrown in your face. Though at the same time it was a short book so they didn’t have enough pages to develop it properly! I also really liked the side characters especially Rei! She was hilarious!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy for an honest review!

This was such a cute and sweet (no pun intended) story. It was also surprisingly dirty, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoyed the baking talk, and all the descriptions of the desserts they made. A very nice fluffy read.

What a cute story! The characters are well written. The pacing had moments of stagnation, but I really enjoyed the sorry. I’m very happy I was given an ARC.

More like a 3.5*
This book was a lot of fun! It managed to be super cute but still have some good smut and dirty talk. I definitely will be reading the other books in this series.

This was adorable, a perfect, shorter read for an afternoon break, nothing too deep, with lots of yummy desserts, although I wish it had been longer and there had been more actual baking scenes. The restaurant that Sam works at which is run by her foster parents is in financial difficulty due to medical bills. Sam has been invited to a private “bake-off” competition, organized by Michael, a famous and wealthy master baker who is looking for the perfect person to make his sister’s wedding cake. Because he’s famous, Sam wants to win for the publicity it would bring her parents’ restaurant, but she feels intimidated since she’s from a tiny mountain town in NC, is a foster child, and the other contestants seem much more put together than she is. However, as the competition continues, much to her surprise, Michael is attracted to her, she’s holding her own, and things seem to finally be going her way.

This was a sweet, low-key story, not a lot of conflict or angst, with likable characters and of course, all that food. Michael was a sweetheart, completely devoted to his family, and all in with showing Sam how attracted he was to her.

The Cake King is the first in a series of novellas by Rosie Chase that takes place during a baking competition. This story is of Samantha Davis and Michael Godwin. Michael is hosting the competition, and Sam is competing against big-name bakers from famous bakeries around the country. This sweet story is the (steamy!) romance between Sam and Michael, but also the beginning of great friendships between Sam and the other bakers. The dialogue is super fun and witty, and I was cheering for these characters from the beginning. What a fun way to spend a few hours!

[ I was provided an ARC on Netgalley in return for an honest review. ]

'The Cake King' follows Sam Davis and a group of star bakers who are invited to compete in an unusual baking competition hosted by the Cake king himself.
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I really enjoyed reading about the various different dishes and following along with the competition as the story progressed. I'm glad that this is going to be the start of a new series (Sugar & Spice), because I would love to find out more about the other characters in the book, especially the other competing bakers!

The romance between Sam and the Cake king kind of developed too quickly for my taste... but I think that's to be expected since the book is only around 100 pages. Sam is a strong protagonist to which many readers can surely look up to, and I thought it was also inspiring that the Cake king himself had been through so much to get to where he was in life.

I think I expected a little something more going in, but overall, it was an interesting, short read.

Rating: 2.5/5

I knew this book was short when I started reading it but at the end I still wanted more added to the story.

In order to get promotion for her adoptive family's restaurant, Sam enters a competition to bake a wedding cake for Michael's sister's wedding. During the competition, she ends falling in love with Michael.

The fact that it's a competition and the prize is baking a wedding cake and all the media attention makes the fact that she's romancing the judge not a horrible power balance. So I could enjoy the steamy sex scenes without feeling wrong.

Michael and Sam are very sweet and magical together. I wish that there was more to them meeting and pining.

Something that might be a problem with people is that this book loves describing desserts. People are described like a dessert. And everything sounds good.

Copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

Sam is a baker from nowhere who finds herself in a baking competition hosted by her baking idol. Though it feels like a reality show it’s far stranger than that. The competition has the potential to change her life and her family’s small town struggling business. If she wins she could be baking a cake for a famous actress’s wedding, it could be just the thing to change things for her. She’s had a hard life and lost a lot and has pretty clear abandonment issues and doesn’t really get close to people. Which makes things difficult when the other bakers try to befriend her. Especially Rei who she wasn’t sure what to make of in the beginning. Focusing on the competition gets a little more challenging when Michael the so-called Cake King who is hosting this competition takes a special personal interest in her. The problem is that Sam doesn’t feel like she belongs here everybody else appears to be accomplished than her and why would this rich guy even really be interested in her? Is it possible for her to win and bring some attention to the little restaurant that she calls home? And what is it that the Cake King wants from her? And is there is reason he collected this specific group of attractive bakers?


I liked this felt like Sam needed a hug and a little more confidence but I get why she felt out of place and why she has trouble trusting things. All she had in the world were two people who took her in when her own flesh and blood failed her so of course she has trust issues. It’s my first book by the author is short and sweet and I’ll probably go ahead and read the others in the series to see what the other hot bakers get up to.