Wit, sexual tension, tortured pasts, and destiny come together is this comedic romance that kept me turning pages until I was done. 

I have made a point of reading more books written by and involving POCs and this book did not disappoint. I marathoned this book in one night before I even realized it. The story progressed in such a natural fashion that I found myself completely drawn into the world in only a few pages. The first encounter between Aubrey and Landon was like something out of my past before I settled down, and I honestly think that is what hooked me so early on. Well that and the burning hot sexual tension combined with so much wit and humor that I found myself smiling and laughing at times.

This was my first Jayci Lee read and I enjoyed it. The characters were great and I love how hard they fought their connection.   The end was a bit discombobulated,  but it worked for an ending.  This was a good story.

A Sweet Mess 
By Jayci Lee

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee is a romp full of fun, sexiness and deliciousness all in one fantastic read. The writing was completely engaging, funny, cute and with a lot of heart too. It's everything I want to read in a romcom. The setting is in my hometown of California and with Korean American cast of characters, this was a joy to read. 

The chemistry betwen Aubrey and Landon is unmistakable and truly is a delight to see the characters in what eventually is a poignant story. I had fun reading this, this was a great escape read, I could not stop turning those pages, and the romance was definitely swoon worthy. 

I want to read more of Jayci Lee's writing I just could not get enough of it.

I loved this!

Such an incredibly sweet book. This book centers around Aubrey who is the owner and baker of an adorable bakery whose life gets turned upside down when celebrity food critic and her one night stand, writes a scathing article about her bakery due to a misunderstanding.. What follows is a dreamy love story, a few solid friendships and of course, a few HEA's! An adorable book which I would recommend anyone who needs some sweetness in their life.

Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand.

Lots of heat between these two characters and I was down with it. I was cheering for Aubrey and Landon the whole way through and couldn't wait until they realized they loved each other and just suck it up. The ending was a bit thrown together and was the only reason it didn't get a full five stars but overall a great read.

This probably would have been a awesome enemies to lovers story. Things started off okay but my interest wasn’t held for much long. Sorry to say I did not finish this one.

Also, this cover is very deceptive. The protagonists are both Asian and the cover should reflect that.

I’ve been excited about reading this book since it landed on my doorstep because a) the cover is great, b) the blurb sounded fun and c) I’m a sucker for foodie romances!

A SWEET MESS delivered on the foodie vibes I was looking for.  In fact, it made me extremely hungry!  And that’s the mark of a good foodie romance if you ask me.  I also really liked the heroine.  She’s determined, passionate and focused on achieving her goals and that certainly made me like her a lot.  And even forgive some of her preconceived ideas about love and relationships that she made based on her parents marriage.  Then there’s the hero.  They can’t act on their attraction because he wrote a bad review of her bakery and now he’s trying to make amends but if people find out they’re together it would look terribly for both work-wise. With all that, and the fact he’s also a caring type of guy, he certainly made plenty of mistakes and was saying the wrong thing ALL THE TIME.  So I couldn’t quite fall in love with him.  But I do think he’s a good match for our heroine.

I wasn’t expecting the fade to black intimate scenes.  There was one moment in particular where they were about to have sex and they stop to ask questions about family and their past.  It gave me whiplash and it didn’t feel like it made sense for the flow of the story at that point and more like a forced conversation because the characters needed to know facts.  I would’ve loved to see more actual development in both of their family backgrounds because I do think they played an integral part in who they were as people now and those aspects were just on the periphery of the story.

Overall though, this was a bit sweeter than I was expecting.  That’s a good thing and a perfect trait for summery romances so if you’re looking for that kind of light hearted and sweet romance to read by the pool then this will be great.  Make sure you have snacks and drinks handy.

Such a fun little rom/com that highlights exactly how important communication is in a relationship. The story itself was good, had good pacing and loved the bakery setting. 

Oddly enough and as much as I love a good third person POV, this one fell kind of flat. I think I would of liked it better as a first person POV. I just couldn't connect with the characters as much as I 'd like when it's a contemporary story.

DNF at 22%

While I was extremely excited for this title, I unfortunately did not finish it. There were many elements that I found promising, such as the food-centric plot and the wonderful representation given the background and heritage of the protagonist and love interest, however I didn't find there to be chemistry between Aubrey and Landon and his behavior in particular didn't sit well with me. 

Thank you again for your time and efforts in approving me for this ARC, I hope to fare better with future titles by the author!

This was such a fun book. I love books that have chef/baker characters and settings. They just really make me happy. This was a great book that I breezed through.

this one was weird in a way because I didn't expect a full road trip romance???? it just sort of happened and I went along for the ride. there were some scenes that were kind of cheesy too but it was a fun romantic comedy with great asian rep!

Aubrey and Landon were an adorable mess of a Korean-American couple that had me experiencing some serious culinary envy right from the start. Seriously, the food descriptions were probably my absolute favorite element to the story beyond the intense chemistry between the two lovebirds. I found myself snacking while reading and lamenting that I didn’t have any of those decadent ice cream sandwiches on hand!

A Sweet Mess uses a pretty standard one night stand, enemies, then lovers formula that works well. Both characters have compelling backgrounds that read as authentic and give readers plenty of reason to like both Aubrey and Landon as a couple and separately. Best of all, this is a diverse cast with wonderful friendships with all the banter you could want between the couple and others. I really did have fun reading the first half of the book.

The biggest issue I had: this story uses a trope that I always pass hard on. I can’t share really share it without giving a bit of the plot away but it’s not something that will bug many other readers but just happens to exist on my “No, Thank You” list. It’s just one of those reader hang-ups that I have.

Overall, this was a sweet, decadent read with great characters and friendships. The romance is sweet and spicy and it is clear the author adored their characters. I would absolutely read more of Jayci Lee’s work in the future.

Recommended for: Lovers of steamy romances, one-night-stand turned second chance romance, and unexpected pregnancy trope.

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Landon Kim a hotshot food critic and Aubrey Choi, a small town bakery owner collide in a love story that pulls you in.

A cute love story in the vein of Hallmark xmas movies. Nothing unpredictable, but a quick enjoyable read.

This was a fun, cute book about love and baking. While normally, I would've wanted more from the story, I found myself really enjoying this story. Of course, the characters would've been better off if they communicated better, but that's a common thing in quick romances.

Aubrey Choi is a pastry chef, She makes the most amazing pastries and you will want to just go into her place, sit down and enjoy whatever concoction she has dreamed up for the day. Her place, The Comfort Zone, is all that is important to her. Everything else is secondary. Landon Kim is a renown food blogger. He had the pleasure of his car breaking down in this small town. These two meet at the bar and sparks fly. What could go wrong from a one night stand. Both Landon and Aubrey have had unusual upbringings and both have little room for love or trust. Landon needs to make things right, that is his specialization. When he has the chance to make things right, he tells Aubrey that her feelings must be wrong. Love how he grovels to make things right.

I’ve read one book by Lee last year so I knew that I would enjoy her writing. Sweet Mess was a good read, it just wasn’t something that wowed me.

This book started off so well! I was already intrigued by Audrey and Landon and was dying to see where the story would take them. Their chemistry was done well and so were the characters themselves. The author gave us moments where I would hold my breath to see if they would cross the line again.

What dropped my rating down was that at times it seemed to drag and that I so I already called most of the things that were going to happen in this book. Especially the conflict. Quite a few times, I kept waiting for something else to happen besides the "will they won’t they" between Aubrey and Landon. I also want more scenes between her and Tara and in her bakery.

Overall, this was good and okay but nothing that will become a favorite of mine. The next book in the series is about Tara and I’m excited because I adored how sassy she was in her scenes here.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!!


This book was sweet and cute! I loved this read at such a stressful time.  Did I love the overly dramatic scenes? No but I get what the author was going for.  This was a quick read with some spicy elements that kept me hooked.  I didn't love the addition of a surprise pregnancy but felt like that was a nice happy ending.  I would read a sequel about these characters!

This is the perfect read if you're looking for something sweet, simple, and light-hearted. It was fun and flirty with well-written dialogue that had me quickly turning pages. I really enjoyed Aubrey's character.