ONE WORD — FLUFFTASTIC CUPCAKES

Have you ever wondered why cupcakes are a lady's fave? Well, because they'll lead you straight into your prince charming's arms!

The chemistry between Jada and Donovan was top-notch. Jada brought out the best in him, and he did his best to help her see things from a different perspective — like how delicious his cupcake was. The man is strong!

This was the black love I've always rooted for and love to see in the book industry.

Thank you, SMP Romance, once again, for making me blush and eating a lot of cupcakes!

This was cute! If you liked the Spanish Love Deception, I think you’d like this.

This one missed the mark for me. I didn’t find myself reaching for this. I think there was just too much going on because I love the premise. Too many side characters, too much background on the side characters, and too many attempted twists. I liked Jada and Donovan, even though I don't think everything they did was consistent with their characters or made sense, and I will probably read the sequel.

Such a great and comforting read! The story was so charming and I mean it had to be right with baking at the center? Fake It Till You Bake It could’ve come off as totally predictable but it was a joy to read and be surprised along the way! Definitely recommend those looking for a romance with a sweet tooth at the center!

This was a really cute fake dating romance. Lots to like and only one thing that threw me out of the story. Will definitely read more from this author - seems like she’s setting things up for a series which I would absolutely read!

After Jada Townsend-Matthews turns down America’s Sweetheart on a reality show, she becomes public enemy number one. Her parents have cut her off financially and her grandmother is withholding her trust fund until Jada can prove she can hold down a job. When she starts working at Sugar Blitz, San Diego’s cupcake bakery run by three pro footballers, she has instant chemistry with Donovan Dell.

I loved their meet cute (meet disaster?) and thought the fake dating elements were well done. I didn’t love the conflict - it felt completely out of left field to me especially after they weather some external conflict really nicely.

Content warnings: Blackmail subplot, references to a character with a gambling addiction

Thanks to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most hated woman in America after she turns down a marriage proposal on a reality TV show. When she comes home for a fresh start, she finds herself working at San Diego’s newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakes the two for a couple, they use the mistake to their advantage to help Jada’s image and Donovan’s struggling bakery.

Name something better than professional football players and cupcakes…I’ll wait 😉 You guys!! This book was so cute! Fake dating is one of my favorite romance tropes so I flew through this one pretty quickly. There’s also some enemies to lovers thrown in too! Jada and Donovan were so well written and I felt like we got to know them on a deeper level as they grew together! The spice was perfect and the banter was next level 😍 I was definitely craving a cupcake by the end! Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press, Jamie Wesley, and NetGalley for my e-ARC!

This book was a pretty standard feel-good rom com. Nothing undeniably special about it, but also nothing specifically wrong with it.

Maybe I just need to read a few more books from Jamie to truly get a feel for her writing style.

I really really loved this book. The two of them were totally true to themselves and badass. It was nice that there wasn’t some crazy incident to ruin things for them and they were able to grow with each other. I also enjoyed the fact that her insecurities were what broke them up, but they both smartened up quickly. Loved that they had a small supportive circle and that they were just stereotypes. Cannot wait to read about August!

Thoroughly enjoyed this fake dating/celebrity/reality star romance.
Let's face it ladies, who doesn't love a football star who's also a fabulous baker?? I was hooked from the start with him eavesdeopping on bougie, Jada, dissing his 'ambiance' he created in his cupcakery.

Jada is one tough cupcake but she's hiding her vulnerability in all that sass.

Jamie Wesley is a new to me author I found thanks to Netgalley and SMPRomance.

Looking forward to reading more by this author and hoping her next book in this series is in the works!

Donovan Dell is a football player who also owns a cupcake shop with two of his teammates. He has his life planned out in an orderly fashion because his upbringing was somewhat chaotic. The shop is very much a passion project for them. Then, there’s Jada Townsend-Matthews. She recently competed on a Bachelor type show, eventually refusing to accept a marriage proposal. The public has turned on her for rejecting “the perfect doctor” and she’s now avoiding social media. She has yet to find her calling in life which is frustrating her parents who are scientists as is her sister. They have cut her off financially. She is hoping to get her trust fund early so she can figure out her life. Her grandmother has control over this and is the only family member Jada has a close relationship with. Coincidentally, her grandmother owns the team that Donovan and his friends are on. While going with her friend to the cupcake shop, Jada insults the cupcakes and décor. When she goes to meet with her grandmother, she is shocked to find Donovan there. He is not happy either. Her grandmother proposes that she works at the cupcake shop for six months steadily to show her sense of responsibility. Then she will gain access to the trust fund. I loved the interaction between these two strong characters.

Also reviewed on B&N under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

I devoured this, like a piece of cake! If you love fake relationships and enemies to lovers, than I recommend you dive into this book.

Jada is well known in entertainment as the women who turned down a proposal on a reality dating show. Now she’s working at Sugar Blitz, a cupcake bakery, Owen by former pro footballer Donovan Dell. A reporter mistakes the two for a couple and to help the struggling bakery and for Jada’s image, they decide to play along. Faking a relationship isn’t always easy, but sometimes the reward is sweet.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. Although some of the situations were a bit predictable, it was still fluffy and a fun read. I loved the humor and laughed, and as I previously stated, it was an easy sit and read. I also loved the topic of how women are treated more poorly than men when it comes to social media.

All in all, if you enjoy sweet and quick romance reads, this book is for you.

This is the first book I've read by the author and I enjoyed it. I loved the chemistry and the witty banter between Donovan and Jada. It's your classic, fun rom-com. I loved the characters in the story. The side characters add so much fun to the story. This is a sweet, quick and fun romance.

A woman who learned to love Crocs just as much as I did.. For Jada Townsend-Matthews, a trust fund baby who hasn’t had it as easy despite having rich parents, making it out on her own is more important than anything.

After a disastrous feat in a reality show that puts The Bachelor to shame where she declines a proposal in national TV for the entire world to see.. Jada becomes Public Enemy #1. Fielding hateful social media comments & people in her day to day life wanting to give their opinion on how horrid she is for breaking the heart of “the beloved Dr. John” … the last thing she expects is to find a heart-throb of a man at a cupcake shop who calls her out for being over the top boogie.

Donovan on the other hand, a football player who owns a cupcake shop with two of his teammates & whose cupcake shop is floundering.. is just a bit more than insulted when he overhears a woman calling his cupcake store “stale”. Upon calling her out on it, the least either of these two expect is to ever see each other again. But when Donovan visits his football team’s owner who pleads with Donovan to give her granddaughter a job, the last person he expects to walk through that door, is the woman who insulted his cupcakes.

Obviously these two have a rocky start being employee/employer with Jada almost burning down the cupcake shop and an adorable Crocs introduction moment. When Jada’s past comes crashing into this new life she’s trying to build, she begs Donovan to be her fake boyfriend to keep the horrible insults from coming back. But what Donovan and Jada aren’t ready for? Is the instant chemistry that abounds whenever they come together & what started out as a fake relationship evolves into something more real than either of them expected.

This book was a sweet romance that I was easily able to read in two sittings and I above and beyond loved it!

This book combined a lot of tropes into a book with just one trope too many. Fake dating. Reality television. Professional athlete. Rich family, poor girl.

It's readable, but was not my favorite.

I am not saying no to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Full of sass,love, drama, and humor, this book has it all. A fun easy read that draws you in and makes you feel like your friends with the characters rooting for love to win. Grab this book and you won’t be disappointed, but you will be wanting cupcakes.

Enjoyed this read! It's the perfect reverse grumpy sunshine mixed with some fake dating. Jada is the scorned reality TV star that said "no" to the favorite member of the show and Donovan is the sweet football player who started a cupcake shop that is struggling to maintain customers. There meet cute is ... well memorable to say the least. She walks in and is not impressed with the design but Donovan won't stop until she tries a cupcake.

Loved Donovan and his business partners!! They offered to host a book club and even read the romance books. The surprising twists and banter in this book had me laughing, especially when they started working together. Definitely a fun rom com read to check out!

"Yes I love you with all my heart. I even love you more than my shoes!"

When you wear Louboutin stilettos this is a real declaration of love. Fake It Till You Bake It by RomCom novelist Jamie Wesley is a fun sexy love story and as an added bonus lots of cupcakes!

Donovan is a professional football player who knows he is close to the end of his career. As someone who is a planner, who earned a business degree on his athletic scholarship, he is already planning his future by opening the cupcake bakery Sugar Blitz.

Enter the younger beautiful Jada who he overhears say his shop's ambiance is "Stale, probably like the cupcakes." So begins the collision of stalwart Donovan and "Cupcake Shop Critic" Jada.

Jada has been hiding out since being on the reality show, My One and Only ala "The Bachelor." She has been bombarded with hate for turning down the lead's proposal. Through circumstances beyond her and Donovan 's control she starts working at the bakery. When she is cornered about refusing the proposal she kisses Donovan and tells everyone it's because she fell in love with Donovan. We now have my favorite romance trope, fake relationship.

There is a lot of self deprecating (mostly by Jada) humor, funny awkward moments, stolen kisses and some very blushing love making that had me whisper, "Oh My!"

There are also very sweet encounters, not just from peanut butter chocolate cupcakes, like this one:

"What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for you."
"Why?"
"Because it was never an option that I wouldn't."

"Oh My!" I think my favorite thing about this romance was the comfort it provided me. It was funny, cute, a bit steamy, and made me swoon. Like a cupcake it was comfort food for my heart.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What's not to love about a fake dating romance between a chaotic princess and an uptight football player-turned-baker?! Truth is, I've never met a foodie-themed romance I haven't enjoyed. Food has the power to bring people together and as much as I live for food porn in general, it's the "baking/cooking together" scenes that really get my heart going! Add in the fact that I'm a huge reality TV stan didn't hurt either.

If you're a fan of slightly-predictable, but still enjoyable Hallmark movies with a little more steam and a LOT more diversity, you'll probably enjoy this one. It might take a while to get into this one, but it's well worth the read. It's a fun, quick - one you could easily plow through the whole thing during an afternoon by the pool - and the ridiculously charming cast of side characters has me already itching for the next book in the series.

Also, please note that even though the book is told in dual POV, it's also written in third person narration. Obviously, it's all about personal preference, but I would've much rather gotten to experience the character's thoughts and emotions through their eyes. Happy reading!

If you enjoy reading about: the after-effects of dating reality shows, pro football players who bake, how going viral affects your day-to-day, trying to figure out your life path after dealing with over-bearing parents, and/or fake dating, then give Fake It Til You Bake It a go!

I knew I'd enjoy this book based off the premise, but the storyline is deeper than it appears overall. Both main characters have a lot of things going on inside their brains-how to make a living, following passions, and learning how to push past others' expectations of you. There's a lot of heart and a little steam. Overall, it's a sweet read, that would probably be awesome to read beside a beach or pool this summer!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the e-ARC!

I was hooked and almost had to stop and start baking while reading this one! Jada stops into a cupcake bakery with her best friend and while making snarky comments, which she is good at doing, she is overhead by one of the owners, Donovan, who challenges her. Little do they know that a few days later they are put together by her grandmother and his boss, AKA owner of his football team, when she asks Donovan to give Jada a job. He really cannot refuse and they find a way to work together. Soon they all the chemistry really does rub off and when Jada's not so distant past comes back to bite her she uses Donovan as her love interest and they are "fake dating" both for the sake of the shop and to keep her reputation intact. Will they survive all this "fakeness" or will it turn all too real? This one was great and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next installment with the bakery's partners.

Fake It Till You Bake It was a fun romance.

The book has both the male and female 3rd person POVs. The male POV is Donovan. He is a football player and also the co-owner of Sugar Blitz cupcake store. The female POV is former reality star Jada.

This was a quick read with much to enjoy. I loved the reality show aspect. I loved the football aspect. Although I wish that we had gotten to see some football. This book is about NFL players. However since we don't get to see them play/practice/workout I can't really consider this a sports romance.

The main focus of the story was definitely the cupcake store. And I loved everything about the store. And the romance was so good!

This was a really cute romance. The last page makes it seem like this is going to be a series. I definitely hope that it will be as I really enjoyed these characters and would love to see them again.