Fake It Till You Bake It is a fake dating trope. Coming through with this representation and having the best tropes?!?! Sounds like a win. Despite the fact that it is a lovely little read, I found it to be rather predictable.

Jada was a contestant on a show similar to The Bachelor/Bachelorette and other similar shows, but she turned down a proposal, which enraged the fans. She's attempting to get back on her feet, now that she's off the show. This is when Donovan comes in...

Donovan not only plays football, but he also co-owns a cupcake bakery with two of his teammates. Donovan and Jada met for the first time when Jada and her friend Olivia entered his store. Donovan persuaded Jada to eat one of his cupcakes because she didn't think they were any good. They didn't expect to see each other again after that.

Jada’s grandmother knows Jada needs some help and orders her to find a job. Mhmmm I wonder where she’s gonna work? 🤔

The lack of communication that they routinely include at the end of books is starting to get old. I apologized, but I'm not sorry. But it's the same damn thing over and over, to the point where it's becoming tedious. It seems like they can't think of anything else, and it's starting to irritate me, as well as making me lose interest in the book. Would I love to read a book where there is no miscommunication at the last 90% of the book? Yes, absolutely. Sure, real-life couples argue and miscommunicate, but I'm not interested in reading about it. If I did, I'd go outside and try to find my own love life, but that's not going to happen. Just give me my happy freaking couple in the last 90% and nothing else, please.

Even though the whole lack of communication annoyed me, it’s still a very good book. The characters are so easy to fall in love with, and their relationship is so cute. Overall, it’s a good book.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

An adorable and sweet romance of fake-to-real love between an impulsive woman trying to figure out what she wants and an uptight man who thinks logic should rule all decisions.

Jada is currently trending on twitter for all the wrong reasons after she turned down a proposal on a bachelor-type reality show. She's trying to hide from being insulted in life and online. Grandma steps in and gets her a job at a bakery where - because of reasons - she can pull strings with the owner.

Donovan is a pro-football player who thinks long term - he's invested in real estate and now he's opened up a cupcake shop to both do what he loves and have other revenue streams after he's too old to play football. Buuut, cupcake shop isn't doing too well - until he and Jada start trending as a the new, hot couple when she makes up a lie on the spot that he's the reason she turned down the proposal.

So - fake dating ensues, but we all can see where this is going, right? I loved how, despite the premise, the two characters are always SUPER honest with each other, preventing a lot of faux drama, allowing the real dramas to play out with family and reality tv.

#JaDon are a sweet couple and it was fun to follow their romance through its ups and downs and baking disasters!

Do not read this book while hungry or you will start searching for the nearest cupcake shop!

I really enjoyed this cute, light romance for about the first 70%. After that it almost felt like it lost momentum. Jada and Donovan were sweet and fun. I loved Donovan and his supportive nature. I felt that this couple was so well-written and balanced each other nicely. However. It almost felt like too much was trying to be thrown in at the end (Lila, Dr. John, Jada’s parents, Donovan’s dad) to give some drama. I also thought we needed to know more of Jada and her internal struggles because her decisions at the end just didn’t seem consistent.
The characters in this book were a huge strength and I am excited to see what comes next for August!

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Very well written, but I just didn’t really connect and get into the story all that well. It’s just me I think here, but I’m sure others will find this being a very lighthearted cute read and enjoy it very much. Humor was alright, I smiled and the characters could be funny. Also wished there was an epilogue farther along in the future but still offered some closure

Cute romcom using the fake boyfriend/girlfriend troupe. Also has a professional football player as one of the main characters, seemingly a growing trend in the genre.

In this case the football player also owns a bakery with a few of his teammates, which is where most of the plot takes place. The team's owner is the grandmother of the other half of the fake relationship and she was one of my favorite parts of the book. She is a take no nonsense kind of woman in a white, man's world and really loves her granddaughter and the players she employs.

While not my favorite book in the realm of professional sports/romance books it is a good, quick read.

I was gifted a copy of this book from Net Galley and St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. This book is available on June 21, 2022. ⭐⭐⭐
Fake It Till You Bake It is a cute fake dating story of a professional football player/cupcake bakery owner and a reality TV star. As with any fake fating story, trouble comes with their fake dating scheme. I thought there would be too much football for a non-football fan, but it didn't overpower the story. The one thing I didn't understand was the ending, particularly the last two sentences. I'm not sure if I missed something, but it just didn't make sense to me. The ending also seemed rushed.

This book was a cute light hearted read. The title and the cover is what initially drew me to it, and I was not disappointed. Although this book was a bit predictable, it didn't take away from the story. This story had a bit of everything. Fake dating, a Male MC that plays professional sports, a Female MC that struggles with dyslexia. Overall I liked the book, it kept me entertained throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

overall rating: 4/5
Spice rating: 2/5
Tropes: fake dating, boss's granddaughter, slow burn, opposites attract

The two main characters both live pretty public lives. Donovan plays for an NFL team and has fans coming into his cupcakery to see him and Jada just got off a reality TV show where she became the most hated woman in America. Her notoriety has got her a lot of media attention recently while Donovan tries to avoid media outside of his games. But when she pulls him into the talk surrounding her he goes along with it in a fake dating scheme to help his business.

This book made me smile. The two main characters had a lot of chemistry and I was waiting on the edge of my seat for them to get together. When they first got together it felt a little unnatural at first but it quickly smoothed over. The banter they have from beginning to end is fabulously entertaining! Not to mention Donovan's two best friends make for some very interesting side characters, I hope we get to read more about them in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an eArc of this book! When I saw this book and the cute cover and title I was immediately intrigued, and I'm happy to say this book didn't let me down. The story was super entertaining, at times funny, lighthearted, emotional and sweet. I would say the story was a bit predictable, but nothing that takes away from the enjoyment. If you're looking for a quick read and a cute story, I'd definitely recommend this.

This title was an interesting read. The synopsis and cover drew me to the book instantly. It was entertaining but at some points it fell short. I wanted a little more from the story. But overall it was a decent read

Romance story with black leads is always appreciated. The female main character was underdeveloped so it was hard to connect. Male lead (including his friends) was well written and developed although I had some cringy moments with his pet names. The first third of the book dragged, almost felt like a perpetual chapter 1. But all in all, was a quick enjoyable read.

This book was very cute. Jada was such an adorable character and Donovan's grumpy and sure personality unraveling was fun to experience. I could definitely relate to Jada's character being someone who always has my head in the clouds so following her character development was a breath of fresh air! For a few reasons, i couldn't find myself feeling super hooked or attached to this story in a 'couldnt put this down' kind of way. More tension probably would have helped with this. Although it had a bit of conflict, there never seemed to be anything that invoked passionate feelings within me as i read. Overall, this was an adorable story with an amusing meet cute.

Overall the book was fine but nothing memorable. The first half of the book felt like it dragged on forever and the ending felt rushed. Jada and Donovan’s relationship was sweet but wasn’t anything special. I mainly enjoyed Grams/Mrs T. I wish I was as cool as her. Nicholas and August were also another bright spot in this book.

Loved, loved, loved this book! It had all of the emotions..happy, sad, mad, funny, spice and love. So we meet Jada and Donovan and they couldn’t be more different or opposite. I would even say they didn’t like each other at first. But then they end up working together and the sparks fly. I loved their individual friendships and how we got to know those characters as well. Jada had some growing up to do and Donovan had to learn to be more vulnerable. So sad this book is over but truly enjoyed it. Can’t wait for the next book in this series and August’s story.

Fake It Till You Bake It has a trendy plot featuring a female protagonist that went viral (and quickly got cancelled) after turning down a marriage proposal on a "The Bachelor" type show, and a professional football player with a love of baking cupcakes.

Although this was a quick and easy lighthearted read, I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was still trying to find her voice. The ideas were interesting, but characters that started off to a great start became more and more dimensional by the middle of the book. The slightly off pacing didn't push the story forward enough for it to create that "'Couldn't Put It Down'-ness" that some books have.

Jada and Donovan sure were a cute couple, but their lack of communication was unnerving. Overall, the plot was too predictable and didn't have that extra spark to set it apart. I do think there were great concepts thrown in here and there, but they lacked a bit more shaping.

I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press and Net Galley in return of an honest review.

A sweet, almost as sweet as Sugar Blitz Bakery, and easy read. In this meet cute meets fake dating trope, Jade and Donovan navigate their pasts while building a future. I usually enjoy the meet cutes and enjoy the fake dating trope when done well. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.

His bakery is failing, while his professional football career is thriving. Her parents think she's failing at life because she doesn't live up to their high academic standards, meanwhile, she's got social media abuzz and is in hiding from the public. When Donovan and his public, yet very private persona meets Jade and her outgoing, reality TV star persona, it's not pretty. But as luck would have it, Sugar Blitz Bakery needs help, and Jade just might be exactly what Donovan needs to save his faltering bakery.

I enjoyed this read, but the simplistic writing style, and almost cringeworthy lingo, and unnecessary conversations was just a bit too much for me. I enjoyed Donovan and Jade and their romance, but I was so lost in the simplicity of the writing, that I didn't believe their ruse. I couldn't buy into their fake relationship as it was too large of a stretch, and I really didn't buy their relationship when they gave it a go. Multiple characters were used to tell them and us as readers that they looked so in love, but reading it, I couldn't see it. I just didn't buy it. That said, I couldn't put it down, I kept hoping to fall in love with the characters being in love.

This was a cute and quick read. To start, I really appreciated how the author gave the lead male a bakery. I think romance is quick to make the female the cutesy baker and I enjoyed seeing that flipped.

I think that this story progressed well, though I do wish Donovan and Jada had another encounter at the beginning. On the spectrum from first meeting to forced proximity to fake relationship to love, I think there could have been another chapter between first meeting and forced proximity.

I kept expecting more from the conflict, but at the same time, I appreciated that it seemed a bit more realistic than many romance conflicts. I also appreciated that there was never really a fight or miscommunication plot. All conflicts were external and they weathered them all with each other.

I was left smiling and wondering what happens in their circle of friends next!

I absolutely LOVED this one!!! I am a sucker for a romance with a cooking/baking theme and this one was so wonderfully done. It is a very slow burn, but it works here. I loved the tension between Jada and Donovan. They had great chemistry and so many swoon worthy moments! Also, I loved grams and I'm so glad Jada has her!

I really enjoyed this author's writing style and I hope we get more from her!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

FAKE IT TILL YOU BAKE IT is my first novel by Jamie Wesley, but it definitely won’t be my last.

There were so many things to love about this book! There is a fake-dating aspect and while I kept waiting for one of the main characters (Jada, a woman from a wealthy family who’s been struggling to find her place in the world, and Donovan, a football-playing cupcakery owner who is tasked with giving Jada a job by her team owner grandmother/his boss) to have some sort of miscommunication or secrets that might ruin their budding relationship, I was pleasantly surprised by how open with each other Jada and Donovan were. The banter was excellent also.

The book was a quick read (or at least that’s how it felt because I devoured it in a day), but it was also packed with a lot of issues dealt with by the characters, including difficult family members, dealing with outside opinions, and money problems.

I even loved the side characters and can’t wait to (hopefully) read their novels next!

Thank you St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions expressed are my own. This review does NOT contain any spoilers. :)

☆☆☆☆☆ Overall
(Spice: ☆☆☆)

If it has fake dating, I am automatically in. I had super high expectations for this book because Ms. Jamie Wesley?? Obviously I am excited. This book literally took those expectations, shattered them, and rocketed to outer space. (ALSO can I just say - this cover?? One of my favorites, it's so beautiful!!)

Donovan is a man that I would go to the ends of the Earth for, and I do not say that lightly. The emotional maturity in this man and the amount of passion, love, and drive he has is absolutely perfect, and it is impossible not to root for him. Jada is desperately trying to be independent and find her place in the world, but with both her past and her current situation, it’s proving to be more difficult than she expected, but she never gives up, and I LOVE her for that.

I think that the whole “opposites attract” thing is a delicate thing to write, because it has to make sense. But with Donovan and Jada, they fit together like puzzle pieces completely. He offers stability, support, and not only that, but he pushes her to see the strength within herself. She shows him that not everything worth living for can fit into a tidy 15 year life plan, and sometimes, the unexpected is exactly what you need.

I absolutely loved these two, as well as every side character in this book. Being able to read beautiful Black love stories is such a blessing, but not only that, getting to see an entire army of side characters overflowing with Black joy, success, and happiness is amazing.

This book is easily a new favorite. The banter, the support they offer to each other, the loved ones woven into the story, the everything. So good. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Wesley brings us next!