This book wasn't my favorite... there were some parts that were sweet and a little steamy, but overall the characters fell flat. The dialogue felt very forced and "simple" for lack of a better word. I wanted more from the MC's, more from the family dynamics, more from the overall story and it just didn't happen. There were times it felt as though the author was building to a breakthrough scene, but then it would come to a sudden and incomplete stop. It seemed as though the majority of the book consisted of the characters telling about their lives instead of actually living them. Overall, just a "meh" book for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Berkley for an eARC of Donut Fall in Love in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first Jackie Lau book, and my goodness is she going on my auto-buy list!

Donut Fall in Love follows rom com actor Ryan Kwok and baker and co-owner of Lindsay McLeod. Ryan and his family are still grieving from his mother's death 4 months earlier. His newest movie isn't doing well, and all people seem to know him for are his abs. When the opportunity to join a celebrity episode of a baking show comes up, he decides to take it.

Lindsay's mother is starting to date for the first time since her father's death. Lindsay on the other hand hasn't dated anyone in a while. She's been os focusedo n the bakery. But when Ryan bursts in, knocking her donuts to the floor and later asking to get baking classes, Lindsay agrees. But there's more than just the sweet smell of baking in the air.

This was sweet and down to Earth. I loved how real both Lindsay and Ryan felt as characters. I loved the slow-burn romance and how they basically thirsted for each other from the start.

The family dynamics between the two also felt very realistic, and I really found all the conversation around racism in Hollywood, internaly racism, and public image were. The book quickly pulled me in, and the characters and plot kept me entrhalled the entire time.

As well as hungry.

And thirsty.

Get a girl some iced water, because I think we could all use some Ryan abs right about now.

Can't recommend this enough!

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book-it's not often that the male character is as fully formed as the female character, Ryan's struggles and worries were integrated into the story seamlessly and added a lot of depth to the character. I enjoyed the tv show baking tie-in, however I do feel like it's getting to be an overdone trope. Clearly the author is hoping for a second book-or already has one-because there's obviously some minor characters who are sort of just left hanging-I will certainly read another in the series if it becomes one!

Ryan is drawn to the smell of cupcakes and the reminder of his mom. Unfortunately he isn't paying attention to where he is going and knocks over an entire tray of donuts. Lindsay is understandably upset and doesn't realize until after their encounter that he is an actor. Ryan is known for his abs so he doesn't eat sweets but finds himself back at Lindsay's bakery and trying to find ways to spend more time with her. A story of unexpected connections. I craved donuts after reading this.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Donut Fall in Love wasn't my favorite. There were a lot of random parts that were given a lot of detail without adding to the plot in any way. Lindsey and Ryan were pretty meh characters. Ryan was pretty obsessed with his abs, while Lindsey didn't really have a ton of personality. Romance is formulaic for sure, but this one really felt that way. Like the author had certain milestones to hit without really having a fleshed out plot around those milestones. Overall, it was just kind of meh for me.

It was lighthearted and fun. There was a lot of promise here. Just not as well executed as I think it could have been.

Ryan is a Canadian actor, whom is known for his abs. When he accidently runs into Lindsay in her bakery (literally runs into her and makes her drop her newest donut craze), Ryan decides she would be the best person to give him baking lessons for his upcoming appearance on the baking competition, Baking Fail. As the character bake together, feelings develop and attraction takes over. Both struggle with failed relationships in the past and losing a parent. Can they overcome that, putting their baggage aside, and work through (unpack) it together?

I actually really liked this novel. Although Ryan came off as an arrogant narcissist most of the time; Lindsay was a little more down to earth, albeit really self-conscience. I didn’t dislike the characters and really liked the bakery setting. I worked in bakeries when I was younger, so am familiar with the cake making, baking, and decorating. There were deeper themes like grieving the death of a close family member and how it affects everyone in a family differently. One thing I really appreciated was that there wasn’t that typical “miscommunication” that breaks up the leads. It was seriously a break… both characters needing to work it out. They never doubted the feelings of the other person or worried that they had been cheating.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC. It was a fun read and I look forward to suggesting it to others for a rom-com reading fix.

Like Notting Hill, but make it Asian and Canadian. :) While the overall premise was fun featuring and actor learning how to bake, it also deals with heavier topics like racism and grief. I often find it’s the deeper topics like that that hold my attention but it was balanced well with some lightness to help from becoming too intense.

Thank you Jackie Lau and NetGalley for the ARC!

I adored this book! Ryan Kwok is a famous rom-com star who literally bumps into Lindsey McLeod. Her art pieces of two dozen donuts are completely destroyed. Throughout the book, Lindsey battles with her insecurity and Ryan deals with his commitment issues. This was such a fun, lighthearted book to read!

Cute romance— celebrity actor falls for average-girl, moderately insecure baker. loved the bakery and Toronto setting. I appreciated the examination of some heavier topics in the book’s “light read” container. Recommended for fans of Olivia Wade’s “Spoiler Alert”.

I loved the bake shop setting and the romance that ensued from the initial collision between the well-known actor and the baker who had no idea who he was. The baking lessons in preparation for Ryan’s celebrity TV bake-off appearance were a great device for moving the plot forward. Beyond that? Meh. The book was too long. I felt like I was being spoon fed angst and the emotional analysis regarding Lindsay’s and Ryan’s relationship and the losses they’d both experienced. However, Ryan’,s dad on Twitter was a hoot, revealing something about his character without just being told outright. More character development of that nature (show me, don’t just tell me) would have been welcome.

I'd enjoy eating one of Lindsay's donuts directly off Ryan's abs. #SorryNotSorry

Thank you for the ARC! Not for everyone, but some of our patrons are likely to enjoy the story.

I very nearly DNF this book and I NEVER DNF books. I will say though, it did turn out a lot better than what I expected from the first few chapters.

Donut Fall in Love is about actor Ryan and baker Lindsay who meet after he -literally- runs into her in her bakery and knocks over a tray of donuts she was holding. (Can I just be on the record that matcha tiramisu donuts sound absolutely disgusting?)
Ryan, who is in between movie gigs, is set to star in a celebrity baking show which seems similar to Netflix's Nailed It. He goes to Lindsay for help as his own baking skills are lacking and the two soon form a connection as they bond over shared grief and changes in their families.

The good: I love the Kwok family. Ryan's relationship with his father was frustrating to read about at times but worth it in the end. It was frustrating because you knew he loved his son but had not dealt with the grief of losing his wife. I loved how Ryan reached out to his father even when he made it difficult and even discouraged him from doing so. I also appreciated the glimpse we got of Jenna's journey with Post Partum Depression after the birth of her son. It's not something always shown in books or movies but still something that should be talked about more.
The diversity is also a highlight of this book. As the two main characters are both Asian and Ryan is an Asian actor, there is a lot of discussion about Asian representation in North American media and the racism they face. I thought those conversations between Ryan and Lindsay and Ryan and his friend Melvin were one of the best parts of this book.

Now for the parts I didn't like as much: It took me a while to get used to the writing style. I wouldn't say I disliked it overall but it was a large part of the reason it took me soooo long to actually get into this book.
One of my biggest pet peeves about any romance book in insta-love where couples like each other from the beginning for no apparent reason. Ryan and Lindsay start to fall for each other from their very first meeting and it just felt too much too fast. I wished they got to know each other more first before they developed romantic feelings.
I also struggled with Lindsay as I did not like her character that much. She felt flat and two-dimensional. To me, it felt like the author wrote her as a guide on how to act instead of taking into consideration how real people actually act in certain situations. None of it felt real to me.
And while I know this might seem trivial, another thing I disliked was the premise of Ryan taking baking classes in the first place. It's a show called Baking Fail! He's supposed to fail, he's not supposed to be good at it!

Overall, this is the book for you if you want to salivate over descriptions of baked goods and enjoy a cute yet at times frustrating love story.

i want a donut so badly after this that it feels like a physical injury. the food descriptions in this were lovely, as were ryan's family relationships - but i felt like i wanted more from everything else. the romance, lindsay's friendhsips, lindsay's family, the post-partum depression in ryan's sister...i'm eager to read more from this author, but this felt half-baked. forgive the pun.

Sweet, but not super captivating. I liked the premise, I thought the grief storylines were handled well, and the baking scenes made me hungry but overall I just felt kind of meh about this one.

This book was superb. I was throughly invested from start to finish. And my goodness the smut was on another level. I was not prepared for all that smut but who’s complaining? Not me.

Mel was over the top annoying.
And yes we get it. He has nice abs.

But other than that I loved it.

I think this book had a lot of potential that was just out of reach in the end. I really enjoyed how the author focused in on some important topics like Asian representation in media and grief after the death of a loved one, but since so much focus was put on the romance between Ryan and Lindsay, we didn't truly get to dig as deep into exploring those topics. I appreciated that there was some steam in the romance, but I'm not sure I overall bought the connection between these two. It all felt very lust-driven rather than emotional, even though I very much appreciated that the author made Ryan good at emotional labor and honest communication. The baking scenes were yummy, but there were too many. Many great parts, all of which fitted together almost perfectly, but with enough cracks to show the imperfections.

Ryan Kwok, best known for his killer abs, hires Lindsey to teach him how to bake. He will soon be appearing on a baking show and doesn't want to totally embarrass himself. Ryan has just lost his mother, has a tenuous relationship with his father, and has a brand new nephew; the last thing he needs is a relationship, but he can't seem to resist Lindsey.

It took me a while to power through this book; while I enjoyed it, it fell a little flat for me. I received an ARC through Netgalley.

Gender reverse Notting Hill theme + lovely Asian characters + critical approach to social media racism and bullying +genuine approach to grief process +emotional inconveniences and lots of mouth watering, tempting, delicious sweets = donut ever dare to skip this lovely, just read it!

Popular romcom star Ryan Kwok literally bumps into Lindsay McLeod and ruins her art pieces of two dozen donuts she’s worked for hours to create. This is bump at first sight and fall hard after several private cooking lessons kind of romance.

Ryan returns to his hometown Toronto after losing his mom who was also his best friend and mentor, trying to adjust his life by interacting with his big sister who recently gave a birth to her first baby and dealing with grumpy and sarcastic father of his who seems like having adapting issues after losing his wife.

He takes an offer to attend a baking show which was his mother’s favorite one. But he has no intention to share his lack of cooking skills with the audience, especially when the critics write negative comments about his latest romcom movie and his six pack get more attention on social media than his acting skills ( he starts to think they can be individually nominated to Golden Globes and win it! )

For showing better performance, he needs a tutor to teach him how to cook delicious sweets. Lindsay who conducts her bakery business might be the one who can help him.

This starts their movie star- non celebrity relationship and their palpable chemistry makes things steamer.

Lindsay’s inner security gets tested several times as she keeps asking herself why a guy who can date with her super model co-stars chooses her over them? And Ryan already deals with his own commitment issues after losing his parent and having hard time to bond with his father.

The bullies on the social media spies on his each move, being ready for trolling their relationship. Will they get through all of their obstacles to ride into the sunset or will they fall apart?

Well, I like both MCs but Ryan’s father stole the entire show with his sarcastic Twitter comments about his son and his odd, bitter- sweet, eccentric manners! I loved him so much!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this sweet, soft, entertaining romcom with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This is a sweet book. The characters are new and I appreciate the nod to different representation. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this one. The love story is cute, but I just didn't care after a while. There's only so many times you can read about the couple making desserts together. I read about three-quarters of the book and couldn't ready any more. I just didn't care that much. I do think that this will appeal to library patrons, though.

This was a fun romance! It's a great addition to the celebrity & normal trope. The descriptions of the baking were mouthwatering and the romance was sweet. This bit is not a comment on the book really, but more a comment on me: turns out I prefer there to be a bit more angst! I've always thought "if only they just talked about their feelings, then they would solve it all!" And that happened in this book and instead I though "where is the angst!"

Overall - fun and sweet and a book I'll recommend.