REVENGE CAKE
BY SKYLER MASON

Leilani and her best friend bake a Revenge cake for their boyfriends as they are exiting out of their lives. At first, I thought that the target audience marketed for this book was Young Adult. The more I read I realized that it was written for adults also. There are a lot of immature relationships taking place but that sometimes happens in older adult relationship's also. In this case Logan goes from one relationship where he falls head over heels in love from one relationship to the next. In this story his love interest happens to be with Leilani, until she confides in him that she suffers from panic disorder. She is abusing Ativan which is a minor tranquilizer used to treat panic attacks or those who suffer from anxiety.

The author tried to render a serious novel about what it is like to suffer from panic attacks and the high addiction rate drugs like Ativan in Leilani's case. She wrote about how zonked out Leilani became when she mixed alcohol with her Ativan. The author also did a stellar job in painting a portrait of what a stigma it can be even in 2020, by Logan's initial rejection of Leilani.

I thought that their were a lot of explicit and graphic sexual scenes and that the language used to describe such acts was very coarse and crude. It was a turn off to me as a reader to happen to have to read such foul mouthed vocabulary to describe the nature of these acts. Maybe I am not the target audience for such crude language due to my age. I do applaud this author for exploring the seriousness of panic disorder by making her protagonist suffer from them. This is an ever increasing epidemic that touches all ages and classes. I just would have enjoyed the novel without the crude language describing what young sexually active adults do and adults of all ages.

Leilani and Logan's story was interesting at first for the first half of the book and after that I think that it got to be a bit sadistic and repetitive. I think that they acted childish towards each other especially Leilani and Logan in each of their own ways. I think that the cover of this book is Instagram worthy. I do applaud this author for tackling the tough and very real topic of anxiety disorders and the addictive effects of treating them with drugs like Ativan and what happens when drugs in that class are abused.

Publication Date: December 6, 2020
Available Now!

Thank you to Net Galley, Skyler Mason and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op. for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#RevengeCake #SkylarMason #VictoryEditingNetgalleyCoop #NetGalley

This did not play out like I thought it would. From the title, I thought the story would be about a girl getting revenge on her jerk of an ex, instead it was half about the development of their relationship and half about Logan and Lani hurting each other and then deciding if they're getting back together.

Leilani has pretty bad anxiety and panic disorder. When she and Logan first meet, she's managing things okay but not great. As her and Logan's relationship progresses, he shows that he doesn't understand her panic attacks and her mental health declines. She then becomes addicted to pills and everything spirals. Yes, Lani doesn't handle things well and said some terrible things, but Logan is far and above the bad guy. He pushes Lani past her comfort, he doesn't try to understand her mental health, and he does something pretty terrible. Lani did get a bit of revenge on him and I was happy that it had positive side effects for her.

I thought Logan and Lani made a poor couple and I didn't want them together. I was hoping she'd get her revenge, tell him to get out of her life, and be happy. That's not quite how it played out and the ending felt really abrupt. Oh well, can't love them all.

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

Whoa, what did I just read? I usually enjoy YA books but maybe I'm getting too old as this book was crazy.

Logan has told Leilani, his girlfriend, that they need to have a month's break from their relationship so they can figure things out. Leilani has an anxiety disorder and is addicted to her medication. Logan is a needy jock who needs to have a girlfriend by his side. During their "break", both Leilani and Logan have a list - hers is how to take revenge on him for backing off while he is determined to give her space to sort out her health issues.

I'm still undecided how I feel about this book. It had some plus points and some negative points. There was also a situation that I would have liked tied up better at the end too.

They meet under unusual circumstances. He's hooked from the first moment yet she fights him at every move he makes. He refuses to take no for an answer which wears her down, but still worries her. Her crippling social anxiety is her burden and given that he can't be without a girlfriend seem like red flags for them both looking at anything long term.
A real and authentic look at her personal struggle of anxiety and his views on relationships give a fresh look at the good, the bad and the misunderstood. Loved it!!
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

This book was so different then what I was expecting and I’m still processing everything that happened. I chose this book off NetGalley honestly because of the main character having anxiety and it’s reference to baking. Having anxiety and sometimes panic attacks, I thought it would be an interesting read and the character might be relatable since she shared a mental health struggle and a hobby of mine. Yeah, I kinda missed the whole point of this book... The book centers around a break-up and a character wanting revenge. The time line was super tricky to follow, and with the changing points of view, it was tricky to follow who was in which part of the timeline. Also this book could really have used some lighter points - it is very dark, even the humor in the story was pretty dark. I had to set this book down multiple times to take a breather from the mood and while I am not often triggered by a book this one definitely did.

The author’s portrayal of the main characters mental illness is very real. You can tell Skyler Mason has struggled with panic disorder just like Leilani does in the story. This portion of the story is so honest and heartbreaking and important to feel what she is feeling. I was so incredibly frustrated with Logan. I remember how vulnerable it was the first time I had a panic attack in front of my husband (then boyfriend at the time) and how understanding but scared he was. Logan was incredibly selfish and horrible. I was not rooting for this couple at all. He was not a likable character. I would’ve loved to see Lani move on to someone much better but instead the circle just keeps going round and round about the relationship and the breakup. This book left me with mixed feelings but the writing was very good and the story honest and eye opening.

The cover to this book is absolutely amazing first of all!! I absolutely love it and I want to buy the physical copy just for that reason haha!

This book follows two POV's: Leilani and Logan. Logan is a serial dater and has the reputation to go through girlfriend after girlfriend. Leilani is his next girlfriend whom is struggling with her mental health, battling social anxiety and a prescription medication addiction. Logan decides that enough is enough and decides to take a break on their relationship for one month, giving Leilani time to deal with her issues. However, Leilani wants to get revenge on Logan; but is revenge all it cracks up to be?

So. an alternate POV book is 100% my type of thing, which is something that I say all the time. I just love being able to get to know the characters and their backgrounds from their stance on things. Logan is your stereotypical 'player'. He moves from girl to girl, not even giving a second thought about how they are or what they're going through and I hated him from the start. Leilani is in many ways relatable? She has her flaws, just like we all do but I grew to really like her character.

Overall, I have a few issues with this book which I do not want to go in to at all. In some ways I am glad that books are aiming to raise awareness and give insight into mental illness' such as social anxiety and addiction but I also think that there are aspects of some stories that do more harm than good.

All in all, I did enjoy this book most of the time and I definitely would read another one of Skyler Masons' books. So, thank you so much NetGalley and Skyler Mason for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Revenge is a cake best served after a bad breakup. Or such is the theory of Lelani, the heroine of the book I'm about to review: Revenge Cake, by Skyler Mason. I've been able to obtain an advanced reader copy of this novel on NetGalley, for which I am incredibly grateful.

First of all, I feel the need to say that this book includes possible trigger warnings such as drugs and alcohol abuse, and several sex scenes. That said, let's begin!

Revenge Cake gave me a lot of the same vibes of Normal People by Sally Rooney, but even if I could see many similarities between Marianne and Leilani, there are also a lot of differences, the most important being that Marianne swipes through life apparently uncaring, while Leilani is in fact terribly afraid of living and, most importantly, of failure. She is a control freak because of her anxiety, and when things escape from her tight grip, she spirals down. Hard. Ativan and alcohol are her poison of choice, and they are indeed a quick and extremely unhealthy way to cope with life. As the book shows though, there is no way to keep the addiction under control: sooner or later it will be too strong and it will ruin your life.

As someone who struggles with anxiety, I relate to Lani. In particular, I relate to not being able to move forward because things get scary or overwhelming, or with the awful feeling of being dead/not wanting to die but feeling my departure is imminent. What I definitely don't relate to is how mean she is. We're not talking about your average social ineptitude here; she's borderline abusive toward her boyfriend, from telling him he looks dumb to making him feel small most of the time. As Logan points out in one of their conversations, she often gaslights him, pretending to know him better than he knows himself.

On his part, Logan is clearly someone who gets a high from being mistreated. Moreover, he falls in love all the time and is always ready to replace the old girl with a new one, sometimes even when he is still in a relationship. He might be kind and caring, but he has so much relationship baggage at such a young age that I'm not sure I would even poke him with a stick from afar. Looks aside, what is to like about him? What interesting personality traits does he have, looks and big package aside? And why does he fall for Lani if not for the challenge of pushing her boundaries further and further away until he gets the whole package? Or, as he says, her with a ring on the finger and a pregnant belly.

Interesting characters? Check. I can see them having this unhealthy on-again, off-again relationship for years, despite the sugar-coated ending and the promise of change on both parts. They could easily have one of those unhealthy love stories à la Catherine and Heatcliff, where they tear each other down way more than they lift each other up. They both are toxic people, and I love it. Give me more characters in love despite how wrong they are for one another. In my opinion, this is the kind of stuff that creates nice and compelling conflicts, if you haven't noticed until now. It generates food for thought and strong opinions, which is part of what makes a story not easy to forget.

Did you know that there are two schools of thought in dentistry? Some dentists strongly believe that teeth tend to move back to their original spot, and others think that they keep moving all our life. In both cases the end result is exactly the same: once you've fixed your crooked teeth, you'll have to wear a retainer to keep them in place. Basically, no matter how strong the opinions are, the outcome remains unchanged. This is incredibly similar to how storytellers view the plot vs characters issue: we have those who believe a story needs to be fresh and original at all cost --and nope, unpronounceable names don't make a story original-- and those who'd rather work with fresh ways to twist already existing plots. Hey, that's the reason why tropes and archetypes exist, after all.

My take on this issue is that we only get a limited number of possible plot combinations, and what matters the most is how a writer uses them. This is why characterization is so important to me, and this is why I liked Revenge Cake so much. This novel explores a failed relationship and the need for revenge it causes. Not the most uncommon plot ever, but the characters and their decisions make more than up for it. I liked how focused Lani was on making Logan hurt for his misdeeds. I mean, this girl's dedication is admirable. I enjoyed how thick Logan was, and how it took a lot for him to admit he was freaking wrong. And a jerk. And I liked the corollary of characters around them, from Logan's sister to the sweet (and definitely better suited for Lani, but hey, who am I to complain) Dean.

I liked Skyler Mason's writing style: the book has a great flow, and not once I felt like I could get bored of what I was reading. I didn't even hate either the multiple POVs nor the time jumps, both of which generally are a big no for me. The plot was linear enough that I always had a general idea on where we were and where we were heading. At about 65% of the book I got so curious to know what was going to happen next that it took me a lot of willpower not to jump to the last pages and spoiler myself the ending.

To sum it up, Revenge Cake is worth 4/5 stars in my opinion. Despite the heavy topics addressed in this novel, this is a light and yet interesting read, indeed the kind of book I would give as a present to my friends. Maybe not after a breakup though.

Wow. I was expecting a standard, light romance but instead got a surprisingly insightful exploration of love for someone living with anxiety. I admire the author’s sensitive and frank exploration of this often debilitating condition which can prevent people developing meaningful relationships. It helps, too, that the book is often very funny. Great dialogue, appealing characters - a definite win.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“I’m not a fuckboy. I’m the opposite of a fuckboy. I’m a relationship-boy.”

Logan Henderson is what his friends would describe as a “relationship sociopath.” As soon as he ends one relationship, he’s onto the next one. When his best friend, Armaan, drags him to hangout with Brenna and her roommates after a recent breakup, Logan swears that he is off dating for a while and claims that his ex was “fucking crazy.” However, that all changes when he meets Leilani Girarid, Brenna’s best friend and roommate. Lani is outspoken, straight to the point, and socially awkward - which Logan is not used to. During their first interaction, Lani calls him weak. He finds himself instantly intrigued by her and decides that she has to be his next girlfriend.

Lani, on the other hand, could not be bothered with Logan. She knows about all of his relationships, and has no desire to be one of his “crazy fucking ex’s.” However, as she spends more time getting to know him, she starts to fall for him. The thought terrifies her, which doesn’t help her severe anxiety. When they finally get together, she casts doubt on the relationship until she’s finally proven right and Logan breaks her heart. Now, she has to decide if she wants Logan back in her life. Can they get back to the place they once were?

“You’re an incredibly poor judge of what’s right for you.”


I really don’t know where to start with this review because I have so many mixed feelings about this book. I want to start off by saying that this book may be very triggering for some people because there is a heavy focus on mental illness, specifically anxiety. After just a few pages, there was a part of me that wanted to reach into the screen (it’s a digital copy), shake Logan, and yell at him for how he was treating Lani. On the other hand, I wanted to sit him down and have a serious conversation with him about his serial dating, because it’s clearly unhealthy. As someone who has anxiety, I found myself able to relate to Lani’s feelings of doubt and the need to push people away before they hurt you - which was heartbreaking to read. However, I feel that Lani and Logan’s relationship issues went deeper than just her anxiety. In fact, none of the relationships in the book were what I’d consider to be “healthy.”

Something that I liked about this story was that it was told from both Lani and Logan’s POVs, and went back and forth from the past to the present. As the reader, I felt that I was able to understand both sides of their story and watch their entire relationship unfold. Overall, it was an okay but quick read. The story was filled with many steamy moments between a couple who truly loves each other, but are constantly having to battle each other. If they have any hope of being together they both have to work on their issues.

“Words like that are empty coming from a boy who’s in love with being in love”

I enjoyed this book, I like how it was told in the different points of view of both lani and Logan as it showed how they had conflicting thoughts and views on things.

The book touched on difficult topics such as panic attacks / panic disorder and addiction. It showed how difficult it is not only for the person suffering but for the people that love them.

I was rooting for lani and Logan the whole way through and I would love to hear more from the characters

Release Date: Expected 6th December 2020
Genre: New Adult / Romance

TW: This book deals with issues including mental health / anxiety / gaslighting / cheating / sexual content / drug abuse / alchohol misuse. There are minor spoilers in this review.

Can I just start out by saying - how pretty is the cover art for this book?

Logan is a serial relationship junkie, but he was a damn good boyfriend. At least that's what Leilani thought anyway. He was romantic, understanding, a feminist, and he was pretty hot which definitely helped.

Until he wasn't anymore. After Leilani's panic disorder and mental health takes a rapid decline, she's struggling with not only panic attacks but trying to combat her reliance on prescription medication. However, Logan isn't okay with this - he decides if they want to be together, she needs to 'get her act together in the next month' or it's done. So what should Leilani do? Of course she wants to get better, but now she has an even better reason to - to prove she's fine without him and his judgemental attitude.

But maybe revenge isn't all it's cracked up to be?

This was not your typical break-up story, from the very first interaction between the two main characters, I'd already formed strong opinions on them both and was instantly sucked into the conflict between them. I really expected this to be a standard woman-scorned situation but there was much more to it. This is a story about self-worth, about anger, about judgement and being a woman.

Leilani was the girl that I've been dying to see written about. She is a mess sometimes. She's flawed. She is outspoken and vulgar and loud and she is a real, angry woman. She is the very epitome of what men like to call the crazy ex-girlfriend - the girl they couldn't control.
Logan made me every bit as uncomfortable as he was supposed to; he was a jerk. Yes, maybe there were reasons behind his behaviour but I hated him within an instant of meeting him.

This rang so true to life, painfully at times, about the treatment that people recieve when they live with mental health disorders and how differently people act around them. And especially, how to deal with issues that may arise in relationships because of them. This was very uncomfortable to read in places, espeically when dealing with delicate subjects so if you're not able to read sensitive content this book is not for you.

Admittedly, there were some issues I had with this story that left me slightly conflicted - Leilani's kindness towards Logan in places made me furious to say the least. Someone who trivialises suffering like that should not be redeemed in any way - in my opinion of course.

All in all, this book was a beautiful, bitchy read that let me live in that petty revenge fantasy that every woman has harboured at least once in their lives - I definitely reccommend it.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Thank you to NetGalley and Skyler Mason for providing with this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please note that all opinions contained within are my own.

(This review is also published at bethanys-bookshelf.blogpot.com)

3 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Revenge Cake is an intriguing contemporary romance that explores toxicity in relationships and has strong mental health themes. The story jumps from the past to present in an intricate look at the development of Leilani and Logans' relationship; through the ups and downs, anxiety attacks, booze and a developing prescription drug addiction.

Overall, the book was good, the characters attractive but the story didn't entrance me as other stories have.

I was enjoying this book for the first 75%. It had drama and I was entertained. I did find things problematic but it didn't stop me from having fun while reading it. However, I hated one of the plot points delivered after that. I knew it was coming in some shape or form but I was hoping to be wrong. It's about cheating. I'm warning you that if you don't want to read books with cheating in it, you should stay clear of this one because even though I can handle it usually, I don't really like it and here there was one scene/chapter that almost made me feel sick. (view spoiler)

There is also emotional cheating as the MMC started checking out and replacing her with someone else "as a friend"... But then again, it's what he usually does as he's known as a guy who is always in a relationship. And all of this happened in a period where our FMC was at her lowest. She was taking drugs and ended up making a mess of things. I'm not saying she was perfect because she wasn't. She had her faults. However, she has serious anxiety/panic attacks and he didn't understand them at all. His reaction was so bad and it annoyed me. I was hoping that he would grow and learn and fix his mistake about it but even by the end of the book, it didn't happen. He did however apologize for some of his faults in an immature/childish way by pointing out he wasn't the only one in the wrong... so there is that.

Overall, I didn't find their relationship healthy. I'm sorry I couldn't love this book as I loved the cover and revenge plots are usually pretty fun to read about.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Wow. I’m not sure what to say about this book. It took me a while to finish this book because the subject matter is pretty heavy. Leilani has anxiety disorder and struggles with addiction during her relationship with Logan and it is a credit to the author that is so painful to read about.

The book starts with their break up and I get the impression that Logan’s an unsympathetic jerk and Leilani is meek and dependent on him. I’ve never been more wrong.

To be honest, there are no good-guys and bad-guys in this book. Everyone is flawed. If they had a dog, the dog would be flawed. As the story unfolds, there is not one character in this book with their shit together.

The story is told from duel points of view, in flashbacks and in present time so there’s a lot to process. It’s an interesting, engrossing book. The story definitely had slow pockets, but the writing was solid and the characters, while not super-likable, were well-developed.

The story is interesting because you are reading about their break up and their love story at the same time and trying to reconcile between the two without having all the facts until the end.

This is weird to write in a review of a romance novel, but I did not actually want these two to end up together. I feel like a whole bunch of therapy later, they might be decent partners for other people, but they should not have gotten back together at the end of this book.

ARC provided via NetGalley. This is a voluntary review and these thoughts an opinions are my own.

When I first requested this book, I did not know much regarding what it’s about. The cover really enticed me because it is so pretty. Then when I was approved, I read the synopsis and it sounded like a story about a jealous ex-girlfriend, and I love those (most of the time). I was very, very wrong. I still don’t even know what this was about. It is a debut novel and the author’s biography say that she writes romances, but I just didn’t see the romance or the romantic appeal of this book.

Both characters were highly unlikable and incredibly arrogant. Logan is a pretentious a-hole, who probably has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Leilani was described as this girl who suffers form social anxiety and panic disorder, and that makes her crazy. I didn’t appreciate the way her mental health was played about, especially coming from someone who has an anxiety disorder herself. It was a huge plot point and Logan was an ass about her anxiety and verbally abused her half the time while she emotionally abused him. Literally, they were so toxic for each other. They are portrayed as college students but this whole “let’s take a break” and then “let me try to win him back” attitude was more high school than anything else. Why are “breaks” even a thing in relationships? Either you want to be together or not. And these two really took a number on playing with one another’s emotions. I mean, seriously? Grow up. If they just learned to communicate better and get their heads out of their own assess, half the problems that made the “plot” of this book could have been avoided.

Logan falls in love with Leilani after one conversation and that to me, is totally unrealistic. The social worker in me makes me wonder if he has attachment issues, or maybe mommy issues? I don’t know but that was a huge turn off for me. No wonder Leilani wanted nothing to do with him for some time.

There was ONE sex scene that literally had me gagging. (No spoilers here). It also felt incredibly random and aggravated me. The others were tolerable.

And that ending? Ugh. I just don’t see how this is a romance. It just seemed way too toxic for me. Maybe I’m just too old and don’t enjoy the angsty love stories anymore.

Rating: 5/5

Amazing! A diamond in the rough of mental disorders! Ms. Mason does a superb job of encompassing anxiety and all that’s tied with it - the pain, drug addiction, suffering - not only for the victim but for their loved ones as well. I had a lot of moments where I cried, laughed and shouted in anger. Although I don’t suffer from any mental disorder, I sympathized 1000% with the characters and their journey towards healing and acceptance. They aren’t perfect - they f**k up A LOT. But that’s what I appreciate here. The realistic storyline and raw emotions she drags out of you makes for an intense ride. Plus the steamy romance doesn’t harm anyone!

Revenge Cake is not your clean-cut typical romance but an edgier, darker romance that was tear-jerkingly raw and honest.

Logan aka, "The Relationship Sociopath", is a serial dater who falls head over heels for Leilani, a self-proclaimed feminist who suffers from social anxiety. I enjoyed that the book was narrated from both their perspectives as it gives readers a very crude and unfiltered version of the struggles of social anxiety and addiction.

This story was a slow build for me and I almost abandoned it more than once but I am happy I chose to stick it out. Once it picked up, the story was gripping and engaging with its realistic characters and even more relatable storyline.

That being said, there were certain aspects that did not sit well with me. I did not like the toxic nature of the relationships formed within this novel both with its main characters Leilani and Logan and the secondary relationship of Armaan and Brenna. Brenna basically confessed to using Armaan for his money and family name and talked down to him in a very derogatory way for the entire novel. The attempt at normalizing dysfunctional and unhealthy relationships wasn't something I enjoyed reading.

I understand the writer wanting to position Leilani in the "hell hath no fury like a scorned woman," but the rationale for her behavior was pretty weak. Instead of rising above her past addictions and wanting to become a better version of herself, she is focused on petty revenge with a cliche "empowerment list" featuring vapid items like makeover and seduction.

Revenge Cake had the opportunity to bring awareness to less talked about issues of mental health and instead of creating a story of recovery and strength it came across as a sadistic romcom. Even the "mommy" issues experienced by Logan could have been a teachable moment on breaking away from toxic love that requires jumping through hoops but instead ended with him repeating the self-sabotaging behavior till the very end.

Trigger warning- this book features addiction, anxiety, and panic attacks and is recommended for those who are interested in chick-lit, romantic comedies with darker undertones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skylar Mason for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I wish I could say I liked this one. It was a fast read, and initially it seemed promising. However, these characters were pretty horrible and I unfortunately couldn't find many redeeming qualities. Logan (our main love interest) meets Lani through his roommate Armaan who is dating Brenna, Lani's roommate. When we first meet Lani she is I guess what most people would classify as socially awkward. She's a know it all, very blunt, and pretty condescending, and I almost found it refreshing. Unfortunately from here. on out it's a downward spiral. It is stated (to almost an extreme) how feminist Brenna and Lani are, but apparently their brand of feminism is basically "we must degrade the men to show how feminist we are." Brenna goes out of her way to consistently put down Armaan and point out how useless. he is, and generally doesn't pay him much attention outside of that. She then freaks out when he finds someone who at the very least treats him like a human. She also states at one point she was with him for the potential and money. Lani and Logan are honestly just toxic together. Logan has a serious codependency issue, and. is a notorious serial dater. Lani, after they go on a break, proceeds to embark on a seriously petty filled revenge plot. You get the impression he has done something unforgivable to deserve this yes? Um not really, he more or less just stated facts. Lani does have a severe anxiety disorder, however I don't feel this should condone her behavior which is, at best, self destructive, but it also harms others. I was hoping for some sort of character redemption, and I guess there was a little tiny glimpse at the end but it just wasn't enough for me.

1.5 stars rounded up

Both main characters are super unlikable and it’s really such a shame how the mental illness is treated in this book. It was a slog to get through. If either of the characters were even somewhat likable it would have been better but they’re both assholes and it makes this a miserable reading experience.

I really enjoyed this book. I received an advanced readers copy. This is a little more angsty than my typical read but I enjoyed it. As someone with anxiety, I felt there were many ways in which I related to Lani. Skylet Mason did a great job creating well thought out characters that actually seemed believable in their actions. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes 'chick lit' and romcom type books as this kind of falls into both categories.