Gosh this one made me hungry and it was the perfect level of cute and romantic. I'm realizing I am loving well-rounded football players as characters as well so I guess my sports romance bracket maybe expanding.

This book was so sweet! Do I wish I had cupcakes in the house when I read it? Absolutely! If you can, make some cupcakes to enjoy with this one.

Jada and Donovan meet when she visits his cupcake place with her best friend. He overhears Jada insulting Sugar Blitz. His immediate reaction is to want to change her opinion. He wants people to love his cupcakes. And, if he’s honest about it, he definitely wants to impress Jada. She’s a beautiful woman and there’s just something about her.
And if Jada had been honest she might have admitted that she’d never even been to Sugar Blitz or tried his cupcakes. She’s just upset because she’s become a bit of a minor celebrity lately due to her being on a dating show and turning down the lead’s proposal.
She’s also broke because her parents have stopped supporting her and she hasn’t gotten her trust fund from her grandmother yet.

Donovan is a also football player who plays on Jada’s grandmother’s team, but neither of them know this when they meet.

A few days later, Jada’s grandmother explains the terms for her to get her trust fund. Jada’s grandmother has found a job for her and she has to work there successfully for four months.

It turns out her idea involves Jada working at Donovan’s cupcake place.
Of course it doesn’t take long before they start to fall for each other. Donovan is a really lovable love interest. He is sweet, thoughtful, patient and he bakes amazing cupcakes. But their potential relationship is complicated by her reality show infamy.

I thought this was a really sweet story about two people who definitely bring out the best in each other.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

I don't know what's wrong with me that no matter how many bakery/restaurant centric romances I read, they never quite hit with me. WHY??

This was a quick, cute romance that had its fair share of spice and sweetness. As a book, there is a ton of mass appeal between these pages. I especially enjoyed our hero, Donovan Dell. While I wouldn't say I loved this, it was a good time and I feel confident recommending it!

A disaster waiting to happen, Jada Townsend-Matthews shoots her mouth off regarding her opinion of Donovan Dell's bakery, little realizing that he is one of her grandmother's star football players. Donovan is already having a bad day when the diva shoots down his bakery and his cupcakes, but when she rises to his challenge and tastes one on the cupcakes, he knows he has a draw, if not a win. Meeting Jada the following day in his manager's office, Donovan's heart sinks when he realizes that he actually has to work with the opinionated young woman. Not understanding her background and the pressures she is under, it takes Donovan a while to recognize a woman who needs his protectiveness and the shield he can provide. This romance is witty and entertaining and had elements that every parent needs to read. However, I did find the story somewhat disjointed and it came to an abrupt conclusion, although a good one. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

3.5⭐ Rounded up.
Such a cute plot...
Fake dating, grumpy/sunshine and football players who bake cupcakes?
Yup, totally down for this one.
I know the MC Donovan is supposed to be a bit stiff, but I felt like he and Jada were both a bit too stiff for me. I wish they had had a bit more whimsy and banter flowing.
Still good times, and will definitely be looking for more from Jamie Wesley.
Especially if she writes a book with August as the MC.
Dude is like a cupcake baking football playing version of Azriel from ACOTAR without wings😍😍😍
Much love to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for my DRC.

Cute fake dating to get what they want kind of story.

Although, I have to say, they fell hard for each other, even as they started to fake-date.

Jada needs a job, and Donovan doesn't know, it, but he needs Jada to help run his cupcake shop, that he started with some of his fellow football players. Oh, and Jada is the granddaughter of the owner of his team.

There is also a former boyfriend in the form of a reality show that didn't work out quite well, as well as the producer of the reality show, trying to get Jada to come back and do a new series.

Good fast read. Jada is a good strong character, her parents are annoying, and Donavan is sweet, as all love interests of protagonists should be.

If anything, it was all over too quickly.

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

This is a really cute romance with some of my fave tropes! You've got a fake dating situation, a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and it's all set under the lovely backdrop of a cupcake store. It would be really hard to screw that up for sure! This book has a lot of charm and I really loved both of the protagonists (and all the side characters!!). I don't think this book does anything especially groundbreaking with it's story but it's definitely a lovely breath of fresh air and I would highly recommend to any romance reader!

ONE WORD — FLUFFTASTIC CUPCAKES

Have you ever wondered why cupcakes are a lady's fave? Well, because they'll lead you straight into your prince charming's arms!

The chemistry between Jada and Donovan was top-notch. Jada brought out the best in him, and he did his best to help her see things from a different perspective — like how delicious his cupcake was. The man is strong!

This was the black love I've always rooted for and love to see in the book industry.

Thank you, SMP Romance, once again, for making me blush and eating a lot of cupcakes!

This was cute! If you liked the Spanish Love Deception, I think you’d like this.

This one missed the mark for me. I didn’t find myself reaching for this. I think there was just too much going on because I love the premise. Too many side characters, too much background on the side characters, and too many attempted twists. I liked Jada and Donovan, even though I don't think everything they did was consistent with their characters or made sense, and I will probably read the sequel.

Such a great and comforting read! The story was so charming and I mean it had to be right with baking at the center? Fake It Till You Bake It could’ve come off as totally predictable but it was a joy to read and be surprised along the way! Definitely recommend those looking for a romance with a sweet tooth at the center!

This was a really cute fake dating romance. Lots to like and only one thing that threw me out of the story. Will definitely read more from this author - seems like she’s setting things up for a series which I would absolutely read!

After Jada Townsend-Matthews turns down America’s Sweetheart on a reality show, she becomes public enemy number one. Her parents have cut her off financially and her grandmother is withholding her trust fund until Jada can prove she can hold down a job. When she starts working at Sugar Blitz, San Diego’s cupcake bakery run by three pro footballers, she has instant chemistry with Donovan Dell.

I loved their meet cute (meet disaster?) and thought the fake dating elements were well done. I didn’t love the conflict - it felt completely out of left field to me especially after they weather some external conflict really nicely.

Content warnings: Blackmail subplot, references to a character with a gambling addiction

Thanks to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most hated woman in America after she turns down a marriage proposal on a reality TV show. When she comes home for a fresh start, she finds herself working at San Diego’s newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakes the two for a couple, they use the mistake to their advantage to help Jada’s image and Donovan’s struggling bakery.

Name something better than professional football players and cupcakes…I’ll wait 😉 You guys!! This book was so cute! Fake dating is one of my favorite romance tropes so I flew through this one pretty quickly. There’s also some enemies to lovers thrown in too! Jada and Donovan were so well written and I felt like we got to know them on a deeper level as they grew together! The spice was perfect and the banter was next level 😍 I was definitely craving a cupcake by the end! Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press, Jamie Wesley, and NetGalley for my e-ARC!

This book was a pretty standard feel-good rom com. Nothing undeniably special about it, but also nothing specifically wrong with it.

Maybe I just need to read a few more books from Jamie to truly get a feel for her writing style.

I really really loved this book. The two of them were totally true to themselves and badass. It was nice that there wasn’t some crazy incident to ruin things for them and they were able to grow with each other. I also enjoyed the fact that her insecurities were what broke them up, but they both smartened up quickly. Loved that they had a small supportive circle and that they were just stereotypes. Cannot wait to read about August!

Thoroughly enjoyed this fake dating/celebrity/reality star romance.
Let's face it ladies, who doesn't love a football star who's also a fabulous baker?? I was hooked from the start with him eavesdeopping on bougie, Jada, dissing his 'ambiance' he created in his cupcakery.

Jada is one tough cupcake but she's hiding her vulnerability in all that sass.

Jamie Wesley is a new to me author I found thanks to Netgalley and SMPRomance.

Looking forward to reading more by this author and hoping her next book in this series is in the works!

Donovan Dell is a football player who also owns a cupcake shop with two of his teammates. He has his life planned out in an orderly fashion because his upbringing was somewhat chaotic. The shop is very much a passion project for them. Then, there’s Jada Townsend-Matthews. She recently competed on a Bachelor type show, eventually refusing to accept a marriage proposal. The public has turned on her for rejecting “the perfect doctor” and she’s now avoiding social media. She has yet to find her calling in life which is frustrating her parents who are scientists as is her sister. They have cut her off financially. She is hoping to get her trust fund early so she can figure out her life. Her grandmother has control over this and is the only family member Jada has a close relationship with. Coincidentally, her grandmother owns the team that Donovan and his friends are on. While going with her friend to the cupcake shop, Jada insults the cupcakes and décor. When she goes to meet with her grandmother, she is shocked to find Donovan there. He is not happy either. Her grandmother proposes that she works at the cupcake shop for six months steadily to show her sense of responsibility. Then she will gain access to the trust fund. I loved the interaction between these two strong characters.

Also reviewed on B&N under 1IrishEyes430 and Kobo under IrishEyes430

I devoured this, like a piece of cake! If you love fake relationships and enemies to lovers, than I recommend you dive into this book.

Jada is well known in entertainment as the women who turned down a proposal on a reality dating show. Now she’s working at Sugar Blitz, a cupcake bakery, Owen by former pro footballer Donovan Dell. A reporter mistakes the two for a couple and to help the struggling bakery and for Jada’s image, they decide to play along. Faking a relationship isn’t always easy, but sometimes the reward is sweet.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. Although some of the situations were a bit predictable, it was still fluffy and a fun read. I loved the humor and laughed, and as I previously stated, it was an easy sit and read. I also loved the topic of how women are treated more poorly than men when it comes to social media.

All in all, if you enjoy sweet and quick romance reads, this book is for you.

This is the first book I've read by the author and I enjoyed it. I loved the chemistry and the witty banter between Donovan and Jada. It's your classic, fun rom-com. I loved the characters in the story. The side characters add so much fun to the story. This is a sweet, quick and fun romance.

A woman who learned to love Crocs just as much as I did.. For Jada Townsend-Matthews, a trust fund baby who hasn’t had it as easy despite having rich parents, making it out on her own is more important than anything.

After a disastrous feat in a reality show that puts The Bachelor to shame where she declines a proposal in national TV for the entire world to see.. Jada becomes Public Enemy #1. Fielding hateful social media comments & people in her day to day life wanting to give their opinion on how horrid she is for breaking the heart of “the beloved Dr. John” … the last thing she expects is to find a heart-throb of a man at a cupcake shop who calls her out for being over the top boogie.

Donovan on the other hand, a football player who owns a cupcake shop with two of his teammates & whose cupcake shop is floundering.. is just a bit more than insulted when he overhears a woman calling his cupcake store “stale”. Upon calling her out on it, the least either of these two expect is to ever see each other again. But when Donovan visits his football team’s owner who pleads with Donovan to give her granddaughter a job, the last person he expects to walk through that door, is the woman who insulted his cupcakes.

Obviously these two have a rocky start being employee/employer with Jada almost burning down the cupcake shop and an adorable Crocs introduction moment. When Jada’s past comes crashing into this new life she’s trying to build, she begs Donovan to be her fake boyfriend to keep the horrible insults from coming back. But what Donovan and Jada aren’t ready for? Is the instant chemistry that abounds whenever they come together & what started out as a fake relationship evolves into something more real than either of them expected.

This book was a sweet romance that I was easily able to read in two sittings and I above and beyond loved it!

This book combined a lot of tropes into a book with just one trope too many. Fake dating. Reality television. Professional athlete. Rich family, poor girl.

It's readable, but was not my favorite.

I am not saying no to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.