As a "big" girl in this world, I'm not a fan of romantic books because the girl in those books is always pretty which is just code for thin and then obviously a handsome guy falls for her. I could never relate to it. This book has me from its description alone. It's a constant work we have to put to be ok with our body despite all the social media images which tries to make us fit in thin boxes.
I loved Ariel and find her THE MOST RELATABLE CHARACTER EVER! Baking is a passion for her and it's absolutely the best! Somehow our darling Ariel gets selected for homecoming court and is paired with the school hottie Rhys who I doubted pretty much till the end of the book was the sweetest person possible. Their relationship was pretty effortless and oh I wish that love on everyone 😍😍😍 even the side characters like Toni and Lana and even Zander were pretty supportive and nice. I would have loved to see a bit more definite Zander and Lana or a bit more about our "cupcake" story but this book still holds my heart and I would love a sequel of this book or see it as a movie and shatter down those Fat-ist media columns and movies

Why should you read this book?
- Big people rep
- Best Best friend relationship
- Best realistic boyfriend (Yes we fat/Big people are worthy too)
- Baking and baked goods. Just the mention that can inspire you to bake
- Relatable

Grab a copy of this book and get yourself a healthy amount of cupcakes (1 ain't enough honey) and get a chocolate shake and let's do this!

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled publishing house for an opportunity to read this book

If you are looking for an enjoyable, contemporary and sweet read, this is a book that might interest you. In Cupcake we accompany Ariel, whose nickname is the same as the title of this book, she is a plus size girl who ends up being a "princess" for her school's Homecoming dance. And if there's a princess, there's a prince: Rhys, our perfect love interest.

One of the things I liked most about Cupcake is that the book doesn't revolve around losing weight, the main character accepts her body and is happy in her day to day life. Yes, she gets negative comments and it clearly shows that it affects her, but she has support at home and from various friends. More than anything, the book deals with "do I deserve what I got?" and the personal expectations. Without a doubt, it is a fairly light book but with very interesting points to meditate on.

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Si buscas una lectura amena, contemporánea y dulce, este es un libro que podría interesarte. En Cupcake acompañamos a Ariel, cuyo apodo es el mismo que el título de este libro, es una chica plus size que termina siendo “princesa” para el baile de Homecoming de su escuela. Y si hay una príncesa, hay un príncipe: Rhys, nuestro interés amoroso perfecto.

Una de las cosas que más me gustó de Cupcake es que el libro no gira alrededor de bajar de peso, la protagonista acepta su cuerpo y es feliz en su día a día. Sí, recibe comentarios negativos y se nota claramente que le afecta, pero tiene apoyo en casa y de diversas amistades. Más que nada, el libro aborda el “¿me merezco esto que me tocó?” y las expectativas que se tienen. Sin duda, es un libro bastante ligero pero con puntos muy interesantes a reflexionar.

What an adorable read! I loved this story of Ariel and Rhys (who doesn't adore a Rhys in literature and a SJM reference?)!! Sweet, funny and full of movie and pop culture references, this was a fun YA romance with lots of heart and swoony moments. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a cute book!!!!! I loved it so much! She is such a great author!! The relationship is such goals and it was so interesting and relatable!!

Thank you Netgally for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I thought it was great, fun read.

A plus-size princess goes for the crown in this #ownvoices story.
🧁
Ariel aka Cupcake is perfectly fine with who she is: a slightly unpopular curvy girl with a gift for baking and an addiction to romcoms, but when her BFF nominates her for Homecoming Court Cupcake feels a bit out of her comfort zone. After being paired with Rhys Castle, the gorgeous & popular football quarterback, Cupcake thinks it can’t get any worse. But after weeks of Homecoming events she begins to warm up to the jock and realizes there might be something special about this prince of hers. Will Cupcake get her happy ever after?
👑
I’ve been a fan of O’Gorman’s for a while so when I saw this ARC pop up I immediately downloaded it. This was such a cute YA book that was a bit lighter than Dumplin’, but just as important for curvy girls to see themselves in the role of Homecoming court/fairy tale princesses. As a society we need to do better in representation for all shapes and sizes, including Disney movies, so our younger generations don’t become fat-ist (a word from the book that describes those who hate on anyone in the plus size community). We need more books like this for our young adults. This novel releases November 2.

4 ⭐️

I loved this charming YA story about a girl who struggles to see herself as a princess when she gets unexpectedly nominated for Homecoming Court. Azriel's journey throughout the book felt authentic to me, and I enjoyed how she grew to see herself as who she really was. The secondary characters were wonderful! Her mom and best friend were my favorites, but seeing how Aziel's kindness impacted others was also a bonus. Rhys' character was so fun! How he seemed to grumpy and closed off, but even from the beginning, seemed to know something was different about Azriel :) I enjoyed the rom-com love in this book and any book that includes a playlist is automatically a bonus! :)
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book.

"I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own."
I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book.

This book was ADORABLE and super cute ROMCOM. This book is so so cute and fun. Loved every second of it and still loving it.
Perfectly awkward, funny, honest, sweet and real.... Cupcake put the biggest smile(s) on my face and left me a puddle of lovestruck goo. I am mush. 4.5 star read. An absolute Charm. If you haven't heard about it just go and request it on NetGalley and dive in romantic fairly take🤤

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but I loved this book so much as it embodied all of my favorite things from Disney movies to Chick Flicks and even the popular storyline of Homecoming Princess and the cover sparkled which I love. In Cupcake, we have to meet Ariel who is a plus-size girl whose mother named her after the Disney Princess. Imagine her surprise when she is named as part of the Homecoming court. With each princess they have their prince, Ariel is Rhys who is the perfect mysterious guy - he loves reading SJM, he watches Chick Flicks, and loves Ariel for who she is as a person. This book follows her journey through being nominated and then her practicing for the court from dancing and then falling in love. If you love movies of the '80s, the 90s, and 2000s chick flick/romantic comedies, then Cupcake by Cookie O'Gorman is the perfect YA HEA read for everyone and should be added to everyone's 2021 reading list.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Cupcake in exchange for an honest review.

Cupcake could have been really good and I was looking forward to reading a plus-side lead who's story wasn't "I'm lame and unpopular but then a hot boy likes me and people accept me", but it tries so hard to be relatable that it become unrelatable. From the "I'm not like the other girls" hallmark of the protagonist instantly letting you know she loves Sense and Sensibility to her and her love interest Rhys's entire initial bonding scene being them talking about ACOTAR as if Rhys's name being plucked from the story was a coincidence, this is just reference after reference until it becomes more reference than actual book.

Such a sweet book , in every sense of the word, a story about a curvy girl who becomes a ‘princess’ & gains the love of her ‘prince’ - without the need for a diet. Body positive, full of yummy baking descriptions and references to great movies, I smiled all the way through. So rare to read a book about a larger girl who is content in her skin (most of the time) and is happy in life despite fellow high school student predictably fattist attitudes. A fun, feelgood quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

We love to see a body positive main character, who whole heatedly believes in women supporting women! The book was really sweet and cheesy. I absolutely loved how Lana and Ariel grew. Although the writing threw me off a bit, there was more telling than showing. I would have also appreciated some lgbtq+ characters who were important to the plot, although Ariel is open minded and supportive of the community. Also, there are so many descriptions of baked goods that I had to get a pastry while reading it. But the character who absolutely stole my heart was Zander, we see very little of him, but he is the sweetest.

I am now in love with this book. It was such a sweet and fun YA romance with plus-size rep!

The book follows Ariel (affectionally nicknamed Cupcake for her amazing baking skills.) She is definitely not stick-thin, and so when she is nominated for the homecoming court, it comes as a shock to her. On top of that, for homecoming court activities, she gets paired up with star footballer, Rhys.

I read this book in one night because it was so addicting, and filled with lots of references towards classic rom-coms, which I absolutely adore, as well as an ACOTAR reference, which I found very entertaining.

Overall, this book is 5 stars, and such a cute and fun romance! Definitely recommend.

"Everyone knows there are no fat princesses."
It's quite thought provoking and sadly also the truth. To anyone wondering, let me suggest Ariel as the perfect plus size princess, though she may not have any royal blood, she's a princess regardless, atleast to her loved ones.
Ariel or Cupcake, as she's known affectionately, is simply kind and all its synonyms. She's a genuine person who's brave enough to admit when she's scared, and at the same time doesn't shy away from life.

Rhys is portrayed as an ideal love interest, with the sweetest comments and caring persona which sounds magical on paper but may come off a tad overdone.
Cupcake's relationship with her mother is also something to be noted, it's not every day we come across such an open and honest with one's parents so although it was something new, I appreciated such a supportive and understanding mom.

Although I absolutely adored the story, a few factors just don't add up to a perfect read... certain dialogues and references were cringe. Also there are certain topics mentioned which, if elaborated, had the potential of adding depth in general. But regardless I'd still suggest this if you're looking for a quick, fluffy and enjoyable read.

2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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Cupcake was a sweet story about a fat girl named Ariel “Cupcake” Duncan in the running for Homecoming Court who gets paired with the star quarterback, Rhys. She’s unapologetic, firstly, and caring towards everyone! It’s a fast read and very light-hearted.
Let’s start with the positives: I thought Ariel was a fun protagonist, despite some of my gripes (which I’ll address later in the review). She’s clearly passionate about the things she enjoys, and she’s always proclaiming her confidence in her body type/shape. I thought Rhys was a good love interest, and he was less hot-and-cold than the description made him out to be. He’s a dorky sweetheart! Lastly, I thought the plot was enjoyable and entertaining enough that I wasn’t bored… although elaborating on it will take me into the more critical section. So let’s jump into it!
The writing was incredibly cringy at times, with whole scenes dedicated to Ariel fangirling over real-life media—the example that stuck out to me was when she bonded over the Sarah J. Maas series, A Court of Thorns and Roses with her own Rhys (ha! But also, ha…). There’s something about the constant real life allusions and references that rubs me the wrong way when overdone, and this book was filled with it. There were also numerous scenes that made me super uncomfortable in terms of dialogue and in terms of plot/shenanigans. The dialogue was often times unrealistic and awkward, and the shenanigans felt very staged and unnatural. For instance, there was one point where Ariel rolled her ankle (because she was bothered by some girl’s “fat-ist” comment), and Rhys just… picked her up and carried her. It was odd to me. Also, they used the non-existent term “fat-ist” multiple times throughout the book when the term fatphobic is literally right there. The side characters were almost all two-dimensional and had very little elaboration; the Homecoming Court and its events took a backseat to all of this inner turmoil that Ariel faced regarding Rhys; Ariel was trying very hard to be not like other girls, which was irksome; and Ariel doesn’t really know what it means to be a jerk because Rhys was either sweet or withdrawn the whole book (side rant: just because he’s being mysterious about a private meeting/appointment does NOT mean he’s being a jerk!! He barely knows you!! He might not want to read with you, either!! Introverts exist!! People are allowed their privacy!!). There were just so many things that made me go, “huh?” that I was distracted and couldn’t immerse myself into the story. But there were points where the story redeemed itself, so 2 stars from me!

This book transports me back to high school, a time when the Homecoming Court nominations we everything to us! Cupcake and Rhys are paired up, and the sparks fly from there. I love the fact that the main female character is a normal girl, not described as someone you cannot relate to, and the fact that she is humble and sweet. Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is such a sweet teenage romance, where baking obsessed Ariel is paired with Quarterback Rhys on the Homecoming Court and sparks fly as they get to know one another.

Funny and sassy, the story is a quick and easy read - perfect for a lazy afternoon!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Wow! What an amazing and sweet book! I read it in one day!! Yes, one day, it was a gem of a story. I loved the movie/ book references. The lesson of being happy and to love oneself was an amazing message for everyone. The romance between Cupcake and Rhys was adorable. If you love a sweet romance with a great self love message, you will love this book!! I also need to go make the recipe for chocolate cake from the end!

Cupcake is fat. And she's ok with that.

So she is surprised when she gets nominated to be part of the home coming court. She has never even seen a game, and finds that she is teamed up with the quarter back of the football team. And it isn't so much that he is out of her league, she just can't understand why he is being so nice to her.

It is a cute romance, and I do love that Cupcake never has to change to get her man. She remains the same bubbly girl throughout.

Fun little romance, where it is nice when the fat girl gets the guy that she actually wants.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Cookie O'Gorman did it again she wrote another adorable romance I couldn't put down. I love the characters in her books because they are real and relatable and you can't help but root for them to the very end. I can't wait to read her next book because I know I'll love it already.