This was a sweet, low-drama, enemies to lovers story. Rhett and Savannah come from very different worlds and I appreciated the author showcasing two difficult pasts with such different demographics. The romance was subtle and sweet. The synopsis made me think there might be a love triangle but let me assure my fellow triangle-haters that it was thankfully not present. If you are fan of cooking competitions and reality TV, this was a cute nod to those in book format.

I listened on audio and thought the narrator was a good choice for Savannah. My only complaint is that the same narrator was used to voice Rhett’s chapters and with first-person narrative style, I prefer that the male point of view chapters be performed by a man. It gets a little confusing when you have to really pay attention to who is speaking, especially if you have to stop listening mid-chapter and pick it back up later.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook via NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Content Notes: Kisses

DNF at 30%.

There was only one narrator which is normal but the quality wasn't up to snuff. The story itself was dual POV and I wasn't able to tell when the narrator switched since the changes in pitch or tone were almost non-existent. POVs were switched in the middle of chapters and the only thing signalling that was just the names of the MCs and barely any pausing was used. I had to really pay attention to know just whose POV I was listening to each time.

I also found Rhett's internal monologue to be repetitive at times. He kept on justifying why he couldn't make friends especially when he sensed himself warming up to Savannah.

There's also the typical mean side characters who are acting like they're in high school. I'd finish this just to know who won but I sense I'll just be rolling my eyes as the story continues 🤭

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Baking Games by Rachel Hanna was so, so cute. Savannah Green enters The Baking Games (think Top Chef mixed with Big Brother) to win $200,000 and make sure that her sister has enough money for school. She's been taking care of her little sister for years since their mother died when Savannah was 18. What she didn't know until it started was that her ex-boyfriend Connor (ugh) was there as well as Rhett, who was her rival in culinary school.

To boost popularity and their chances of winning, Savannah agrees to enter into a fake relationship with Rhett, who ends up being not as bad as she initially thought. I actually really ended up loving Rhett and how he fell for Savannah.

I LOVED the cast of characters, especially Maggie, a 65 year-old contestant who is like a grandmother to Savannah by the end of the competition. Very sweet, no spice, but great feels!

Anne-Michael Smith did an excellent job with narration and I loved her male voice! I wish there was just a bit more time in between the chapters, or a note about which POV we were in.

4.5⭐ Rounding to 5- it's a fun time!
🧼🧼 Squeaky Clean. Sweet 🎂, not Spicy 🌶️

After struggling her whole life to stay afloat - Savannah enters a baking competition in a hail-Mary attempt to improve life for her sister and herself. When she arrives, she finds that not only is her ex boyfriend also a contestant- so is her rival from pastry school 😱.

✨Rivals to Lovers
✨Forced Proximity
✨Fake Dating
✨Clean Romance 🧼

This is such a sweet, fun read. The pacing is perfect and the story is immersive enough that I was really hooked and wanted to know who would win this Baking Competition 🤣. Rhett and Savannah are both very likeable, believable characters and easy to relate to.

I received an ALC from NetGalley, and I felt like the narrator did a fantastic job. It is duel POV, single narration (which I know is a downside for some people), but I feel like she did a great job narrating both POVs.

If you're looking for a sweet 🎂, fun romance- this is for you!!

Cute story! Once culinary nemesis’s turned to competitors on reality tv for the big cash prize. Thrown together by the producers they have no other choice to get to know one another. What turns out as pretend turns into something real. I really enjoyed this story however I was confused by narrator as to who was talking /thinking . There was no difference in intonation between Savannah and Rhett’s characters to know who was telling the story at each chapter. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily

DNF at 35%.

I probably would have enjoyed this a little more in non-audiobook format (which is rare for me). The narrator isn't horrible and I know it's hard to narrate well. The distinction between POVs was almost non-existent and the tone/pitch for both characters was the exact same. There was no real way to distinguish the different characters. The narrator was clear and concise and not monotonous.

Story-wise, I love baking show novels, and this one fell a little flat. There was a lot of repetition between the characters, which might have been cute to see how much they think alike, but it also got dull. The grumpy x sunshine trope is one of my favorites, but this was really heavy-handed with it, to include the two characters actually calling themselves grumpy and sunshine. I liked the idea of side challenges. Baking for a nursery home is a super cute idea, but immediately after Savannah vowed to talk to all the residents, she spent the whole time talking to Rhett. I'd have liked to see both of them interacting with residents together rather than them ignoring the residents for each other. (This was the final straw that made me DNF so I clearly have feelings about it.)

Super cute premise, could have used more editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I loved the idea of a grumpy sunshine romance mixed with a food reality show because I love food and books! Food competition shows are so fun for me and my kids to watch together so this really appealed to my loves! They are obsessed with "Is it cake" which also has an annoying host in my opinion (sorry not sorry). I also liked that the characters are in their 30s vs super young people - I could relate to them much more even if I haven't been through the hardships they had.

Premise:
FMC Savannah (30) has basically raised her sister since her single mom was an addict and didn't have much to provide them. When the reality baking competition comes up, she wants to enter and win the $200k to provide a college education for her 20 year old sister as well as open her own bakery. Plus she gets a cookbook deal.

MMC Rhett comes from a wealthy family who has never approved of his choice to be a pastry chef. They always tell him to pursue medical school or some other job that will help him be rich. He goes into the competition to win money to pursue his dreams and prove he can earn money through baking. He is also Savannah's rival from pastry school.

So what happens when there is a baking competition where you're trapped in the house with the other contestants for 6 weeks and one is Savannah's recent douche ex boyfriend and her grumpy rival from pastry school? There may be some fake dating and sabotage... dun dun dun!

Narration: at first I wasn’t really excited because it is dual POV but the narrator voice wasn’t that different so I had to pay attention to who it was even if it had a header "savannah" or "Rhett". You can easily miss it and get a little lost. Obviously the context makes it clear but unique different voices or multiple narrators would have been great. As it went along though I appreciated a few different accents and voices. In their conversation it is hard to figure out who is talking. A little distracting but the story was super cute!

Some funny lol moments for me in the story :
Savannah waking up from her nap and seeing Rhett -
S: How long was I sleeping?
R:5 weeks, everyone else went home.

R: This is why you see the glass half full.
S: You don’t?
R: I don’t even see the glass.

Overall, super cute with a love of family, found family, discovering yourself, special message!

Thanks Netgalley for my copy for review!

I was SO excited to read this. I used to watch Cupcake Wars on the Food Network religiously.
This book would not make it to the finale.

*I want to apologize in advance for the amount of cooking and baking related puns that will be featured in this review. You have been warned.*

I am a sucker for fake dating, but this trope was half-baked. Rhett pitches the idea to Savannah to increase their popularity, but she says no. But then they continuously simmer over the possibilities, flipping back and forth. It was very sloppily done.
Savannah is sunshine in human form. She loves her little sister more than anything after practically raising her since she was born. She enters the contest to make a better life for them.
Rhett needed some sugar and spice added to his personality, because he was bland. Also, the Rhett from the first 40% of the book was not the same Rhett as the last 60% of the book. It's like he had a sudden personality transplant.
Connor was as slimy as an oyster. With as much as Rhett was worried he'd try to sabotage Savannah, we never see him do anything. Just a small thing off page.
Maggie was sweet, but I needed more of Savannah and her together.
The romance was undercooked. Both Savannah and Rhett kept being wishy washy about their feelings and whether or not they should like the other person. I feel like they needed to marinate a bit more. Especially with that epilogue. 4 months together and they're engaged? At least eat your appetizer before skipping to dessert!
The story line was okay. The premise was great, but the execution was not. There were lots of slower parts. And a TON of repetition. Savannah literally thinks "This industrial kitchen is so big and industrial!" Like... Obviously. Thanks for pointing that out. Both S and R repeated the same things multiple times throughout the same chapter and again in the next. I kept rolling my eyes.
Speaking of, what was with the constant changes of POV WITHIN THE SAME CHAPTER??? I got confused countless times on who was speaking. I believe in one chapter it went from Rhett to Savannah to Rhett (for 3 sentences) just to go back to Savannah before going to the next chapter. Start a new chapter when you change POVs.
I wish the story had focused more on the baking challenges instead of the side challenges and their house shenanigans. The whole appeal of the book didn't get enough baking time.
You can tell the author is not knowledgeable about the culinary world. There were lots of simple mistakes (pastry school vs pastry chef school, red bean paste being frowned upon, etc) that stuck out to me.
The character of Big Thelma was also an issue for me. Not even including her being called Big, but Savannah is constantly mentioning how much she eats. And it's always donuts or cookies or pies. We don't need that shoved down our throats. A mention once or twice for context, sure. But don't mention her eating handfuls of donuts every time you bring her up.

The audiobook needs some major work. The narrator does not take adequate time to let the audience differentiate between characters' POV changes. She ends a sentence, says the character's name, and keeps reading. It took me a bit to realize she was actually telling us the character POV instead of using the name as part of the story. Also, with dual POV, you HAVE to change your voice for the characters. Instead, all the characters sounded exactly the same. And with a large cast, their needed to be some changes.

Overall, a really cute story. I was surprised that for a book about adults in their thirties, the most we got was a kiss and had to wait until 90%
I thought it got a bit repetitive at times, specially having both POVs, she said something in her inner monologue and it would come up in his right after. But the story was cute and the characters were likable. The enemies to lovers lasted for about two chapters, and the fake dating for a page, but I thought it was better that way since the grumpy/sunshine was already too heavy handed.
The narrator did a good job handling both POVs, it was distinguishable both character's voices and easy to keep up with who we were listening from.

2.75 stars

So.... I requested this from NetGalley because I generally like foodie romances. And it was okay. But the enemies-to-lovers/food competition plot has been done quite a few times before this, and done better.

There were a lot of little things that niggled at me. The fact that the language of the pastry chef was imprecise. It's not 'pastry chef school,' it's just 'pastry school." And making chocolate truffles isn't a baking competition - no <i>baking</i>is involved in making truffles. And red bean paste is often used in desserts in some cultures. The judges acting like it was a horrible ingredient was just wrong. After all, it's one of the most important ingredients in Shave Ice. The author probably did her best, but needed a pastry chef to read the manuscript for accuracy.

I was also bothered by the old school method of describing minor villains. Big Thelma was probably not a nice human being, but the fact that the author made her fat made it sound like her weight was part of her bad qualities. That somehow you'd look at her and know she's a villain. I can forgive a decades-old book for making the villains fat, but this should not be happening in 2024.

I also found it strange that there seemed to be no middle ground between indifference and LOVE. Why was everyone assuming that the MCs were in love if they were just possibly interested in each other? After such a short time? What happened to the idea of them just being attracted to each other and wanted to pursue that attraction?

The writing felt both rushed and choppy.

And that brings me to my big problem. It wasn't with the book, but the audiobook version of it. I cannot recommend the audiobook. What happened was a single narrator reading 3 difference 1st person POVs and not pausing between them. If the producer had added a few seconds of air between the POVs, it would've been easier to follow. As it was, I often lost track of who was speaking. The best solution to this would've been using 3 different narrators, but if that wasn't possible, then they should've hired a narrator who could change her voice for the three different people. But she never changed it at all, and the result was a mess.

Another one that I loved!!
I’m starting to think that anything that Rachel Hanna writes is a MUST READ for me!!

So this is a fun, mostly lighthearted book, but with a few hardships along the way.

Savannah is a BRIGHT personality who exudes happiness from her pores! How, is beyond me… she’s had a rough life. She lost her Mom when she was 12, and has raised her little sister since then. Basically, doing whatever had to be done in order to get by. She and Sadie have a very strong sisterly bond! BUT…Sadie now wants to go to college. And, Savannah really has no way to make that happen….

One day Sadie sees an ad for a Baking Competition. The grand prize is $200,000. She knows her sister CAN do this, and pushes her in that direction… But, Savannah, although she has gone to pastry school, has not gotten a job to reflect this. She’s working in a market…but it’s better than nothing…
Can she really even consider doing this?

What the heck. She applies!
And shocker of all shockers, makes it onto the show!

But there are many rounds…and she’s not sure she’ll get past the first one!
Add onto this that her ex boyfriend (Connor), AND her arch nemesis (Rhett) from pastry school are also competing….on the SAME show!

It gets very interesting from here on, so I’m going to stop 🛑 right here! 🛑

Loved the story! Loved the interactions with all the competitors! Loved Maggie, the grandmotherly woman, most of all!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me! Great story. Terrific characters! Lots of moving parts. Fake relationships. Media coverage. Celebrity couples. Baking…and…Love!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeSelect for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review! I was so excited to get this one!!
(It has already been released, so you can look for it on shelves now!)

#TheBakingGames by #RachelHanna and narrated by Ann Michael-Smith. Although the narrator did a nice job, I had a really hard time identifying whose POV she was representing. There was NO change in voice (at least from my standpoint) and that was very confusing at times…
If not for this, it would’ve been a 5 ⭐️ for me. But, maybe it’s just me, as I see other reviewers loved her!?!?

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Rachel Hanna's The Baking Games is a fun and tasty read, hahaha!!
The story follows Lily, a talented baker who joins a high-stakes baking contest. As she whips up delicious creations and faces tough competition, she also learns a lot about herself. The book is filled with colorful descriptions of pastries and cakes that will make your mouth water.
Lily’s journey is both exciting and heartwarming, with a sweet romance that adds to the charm. The characters are relatable and the story moves quickly, making it hard to put down. If you enjoy light-hearted stories with a dash of romance and a lot of baking, *The Baking Games* is the perfect choice. It’s a delightful, feel-good book that’s sure to leave you smiling.

Rachel Hanna’s The Baking Games is such a cute romcom. Sensible Savannah is about to take the risk of a lifetime. Her sister Sadie has talked her into applying for a reality show that is a cross between Big Brother and Master Chef. It’s not something Savannah would normally do, but the possibility of winning 200,000 dollars is just too tempting. Winning that kind of cash would allow her to achieve her dream of opening her own bakery as well as secure funding for Sadie’s college education. But she is almost ready to quit the moment she arrives at the competition as sees that not only is her ex-boyfriend Connor part of the competition but so is Rhett, her pastry school rival.

Savannah’s sunny personality and selflessness make her instantly likable. And while Rhett seems prickly at first, he becomes more and more likable the more we learn about him, and the more time he spends around Savannah. I really enjoy that the story uses one of my favorite romcom tropes: fake dating. While Anne-Michael Smith does a good job with the narration, I can’t help but view the use of a single narrator as a missed opportunity. With the constant POV shifts between Savannah and Rhett, this story begs for the use of two narrators. But honestly that’s just me looking for something to nitpick about. This is a really sweet romance and has made me want to check out more of Rachel’s books. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audio version of The Baking Games.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1GILVKLQWS6UQ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

"The Baking Games" is a fun grumpy/sunshine romance set in a reality TV setting.

Savannah Greene enters The Baking Games when her younger sister encourages her to. Savannah has been raising Sadie since their mother died eight years earlier, and the prize money from this competition would be lifechanging for them both.

Rhett Jennings is Savannah's biggest rival from culinary school. And he has his own reasons for wanting the prize money. And he has no intention of letting little Miss Sunshine get in his way.

Yet as they navigate the ups and downs of the competition, they become fan favorites, mostly because of the sparks that keep flying between them. And when the TV show throws a curveball at them, they find themselves chained to each other for 72 hours. There's a lot that you can learn about someone in that amount of time, both good and bad!

I really enjoyed this story and the characters in it, and wished I could actually see (and taste) some of the creations they needed to make as part of the competition.

Thank you to Rachel Hanna, who is swiftly becoming a favorite author of mine, Dreamscape and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This was an adorable read! Savannah Greene enters a baking reality show that has the prize of her own cookbook and $200,000. If she wins, she will use the winnings on sending her younger sister to college. Savannah’s ex-boyfriend Connor and her rivalry from culinary school Rhett are both contestants on the same show. This was an charming, enemies to lovers’ story that I listened to in a day. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters. Connor was a bit of an arse but I guess that was his character. I do wish there were two narrators of the audiobook, one for Savannah and another for Rhett. At times, it was confusing whose POV it was. If you enjoy Hallmark movies and Baking reality shows then this one is for you!

Complicated book to review - plot was what drew me in. As a PhD candidate in The Great British Bake Off with a minor in The Bear, I was immediately drawn to The Baking Games. The genre listed on Netgalley was Clean Romance which is not my preferred one, but, for the food competition, I was in.

Main character Savannah has had absolutely the worst life, has been raising her sister since her early 20s after the death of drug addict mom. Life is hard. There is no money, only dreams. She wants more than her grocery store baking job, but feels compelled to get her 20 year old sister into college and start a business. A real fantasy novel where all can be solved by winning a reality tv show with a 200,000 grand prize.

It was ok. Seriously struggled with the jarring briefness of the writing. For example, in the final competition it begins with a description of what will be made and then literally shifts to something like "I can't believe the four hours have passed so quickly. The winner is....." Not enough fleshing out of details or allowing the reader to see in their heads what was happening.

My biggest gripe however is with the narration. I hate to be unkind, but it was not good. A great narrator becomes the characters. Uses a variety of voices, accents, nuances. This single female narrator can read, but she was not a value add for this listener. It took forever for me to understand the that there were 2 male characters (one an old love, one a new love), along with the female character. The voices never changed. I had to pay so much attention to figure out if it was the boy baker or the girl baker talking. I wish I had read this one instead of listening.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!!

I really enjoyed this book!! It was so cute !! I enjoyed the setting and all of the characters! I loved the reality aspect of it. Reminded me of Big Brother lol

It was a short read but it felt a little fast and felt like we needed a little bit of context with the love interest and the ex-boyfriend, it felt like everything was rushed and everything we should have a connection qith, was just said instead of shown.
It was an interesting plot I haven't read a book with this plot which was why I wanted to read it, it was a little confusing at the beginning the love interest until his pov because we just know that he is going to participate but when she said she was going to be with her ex and her enemy I was confused, later we see that this was so we see someone being jealous and cause trouble.
Because it was a short read some things felt that needed a little more work but, it was a fast and cute read to listen to.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this audiobook

Boy, this made me crave something sweet with all the cakes, cookies, and decadent desserts.

This feel-good romcom brings Savannah Greene onto a new reality TV show called The Baking Games. She has been working hard as guardian of her younger sister for years and would love to own a bakery. If she can win the grand prize, it would be the perfect jump start for their future.

Savannah’s cookies crumble when she realizes Conner, her ex-fiance, and Rhett, her culinary school rival, are contestants on the show. As things heat up, Savannah is surprised when Rhett suggests they fake a relationship because the viewers seem to love them together - it’s all for the sake of the contest, right?

I loved all the details and descriptions of the food the contestants made for each challenge. The contestants are sequestered in a house for filming so there is a forced proximity element, causing many emotions to swirl around. I loved Maggie, who is a more motherly character, which is precisely what Savannah needed.

Rhett and Savannah’s romance is the typical grumpy/sunshine, but it is fun watching them try to navigate if it’s real with cameras in their faces.

A sweet, funny and clean romance - but you may want to have snacks handy while reading!

Thank you @rachelhannawrites for the gifted ebook.

Thank you #dreamscapeselect for the gifted audiobook.

Savannah is stuck in a dead end job and is desperate to do something that she feels some passion for. A reality TV show contest offers her just that opportunity, as well as a chance to help her much younger sister Sadie, whom Savannah has raised single handedly since their addict mother died when Sadie was just 12.

On the set, Savannah develops an unexpected kinship with one of the older contestants, who becomes a de facto mother figure for her.

With her ex boyfriend (as one of her fellow contestants) trying to sabotage her, and the grumpiest colleague from her culinary school days as another contestant with whom she is having a faux romance (to boost their chances of winning) Savannah needs all the good advice she can get...

This is an entertaining romance that combines the reality TV trope with the enemies to lovers theme, throwing in a protagonist who is endearingly loyal to those she loves. Romance readers will love it, and it gets 3.5 stars.