Spoiled trust fund reality tv star meets down-to-earth football star. I’ll start with what I enjoyed. The bakery setting was fun. The trio of football buddies owning a cupcake shop was a refreshing twist. I found each of them compelling in their own way. Unfortunately I found this story as a whole to be painfully dull. It’s hard to explain why this fell flat for me. It was cheesy and didn’t stand out from the hundreds of other mediocre romcoms on the market. The characters weren’t distinct or memorable. The banter was fine, but the plot was weak and formulaic. There was a third act breakup that made no sense at all. I felt that there was no realistic or believable conflict or tension. Overall, a very bland book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC of this phenomenal novel! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This delightful enemies-to-lovers rom-com with a lot of heart stars Donovan, a football player hoping to make his cupcake bakery more profitable and Jada, a reality star the world now hates for turning down a proposal on a dating show. After a not so sweet first meeting, Jada winds up working at Donovan’s bakery where a reporter mistakes them for a couple. The two take advantage of the situation in order to boost Donovan’s cupcake sales and to explain Jada’s decision to turn down the reality show proposal: she was already in love with someone else. Things heat up in and out of the kitchen as the two get to know each other more, but will that be enough to bake an authentic loving relationship? Do these two even want that with each other? Find out by reading Jamie Wesley’s Fake It Till You Bake It!

This story is wonderful and reading about Jada and Donovan falling for each other is delightful. Mix that with a host of fun characters and we have all the ingredients for a delicious romance novel!

5 out of 5 cupcakes–I mean stars.

I was very excited about this title, but I have had difficulty getting into the book. I have currently marked as DNF, but will be reattempting in the future as I am a mood reader. However, from what I did read I really enjoyed. I think the main problem for me was the book didn’t instantly hook me and I felt like I was having to work a bit to get started on this story. I am excited to try this book when I am in a different headspace and will be updating my review.

A great romance book! I love Jada and Donovan! Donovan is a football player and one of the owners of a cupcake bakery. Jada is coming off a awful experience on a reality TV show. They meet at Donovan's bakery and sparks fly! When Jada's grandmother, the owner of Donovan's football team, asks him to give granddaughter a job, he agrees. When they meet, they realize that they already met! Will they give in to their feelings?

This book had me at "cupcake-baking football player."

This was a fun fake dating story! It can be easy to find the bakery/cupcake/food romance tropes overdone, but this was a unique take on it.

This was really charming! I was briefly worried that at the end that it was going to do a thing that I hate but it did it in a way that I didn't feel was destructive to the relationship previously established and it was honestly so refreshing.

I loved Fake it Till You Bake It! This book was fun in the same way The Bromance Book Club was fun! Donovan is an NFL player who owns a cupcakery with 2 of his football teammates. Jada is just off a Bachelor type reality show and now she’s the nations villain. The two meet, and instantly they dislike each other. But to get more business for the cupcake shop they decide to fake date. That’s one of my favorite tropes and Jamie Wesley did it right!!

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-ArC of #fakeittillyoubakeit..

3/5 Stars

I have mixed feelings as I really wanted to love this book. The story itself was fine, I just felt now connection to the story or characters at all. I wasn't invested and found myself putting the book down. There wasn't anything really bad about the book, but like I said everything was just very fine.

I thought this fake dating romance was super cute! Football star and reality tv show gal with drama?? Yes please! I definitely wish I would have seen a little more angst and sexual tension but overall it was a fun read! Their not so meet cute was hilarious!

I was given this book from NetGalley last year & meant to post my review!

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. Jada is the complete opposite of Donovan which makes for a laugh out loud plot. Donovan is a football player who is also the owner of Sugar Blitz. Jada is a former reality tv personality who is coming home after turning down a proposal on live TV. American reality TV viewers aren't her biggest fans.

Jada ends up working at the bakery and that's when a reporter mistakes the pair as a couple and the fake dating ensues. The fake relationship might make for the best secret ingredient for the two and the Bakery.

This story is sweet and sexy.

Fake it Till You Bake it is full of light-hearted fake dating, loose enemies to lovers’ trope that I adore in romances. It follows Jada, a former reality dating show star, and Donovan, a NFL player and the owner of a cute little cupcake shop. Jada, being down on her luck after her family cuts her off financially, must take a job with Donovan. It reads like a Hallmark movie, and I love Hallmark. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jamie Wesley and NetGally for the ARC.

DNF at 20%. I couldn’t get into the flow of the writing and ultimately couldn’t get invested in the story. Just not for me at this moment! Fun premise, though.

Rom-com at its best!

I absolutely Loved this book!

This was an amazing funny, sweet read that I could not put down! This book put me into the romance spirit!

Jamie Wesley did a great job with this story! I really enjoyed reading this book!

No spoilers with my review! This is a must read!

Overall I give this book 5 golden stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truly enjoyed this baking romance with a former football star turned baker and a former reality show star, reviled by the world. Their chemistry was spot on and the banter spicy!

Such a cute romcom - I admit I am always a bit biased when there is a baker involved, but will definitely be recommending this one for a fun read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't do anything for me. I DNFed about halfway with no interest or care for what was happening or the characters.

*Thank you @stmartinspress for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

This is a super cute story about a reality tv star and a football player who owns a cupcake shop. Yessss, a strong black man who knows his way around the kitchen and is especially good when it comes to sweets. Plus it has one of my favorite tropes in it: fake dating. I’ve also discovered that I have a weak spot for a football player male lead. Note to self: find more sports romances.

Characters: Donovan and his friends were amazing and I loved his POV. They were a close-knit group and held each other accountable when the situation called for it. Donovan was supportive, super sweet, and a grumpy bear. He carries the weight of financial responsibility for his family even though nobody asked that of him.

Jada is an heiress. She's the black sheep of the family, everyone else is successful and she's still looking for what she wants in life. She's dyslexic, yay for this representation, and through her, we see how she struggles with it and how her parents deal with it. She struggles to live up to her parents' expectations and dreams for her. My first impression of her left me with a bad taste in my mouth but I grew to like her the more I got to know her. In the end, I loved her sass which is ironic because her sass is what made me stand-offish with her at first.

I love love loved Grams! (Jada's grandmother)

As far as the overall story goes, I enjoyed it, as I mentioned earlier, it is a super cute story. It's lighthearted and funny. Some spots were repetitive but it doesn't take you out of the story that much. The cover is adorable and I can't wait to add it to my shelf. I am making a point to add more black romance stories to my shelf. Representation matters and growing up there weren't very many for me to read, I don't want my daughter to have to struggle to look for Black love books, in a dream world, all she will have to do is browse my shelf and have all the options. Great debut! Can't wait to read more by Jamie Wesley.

Fave quote: "Show love but take no shit." -Grams

Side note: no matter how good yall make them sound, I will never give in to the Crocs craze.
Tropes/tags: fake dating, sports star, heiress, Black love, chaos magnet x perfectionist, slow burn
Rating: 3.5/5
Spice: 1/5

This book gives me "High School Musical" vibes. Football players trying to succeed in something outside of what the typical status quo is. Girl & boy meet & fall in love, etc. So if you are into chick lit, happily ever afters, & that sort of thing, it would be a great book.

I enjoyed it, enough. The main female character drives me a little bit insane because in one scene she is completely oblivious to the main male character having a crush on her, but then in the next scene claims to be really good at telling when a male has feelings for her. (Mind you- she was wrong BOTH times).

Other than that though, it wasn't horrible, just predictable, which I usually expect from this type of novel.

This was a cute romance but I just had some trouble getting into it. This story follows Jada a girl who was on a reality tv dating show as the villain and Jamie a retired football player now bakery owner. When Jada needs a job Jamie agrees to hire her on and teach her. Jadas past catches up to her though as a reporter finds Jada in the bakery and mistakes Jamie as her boyfriend and so fake dating ensues. The story was cute and had a lot of fun banter but some of the circumstances seemed a little to unbelievable and kept me from relating to the characters. I thought the banter in this book was top notch and kept a smile on my face. I would definitely pick up more from this author in the future. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.