This was a cute tale with some reality tv, fake dating, dating the boss and other cute romance aspects. It was a fun read, and it made me want cupcakes. The love declarations were fantastic!

Fake it Till You Bake It tells of story of Donovan Dell and Jada Townsend-Matthews embarking into a fake relationship to help Donovan’s business and rebuild Jada’s image after she turns down a publicly televised proposal. The storyline makes for a good read but misses the mark on execution. I tried to get involved in the story but felt there was a lot going on that it took from the development of the love. While the author does a decent job of developing the chemistry between Donovan and Jada, it seemed a long time before the two really started to allow the relationship to move to a more real one. At 60% of the book this couple have not even went out on the fake date yet. Again, the premise of the story was great, however too many other factors added into the story, takes away from the romance.

Overall, this was an okay read that

Note: I received an advance copy from Netgalley

This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. The family, and especially Grandmother/Matriarch of Jada Townsend Matthews are over her antics. Her grandmother, who also owns the Knights, a local San Diego Football team ends us having her to work for Donovon Dell, one of the players on the team and the owner of a new cupcake bakery with his best friends and Team mates. Jada gets caught up and pulls Donovon into a fake relationship. At the beginning, he reluctantly agrees, but as time progresses, discovers he's really into Jada.

If you're a fan of reality shows and their antics, you might enjoy this book. I especially loved the chemistry between Jada and Donovan, and there were several laugh out loud moments. I also enjoyed that although it's a sports romance, It was not heavy on the sports. I am looking for the next book in the series, which i'm assuming to be Anthony.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fake It Till You Bake It was such a cute romcom to jump into. From the very first moment of them meeting each other, I was completely on board with shipping Jada and Donovan. Of course, their fake relationship eventually turned into a real one. This alone made my heart pitter patter with so much happiness. It also made me really hungry for a cupcake.

Even though things could get a bit predictable, I ended up enjoying the entire thing. It was beyond easy to devour, and the ending was pretty much picture perfect. I could totally see this becoming a hallmark or lifetime movie in the near future.

Will definitely be on the lookout for another book written by Jamie!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read! Donovan and Jada were good characters, and they had really good chemistry. I liked their banter and teasing, and also how their relationship developed. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, and this one was cute.
I thought Jada had some great growth as a character. She really seemed to find herself during the book, and I liked seeing Donovan help her regain her confidence. I also liked seeing her flourish in her new job, and her character was strong and smart. I liked that she had dyslexia and wasn’t afraid of it. She owned it, and it contributed to her issues with her parents. I wish that her issues with her parents and sister had been explored even more.
I also wish that Donovan’s issues with his dad had been discussed more. It was briefly mentioned, but never really dealt with. I thought this would have helped to make Donovan’s character more well-rounded. He was a good character, but he was a bit surface-level at times.
Overall this was a fun read. The characters had good chemistry, and I enjoyed reading about Jada and Donovan.

This one was a DNF for me. I was so excited about the premise, but execution didn’t do it for me. Don’t feel I can get a fair review since I did not finish enough of the book. May give it a second chance in a few months. I feel like this was more but it’s me not you situation.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so I was really excited to read it! It started a little slow for me, but I ended up l enjoying it! Despite their tumultuous meeting, Donovan and Jada had instant chemistry. Because she declined a proposal on a TV show like the bachelor, Jada, is being hated on by fans of the show. Her grandmother secures her a job working with Donovan at his cupcake shop. When she’s working and cornered by a reporter, she quickly creates a relationship with Donovan. I thought Jada and Donovan’s relationship moved a little quickly and then she slammed on the brakes. That part was a little frustrating for me, but I understood why she needed to prove to herself she could do it. Overall I did enjoy it and would check out more books by this author.

Je découvre la plume de l'auteur et j'ai passé un bon moment de lecture avec cette comédie romantique. Nos deux héros devront faire face à l'image qu'ils renvoient aux autres. Même si les raisons sont différentes, ils devront se confronter à la situation pour aller de l'avant.

On ne peut pas dire que leur première rencontre a fait des étincelles car elle sera teintée d'une certaine tension. Notre joueur de football star des Knights ne compte pas laisser Jada critiquer de la sorte ses cupcakes. En effet, notre héros mène une activité parallèle, qui peut sembler risible aux yeux de certains mais qui ne l'est pas à ses yeux. Donovan Dell sait ce qu'il veut et il ne compte pas se laisser "insulter" de la sorte.De plus, il doit impérativement trouver une solution pour sauver sa boutique. Ce que j'ai trouvé intéressant est le fait qu'aucun des deux ne connaissait l'image publique de l'autre. Ce sont donc deux personnages qui se sont tombés l'un sur l'autre et qui n'ont jamais joué la comédie en se découvrant. Pourtant, ils devront bel et bien feindre une relation afin de sauver les meubles. Donovan est soutenu par son ami et associé Nicholas et donc il peut dans un certain sens gérer la pression médiatique. De plus, son image est positive donc il n'a rien à regretter. J'ai aimé ce héros qui saura démontrer à Jada qu'elle n'est pas celle qu'on dépeint dans les médias et qu'elle peut agir comme bon lui semble. On pourrait en quelque sorte parler de enemies to lovers avec cette romance qui saura nous charmer.

Jada Townsend-Matthews est sous le feu des projecteurs car elle a participé à une émission de télé réalité mais elle a osé dire non au Dr John Timmeman. Elle est donc depuis victime des foudres des réseaux sociaux qui seront très vindicatifs. Elle n'a de compte à rendre à personne mais malheureusement les médias ne l'entendent pas de cette façon là. En travaillant à Sugar Blitz le magasin de cupcakes de Donovan, elle va tenter de renverser la tendance et utiliser les médias ainsi que les réseaux sociaux à bon escient. Ce ne sera pas facile car les rapaces rodent et certains seront prêts à tout pour obtenir le scoop de l'année. De plus, John n'a pas dit son dernier mot et semble vouloir jouer le dernier acte d'une pièce de théâtre dont elle est, sans le vouloir, l'héroïne. Pourra t elle trouver le véritable amour au coeur de ce chaos. Rien n'est moins sûr mais ce qui est certain, c'est que Jada va évoluer au fil des pages et que nous allons l'apprécier de plus en plus à sa juste valeur.

Bref, si vous lisez en VO et que vous avez envie d'une délicieuse romance qui saura nous ravir au fil des pages, je ne peux que vous conseiller de lire ce roman de Jamie Wesley. Tous les ingrédients sont réunis pour que la sauce prenne et que nos héros se régalent en partageant de bons moments.

This is such a fun book. Let me be upfront and say this was a SLOOOW burn and the fake dating was cute but this book stalled for sure in parts. This book was rather predictable but it was good overall and having a book with a more diverse cast was great.

I got a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This will be a spoiler-free review.

I was pretty excited to read this review but about halfway through I wanted to DNF this book. My biggest problem with this book is the characters. I really didn't like Jada (the MFC) and that didn't change throughout the book. I didn't really care for Donovan...so overall I didn't really care for the relationship or anything they did in general. 

Jada is a spoiled brat who is selfish and only cares about herself. I also don't like the constant victim mentality she has. The entire book is about her feeling sorry for herself and how hard she has it and it was really annoying. I just didn't like her especially since we first meet her and she's rude to Donovan for literally no reason. She's just an unlikeable character to me.

I felt this book was very anticlimactic and I really didn't like the ending of it. I don't understand the drama that happened at the end and it felt very pointless and dramatic for no reason...the book could have ended sooner with no problem in my opinion...the extra drama was unnecessary.

I can understand why people like this book because I don't think it's terrible...I just really dislike the characters which made it impossible for me to enjoy the book or even become remotely invested in the story. However, I'm way more interested in August and Nicholas so if they get books I'll consider picking those up. 

Overall this book wasn't for me. I say go ahead and give it a shot if you think it sounds interesting because I am definitely in the minority when it comes to my feelings about this book.

This book was soooo cute and super sweet (; Fake relationship meets baking and I ate it all up! This was an easy and fun read. Perfect for a vacation or a day at the beach. I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Rating: 3.25

Fake It Till You Bake It was a decent read, while there were some cute and amusing moments I unfortunately just didn’t connect with the main characters.

It is dual POVs and has some great tropes like: opposites attract, fake dating and a workplace romance.

The overall plot was fairly enjoyable, the baking and social media aspect was entertaining and well written. I will say though, there was a lot of repetitive dialogue and some moments that didn’t quite flow. The timeline of the story was also a bit confusing to be honest.

The main characters and their storylines felt a bit one-dimensional. I would have liked just a bit more development or background on them, as it was hard to connect with them at times. The character growth that did occur happened at the last moment and was very rushed.

The romantic development between them was pretty good. Their banter and chemistry was great but there were a few moments that did feel a bit forced. There were also a few spicy scenes that I quite enjoyed.

The last few chapters however, weren’t my favorite; the story just fizzled out for me to be honest. Everything seemed pretty rushed and the conflict resolved itself too quickly. The epilogue was quite heartwarming though.

Overall, just an okay read with some charming moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was super cute!! I love fake dating and enemies to lovers, and the cupcakes/football background was a fun setting. Jada gave me a little bit of Eve Brown vibes which was very fun.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book, my thoughts are my own.

This is a review I wanted to post earlier, unfortunately life happens and COVID got to me, it still has me, but I figured I would write a short review before I get even sicker.

So here it is, this book was okay.
There's nothing wrong with an okay book, it just didn't grip me or make me fall utterly and completely in love with it. I liked it enough and it was a quick read, the setting was nice and I enjoyed the overall storyline and characters. It simply did not have that "je ne sais quoi" that makes me love a romance and eternally root for a character/characters and their romance.
I love sports romance and fake dating, so I had been hoping to really love this one.
Unfortunately it wasn't the case, maybe my expectations were too high, there's a lack of discussion or agreement when Donovan takes control of some aspects of our FL life. This annoyed me a lot and is a HUGE personal red flag, I don't care if she grows from it, if it has a positive aspect and result.
The conversation ends when there were no prior boundaries established, no conversation of mutual consent for that power exchange between them.
That is what annoyed me in the book, the rest of it was a nice quick read, that I really enjoyed overall, just again did not love unfortunately.

3/5 stars
Bookarina.

Such a fun debut from Jamie Wesley. I loved the mashup of business, sports, and baking in this fake relationship to romance trope. The characters were easy to love. They were so endearing that I was seeing series opportunities in every chapter. The pacing slowed towards the middle, but still felt like a solid beach read. I wholeheartedly recommend this to fans of Bromance Book Club and Spark House Series books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you like baking shows and bachelorette you’ll love this book. It was cute. I’m not one for insta love stories but this one kept me intrigued. It wasn’t my favorite but wasn’t my least favorite either. I enjoyed Donovan’s sensitive side and I loved jadas spitfire personality. There seemed to be a lot of side stories going on and that took away from the romance and their relationship for me. Overall it was a solid 3 star.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this early.

Okay let’s start off with the blurb!

“A reality star and a cupcake-baking football player pretend to be a couple in order to save his bakery in this sweet and sexy romance from Jamie Wesley, Fake It Till You Bake It”

I personally love a good fake dating romance and this one did not disappoint at all. I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was such a good read!

Review ⭐⭐⭐💫 Fake it Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

After refusing a broadcasted proposal to the bachelor sweetheart of the nation on a TV show, Jada is now public enemy number 1. Returning home to lick her wounds and working in a small bakery is her only plan until a reporter bullies her into admitting her boss is actually her boyfriend, which is false, the only thing real between them is banter and butterflies. They decided to keep up the charade after they see the beneficial influence them as a couple have on the bakery. A fake relationship should be simple, but when love comes into the mix, it might be the missing ingredient to both their lives.

CW: Gambling addiction (parent), parental neglect, ableism, online bullying.

I loved this story and this couple, they were adorable together and their banter was entertaining and made their chemistry so steamy! To be honest this book was almost a four/high four, but I did not like the last 20% of the book. I thought it completely missed the mark unfortunately. That extra conflicted was not needed at all and made the resolution and their happy ever after feel forced and it shouldn't have been because of how awesome they were a s a couple.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc through Netgalley. As always, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

What a fun story! Jada has so much personality and brings a few stories with her. Those parents, what a shame. And a reality show? I am not a fan of reality TV but have family that just love the shows. So love her character in the bakery. Her grandma is pretty cool too. Donovan is pretty neat. He hides his fears and his interactions with he friends is fun to read. I like the story and how the relationship develops.

Shaky start for me regarding Jada (okay, I disliked her intensely), but that didn't last long as the characters were revealed, letting you know why they were that way and ultimately understanding and liking Jada. You learn it's fake bravado, but it came across as witchiness with a capital B to me, but when you learn of her family's condescension and the fan hate, I guess she had a reason. Although do it against the people wronging you and not against a bakery (someone's livelihood) that never did anything to her (I guess we wouldn't have book though, if she hadn't. {shaking head}) Also, she changed a little too quickly from the beginning scenes to an average human dealing with a lot and why I took one star off. Donovan was great for all his buttoned-up-ness and such a sweet guy with wells of patience which allowed us to get to know the real Jada and see some character progression from both of them. They balanced each other out well. In the end, a sweet story with ups and downs and finally, a happy ending. Donovan's friends were funny and it should be interesting to see what the author has planned for them.