An enjoyable romantic comedy! Anything Helena Hunting writes is pure magic and hysterical. She always comes up with the most clever jokes and spicy scenes! I’m a Helena fan through and through.

I love getting a taste of Hunting’s cheesy rom-com side after reading some of her angsty romances. This premise made for such a fun approach to opposites attract mixed in with tons of banter, and such fun side characters!

While this was not my favorite from Helena Hunting, it was very enjoyable overall. Blaire and Ronan give us a sweet and feisty enemies-to-lovers romance, but at times it was also quite cringe-y. Blaire was almost unbearable at first and I literally could not even fathom making it to the end of the book. I thought that the tweets in between... while I understood WHY they were there, could've been a little more creative.

Blaire storms out in one scene and yells "KISS MY CUPCAKE" and thinks it's the most clever thing and I literally just inwardly cringed at it. She was throwing a hissy fit and the rivalry was becoming more immature on her part. When she finally kills him with sweet kindness, that is when I felt her character start to grow, and THANK GOD she did. I don't think I would've made it if she didn't. She was also way too dismissive of her family being literally terrible to her and then we just completely brush it all off in the end because they came to visit and ate some cupcakes?! I don't think so. Everything was just way too NEAT in this book. It felt like there was no conflict at all.

I felt like it moved really quickly in the overall read but the timeline as well, which was a relief as I have a hard time with romances that drag on when they don't need to. However, this felt very superficial. There wasn't a lot of depth in the story and everything just happened so quickly so there wasn't a lot of room for anything to be expanded on.

Also somehow an axe-throwing bar is concerning. I've never been to one but I think that the idea of drinking and then throwing a sharp weapon at something is a disaster waiting to happen. But if that is what these places are like then I can't fault the book and also this point has nothing to do with my rating... I'm just confused.

Above everything, I really wanted a damn cupcake. I wish instead of weird tweets, this book scattered boozy cupcakes or cocktail recipes in between chapters. That would've been fantastic. Ronan was also probably the only character I liked. He was just being a little asshole in the beginning and I know her dislike towards him was because she didn't have the means to let him put her at a disadvantage when it came to her dream BUT she was immature and overall really needed the growth she later goes through. He stays pretty solid throughout which, I guess, is kind of boring. As I said, the lack of conflict just made this feel incomplete.

This was so cute and a fast read. I loved the characters and Helena Huntings dialog is always entertaining!

Such a fun read! I absolutely love enemies to lovers and in this case it was executed wonderfully. The characters and the story were all really great, totally recommend!

I work in a high school library so am unable to purchase this book for my collection, but I did submit this review to Library Journal.

The perfect recipe for an enemies-to-lovers rom-com!
Gah! Kiss My Cupcake is a fabulous read that I foresee returning to many, many times.
An enemies-to-lovers romance that has a heaping helping of humor and a solid amount of heartfelt filling with more than enough sweetness frosted throughout and spiked with enough tension and chemistry to appeal to any romance lover, and especially to Helena fans, Blaire and Ronan’s story is one to devour and savor.

KISS MY CUPCAKE is fun, witty, and has a little bit of heat on the side. Hunting continues to show her ability to create realistic characters that are charming and entertaining. I love this book!

I read a lot of romance and I can say definitively that Helena Hunting's Kiss My Cupcake has one of the best executions of the "love interest shoots down unsupportive family at dinner" I've ever read. It made me laugh and cringe all at once.

Enemies or frenemies to lovers is my favorite trope. Add in desserts and I'll definitely read it! It was a really great read.

I really enjoyed this book! Helena Hunting is one of my favorite authors. The story was fun and sweet, with its enemies to lovers storyline. You will love Blaire and Ronan's banter and flirting. Highly recommend this book, as well as the other Helena Hunting books.

I could not put it down. Kiss My Cupcake is adorable! 🥰🥰 It’s about a man who had taken over his grandfather’s bar and a woman who opens up a bakery next door. They start out as enemies but then are forced to work together and end up realizing they might not hate each other as much as they thought.

I absolutely loved this book! I devoured it, I finished it in one day, I did not want to put it down. This book is sweet, steamy, swoony, and so much fun! It is the perfect book to read on a hot day by the pool or at the beach.

I honestly loved everything about this book. I thought the characters were great, and had amazing chemistry together. Blaire was the absolute cutest. I loved how she would buy them matching outfits to wear. It’s something I would totally do. Ronan was the absolute perfect book boyfriend. This book will have you craving cupcakes and craft beer. If you’re looking for a good romantic comedy to read this summer, I recommend checking this one out!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this one! I really enjoyed it and books similar to it. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

✨Camaraderie, Charismatic, Cute ✨
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🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
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REVIEW->

The Plot ->

The premise is fresh with a enemies-to-lovers trope. Blaire and Ronan are adjacent business owners and are both attracted to and repulsed by each other. The introduction of their families into the story and slowly bringing them together is well plotted. I really liked the underlying theme of portraying Blaire as a motivated, self-sufficient businesswoman and not as a damsel in distress.

The Characters->

Ronan initially came off as annoying and I was part scared of disliking him. But beyond the first chapter, he quickly became adorable, gentle and charming. Blaire is a bad ass, powering through her struggles and is determined. I like how her attraction for Ronan did not come in the way of their healthy competition. Also none of the characters (that mattered) were patronizing or judgmental. There isn’t much of a character growth here. The characters learn to be with each other without giving up on their identities.

The Writing ->

The story is told from Blaire and Ronan‘s point of view and that keeps the narrative unbiased and entertaining. All the chapters end with a social media update from the business and that is a cute treat!

Thank you Forever Pub for gifting me a copy of this book.

Favorite quotes from the book->

“They really love the concept of conditional independence.”

“I know I always talked about not compromising my dream, but I realized I really love having a partner. Having the right partner.”

“I am glad he loves you enough to deal with the rest of us.”

This is a romance/chick lit. I would like to Thank Forever for granting my wish on Netgalley for this book. I cannot say how much I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. It was cute, fun, and funny. I loved all the characters, but my favorite character was Blaire. Her family was something else. I am so very glad I read this book. I do have to say that cover really does nothing for this story because Ronan is not a guy that wear a white shirt and he has tattoos. This is the love story of Blair and Ronan, so I am thinking it should be them on the cover. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Forever) or author (Helena Hunting) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Is there anything so wonderful as sinking into a book by a trusted author? Helena Hunting certainly makes my list of trusted contemporary romance authors. Kiss My Cupcake was a book I seriously could have read in a single sitting if I did not have a number of different responsibilities to fulfill. In fact, this book immediately drew me in and I found myself thinking about it when I should have been paying more attention to other things. Also? I walked away from this book wanting to eat cupcakes and drink alcohol — to be fair, that’s my normal state of things.

Blaire and Ronan operate specialty bars next door to each other. You could say they are rivals, particularly as their meeting did not start off on the right foot. In fact, they begin competing with each event bigger than the last. Blaire sets up a comedy night. Ronan follows suit by having a live band. The competition increases when there is the chance to be put on the map by being featured by a YouTube celebrity named Tori. As it happens, however, there’s a threat to both Buttercream & Booze and The Knight Cap coming in so Blaire and Ronan must team up to fend off the threat. Turns out, there’s some undeniable chemistry and attraction between Blaire and Ronan. I was completely here for it as I gobbled up every page of Kiss My Cupcake.

I love a good enemies to lovers trope. Hunting absolutely nails it with this book. We see there’s the initial attraction on both sides at the very first meeting between Blaire and Ronan. We know something is going to happen between them. How we get there is the delectable treat. This book has some pretty spicy scenes that are well written and not at all awkward. I just loved how the romance played out and how it all came together in the end. You can’t help but adore both Blaire and Ronan — especially when you see what Blaire’s had to overcome to get to where she is. Also, Ronan’s Gramps is THE best. I really loved this book. I think if you’re in need of a contemporary romance you should give this one a shot.

This book was awesome!!! I could not put it down! Helena Hunting is an amazing author. Her books never disappoint! Can not wait for the next one!

This was totally a cupcake kind of book: sweet and a little creative but nothing too difficult to understand.

I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers theme and the cupcakes and food were so delightful to read. I also loved the rapport between Blair and Ronan.

Overall, super cute story with a lot of fluff. Good for reading when your brain doesn’t want to try too hard.

Adorable read! And if it doesn’t make you crave a cupcake, I don’t know what will! And the story was just as sweet as any cupcake Blaire could whip up!

The love story was sweet, the characters likable and the setting was fun! I would have liked a tad more opposition for the characters to face. It made the plot a little dull, but didn’t take away from the fun and likability of the story and cast of characters.

All in all, I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to more new books from Hunting!