Such a fun, sweet read. I loved the characters and their individual journeys. It was more than just a romance - it was the story of two lives coming together in such a heartwarming way.

DNF.
Kudos for the representation of Asian Americans. Im always ready to read books that are diverse and inclusive.

I just couldn't connect with the main characters. Lots of cursing in the dialogue turned me off. They're attraction and hook up just happened too fast for me.

Although I didn’t love this one, it could have just been timing of when I decided to try to read it. I’m a mood reader and I just couldn’t quite get into it. Hoping to try again soon and have better luck!

Owner and head baker of Comfort Zone, Aubrey Choi has a disastrous day when her Frankencake (a chocolate bundt cake filled with peanut butter, gummy worms and cream cheese) is sold to the wrong person and the intended birthday girl is devastated. Aubrey rushes to bake and deliver a new cake in time for the birthday party.

Landon Kim is a well-known food critic, who has a disastrous day when he gets a flat tire just outside of Weldon, the small Californian town Aubrey’s bakery is in. Landon gets a room at a local hotel, as the only place in town that can fix his tire is closed until the next day. He stops by Comfort Zone for a snack and ends up buying the original Frankencake. He is revolted by the quirky fillings of the cake.

After a serendipitous meeting at the local bar where Aubrey’s best friend Tara is owner and head bartender, Aubrey and Landon spend a night together.

Landon writes a critique for the California Coast Monthly, bashing Aubrey’s Frankencake which leads to a decline in her restaurant income. But Landon quickly learns of the cake mix-up and sets about to make things right with Aubrey and her restaurant, while trying to maintain his credibility as a critic.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Food and books are two of my favorite things in life, so I often seek out books that center around one or both of those topics.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Jayci Lee for the advanced copy of A Sweet Mess in exchange for honest review. A full review will be shared on my blog and Instagram closer to the publication date.

Jayci Lee has written a charming “sweet” novel with “A Sweet Mess”.
The relationship that Aubrey and Landon had was emotional and complicated throughout the novel but I loved watching all the developments along their relationship roller coaster.
You do not want to miss this touching romantic tear-jerker....
There is even a bonus recipe at the end that you can try.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.

This was a truly sweet read! From the talk of food to the romance! It’s funny and very entertaining! I had a ball reading this one! Can’t wait for more from this author!

This review will go live on my blog 4/29/2020

Confronting an influential bakery review gone wrong, an attraction to a stranger, and a conflict-of-interest scenario when said wrong wants to be righted, Landon and Aubrey are whisked(get it?) away into an adventure in California wine country and their insta-attraction makes things interesting for them.

This was a book that I really really wanted to finally get to for a very long time! And it happened. And I'm conflicted. See, the biggest appeals of this book to me from the beginning were the Asian-American representation (definitely can't tell by the cover), as well as the cooking/baking aspect that connects the MCs together! The latter was definitely a huge plus for me, as the terminology when the leads were cooking made everything more interesting.

Okay. But I do have a few things that I want to go over that did stick out during my reading process the most. I know that I had an ARC and formatting is usually a bit wonky for them, but I'm still going to stress the importance of overall clarity in the narrative structure!

I don't think it helped that the third person limited perspective would sporadically shift between the two MCs at times? Or that the general dialogue isn't necessarily the most interesting due to the similarity between all of the characters' voices, so to speak. Normally, I wouldn't notice this too much, but it definitely seemed like there were little to no distinctions between the overall personalities of the characters. It just felt stiff.

With an instant attraction rom-com, that has to involve a certain type of character, I guess you could say, but it's not as enjoyable of a reading experience when the characters don't feel like actual people. From both of the MCs here, they were characterized by their jobs and their relationships to one another, their backstories, but it felt like they weren't very complex or relatable.

I also did not like the ending for this book at all, and maybe a lot of that is a personal preference, but I absolutely hated how the final resolution worked out. The plot device that acted in bringing the couple together at the end ruined much of the organic nature of a reunion. And by the time I got to the very rom-com esque ending, I think this was one too many tropes for me.

While I didn't understand why the MCs even had a connection to begin with, because all that I feel like happened was the initial attraction, I did appreciate how the author tried to make this a feel-good sort of NA book.

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

This was such a cute book! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

When I heard romance and it's a contemporary rom-com with delicious dessert recipes ... I was all in. This book is not only funny, but also heartwarming and seems to be tummy fulfilling. This is just not just your typical contemporary romance. This is a journey of two people dealing with their careers, life, and love.

The only issue that I had was the POV of the characters are sometimes confusing. This is because the POV of the main characters are mixed in one chapter without pause or borders. And also that often times this book makes me hungry and crave for desserts.

Overall, the book has potential and has strong characters. Would I buy it at a bookstore? I would say 70% yes in hoping that the editing was fully done 🤞✌🏼. 

Note: Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the uncorrected copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought Aubrey and Landon were great, and I was impressed with how well done the pregnancy twist and, especially, not telling him at first was. It was perfectly sweet and lovely and left me wanting just a bit more.

I wanted to love this book so much, but the 3rd person narration and the multiple POVs really deterred me from connecting with either character. The dialogue felt unnatural and often it completely removed me from the story. Overall, I just had a really difficult time engaging with the narration. I do think this would be a great book for readers more adjusted and interested in reading romance with a 3rd person narrator, but unfortunately, it just wasn't a good match for me. I will not be publishing a review of A Sweet Mess, but I appreciate being given the opportunity to read and review it.

A light and quick read with a feel good romance and a host of likable characters made this book more than cute. It was a feel good respite for the outside world. A respite all of us could use at this time.

this story had it all: food, wine, and chemistry. I really liked this story and what he spoke to me. I like stories of where they are bakeries. I am hooked on those kind of stories. Always the best.

I received a “Sweet Mess” ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new author that I have been introduced to.

The book and characters are funny, witty, charming and lovable.

Aubrey and Landon meet at a bar after having a hectic day that turned into an enjoyable one night stand.
Aubrey is a pastry chef and owns the Comfort Zone bakery.

Landon is a famous food critic who gets stuck in a small town after getting a flat tire and after purchasing a cake mistakenly that’s meant for a child’s birthday party and gives the Comfort Zone a bad review that could destroy Aubrey’s business. He had no idea that the owner of the bakery is the woman he had a one night stand with. After the review is written Landon has mixed feelings because he really cares for Aubrey but refuses to write another review about bakery because he does not want show favoritism.

This is a great story that I think that you will enjoy to read how things progress with Aubrey and Landon..

Looking forward to reading books by Jayci Lee.

Overall I felt that this book was a refreshing read that I enjoyed. It was a nice little meet cute full of romance and a bit of mystery. The characters I feel were well developed and I truly enjoyed their perspectives. At times I felt like the story was a bit slow or the conversations were a bit forced but overall I enjoyed this story. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to a friend. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early read.

I requested to read and review Sweet Mess by author Jayci Lee from publishing company St. Martin. From the beginning to the this book was shooting out fireworks out of the book. With the mystery, romance and the sexual tension between the two main characters Landon and Aria. I didn't want to put the book down! It has a definite West Coast vibe, I could picture the setting just by the author writing. This will want to make a trip out to the west coast and see for yourself. This plot worked well. It flower well. This is a definite must read for a mature readers. And keep reading at the end for the recipes they were great!!

Lee’s “A Sweet Mess” is a delightfully fun delectable romance. A refreshing story featuring a small town talented baker and renowned food critic sheds light on all that is absolutely delicious, fun and extremely challenging about being immersed in the world of food. The characters are engaging, thoughtful and complex and reflect perspectives from the Korean American experience. The romantic tension is both charming and heart rending as the characters work through balancing competing professional agendas and intense personal chemistry. I highly recommend “A Sweet Mess!”

This book had a lot of promise but overall fell short for me. I really liked the chemistry between the two characters but some editing was needed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

My last book was a quick little baking-based romance that ended well, so I thought I'd stick with the theme and give this a try. It had a strong start, good main character, a sexy encounter, unfortunate circumstance/misunderstanding--it was going well. Then, things started to get shaky. The plan to rectify the misunderstanding was far-fetched, the character development stalled, the "oh-no-I-shouldn't" was dialled up, and other arbitrary elements were tossed in. Frankly, it fell apart. By the end, I was just skimming to finish. Tighter editing and revision could have saved this.

Landon and Aubrey meet by chance. She owns and runs a bakery. He is a food critic who just happened to get the wrong cake. When they meet, they don’t realize who the other is. When he writes a bad review of her bakery, after trying only that one cake, it hits her who he is.
A few months pass as Landon travels for work. When he returns home to find that Aubrey was that baker, he feels awful. He refuses to change his review because that would put his professionalism in question. He does however want to find a way to help her bakery begin to turn a profit again.
Along with his solution comes another problem. During the time apart, both their minds kept drifting back to the other. They both felt a strong connection. She’s still mad at him for what he did but Aubrey’s feelings for Landon are strong. Landon tries to keep his professionalism but his feelings are also strong.
Opinion
A sweet mess is a perfect title. This book was so sweet. I absolutely loved it.
Their meet cute was perfect. They met at her friend, Tara’s bar and had a great night together. Knowing he was leaving town, she snuck out the next morning.
The animosity towards each other heightened the stress of loving each other. They were constantly put into different positions where their professionalism could possibly be at stake. Both of them, though, were so wrapped up in the other and refused to be the one to say it. They were afraid of hearts being broken and that only added to the stress.
The climax was heartbreaking itself. I couldn’t help but want to give Aubrey a big hug and tell her it would be okay. She ended up dealing with it well. She is a strong character, much like the Korean American women I know. She doesn’t take slack from anyone and she picked herself right up and returned to her life.
Landon goes through an epiphany with his emotions. He has something in his past holding him back and throughout the book he comes to realize that it shouldn’t. That situation is not him; it was another person close to him. This helped him to understand what he truly wanted,
Overall, I think this book is wonderful. The characters are developed well and grow as the book progresses. There are plenty of problems that need solutions throughout the book without it taking on the feeling of “another problem?”
One question though. Will we be seeing another book about Tara? A scene towards the end hinted at the possibility.