Sam Davis has been fangirling over celebrity chef maker Michael Godwin from years. And suddenly she gets an invitation to participate in a cake competition hosted by him. But Sam has far more to lose than just a competition. And when Michael starts showing interest in her she has to decide what is more important to her. Love or her family restaurant? Or she can have both?

Review-
The writing is really impressive and as one can surely finish it in hours. I finish it in almost 2 hours.

There is no cliche drama but there is no twist & turn also. But yes some scenes are cliche but then it is a romantic comedy so I guess it is acceptable.

I feel there was a lot of scope to add depth and layer to Sam character. Author could have shown more about her insecurities or why she doesn't trust anyone easily which would have made it so much more gripping and emotionally invested.

All the erotic scenes were felt totally unnecessary to me. If you have to show chemistry it doesn't mean characters have to have sex in every meeting, which is exactly the case in this book. It somewhat overpower their romance and love.

Still apart from this I really like the book because characters are interesting and plot is simple and crisp. Michael is especially charming and adorable, Sam is somewhat still haunted and affected by her past and this combination makes them a perfect couple and it will definitely steal your heart.

I actually put this this book down since the dialog felt very uptight, it just wasn't fun in my taste.

This is kind of a fluffy romance novella without a ton of substance. A quick read with a happily-ever-after, but there is very little conflict in the book. Sam, the female lead, has confidence issues, and she doubts her abilities to compete with the rest of the bakers the entire time. Michael is a successful celebrity chef, but he's a down-to-earth guy as well. The character development really needs to be beefed up a little bit to make the book more engaging and compelling. There is no real conflict, no real build-up to their relationship. It's an insta-love story that doesn't really explain the draw/attraction well enough for you to believe the insta-love.

This book was just ok in my book.

Celebrity baker, Michael “the Cake King” Goodwin has put together a competition to find the best baker, the winner will get to bake his sister’s wedding cake. You see, Michael’s sister doesn’t want him to bake it, but she welcomes his help finding someone who will.
Sam Davis gets an invitation to the competition, and for the life of her can’t figure out why. She’s not a famous baker, she doesn’t have legions of fans on Instagram, she’s a nobody who works in a small diner in the Appalachian Mountains. She doesn’t know how or why she got the invitation, but she’s going to work her hardest to make sure she comes out on top.
When the two meet, there’s insta-heat. It comes off in waves and is obvious to even the other contestants.
It’s a cute novella, with good writing, and wonderful characters. It’s just really short for my taste, which is why I gave it 3 stars. I feel that the story could have been longer, there were so many scenes that could’ve been expanded.
** I received a copy from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a cute fluffy romance with plenty of dirty bits, which I was expecting. Besides being a quick read, it was steamy, intriguing and all around adorable if that’s your sort of thing. I’ll definitely be reading the next installment.

“The Cake King” is a delightful and light contemporary romance that will make you root and swoon for the two characters and will satisfy the HEA cravings of every romantic out there. Such a feel-good romance that had me smiling like silly. Hilarious and steamy, witty and unique. “The Cake Kings is the perfect romantic comedy and one of the best books I've read all year. It's a truly feel-good romance that will make your heart squeeze a million times over. Happy reading everyone!!

In this little novella about a unlucky baker and the multimillionaire heartthrob baking celebrity hero she falls for in the midst of unconventional competition As Michael Godwin AKA "The Cake King" conducts a competition to find the best baker for the marriage of his sister, Sam sees a chance to redeem herself from the edge of financial ruin by winning and saving the restaurant of her adoptive family. But the Cake King seems to be more than just interested in her baking, is he dishonest about his authentic self as much as Sam is?

This is a fun, lightweight story about baking, friendship and love. Definitely more focused on erotica ( there is some good writing here and lots of masturbation /mutual which I think needs to be more on page!)than I had expected and there are some really sweet interactions between all those sex scenes. Because it's a novella, elements of the story do feel rushed and underdeveloped— especially when eventually Michael and Sam interact. Unfortunately there chemistry left a lot to be desired, They speed into going on a date without really knowing each other until the 50% mark and even at that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I couldent see beyond insta-lust what Micheals attraction to Sam was?

I also noticed a couple of scenes where the author mentions weight and fatness. within the paragraph as a description or negatively. It was really jarred out the page.
In the most recent series of GBBO, the judge Pru was criticised for mentioning calories and weight where it is baking- which is just about having fun. This is what this book should be about baking and having fun ( I do have to mention the author is trying to do work around class and loneliness which is really good). I think the author might have to unpick some of her own bias about weight in future novellas as it will bring her writing on by leaps and bounds."Just Eat It: How intuitive eating can help you get your shit together around food
by Laura Thomas" has really interesting essays surrounding fat bias.

But if you're looking for a fun, quick romance it's definitely a cute start, I will read more by her as food is my love language and I love books around it.

This was a quick, cute story that followed a woman who needed to keep her business afloat, joined a famous cooking competition and fell for the celebrity chef that ran it. It was full of swoon worthy moments and the characters were extremely interesting. However, it was hard to give this book a higher rating because of the lengthy. If it had been longer, character development could have really been observed and the transition into lovers could have been a slower burn.

I was looking for a bit of fun, and romance, after reading a couple of dark books and I got my wish in The cake king by Rosie Chase! It was a quick read about a baking contest created by Michael Godwin “The Cake King” who is looking for the best baker to create a wedding cake for his sister’s wedding. Sam Davis is an amateur baker, and a huge fan of Michael, when she receives an invitation to compete in the competition - full of self doubt, how can she compete with some of the best up and comer bakers; she needs to win to pull her and her family out of poverty. When Michael asks her to dinner one night, the kitchen isn’t the only place to heat up! I enjoyed the story, Michael and Sam had a great connection; lots of steamy scenes! I liked that the other bakers were becoming friends. I will enjoy the next book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy to review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing access to this novella.

This was a fun sexy little Insta-love novella. And for the fact it was so short it is easy to forgive its lack of character development and back story. I liked the premise of a baking contest, and the descriptions of the sweets was fun (it was very reminiscent of GBBO). The characters were a bit flat but it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you net galley for my arc. I was disappointed with this book. I thought it was going to be a fun rom com book from the description but the sex scenes were too detailed and book bordered erotica.

This is the best rom-com, chick-lit, erotic novel I have read in a long time. In some parts, this was steamier thank 50 shades of grey and a heck of a lot more believable and plausible. Sam Davis, the struggling baker and Michael Goodwin aka the Cake King have similar childhoods and found comfort in baking/cooking with their families. Totally loveable characters and great plot. Will they end up together? Or will they be forced to go separate ways after the Cake King's competition to find a unique baker for his sister's wedding?

I am so glad to have discovered this is the first book in a series called "Sugar & Spice" by Rosie Chase. If the other books are as good as this one, she definitely has a new fan! This was a quick read once I got around to actually reading it and I was done in 3 days!! This story and its characters and believability definitely deserves 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Rosie Chase for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An adorable, sexy little novella about a down-on-her-luck baker and the billionaire bad boy baking star she falls for in the midst of an unconventional competition. When Michael Godwin AKA "The Cake King" sets up a competition to find the best baker for his sister's wedding, Sam sees a chance to rescue her adoptive family's restaurant from the brink. But the Cake King seems to be interested in more than just her baking. Is it worth risking her spot--and her heart--for a rich guy whose motorcycle costs more than her entire life savings? Or is he maybe hiding just as much about his true self as Sam?

This is a cute, light book about baking, friendship, and love. Definitely bordering more on erotica than I expected, but between all those steamy scenes are some really cute moments. Because it's a novella, parts of the story do feel rushed and underdeveloped-- especially as Michael and Sam initially get together. But when you're looking for a fun, quick romance, this is definitely a fun choice!

Sam is part way throught a competition she needs to help save the place she works. Michael is the cake king, and is judging the competition. Will she give him a chance to prove that there is more to him than the public sees?

A great short read - looking forward to the rest of this series.

I wanted to like this book. The reason I requested this book was mainly for the cover and the synopsis. It sounded like a fun rom com (my favourite genre to read) Unfortunately this book was a disappointment.

First of all, it was too short. I couldn't connect with the characters. At all.
Secondly, it should've been noted that there were many (yes many) raunchy sex scenes. The dirty talk was just too much. I don't want to read that in a rom com. If I would want that, I would read erotica. You can have a hot sex scene in a rom com without it being icky. ugh.
And the baking championship was too complicated for me to follow. Maybe if the book was longer it would've made more sense.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Thanks #netgalley for the ARC.
#cakeking

DNF @ 54%

This is just... not very well written. I loved the premise and was excited to read this book, but it's just really confused. For example, in the opening pages she says she's deep in the contest and talks about their routine "every day," that there's a memo that "always arrives at dawn" and "we never saw the person who brought them" making it seem like they've been participating in the contest for quite a while. A few pages later we learn the entire duration of the contest is only 2 weeks with 9 total contestants, and there are still 7 contestants left. The opening makes it sounds like they're at least several days in, so with 14 total days why have only 2 people been "eliminated"? It also reads like some really erotica fanfic of some baking show, and not like the "rom-com" it's billed as.

This is a sweet as cake romance set during a private Great British bake off style baking competition, where the winner gets to bake the wedding cake for the biggest celebrity baker's sister. It's a super sweet romance. It did feel a little rushed with all the characters and romance in a novella, but I enjoyed it and plan to read the rest of the series following the other finalist bakers.

This was a really quick read; a matter of a couple of hours. I'm actually glad that I didn't invest too much time in it. There was little to no character development, just a quick jump from awkward small talk to a proposal. I think if the author invested more time in the plot/characters, the story would be more substantial. That being said, its quick, kind of fun and a little bit dirty; you can't really go wrong with that.

Very cute, short romance for those who love competitive baking shows. All of the characters have interesting personalities and backgrounds, making them well-rounded.

#Netgalley #TheCakeKing
As I was browsing through the Netgalley, I requested the ARC of The Cake King that it came out in January 2020. If you like the show Bake-Off and rom-com movies, that is the book for you, if not the series.
It is a short story of Sam & Michael; it is a pallet cleanser but without the conflict and the angst.
Even though Michael is a rich known chef/baker, he doesn't forget where he comes from and his roots. The Bake-off contest is Sam's opportunity to salvaging the people that helped her more than her biological parents, now that they are at their lowest.
The Cake King is a short and fast read, the first in a series that I am looking forward to reading more from Rosie Chase and the Sugar and Spices series (especially now that I know they are at KU).