August wanted to be a silent partner in his partly owned cupcake shop, but a viral rant about toxic masculinity thrusts him into the spotlight. He and his partners decide this would be the perfect opportunity to increase visibility for their shop and hire Sloane to be their social media manager. August has had a crush on his friend’s sister for over a decade, but now that they have to work together it is even harder to ignore that crush.
Athletes and cupcakes are a combination I never expected and I love! Sloane and August were great together and had wonderful banter and chemistry. I love getting peeks into their past with the dual timeline in this story. What made this book even better was the commentary on toxic masculinity. I was here for it. And of course, this book made me want a cupcake, so treat yourself to one before picking up this book!
The audiobook was narrated by Jaime Lincoln Smith and Nia Serge. I LOVED listening to this story and the audiobook brought the story to life.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute. Very cute.

Sloane quits her job because she is denied the promotion she deserved and now she needs to find a job asap to pay her bills. So she is working as social media manager for her brother's co-owned business, Sugar Blitz, for 2 weeks to impress a potential employer. August, one of the co-owners of Sugar Blitz and Sloane's brother's best friend, rants and advocates for female bakers and goes viral on social media so Sloane and August are teaming up to use this buzz to help in their second location's success but of course there are some hurdles.
There's history, there's mutual pining, there's angst and there's slow burn. The plot was a bit dragged out and the pacing was slow for my liking, but I liked their date , it was a perfect date for any reader. I liked both the characters and their struggles and them finding ways to solve their issues. I liked the book and I would read the next book for sure.

4 stars.

I enjoyed "A Legend in the Baking" by Jamie Wesley. First of all, this book has a fantastic dual audiobook narration from Jaime Lincoln Smith and Nia Serge. They are wonderful here! They bring these characters to life in a realistic, terrific way, embuing these characters with life! This second-chance romance was such a fun read. August is a football player, but he is also a baker. He works at/owns Sugar Blitz cupcake shop in San Diego (shout out!) with his two friends/teammates. Sloane is the little sister of Donovan, one of those friends. August and Sloane had a blossoming friendship/possibly more years ago when they were much younger, but circumstances discussed in the book led them to dissolve their friendship, turning into a decade-plus-long radio silence. Years later, Sloane is a budding social media manager looking for a new job, and in order to impress a potential employer, she agrees to handle the social media coverage for Sugar Blitz, putting her back in August's orbit. Sparks that never died fly freely now as their attraction and chemistry bubble once more. Readers learn Sloane and August's story in a dual timeline setting, which I liked and is handled well by Wesley. This story is short, sweet, and sexy! I loved Sloane and August. They have terrific banter had chemistry with one another. This story takes on toxic masculinity head-on in a way that feels natural and wholly welcomed. I loved the yearning and the spice book! I can't wait for the third installment in this series. Be aware, though, this book WILL make you want a cupcake!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jamie Wesley, and Spotify Audiobooks for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Right from the cover and the blurb, I was attracted to this book and I am glad that i finally read it too. I loved it so much 😍 The characters, the banter, the interactions and sparks between the protagonists, I was head to toe in love with the book. It was nicely penned down with a well paced plotline and amazing characters. I literally finished it in two sittings. Now I am excited to check out more work of the same author.

The audio narrators really sold this one for me. The book itself was alright, cute story with (sadly) far too much social media involvement, to the point that it didn‘t feel natural. Obviously social media was a big part of the story, still I felt it was mentioned far too much. It did have some very hilarious moments, only made better by the audio narration! Overall a somewhat average read but fun listen.

Another very fun read from Wesley - having a hard time deciding if I like this or the first book better!

The tough, football player August is also a baker, with his two teammates. His coworker and teammate’s off-limits little sister Sloane is a social media pro. When his rant about masculinity and feminism and roles in baking goes viral, he and his bros in Sugar Blitz Bakery need Sloane and her expertise to get the bakery back on track and in folks good graces. She needs a project to apply for a new job, and this one is perfect. Her brother has been trying to hire her to do it forever, anyway.

The close proximity of working with their taboo crushes is tough-going, but makes for an awesome romance read. I love how Wesley has written this and deals with everything that goes along with the difficult situations involved. It’s a fantastic story and I read it quickly. Definitely one I recommend!

Narrated by Nia Serge and Jamie Lincoln Smith, both new voices to me, I really enjoyed the audiobook. I would absolutely recommend grabbing this one in audio - I read along and listened together, which is my preferred way, but it is definitely worth buying the audio for the brilliant performance these two gave.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and Spotify Audiobooks for the early read and listen copies. This is my honest feedback.

Flipping adorable!!! The narration was wonderful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

This was a hard one to review. I didn’t actually care for the first one so I wasn’t super excited for this one. But then I got a copy in the mail and I wanted to make sure I read it and gave it a review. For this I was thankful tho because I actually liked this one so much more!

Ok so this one is definitely a slow burn and y’all know that annoyed me lol But when they started flirting I was like fineeee ok. And then when the things started happening, they started happening lol It was like a switch flipped. The only thing was, since it was a slow burn, it was too slow. For them to be adults, I was wondering the whole book why no one opened their mouth and said “I DO like you” It was very weird how they couldn’t say anything. And yes I know that miscommunication is real, but when it’s been years and they’re not young anymore, JUST SAY IT WITH YOUR FULL CHEST LOL

The rest of the romance was pretty basic. There was nothing that really set them apart from the other one. This one also had a viral something and then they were co-workers all of a sudden. I wanted some variety since like I said I wasn’t the first one’s biggest fan. Like the story was different enough, but it just wasn’t enough of a difference for me. I DID like the flashbacks tho. That definitely helped with learning more about their backgrounds and helped fill in the blanks when they weren’t flirting yet.

The baking was cute in this one too. I love seeing the man baking and his reason why he’s doing what he does?! Whew Chile I can’t say I blame him. I DID wish there was more there tho. She basically told us the conflict with his dad and they reconciled at the same time. Why not spread that out throughout the story? Give it more depth. Because let me tell you I would have rather read about the drama with his dad than that damn lady. She was literally mad for no reason. She didn’t know them people from a can of paint and was just mad to be mad. Extra af and annoying lol Because who tf needs to do all that instead of just asking what it is they plan to do? And the husband with no spine that didn’t tell her to chill tf out was annoying too lol (If you’re wondering, yes I was very passionate about that. Like girl, let this Black man BE!)

I also saw that this has been categorized as a sports romance. And I don’t feel like it is. Sure he had a background in sports, and there’s a nod here and there when talking about him on the field etc, but it really had nothing to do with the sports. It was “off season” yeah, but it just had nothing to do with sports, so I just didn’t want to call it that. I did just say that sports were involved, but I don’t think it was enough to warrant a full genre. Is that weird? Idk how to explain it.

This book was really fun, but it wasn’t without its faults. I believe this was my favorite of the series. I hope this next one is a little different than these first two. I also lowkey hope that he acts the same way he did in this one. He was hilarious.

This review is for the audiobook version of this book. Thank you to Netgalley for providing the free audiobook for review.

A cute modern second-chance romance. Sloane, a budding social media manager and August, a former athlete but now bakery owner, share a past. Circumstances have thrown them together many years later and maybe things will turn out differently this time.
As you follow their story, there is spice, and a side storyline. It's a little fluffy romance that many will enjoy.

The narrators of the book do a great job, I really like Nia Serge!
3.25 STARS overall.

I loved the first book in this series - Fake It 'Till You Bake - when I read it last year. This one definitely lived up to that and did not disappoint!

This book is full of tension and slow burn between the main characters. As much as the plot could feel un-realistic at times, there were lots of parts that made it feel like this could be a real story: the social media aspect of it, the emotions behind August feeling ashamed of his love for baking, and the romantic vibes definitely felt realistic too! There were so many little details that tied this one together.

Overall it was a very fun read with a great setting. It was entertaining and had a good ending. I can't wait for the next!

Loved it! My first read by Jamie Wesley but definitely not my last! The narrator was the cherry on top! A must read/listen!

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
A Legend In The Baking by Jamie Wesley was a cute romance between Sloane, a social media manager, and August, a retired football player turned baker.
This book was sweet and cute, but it didn’t really grab my attention. The love felt a little insta-lovey even though it wasn’t technically. I don’t feel like it was a bad book and I really believe lots of people will like this more than I did! I definitely still think this is worth picking up!
3.5⭐️

Read if you like:
🧁 Cupcakes & All the Goodies
🏈 Hot Football Players
🖤 Black Love
👑 Boss Ass Bitch Energy
💪🏾 Strong FMC
🥈 Second Chance Romance
👨🏽 Brother’s Best Friend
⏳ Flashbacks

Honestly, this was such a great follow up to Fake It Til You Bake It and I loved being back in the bakery with all the characters!

I absolutely loved how August trying to be helpful put himself in a situation he absolutely didn’t want to be in, with the women and being a piece of meat and someone the women all wanted to score a date with, in order to try to do his part to help the bakery as it was struggling with public opinion while in the midst of trying to expand to a new location in a new neighborhood.

And what perfect timing for this as his best friends little sodger that he has had feelings for for a while is now in the picture to help with the Bakery’s social media and by default, Gus’ media nightmare he got himself into.

I absolutely loved getting the story from Sloane’s PoV as she left her job where she wasn’t being valued and was trying to get a new job, with the need to run a social media campaign as part of her interview process and forced her to finally take her brother up on his offer that would put her in forced proximity with her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush that she never fully got over.

This all together is a recipe for LOVE! And I ate up every crumb!

Thank you so much to SMP for my ARC, ALC, & finished copy in exchange for my review!

slow burn, cinnamon roll MMC, football player MMC, MMC is close friends with FMC's brother

I listened to this audiobook as a standalone (and may go back and read the first book since I enjoyed this one). I enjoyed the narrators. A Legend in the Baking is a romance that uses a dual timeline to explain the sources of August's insecurities and Sloane's trust issues. The storyline also explores the expansion of August's cupcakery, familial relationships in August's life, and Sloane's new position as social media manager at the cupcakery. Although the story does involve some heat between the two main characters, it is definitely a slow burn (but not so slow that I became uninterested). August was my favorite character. He was a sweetheart who wholeheartedly supported the advancement of Sloane's career.

Book review: 3.50
Narrator review: 4.00

May contain spoilers!

📚 A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Westley
🔖 Series: Fake It Till You Bake It
🎧 Format: Audiobook
🎙️ Narrated by: Jaime Lincoln Smith & Nia Serge
📕 Genre: Contemporary Romance
📖 Read: November 2024
✨ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯.”

‧₊˚✧ 𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑷𝑬𝑺 ✧˚₊‧
ꕥ Brother’s Best Friend
ꕥ Second Chance
ꕥ Forced Proximity

Sweet, spicy and funny!

This was a super cute read. I enjoyed the setting and atmosphere of the story. The chemistry between Sloane and August was definitely on point. I really liked that even though there was conflict with secondary characters, no one was made out to be a villain. This was such a ‘feel good’ kind of book.

Jamie Lincoln Smith and Nia Serge did such a good job narrating this book! I definitely want to find other books narrated by them.

Overall, a fun, light read that I would definitely recommend.

𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥.𝘢𝘯𝘥.𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨/

Thank you NetGalley, Spotify Audiobooks and Jamie Westley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love the strong male feminists in this book. Smashing toxic masculinity one cupcake at a time. August was so sweet and kind and I just wanted to cover him in icing and eat him for breakfast.

The narrators were great and they both had lovely silky voices that you just wanted to keep listening to.

Thank you to #netgallery for access to this ARC.

Genre: Romance (MF)
Format: Audio
POV: Dual
Tropes: NFL but without any actual football, brothers best friend/teammate, childhood friends, cupcakes, no third act breakup, snarky community members, don’t cross the picket line, all’s fair in love and cupcakes.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ /5 ?
Ending: HEA
Age suggestion: 18+

𝗔 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆 serves up a delicious mix of sweet romance and personal growth. August Hodges, a cupcake-baking football player turned viral sensation, steals the show with his swoon-worthy blend of humility and charm. His journey of self-reflection and learning to trust himself after past disappointments is both heartfelt and relatable. Meanwhile, Sloane Dell, his best friend’s little sister and a driven social media manager, brings a lively, if occasionally frustrating, energy to the story. Their connection crackles with chemistry, and their shared history adds depth to their dynamic. While the social media angle feels a bit forced at first, the backstories and emotional stakes eventually make up for it. Some pacing issues arise due to repetitive inner monologues and communication struggles, but the blend of humor, heartfelt moments, and sizzling romance ensures a satisfying read. This cupcake-themed love story is worth savoring!

ALC Review: A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley
Pub Date: November 19

Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC and to SMP for the eARC.

This is the second book in this series which follows professional NFL players that own a cupcake shop. Sloane is the sister to one of the owners and has a history with August, one of the other owners. This history has caused a very antagonistic relationship between the two of them so they mostly avoid each other. But when a viral moment causes August to be in the spotlight (which he hates), Sloane helps the cupcake shop use the publicity to their advantage and her own as she tries to get a handle of her career in social media.

I liked the first book in this series but had some issues with the pacing and the fourth act breakup. But I really really enjoyed this one! I loved the relationship between August and Sloane, from them antagonizing each other to them finding common ground once they have to work together.

Read this for:
- Brothers best friend
- Second Chance/It's always been you
- Flashbacks (but not too many!)
- Forced proximity
- Slow Burn

I loved everything about this! I was so excited to get a sequel to Fake it Til you Bake it and I can't wait to get more books from this universe. The audiobook was well done and I will definitely keep reading this series.