This was a sweet rom-com with likeable characters and a cute plot. Savannah and Rhett are rivals that are chosen to compete in a baking contest and must live together for the duration of the competition. To make matters worse, Savannah's ex-boyfriend is also a competitor. What could go wrong? I really liked Savannah and Rhett, but I also really loved Maggie and I think she plays an integral role in this story. This was a pretty quick read that was making my mouth water with all of the descriptions of the desserts.

This is a clean romance and will appeal to many readers.

The audiobook narrator, Anne-Michael Smith does a good job, but with the frequent switching between character POV's I would have liked her to either change her voice when narrating Rhett's part or have a second narrator as it was often confusing as to who's POV I was listening to. Yes, it does tell you when it switches, but if you pause the book and come back to it you need to pick up on contextual clues to figure out if it's Savannah or Rhett because she voices the whole book with the same tone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select | Rachel Hanna for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Quick Summary: A scrumptious treat romance

My Review: The Baking Games by Rachel Hanna is a 2024 release. It is a standalone novel.

About the Book: A perfect recipe for disaster - Savannah Greene finds herself in a baking competition with her ex-boyfriend, Conner, and her night school nemesis, Rhett. As the baking competition challenges get harder and harder, she learns a true heart lesson about all the necessary ingredients that are needed for a forever love.

About the Narration: Anne-Michael Smith made this listening experience a joy. I was immediately caught up in the story. Her rhythm and the expressed vocal movements with the characters portrayals were spot on.

My Favorite Scenes: (coded, so as to avoid spoilers) - >

The Date
The Pink Pepto Bismol Funny-haha
The Confession
The Things Left Unsaid
The Epilogue

My Final Say: This gets a hidden gem rating. It is golden.

There were so many things that I loved about this book. Particularly, I loved the natural flow that occurred between the leads, as well as the friendships that blossomed between the leads and the widow. (I loved Maggie!) I also genuinely appreciated the special connection that Savannah had with her sister. They were survivors who supported each other fully.

Other: Readers who like stories with enemies to lovers, fake relationships, opposites, and found families will adore this book.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Status: Clean
Level: 💎⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐💖
Audiobook: Yes
Narration: +

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Dreamscape Select | Rachel Hanna), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for making an ALC of this title available for review in exchange for an honest critique. It was a pleasure to read/listen. I look forward to becoming better acquainted with this writer's work.

4 Stars ✨

Clean Romantic Comedy

Audio Version 🎧 Via Netgalley
Narration 4/5

Savannah is a pastry chef, who has been raising her younger sister her whole life, struggling to make ends meet. But no matter what, her sisters needs have always been her top priority. With no prospects of success in her future she feels defeated , until little sister enters her in a baking reality show competition. If she wins, she can put her sister through college and finally get ahead. What Savannah wasn’t prepared for however, was her night school rival and ex boyfriend both to be on the same reality show.

The Baking Games was a clean, cozy and fluffy read. Full of sweet romance and reality show drama. The characters were likable and funny. I thought the story as a whole was completely unrealistic, but it was still a very enjoyable and entertaining read. The narrator did a pretty good job , I just wish she would have changed her voice a bit more for the male role. My only real complaint is it made me want all kinds of baked goods 🤭. Would recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced audio copy of The Baking Games, in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Hanna does it again with a sweet cozy story. Girl raises younger sister. Younger sister convinced her to go on reality show. The story is mostly the show which is fun and different. I also enjoyed the ending which happened in a round about way.

The audiobook, while the narrator was enjoyable to listen to, it was very challenging to distinguish between the two main characters at times making it confusing.

Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Hanna for the advanced audiobook.

I am thankful to have gotten the audioARC for free from Netgalley and Dreamscape Select so I can leave my voluntary review.


This was such a cute story. I felt like I had jumped into a Hallmark movie combined with a reality show.
The plot was pretty straightforward and formulaic but enjoyable overall and since baking is also a love of mine I was happy to listen to it despite knowing what would happen at every step.

The narration was good overall. Her regular speaking voice was pleasant to listen to and allowed you to get engaged with the story. However, her French accent was horrible and distracting. It seemed like a caricature and would pull me out of the story and miss content because I was focused on it.

But thankfully the story allowed me to get over it and move on. The print version may be a better option if things like that both you.

On a side note, the baking details were well researched. They did seem to be indulgent at times but overall to those who are in the baking world will find connection to the details.

So if you’re looking for a clean cozy romance This book comes out on August 27th 2024 so get it on your TBR now!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

What a cute book. I really enjoyed the quirky characters, the setting, and the mystery. The plotting is top notch and I cannot wait to read more.

This was such a cute cozy book! Savannah enters a baking competition to win $200,000 to help her and her sister. Her ex and someone she went to pastry school with are among the contestants. There is also a very attractive male contestant named Rhett!

I loved all of the details about the desserts they baked during the competition. I think my favorite desserts were the holiday themed ones.

As emotions get intense, so does the competition! Are their feelings all for the show or is there something more?

The only negative thing I have to say about the audiobook is that Rhett and Savannah's voice have a very similar pitch. While it is easy to differentiate who is saying what, i think it would be more captivating to have a more definitive difference. I still completely enjoyed this audiobook!