Jada Townsend-Matthews, cupcake shop critic, heiress and reality show star matches wits with Donovan Dell, pro football player/real estate investor/cupcake baker.

This book contains enemies to lovers, fake dating, one melding grandmother, interfering siblings, parents and friends, the hazards of social media and there are men who bake cupcakes! Fancy designer cloths and shoes are traded for polo, khakis and Crocs.

The epilogue perfectly sets up the next book in the series by leaving us wondering what is happening to make one of the partners go viral.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

I have heard so many good things about this author, so I was very excited to read one of her books. The story follows Jada and Donovan in an enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine baking romance. Donovan is a NFL player who, in the off season, owns and operates a cupcake shop with two teammates. The cupcake shop is struggling and Donovan is trying to turn that around. He's a man of lists, objectives and plans. And then in walks Jada. She's a chaos queen, and his newest employee thanks so some family connections. She is fleeing her last disaster as a villain on a reality dating show.

They have a meet cute in line for a cupcake, with Jada insulting the shops decor and saying the cupcakes are probably stale. Their banter is funny and charming.

I enjoyed the characters and the author took a lot of time to explain the motivation of the characters. I liked all the elements of this book, but the pacing was a little slow for most of the book. The last quarter of the book is where a lot of things happen all at once and are quickly resolved. I do wish this had been spaced out a bit, but I enjoyed the ending. There is sequel bait in the epilogue, which, honestly, hooked me completely. Excited to read more from the Sugar Blitz team!

#FakeItTillYouBakeIt

After two chapters, I decided to stop by my local cupcake shop to read this and eat a cupcake or two. Donovan is a pro football player that co-owns a cupcake shop. Jada is trying to lay low after a reality show break up. When they first meet, Jada trash talks the cupcake shop and Donovan can't stand her. As fate would have it, the two end up working together and start "dating" once word gets out about Jada working at the cupcake shop. Sparks fly between these two characters. I really enjoyed reading about the chemistry between these two characters. Jada got on my nerves in the beginning and eventually grew on me.
Looking forward to the other books in the series.

25 year old, Jada is a reality star who recently got caught in some contriversy. Due to this, Jada has been keeping low on the radar. Since she is trying to keep out of the light, she is not able work and is therefore not able to make ends meet. However, at 26, she is supposed to come into an inheritance - all she needs is to hang on for a little bit longer.. that is until her grandmother sets her up with a job at a local cupcake shop.

Donovan is a famous football player who enjoys baking and decided to open up a cupcake shop. Which is a smart move since football isn't forever. What he did not count on was for the shop to be somewhat of a fail.. that is until he meets Jada.

Jada is feisty and always speaks her mind, but more importantly, she has a dream of being an influencer. She has a way with a crowd and a way with fashion. This puts a smile on her face because she is still living under the radar, but she is doing what she loves - minus the baking. In the midst of her new job, she helps spice up the cupcake shop - this seems to draw in the crowd. But of course, she is discovered and in come the wave of questions.

Caught in a sticky situation she turns to Donovan for help and the two end up in a fake dating situation. Can these two stick to business, or will feelings develop?


This book is a slow burn. They "fake" kiss pretty early on, but the rest takes time to develop. I was thankful this was not fade to black, but definitely very light on the sexual encounters.

If you like fake dating, books that revolve around baked goods, strong FMC, FMC with dyslexia, non-playboy MC, football player (but not heavily revolved around sports) YOU WILL LOVE THIS!

I really loved Donovan and how he treated Jada. He was never callous and was always so kind and gentle. This man has some patience too.

*Thank you Netgalley for this arc; however, this is my honest review*

This book just wasn't for me.

Which makes me sad because I was really looking forward to this book. I have nothing against it, it was a mostly cute story but that was kind of my problem. I feel like I've read this exact story before and this time it bored me. I'm also thoroughly done with the "save a failing bakery/restaurant" storyline The conflict between the two characters at the beginning didn't make sense to me and then when they got together, I didn't feel the joy I expected to. I really wanted to love this book, but sadly did not.

Cute premise. I did not fall in love with the characters. The writing was pretty good.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and I’m reviewing it voluntarily.

Fake it till you bake it was cute. At some points it was difficult to stay interested in the story. I also can't decide if I like the fake dating for work storyline.

I did like how the girl changed at the end.

This was a 3.5 but since I can't leave half stars here it's a four star rating.

A professional football player that bakes? Sign me up! I seem to love romances that involve food and romances that involve sports, so to find one that combined both was a double win! Reality TV comes with its ups and downs, and that is exactly what Jada is experiencing after turning down a proposal. It was like a behind the scenes look at The Bachelor. This one was super cute and swoony, steamy and fun. Throw in a fake dating trope, and I am sold! Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read a digital copy of this book!

I don’t read ~a ton of romances but every once in a while, I like to throw one in. And fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so win!

This was cute and definitely kept me reading. I love that most of this story happened in a bakery and I loved that Donovan is the one who bakes! (I’m not a huge sports fan though so it’s cool that he’s also a football player but I’m glad this story took place in the off season!)

The only thing I didn’t totally love was the writing. It was a bit clunky and the dialogue was wildly unrealistic at times but it wasn’t enough to make me stop reading.

So overall, I thought this was good. It’s not my favorite romance of all time but I did really enjoy it!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Overall great characters and concept but I felt the story dragged in places. The chemistry between Jada and Donovan was there but could have used more romance, since the book falls under the rom-com genre. I do appreciate the writing style and concept. I would definitely read another book written by Jamie Wesley.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you, Sara Da Cotti from St. Martin's Press and Net Galley, for allowing me to read an ARC of Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley. This is the first novel that I have read a book by Jamie Wesley.
I absolutely fell in love with all her characters. Jamie Wesley weaves a wonderous story that tugged at my heart, laughing out loud, and loving the world that I was visiting in for a time. Let’s not forget that it involves on my favorite desserts (or a snack), cupcakes.
Jada Townsend-Matthews and Donovan Dell seemingly a chance moment when a reporter sees them together and thinks that there is some heat between the two of them. When the two of them learn of this, they use it for their own advantage, to spotlight Sugar Blitz (love the name), and rebuilding Jada’s character. Soon, real sparks start to fly between the two of them, will they build on those feelings, or think that it because of they are trying to spotlight his business and her real personality?
I truly, truly loved Fake It Till You Bake It. I cannot wait to read another book by Jamie Wesley.

A feel-good romance guaranteed to pull you out of a reading slump and brighten up your day.
Sparks fly immediately between Donovon and Jada when they bicker about the cupcakes at Donovon's bakery Both of them are secretly smitten but dislike each other at the same time. This leads to a lot of adorably sweet scenes between them when Jada begins working at the bakery and they have to try and get along. I loved watching their friendship develop and it wasn't long before they couldn't deny the attraction between them. I loved that their romance was angst and drama free. They were open and honest with each other which meant that there wasn't the typical conflict arising from poor communication. Instead, the drama was generated by their united front against trolls on social media, family pressures and drumming up business for the bakery. I loved watching Donovon and Jada overcome their difficulties together and some of my favourite scenes are when they were trying to support each other but got caught up in the moment. Their baking together on TV was one such scene; cute, funny and romantic.
There are great side characters in this book from the book club members, and cupcake customers to Donovon's business partners. The scene is set for them to get their own stories and I definitely want to read them!

Fake It Till You Bake It is a cute, funny, well-written romance about a cupcake-baking football player and his owner's granddaughter, who is in a bind. I enjoyed the characters, setting, plot, and the delicious descriptions of cupcakes!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this delicious ARC!

Loved the concept but found the story to be a bit over the top cheesy. Recommend if you're a hardcore romance reader, but not so much if you read a bit of every genre.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. all opinions are my own.

Wesley has written a swoon worthy romance that you won't soon forget! This is a brilliant romance that I believe should be on every romance fans TBR. It's fun, it's witty, it's sexy and oh, so much fun! I loved getting lost in this!

Fake It Till You Bake It was a fun, lighthearted fake relationship romcom with a very gentle, low stakes, low steam romance. I loved the representation and the bakery setting, even though I'm not really a cupcake person. 🙈

Jada and Donovan were both likeable characters but I found them fairly one dimensional, Jada especially. I never really connected or got invested in their relationship, and the last third of the book dragged a bit. The writing also made Jada feel really young to me.

Overall this was just an ok read, it was a solid romcom but nothing really stood out about it. I would have loved a little more... everything. That said, I think Nicholas and August are both potentially more interesting characters, so I'm looking forward to their stories!


Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love to bake. And I love to read about baking. I also love San Diego - it;s my favorite place. To top off the trifecta, I love football. Tada! Fake It Till You Bake It delivers a story that is as tasty as I'd hoped for. I easily fell for Jada and Donovan, and wanted to see the bakery succeed!

If you’re looking for an escape, this is a fun romcom. Donovan is a professional football player, gorgeous, and owns a bakery! What more could a girl want?!?!

Throw in a fake dating trope and a hilariously sassy female protagonist and you’ve got yourself this sweet romcom.

This was adorable.

The romance was perfectly cheesy in all of the best ways.

I was super excited for there to be steam, I feel like it is very hard to find a sweet romance that is also open door lately.

The bakery talk and cupcakes made me hungry!

Overall this surpassed my expectations!

Fake It Till You Bake It was a great read by Jamie Wesley.Jada Townsend- Matthews turned down a proposal on a reality dating show and became the most reviled woman in America. She goes home to lick her wounds and finds herself working at San Diego's newest cupcake bakery alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. A reporter mistakenly believes they are an item and they realize they can use it to their advantage. The want to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada's image. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.