If you’re a fan of lighthearted romances with a dose of family tension and food-centric fun, In the Case of Heartbreak is worth a read.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I loved this cute MM romcom! It has all the tropes, friends to lovers, forced proximity and small town romace.
Ben is going to be on a reality baking show, highlighting his mother's cinnamon roll recipe. But while they are filming there is a misunderstanding with Ben's bestie and secret crush Adam. Ben feeling rejected runs off to his grandma's 80th birthday party/getaway for a couple of weeks. While there he ends up staying with Adam (who is playing at the party's band) going through a lot of family drama with his parents and struggling to maintain his spot on the reality show.
All the drama and craziness give the book vibes somewhere between a soap opera and a fun Hallmark movie. It also made me think of My Big Fate Greek Wedding and Mama Mia. A big cast of crazy characters that keep me laughing.
I also loved the chemistry and ensuing romance between Ben and Adam. They are so good together! And the spice hit just right.
This is a fun summer romp I'd reccomended as a great beach read.
Thank you to the publisher and author for my digital ARC copy.

Did not enjoy this book much. The writing was cringe. The story was meh. Really had to power through and push to not DNF and doing that makes me get into the only reading slump. Unfortunately this story wasn’t for me. But still cheack it out if you’re new to the mm romance genre.

It’s like a little spicy hallmark movie, which is an amazing combo if you ask me! If that sounds like your thing, you should check this one out for sure!

Although this novel is the second in its series, it can be read as a standalone. A cute friends to lovers MM romance that will have you turning the page.

I really wanted to read this book.. but this was so bland and so forgettable I wish it was a little bit better

I definitely didn’t realize this was a second part to a series when I started it. I still found it enjoyable and could be a standalone.

A fun summertime , gay, friends to lovers romance that will leave you swooning and hungry.

The cooking romance is a bit over done for me but I still enjoyed this read.

This was an adorable love story with so much packed into it. I will definitely be reading more by Kae in the future.

I wasn’t sure about this one at first but fell in love. Ben was absolutely adorable. I had this on our summer romcom table

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Kensington Books for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Friends to lovers, LGBTQ representation, dysfunctional families, cooking shows, mental health representation

It's so cute. It's angsty and sweet. I can't believe it took me so long to get to it. I flew through it as soon as I picked it up. It's a bit over the top in many parts, but I mean... it's a romance. Very well done!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for a review*

Everything about this book was lukewarm.

“In the Case of Heartbreak” follows our main character, Ben who’s a baker and is planning on going on a reality tv baking show, until everything goes to shit, including making a fool of himself in front of his lifelong crush Adam. Thankfully, he’s leaving for his Grandma’s 80th birthday party, away from all the drama. Until his deadbeat music director dad stirs up drama.

This book was very okay. The relationship between Ben and Adam was cute, but felt rushed. Ben basically had a life long crush on this dude and thought he didn’t like him back but honestly the second we meet Adam he seems VERY interested. Overall, the characters were very two dimensional. Don’t even get me started on the grandmother, who was literally only used as a plot device. This novel didn’t really feel planned out which is my biggest gripe. It definitely felt like a bad Hallmark movie where everything gets solved 10 minutes from the end. Additionally, why was there like a 20 page baking foreplay scene??? It was actually so terrible I had to skim through it because it made my entire body cringe. Ewe.

While this book did nothing offensive or wrong, it simply just was not good. I will definitely be forgetting everything about this book in 2 weeks.

What a delight! Sweet yet angsty and deeply heartfelt. A timely queer escapist romance. Cozy, funny, and emotional.

Unfortunately, this book was a huge disappointment for me.

Almost everything is over the top, the plot is rather silly and I found myself really bored for large parts of the books. The two protagonists have several sweet scenes but that's about it.

I unfortunately didn't get to read/review this book, as I was hospitalized for the Spring of 2023. Cleaning it up now to remove it from my feedback loop. I apologize for the lack of review! I did read and review the first book in this series, and love Courtney Kae's writing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A cute queer Hallmark movie in a book. Low angst, friends to lovers, in a small town setting. Didn't love the reality tv plot, but thats just me.
Thanks netgalley for the review copy.

I was very torn throughout the whole book.
I really enjoyed the beginning, getting to know the characters and I loved it but then a whole lot of miscommunication happened and especially the typical always getting interrupted thing, which I hate.
It was a bit weird to me that with Ben‘s anxiety that he just went along with it, my anxiety could never. No matter what interrupted us, as soon as I can I‘d have to ask what he wanted to say.. but well

Towards the end of the book when the romance was in full swing (also in between sometimes) there were the cutest scenes and moments which saved the book in my eyes.

Random little fact: the 'darling' comments KILLED me!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the earc

It’s not a cinnamon roll (iykyk) 😉 but cake will do.

If you haven’t read @court_kae yet what's stopping you?

I love these characters and their feelings and their stories and all the characters in Fern Falls and can't wait to read more from this series.

Courtney is an auto-buy author for me and you need to read these books. ❤️


P.S. these books go really good with cake or any kind of baked good, really. ☺️


Special thanks to @kensingtonbooks for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! Ben and Adam were very cute, their story was very sweet and comforting, and this was just a very simple, fun, easy holiday read. I really enjoy Courtney Kae's writing style, and her books never fail to make me smile. I recommend this one if you're looking for a quick, cute, light romance!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.