Ultimately, for me, I think the build up was just too slow without really seeing chemistry between the two main characters. I DNFed at ~40% after reading some reviews that had similar feelings to me.

I think I'll definitely still try the 3rd book in the series (whenever that comes out!) since I enjoyed the first book, I just don't think this couple's story was for me.

📖: A Legend in the Baking (Fake It Till You Bake It, Book #2)

✍🏾 By: Jamie Wesley- I haven't read Book #1 Fake It Till You Bake It and didn't have any issues following along.

📅 Publication: 11-19-24, Read 11-18-24

🌎 Setting: San Diego, CA

📄Page Count: 336

👆🏾POV: dual 3rd person

Genre/Tropes:
♡ Contemporary Romance
♡ African American Fic
♡ 2nd chance romance
♡ childhood crush
♡ brother's best friend
♡ sports-H is a football player/celebrity romance
♡ forced proximity
♡ cupcake contest-H & h/ job competition w/ h's nemesis

🎭The Cast:

🚹Hero: August Hodges 30, has an ex-wife- Melinda Dejesus, the quietest of the trio owners of Sugar Blitz Cupcakes (SBC) prefers to be a silent partner, but a viral moment puts him in the public eye.

🚺Heroine: Sloane Dell 29, social media assistant at organic pet food company expecting a promotion but quits instead. Her brother offers her a job to help boost their company's social media.

Donovan-Sloan's older brother, getting married to Jada

Nicholas-co-owner of SBC

Dale Hodges-August's father, a Michelin chef

Preston Bridges-Sloane's nemesis since college. Both applying for the same job at media company San Diego Today (SDT)


🤔My Thoughts: I always love BIPOC rep and opening a cupcake bakery was a great way to bring the community together. The protesters were funny, especially when Ben and Cynthia catch August and Sloane about to make out. The "incident" from twelve years ago was tough on Sloane because you never forget your first love, even if it's unrequited. August apologized but I understood why Sloane was hesitant to take the next step. Donovan played the big brother role perfectly and Nicholas was the comic relief. I can't wait to see who his heroine will be.

⚠️: toxic parents, plagiarism, social media fandom, therapy-just mentioned, gambling addiction-not h/H, gentrification-just mentioned

🌶️Steam level: 4/5

⭐Rating: 4/5

🙏🏾Thanks for the e-ARC provided by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jamie Wesley. I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own!

I loved this one! I knew I wanted August's story while I was still reading book 1, and it was great to get it! The story felt like it dragged a bit in the middle, but the chemistry was great and I was happy to be back in my favorite cupcake shop.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC of book two in this series by Jamie Wesley!

This is best friend's little sister trope. I think calling it a second chance romance or an enemies to lover is a stretch. This is a slow burn, but I loooove a slow burn >>insert swoon<<

Sloane and August. August and Sloane. Sighs.

These two were definitely their own worst enemies. However, I really sympathized with August; his relationship with his father was complicated, and I could certainly understand why Sloane didn't want to piggyback off her big brother, Donovan (the MMC from book 1 in this series). *While this is the second in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

There was plenty of tension between August and Sloane throughout, and I couldn't wait for them to get out of their own way and just be together!!! I enjoyed the backstory of their friendship/budding feelings when they were high school and college students respectively. Cute story, can't wait for book 3!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this read. This series is a strong one for me. It is well written and I like how that it has a plot to it. It is easy to read as it is funny and just pulls you in. Keep them coming Jamie!

2.5 stars - A Legend in the Baking is a sweet (no pun intended) slow burn romance with two very likable characters, but it took some time for the story to find it's footing. Sloane is a social media guru who steps in to help her brother's cupcake shop, Sugar Blitz, revamp their social media platforms after one of it's co-owners, August (deemed SugarBae), goes viral. This means for the next few weeks she'll be in close quarters with the man she's spent years getting over.

Although a bit slow at times, Sloane and August clearly care for one another and their chemistry made for a cute read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review

I loved this story and the dynamic between Sloane and August! Can I also add, if my local bakery was run by professional football players I'd be in there every day?! This is definitely a slow burn, but so worth it!

A slow burn, dual POV, older brother's best friend second chance romance between August, a divorced pro Football player slash cupcake bakery co-owner trying to open a second location and Sloane, the woman who has had a crush on him since childhood and gets hired to help improve his PR image to help quell community discontent. This was good on audio, had emotional depth and great diverse MCs plus who doesn't love a hot male baker who can deliver in the sheets? Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I love a man who bakes and I love this series. August and Sloane have a past. She's his best friend's little sister and also the girl he broke 12 years ago. After doing what he thought was right at the time, he has regrets. He is sure she's past it now, but them working together so closely is going to test his patience and ability to not try for what he really wants deep down. Sloane has been let down tremendously but all the guys in her life, including August. She's not interested in embarassing herself again, but she doesn't think she is imagining the tension she feels coming from him as they are working together.
She wants a marketing job and to get it, she has to promote another company and ramp up their socials to prove she has it in her. Working with August, aka Sugar Bae, will be just the thing she needs. I love these two together and you can feel the tension right from the get go. It is obvious that they have a connection that stems from long ago. August knows he hurt her and Sloane knows they are different people now, but she is still scared that someone she puts her faith in will let her down again.
August is really honestly the sweetest and I am on board with pretty much anything he does. He is a walking green flag, and we need more of those in romance books. 4.25 stars.
Thanks to St. Martins, Netgalley and Jamie Wesley for an early copy.

Rating 4.5 stars

emotional, funny, informative, inspiring, lighthearted, reflective, tense, medium-paced


Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Rating: 4.5

A Legend in the Baking is book two in the Fake It to You Bake It series. You do not have to read book one to read book two. The series is about three professional football players who love baking and open a cupcake bakery.

This story centers around August, a professional footballer and baker. He is usually the quiet one of the group. He hates attention. The FMC Sloane. She is August's best friend's little sister. They have been friends since their meeting, always chatting; they understood each other, even finishing each other's words.

August and his best friends are planning to open their second cupcake store, but the neighbours oppose them. Sloane, a social media specialist, has decided to assist them with getting the bakery's social media presence on the positive side.

While August and Sloane work together, their feelings for each other grow. However, they still need to talk about things that happened between them years ago. Will they try to pursue a relationship with all these feelings?

This slow-burn story about friends becoming lovers is a page-turner. It is well-written, and the characters show incredible development throughout.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Happily Ever After, Page-turner, Romantic, Wonderful characters

I received an ebook from NetGalley but am not obligated to review it.

A marked improvement from the first one! This book is about cupcake shop co-owner and pro football player August as he goes viral for a feminist rant, leading to his teammate’s sister Sloane’s involvement in the shop’s social media. The characters had believable chemistry, and I found myself rooting for them more than I thought I would. That said, this was unnecessarily long — hopefully the final copy will be trimmed down a bit.

I’d recommend this to fans of slow burn romances.

This review was written with temporary digital access to an ARC of the book. Thank you!

A Legend in the Baking is the second book in The Sugar Blitz series and it follows Sloane and August’s love story! I absolutely loved this one. The chemistry and banter between Sloane and August was to die for. It tackles the themes of wanting to be enough and getting past lies that have taken up too much space. If you love a slow burn, friends to lovers second chance romance you will love this one!

While I enjoyed the first book in this baking-themed series of rom coms, there was something off about this installment from the start. Sure, the tropes are not my personal favorites (second chance, etc), and I found the third person POV difficult to get into, but there were also a couple of things that gave me the ick. Our hero gets sexually harassed (assaulted?) by several women early on, and it's just sort of brushed off. There were also elements of his relationship with the heroine - particularly in the flashbacks - that didn't sit right with me either. I started skimming after my interest waned and encountered a few more things that rubbed me the wrong way, so I'm leaving this unfinished. I do like some of the concepts that were explored, but this was a DNF for me.

A viral rant turns August, a cupcake bakery’s silent partner, into the hottest bachelor in town. He’s forced to work with social media manager Sloane to capitalize on his popularity. The intense chemistry between them reignites their teenage infatuation, challenging them to embrace the risk of chasing their dreams.

This book is fast-paced and fun. The writing, voice, and conflict are strong. Sloane and August are well-developed and cute together.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC.

I remember meeting August in the first book and wanting his story. A quiet, socially awkward guy who seems like a grump but is really a marshmallow? Sold. In fact, if you look at my last review, I said AND I QUOTE “I need August’s book STAT.” I rest my case.

But to my surprise, I did not expect a brother’s best friend trope, with mutual pining over a decade. Talk about a tortured and angsty slow burn. Sloan was a little difficult to like at times; it felt like she was so hyper focused on getting this new job that she completely disregarded personal boundaries and lacked empathy.

While I enjoyed their friendship reblossoming, I wasn’t a huge fan of the back and forth. Both Sloan and August were guilty of this—it took forever for them to actually communicate and discuss their feelings.

One thing I cannot move past is the sexual harassment August receives when he first becomes “Sugar Bae.” Women are literally patting his ass and touching him without his consent…and no one cares? Sloan even uses social media to entice those women into the bakery, by using August as a dangling carrot. It was just…gross and I am disgusted that it was treated more like a jokey rom com moment rather than educating.

Despite my dislike of certain moments, I still enjoyed this in audiobook format. Jaime Lincoln Smith and Nia Serge do fantastic and really bring these characters to life.

such a cute read!! i’m all for a football romance, but football players who also own a cupcake shop? even better. a great continuation of the first book and the journey sloane and august went on was amazing to watch. highly recommend!!

This hit the spot for me. Pro football players owning a cupcake shop? Yes, please. One of those football players going viral for a feminist speech? Double yes please.

I also really liked how the second chance romance trope was used here. This is SLOW BURN so if you are not into those kinds of romance novels, this might not work for you.

Thank you @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @jamiewesleywrites for approving me for such a cute book. I’m loving this series! It checked off my fav tropes and kept me smiling.

I loved Fake It Till You Bake It and was excited to get approved for both the eARC and ALC from @netgalley! I enjoyed book 2 of the Sugar Blitz series. A Legend In The Baking picks up with Sloane Dell (social media manager at Organic Chemistry and Donovan’s little sister) and August Hodges (Pro football player and co-owner of Sugar Blitz Cupcakes). This second chance romance was cute and watching them rekindle their friendship then leading to them finally being together had such a realistic feel. It took August years to realize that Sloane was the one for him. I don’t blame him for thinking the girl he was with back in college would be the one for him. A lot of people go through that. I’m glad they found their way back to each other in the end. The pacing between the characters dragged. I would’ve preferred for them to kindle a relationship mid way through the book. But the spice was basically towards the end and felt rushed. Overall, I’ve enjoyed the series. It’s different and I liked it a lot. I recommend this series to all romance lovers and anyone looking for a cozy romance.

A LEGEND IN THE BAKING – Jamie Wesley
Sugar Blitz, Book 2
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250801876
November 19, 2024
Romantic Comedy

San Diego, California – Present Day

Pro football player August Hodges is a silent partner in a cupcake bakery business with two fellow players—until a rant about how female bakers are the backbone of the bakery business is filmed and goes viral on social media. Now the bakery is inundated with women curious to meet the man behind the counter. One of his partners, Donovan Dell, has a sister that August has known for years. Sloane Dell is a social media expert, but recently lost her job. She decided to help the bakery get the word out and has dubbed August “SugarBae” in an attempt to have them go viral.

Sloane has a job interview as a social media manager, which she hopes she will get. But she is competing with an old foe. Then the lady doing the job interview sets a condition for one of them to get the job. They need to make social posts go viral and the one who does the best job gets hired. Sloane goes to her brother and asks for a temporary job with the bakery using it as part of her job requirement. The three men agree, and Sloane is soon off and running to make Sugar Blitz the most talked about bakery in San Diego. Of course, August, who now has a following, will be the one she uses as the face of the business.

Sloane and August have a history that goes back years and in A LEGEND IN THE BAKING they finally are working closely together. She has had a crush on him, but he never reciprocated. He was even married for a few years but is divorced. Sloane can live with that, though she wishes he would notice her. As part of the plan, August goes out on a date. The bakery is in the process of expanding and ran into a bit of a roadblock when local residents objected to their plan. The woman August takes out (with Sloane along to take pictures) is the daughter of the woman who is leading the objections. Alas, things don’t go well. Will August end up finishing the date with Sloane?

There is plenty of laughter and fun in A LEGEND IN THE BAKING. August’s father is a legendary chef but there is little closeness between them. August hasn’t told his father about the bakery. Getting to know the Dell family was a blessing and he was good to Sloane while she was a teenager. She never let on that she was crushing on him, even though she tried to put herself out there to try and get his attention. Now that they are working together, there is a tilt in their relationship. It soon goes from friends…to lovers. Their passion for each other burns the pages of this tale. No telling how Donovan will react upon learning his best friend is having sex with his little sister. Will Sloane win the job she wants? Is there a future for our sweet couple?

A LEGEND IN THE BAKING is the second book in the Sugar Blitz series but can easily be read as a standalone. Sloane and August are a likable pair and readers will hope that her dream of having August see her as a desirable woman leads to more than a couple of romps in bed. Readers will enjoy the fun scenes in the bakery as the women want their SugarBae, as well as seeing masculine men prove they can bake beautiful cupcakes. Enjoy the fun by grabbing a copy of A LEGEND IN THE BAKING.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

I am really enjoying this series. First we had Donovan's story. Now we have August's story, which also involves Donovan's little sister, Sloane. There is a past history between them that hangs between them. Watching them rekindle their friendship and seeing how they interact throughout the story is so much fun. The chemistry is hot as well. Highly recommend this and can't wait to read Nicholas's story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely.