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!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book, but, unfortunately, it fell extremely flat. There was such great diversity, representation, and tropes in this book. However, I could not connect with either Jada or Donovan and I found their chemistry very forced.

This book was a slow burn and I had to push through to finish it. Overall, I rate this book 2/5 stars.

"Fake It Till You Bake It" follows a professional football player who owns a cupcake store and a washed-up former reality star desperate to escape the spotlight. Through a mutual connection and an initial acrimonious first meeting, Jada ends up working at Dominic's cupcake store.
This book had some good tropes, such as fake dating. It also really made me want cupcakes the whole time. I thought the relationship between Dominic and Jada was really sweet, and Dominic was a good guy. I liked that he didn't really care about how they looked on social media and wasn't mad at Jada for the paparazzi presence she inspired. Instead, he was concerned about her and how she was doing under the pressure.
I initially really enjoyed this book, but I found that it slowed down and wasn't always realistic. It definitely felt like a debut novel. The plot was a bit repetitive because the only main setting was the cupcake store. I also found the dialogue cringy and totally unrealistic at points. The story is a very modern, simplistic setting and yet the characters sometimes speak in stilted, flowery sentences. And the pop culture slang/references really made me cringe.
Last... I am tired of miscommunication in romance books. The trouble they had with their relationship in the last 15% of the book was just due to pride and poor communication. I would have liked to see some other big issue they face, instead of just their relationship problems, in order to raise the stakes.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an early copy.

big thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review !!

★★★★★ A big fat five stars from me!!

He couldn’t get enough of touching her. Of being with her. The lightness she had brought to his life could not be overstated."

“I should have told you that I love you, and I’ll go to the ends of the earth for you.”

“The whole time he was talking to me I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted it to be you. I want to be with you. Only you. For real.”


I had high expectations for this book and I cannot be happier with the results, it was everything I wanted and more! I devoured this book in a matter of hours because, come on, Black love w/ fake dating and cupcakes?? say no more.

Things I loved<3

- pure chemistry between Donovan and Jada
- hilarious banter (that doesn't go away after they fall in love)
- character development by the end of the book
- funny and interesting side characters

Overall a good spicy romance that EVERYONE should buy as soon as it comes out, June 21 so mark your calendars people!

This book was so adorable! I loved how she developed the characters. I fell in love with them! I was drawn into the story immediately and had a hard time putting it down. I really hope this turns into a series highlighting some of the other characters from this book.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley is as sugary sweet as its title. Jada, an ex-reality tv star, and Donovan, a football player with a cupcake bakery side hustle, clash from the get-go. They agree to fake date to help both of their careers and you can see where this is going.

What I liked: I’m a sucker for enemies-to-lovers and fake dating so two of my favourite tropes is always a good start. I also liked that he looked after her when she got hurt and is protective of her. Plus, I liked that the author discussed dyslexia with accuracy, while also highlighting the character’s more than capable nature.

What could be better: I wanted more build-up with the fake dating. The tension was only just starting to build for me and I feel like this could have been drawn out further.

I think this is three out of five stars for me because it was good, not great. I liked the characters and the plot but I didn’t LOVE it. In a sea of romances, it’s hard to stand out and I’m not sure how well Fake It Till You Bake It stands out. However, you might like this book if you like reading about sweets, reality tv, and fake dating.

*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I really enjoyed this one. My favorite part is the image of the three friends, burly handsome football players, opening a bakery. Their bromance is for real and I will read each of their stories. Take my money. I want this series NOW.

As for Donovan and Jada, I love how their personalities are so different--him being a calculated planner because of his past family issues and needing that security, and her being daring and unconventional and trying new things, but still with a sense of uncertainty. Mostly, I loved their flirty, fun bantering and steamy scenes, and how they were always there for each other. Donovan is a true book boyfriend, hot and sweet. Sigh....

I wasn't totally convinced on the antagonist plot. She was offering them a chance to have their own reality show and I thought for sure they'd take it to promote the bakery and such. But I didn't care too much because I was there for the romance, not the obstacles, and anyway, they worked together to overcome the obstacle together, which was the point.

Also, I loved Grams/Mrs. T, and I really hope Olivia, Nicholas, and August get their HEAs too!

Thanks, NetGalley for the fun read!