What a cute story! The characters are well written. The pacing had moments of stagnation, but I really enjoyed the sorry. I’m very happy I was given an ARC.

More like a 3.5*
This book was a lot of fun! It managed to be super cute but still have some good smut and dirty talk. I definitely will be reading the other books in this series.

This was adorable, a perfect, shorter read for an afternoon break, nothing too deep, with lots of yummy desserts, although I wish it had been longer and there had been more actual baking scenes. The restaurant that Sam works at which is run by her foster parents is in financial difficulty due to medical bills. Sam has been invited to a private “bake-off” competition, organized by Michael, a famous and wealthy master baker who is looking for the perfect person to make his sister’s wedding cake. Because he’s famous, Sam wants to win for the publicity it would bring her parents’ restaurant, but she feels intimidated since she’s from a tiny mountain town in NC, is a foster child, and the other contestants seem much more put together than she is. However, as the competition continues, much to her surprise, Michael is attracted to her, she’s holding her own, and things seem to finally be going her way.

This was a sweet, low-key story, not a lot of conflict or angst, with likable characters and of course, all that food. Michael was a sweetheart, completely devoted to his family, and all in with showing Sam how attracted he was to her.

The Cake King is the first in a series of novellas by Rosie Chase that takes place during a baking competition. This story is of Samantha Davis and Michael Godwin. Michael is hosting the competition, and Sam is competing against big-name bakers from famous bakeries around the country. This sweet story is the (steamy!) romance between Sam and Michael, but also the beginning of great friendships between Sam and the other bakers. The dialogue is super fun and witty, and I was cheering for these characters from the beginning. What a fun way to spend a few hours!

[ I was provided an ARC on Netgalley in return for an honest review. ]

'The Cake King' follows Sam Davis and a group of star bakers who are invited to compete in an unusual baking competition hosted by the Cake king himself.
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I really enjoyed reading about the various different dishes and following along with the competition as the story progressed. I'm glad that this is going to be the start of a new series (Sugar & Spice), because I would love to find out more about the other characters in the book, especially the other competing bakers!

The romance between Sam and the Cake king kind of developed too quickly for my taste... but I think that's to be expected since the book is only around 100 pages. Sam is a strong protagonist to which many readers can surely look up to, and I thought it was also inspiring that the Cake king himself had been through so much to get to where he was in life.

I think I expected a little something more going in, but overall, it was an interesting, short read.

Rating: 2.5/5

I knew this book was short when I started reading it but at the end I still wanted more added to the story.

In order to get promotion for her adoptive family's restaurant, Sam enters a competition to bake a wedding cake for Michael's sister's wedding. During the competition, she ends falling in love with Michael.

The fact that it's a competition and the prize is baking a wedding cake and all the media attention makes the fact that she's romancing the judge not a horrible power balance. So I could enjoy the steamy sex scenes without feeling wrong.

Michael and Sam are very sweet and magical together. I wish that there was more to them meeting and pining.

Something that might be a problem with people is that this book loves describing desserts. People are described like a dessert. And everything sounds good.

Copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

Sam is a baker from nowhere who finds herself in a baking competition hosted by her baking idol. Though it feels like a reality show it’s far stranger than that. The competition has the potential to change her life and her family’s small town struggling business. If she wins she could be baking a cake for a famous actress’s wedding, it could be just the thing to change things for her. She’s had a hard life and lost a lot and has pretty clear abandonment issues and doesn’t really get close to people. Which makes things difficult when the other bakers try to befriend her. Especially Rei who she wasn’t sure what to make of in the beginning. Focusing on the competition gets a little more challenging when Michael the so-called Cake King who is hosting this competition takes a special personal interest in her. The problem is that Sam doesn’t feel like she belongs here everybody else appears to be accomplished than her and why would this rich guy even really be interested in her? Is it possible for her to win and bring some attention to the little restaurant that she calls home? And what is it that the Cake King wants from her? And is there is reason he collected this specific group of attractive bakers?


I liked this felt like Sam needed a hug and a little more confidence but I get why she felt out of place and why she has trouble trusting things. All she had in the world were two people who took her in when her own flesh and blood failed her so of course she has trust issues. It’s my first book by the author is short and sweet and I’ll probably go ahead and read the others in the series to see what the other hot bakers get up to.

2.5/5 Stars

Even though it is a short novel, I still expected a little more from it. I was drawn to this book because of the baking contest and I must say that it was well explained and shown during the whole story.
Sam and Michael's relationship developed in a fast way, but that was to be expected. I just didn't like how they kind of hinted at marriage at the end, that was just a bit too much for my taste. Also, their relationship had no conflict whatsoever. Don't get me wrong here, I'm glad there was no unnecessary drama, but here everything ran too smoothly and it was all way too simple.

I am not sure how I feel about this story. I knew that it was a short story when I first got into it but I felt nothing for the characters but the story was cute. It was far fetched and I wanted to overthink the logistics but it was over before I could start overthinking. I wish there had been more about Sam in the workplace but it's a short story soooo I get it.
Would I read the story if I knew before hand what I now know? No. Will I read more by the author? Yeah!

Thank you to Under Hill Press and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a short and sweet read about learning to trust and love again, within the framework of a baking competition - which was its own reward, tbh. I was a bit taken aback at how steamy it was, as I didn't necessarily expect that, but within the limits of this short book, it wasn't out of place.

I received an advanced copy of THE CAKE KING from Netgalley to review and, sadly, it was not for me. This book was choppy and rushed with no real depth (although it tried to have depth with a sad backstory).

The two main characters had almost no interaction besides sleeping together. As in, he shows up at her hotel room having never really met her, he asks her out on a date, and they proceed to sleep together afterward. We get very minimal dialog between them on this date. I was totally perplexed at how little time these characters spend in each other's company and then suddenly they are in love.

This love story felt very disjointed and rushed. They also referred to each other as "my dude" a few times and had other oddly juvenile mannerisms. As if an aged author thought to themselves "how are the young people talking these days?" and then got it very wrong.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a delightful funny and adorable book to read i ended up buying the two other books halfway into the book, and that is saying something! :D

This book was addicting. You wanted to continue reading even long after it was over. The characters felt so real and relatable, and the story was so original.