I really loved the premise for this book. I loved that the writer took out some of the usual complications that you'd see in a typical romcom, so there's sophistication in the idea for the story there. I just really struggled with the writing style. It's very easy to read, but at times, the dialogue felt stilted (just one example: the number of times the guys said "dude" was a bit much for men in their 20s in 2024) or not well edited (example: actually putting the acronym NSFW in the narration). Add a slow burn on top of that, and I did not feel motivated to keep going. I think if the heat had picked up earlier, I wouldn't have minded the writing style much at all. I think this story really did have potential, though. I'm happy for everyone who was able to enjoy it! I liked these characters and the idea!

August is a football player cupcake baker! Yup you read that right. August is one of three owners of a new famous cupcakery called Sugar Blitz. He accidentally gains attention and goes viral when he states that men can and should bake too and discusses toxic masculinity and feminism.
Enter Sloane, his partner’s younger sister and former friend sorta (they have history basically. She’s a social media maven and knows how to take this fiasco and turn it into gold with the opening of their second bakery. She also has a longstanding crush on August that she won’t really admit to herself.
Through the ups and downs of opening Sugar Blitz 2.0 August and Sloane rekindle their relationship and love for one another. Sloane takes the reins and does everything possible to make the men at Sugar Blitz look good amongst the new community bakery location and so much more.
This book is defiantly a cute and easy read.
I look forward to Nick’s story now

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this deliciously fun romcom romance! This series had me at "Three Pro Football Players Open a Cupcake Shop." 😂 A Legend in the Baking has grumpy but actually shy/sunshine vibes along with the best friend's sister/had a crush on each other for years tropes that I love. August and Sloane have a lot of chemistry and this book has both slow-burn and spicy elements.
I can't wait to read the first in the series.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me and I did not finish. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read.

I loved this book and Sloane and August. I love that they have complicated lives and have found family in the people that matter to them. I love that in this book both Sloane and August grow as people which gives them a good start to their new relationship. I appreciated the spiciness as well. I didn't realize this was the second book in this series so I just went and bought the first ebook. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

Just finished reading “A Legend in the Baking” by Jamie Wesley.

We know from the beginning that Sloane and August have the hots for each other - so begins a “slow” burn.

The book is cute - there are a few side stories going on which all intertwine for both to realize they like each other and it’s not one sided.

I did enjoy this book and would recommend.

An enjoyable read! This is def for the slow burn pining readers. No big twists or shocks which kept the story fairly flat and predictable but overall a cute fun and quick read

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of A Legend in the Baking.

I loved the second book in this series. I enjoyed seeing old characters and exploring new relationships.

I definitely recommend!

You know the feeling when you start a book and from the first few pages that you will love it? That’s how I felt about this one!

Jamie Wesley did it again with a heartwarming story about a closed off football player/cupcake bakery owner and his best friend’s sister. The dialogue in the book was so fun to read! Great chemistry and a solid story. Another vacation read that I enjoyed!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful story about healing, love and friendship. There was just enough steam between the characters to make a connection.

This was a cute romance. It was a little slow, but I do like a slow burner romance. And this was a good one. I'd have liked if baking had a larger part in the book.

Set at a cupcake bakery in San Diego, one of the three football player owners goes viral and the sister of another owner helps with the related social media impacts. Sloane needs this to go well for a new job she is trying to get, but she and August have to face their past along the way.

Dual POV
Dual timeline (12 years prior)
Very very slow burn
Second chance
Best friend's sibling

Having read the first book in this series, I'm ready for Nicholas next!

Rating: 4/5

Open Door

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.

I took a chance on A Legend in the Baking when I saw it as a "Read Now" option on NetGalley. I thought the cover was adorable and the synopsis had me interested. What I didn't realize going into this novel was that this was the second in a series of standalone romances that follow three NFL players who open a cupcake shop called Sugar Blitz. Even so, I devoured this novel and found it to be full of cute moments and mutual pining. I love a good mutual pining situation, especially when you get some insight into how both people are feeling as Jamie Wesley gave us.

August and Sloane's story had me grinning from ear to ear and rooting for them to stop pining and make a move. This story laid out their pasts that both made them hesitant to love all while working together to make the second location of Sugar Blitz a success and to help Sloane earn a job in Social Media Management

This book had it's tender, heartfelt moments and it also had it's steamy moments. It made me laugh and it made me swoon. I loved this story and I've already gone back and started the first book in the series. I also can't wait for book three!

DNF @ 75%

Ohhhh I am so thoroughly disappointed by this book. I really wanted to like it since I LOVEEDDDDD the first book and the premise is so amazing, and we've already seen the tension between August and Sloane, but my oh my these two annoyed me SOOOO much. The beginning started off wonderfully, and I was fully enjoying myself, the middle dragged a little, but I was still fine with it, and then right when we hit the 60% mark everything falls apart. As you can see, I really tried to push through the pain but the book got so deathly unbearable, it threatened to put me in a major reading slump and thus I had to just give up and move on.

Miscommunication, when done well, works beautifully, but when purely executed, is just the cringiest, hair-pulling thing to happen. This coupled, with the fact that Sloane is probably the most incompetent social media manager I've ever seen (I understand why she wasn't getting the promotion at her old job) just made this last 2/3 sooooo hard to get through. Their conflict made absolutely no sense to me, there was absolutely no reason for their miscommunication to exist, and I feel like the main barrier to their relationship (Sloane's brother is bffs with August) was resolved so quickly like it didnt even happen? idk if it even happened on page or if it was literally just a one sentence acknowledgement????

Also, I wanted to stan Sloane, I really did. She had the makings of a girlboss, but it is clear to me that she is so incompetent at her job. The whole Sugar-Bae campaign was completely unnecessary, and why I thought that was what she needed to clinch her new job is actually disgusting to me. She just uses August ????? Girl?? who in their right mind thinks this would be a good idea.

This book (and especially Sloane) annoyed me to no end. Why did the author fumble so hard here....

A Legend in the Baking was such a cute read, I loved it. Now I have to read Fake it Till you Bake it because I did not realize this was book 2 of a series. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

After August goes viral, Sloane is hired as the social media guru to help the shop use the attention.

It was such a fun and cute read. I really enjoyed it. I loved Sloane a lot and the dual pov was done really well. I appreciated August and loved him as a character. I think I'd easily fall for him.

My only reason to not give this book 5 stars is there were a few times it felt repetitive. Otherwise, it was an easy and fun read.

August, the quietest and most reserved of the cupcake shop partners, is up and his special someone is none other than one of his partner's little sister. Which is only minorly awkward in the grand scheme of things.

The most awkward is probably that Sloane declared her undying love to August when she was still in her teens and August (rightfully, at the time) turned her down. Except he's never forgotten her and their long conversations and how *right* things felt when they talked. Now he's older and wiser and divorced and she's on his mind A LOT. Given that she's working on the shop's social media and marketing while she's job hunting, they're sort of forced to spend time together and August is having a tough time keeping his like under wraps.

On Sloane's end, she's determined to put the past behind her. Sure, she might still think August is everything she wants in a man, but he made his feelings clear all those years ago and she's going to steer clear of heartache by keeping that firmly in mind. Except, you know, now they're spending all this time together and August is honestly a great person who consistently puts himself before others. And Sloane is having a tough time keeping her heart in line because of that.

Some big career changes, a little pushback against the new shop location, a disastrous date, a fabulous date, a man who needs a push to reach for the things he wants, and a lady who has to stop and take stock of how far she's willing to go to get what she wants. *thumbs up*

3.5 stars rounded to 4
This was cute! I loved the premise (pro football players own a bakery! Best friend's little sister!) and the story kickoff with August's viral feminist speech moment. A little bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I think the flashbacks weren't super necessary to the story. They gave the main characters some background, but that probably could have been covered by their heart to heart/clear the air of the past moments.
I didn't realized this was part of a series, and I did like it enough that I'll probably go back and read the first book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for the ARC!

3.75 rounded up to 4 ⭐

"A Legend in the Baking", by Jamie Wesley, is about a girl named Sloane who quits her job, and she decides to work at this cupcake shop that her brother and two other pro football players own. Just in case you didn't know, Sloane is Donovan's younger sister. When Sloane is offered a position for another job, she has to prove herself by going on a mission by helping August in becoming a viral sensation called "SugarBae" after making a speech about how baking can be for guys too; not just for females.

You know, I really really liked this book. I received this book as an arc from Netgalley. I really liked how easy the book was to get into. I really loved the chemistry Sloane and August had when they worked together, I loved all of the drama the book had to offer, and overall the book was really good. I absolutely ate it up. I definitely recommend reading this book.

I'll be posting this review on Goodreads when the book is released. <3

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this sequel since reading the first book in the series and getting a taste of August. It did not disappoint! I still enjoy the author’s writing and love these characters so much.