ARC Review: A Legend In The Baking (Fake It Till You Make It #2) by Jamie Wesley

 

After accidentally going viral on social media, a cupcake-baking football player gets assistance from a social media maven—and his best friend's little sister—to help promote his new bakery.

August Hodges was supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes. Emphasis on silent. That is until his impromptu feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity goes viral, making him the hottest bachelor in town. With a new location in the works, August and his partners decide to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to help cement their place in the community. But the hiring of his best friend’s younger sister, the woman who has haunted some of his best dreams for years, was as much of a shock as his new-found fame.

Social media manager Sloane Dell fell hard for her brother’s best friend the moment she met him more than a decade ago, but that teenage infatuation cost her dearly. Still, she accepts her brother’s request to revamp the bakery’s social media presence to take advantage of August’s newfound popularity, knowing it’s the big break her fledgling career needs. She’ll just ignore the fact that August is still August, i.e. sexier and sweeter than any man has a right to be. And that he drives her crazy with his resistance to all her ideas.

They vow to leave the past in the past. But when an explosive make-out session makes it clear their attraction burns hotter than ever, Sloane and August are forced to reconsider what it means to take a risk and chase your dreams.

As they’re both about to find out, all’s fair in love and cupcakes.

Title: A Legend In The Baking (Fake It Till You Make It #2)

Author: Jamie Wesley

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffith

Expected Publication Date: November 19, 2024

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I really enjoyed the first book. in this series. The idea of three brawny football players opening a cupcake shop is just great. I'm glad I got to read this second one and see what August and Sloane's story was all about.

I really love August. He's this big quiet guy who just wants to stay out of the limelight. Of course it's him who ends up as the face of Sugar Blitz Cupcakes when he accidentally goes viral after he goes off on a few guys bad talking cupcakes. It's always the quiet ones who have the most to say!   I liked how Sloane was able to step in and use her social media manager powers to really help Sugar Blitz. Of course she and August have some history and spend the entire book pining for each other. I loved their banter and how easily they got along with each other. Their push and pull was fun, even if it was a little frustrating and I wanted to bop them both in the head and yell, "snap out of it!"

That being said, they were both very relatable despite August's fame as a pro football player. 

The plot is nothing special but it was fun. And it did touch on a few social issues that I think are important for people to know about: gentrification being the foremost. 

The one thing that bothered me was the sexual harassment August received. It was peppered throughout the book but never really addressed. For a man who was standing up for women, I was surprised to see the reverse happening and no one stepping in to say anything.

Jamie's writing is easy to read. It flows well and keeps the pace going. I liked the third person point of view used for this story, as well. It's an interesting way to go.

Overall this one was fun, though not great for me as the first. If you're looking for a cute second chance love story with lots of slow burn, this one will fit the bill!

Author:

Jamie Wesley has been reading romance novels since she was oh, about 10 when her mother left a romance novel, which a friend had given her, on the nightstand. Jamie read it instead, and the rest is history.

She started her first contemporary romance, after she graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 and couldn't find a job. Life got in the way as it often does, i.e. she found a job, and she didn't finish the story. However, she never forgot about it and finally got serious about completing it in 2009. And then she finished a few more stories. In 2012, her manuscript, TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, was named a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart competition and was published by Entangled Publishing in 2014. She’s published a few more books since then.

Jamie holds a master’s degree in sport management (yes, that's a real thing :-) ) from the University of Texas at Austin, so it probably comes as no surprise that she loves sports and spends an inordinate amount of time rooting for her hometown Dallas’s pro sports teams and her alma maters.

She also adores Walt Disney World, shopping, and pop culture. Want to know if your favorite TV show is going to be canceled or what the newest Disney attraction is? Ask Jamie. She'll probably know the answer.