3.5 Stars. Fake It Till you Bake It is a contemporary romance with fake dating, fun banter, and likeable characters.

Donovan is a pro football player on the fictional NFL San Diego Knights, but he and two of his teammates also own and operate a cupcake shop. Jada just came off a reality dating show, and to the shock and horror of its fans – turned down the proposal, so she is not the most popular person on that side of the internet. She’s trying to find some direction in her work life, and her grandma (who happens to own the Knights), get’s her a job working at the player’s cupcake shop. Jada and Donovan clash a bit but end up fake dating to help Jada’s image as well as give the cupcake shop of publicity. But you guessed it, real sparks fly, and one thing leads to another….

Overall, I had a good time reading this. I thought there was good banter and found myself laughing out from time to time. I also like a story where one character is up tight and the other is more of a mess and they balance one another out. What brought it down for me is while I liked the characters, I wanted more from them and their relationship, which is unfortunate because I thought this could be a favorite of the year. The main thing that brought it down for me was the pacing/structure – the 3rd act breakup is at about the 90% mark and for me personally this is too late in a story. I want there to be time for the characters to communicate and resolve the issue and have some story after the resolution. This may not be a big thing for most readers, but something to be aware of when picking it up.

I did like the author’s writing and would read more in this world and HOPE she write more with the other players in the cupcake shop being the heroes.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @smpromance @netgalley for if this book. This was a fun enemies to lovers story. I enjoyed Jada's spunk to Donovan's stoic personality. The story was cute but I wanted to see more of Jada and Donovan's relationship develop.

Fake It Till You Bake It is the sweet, light-hearted story of Jada, a woman from a wealthy family who has been kind of directionless in trying to figure out what to do with her life. Her parents have cut her off financially to try and force her to get a real job, because the last "job" she held was on a reality dating show in which she turned down the bachelor's proposal during the final episode, making her the most hated woman in the country. Her grandmother has charge of Jada's trust fund, and will release it to her she proves that she can be financially responsible. To that end, Grams uses her influence as owner of the local pro football team to get Jada a job at a cupcakery owned by three of her players. Side note: muscled men who bake cupcakes all day? Sign me up!

Donovan is one of the owners of Sugar Blitz, and he's worried about the recent downturn in the shop's sales. What he needs is more customers, and what he absolutely doesn't need is Jada coming in and upsetting his ordered life. Soon after Jada starts working at the cupcakery, there is an incident in which a little white lie she told on national TV catches up with her and forces her into a fake dating situation with Donovan.

While I mostly enjoyed this book, I did have some issues. The first half of the book runs a little slow and takes a while to develop. On the other hand, the ending seemed really rushed. I think a happy medium could be found with another round of edits. And this next bit may be slightly spoilery, so stop reading now if you want to go into the book completely blind. The whole breakup thing? I really didn't understand it. I mean, I get the whole wanting to succeed on your own thing, because doesn't everybody? But completely cutting Donovan out of her life - like, not even texting each other? That seemed a bit extreme to me. And the way he just tossed aside the three months she completely ignored him and just welcomed her back with open arms? Not realistic. I think I would be very skittish about this behavior repeating in the future and would want to at least have a serious discussion about it. But overall this was a fun read with some likeable characters and, you know, cupcakes.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3.75

This was just the cutest book. I’m giving this book 3 stars purely on the basis that I thought this book needed just a little more drama. The drama was basically non existent haha. I did enjoy reading this love story. Donovan is definitely book boyfriend material in every way. Where there’s a problem Donovan is there to validate and reassure his lady. H definitely caused me to swoon.

This was a light and fun read. This book definitely will put a smile on your face.

from fake dating to dynamics between a cupcake baking football player and former reality star, this romance was a refreshing summer read with much entertainment! what i love is when the characters are truly multi-faceted and backstories that show readers their development and have us empathize with them which is exactly what wesley providing with jada and donovan. jada coming back home after going on a reality dating show on a whim for it to end in disaster as she becomes most hated for turning down the proposal, it's surprising to see how much more there is to her background and family connections in the beginning. i truly sympathized with jada on her decisions in life figuring things out, even though she has familial provided financial backup plans, but the way she grew up with many expectations and her family only wanting a specific path for her. donovan is truly an admirable man with his pro-football career as well as opening a cupcake business with two of his best friends and teammates along with stability in his life as he grew up in a household of financial instability due to his gambling dad.
the romance itself seemed a bit quick-paced at times but i still definitely enjoyed it a lot. with the banter between both characters along with both their headstrong personalities clashing at times though they had a high regard of one another's successes. the way social media was intertwined with the fake dating proposal along with how it provided business to the cupcake shop was really clever with the appearances they made contributing to the development of truly falling for one another. the messiness of people coming back into jada's life as she tries to shed that reality show past behind was fun as we got to see jada really come to be secure in herself in addition to finding out what she is best at and the confidence she gains with donovan at her side supporting her. i really hope the author continues this romance's world as donovan's friend, august's story is implied next and there seemed to be a romance hinted at with him and another character.

Read if you like:
☕︎ Fake dating
☕︎ Enemies to friends to lovers
☕︎ Hallmark movies
☕︎ Open door romance

Summary: Disgraced reality TV star Jada Townsend-Matthews is having a rough go of it. After turning down an on-air proposal from the most eligible bachelor, she is both cut off from her parent’s lucrative checking account and at the wrong end of a social media blitz.

When her Football team owning grandmother make a deal with one of her star players to find her a job at his Cupcake shop, she reluctantly agrees. The problem is, she’s already met Donovan Dell, and is not a fan of him or his cupcakes. Soon however, they decide on an arrangement that might help get them both what it is they want in life.

Thoughts: Equal parts sweet, salty and spicy, this book is a quick, fun romantic read perfect to throw in your beach bag or pack for a summer vacation.

First and foremost, the author’s descriptive language is so good, I felt I was watching a movie while reading, that kept me engaged the entire time. I also really enjoyed the setting of this story (except that now I am low key craving cupcakes non-stop) and getting to know not just the main characters, but the utterly charming supporting characters like Nicholas, August, and Olivia.

Speaking of August, I felt hints of a sequel to come and I am hoping it fills in the blanks between August and a certain sister (wink wink). I had so much fun reading about their fabulous book club featuring baked goods and wine galore, basically the book club of my dreams.

I have seen some criticism that this book is too cheesy. Is it cheesy at times, definitely. Are most rom coms cheesy, heck yes. I feel that occurs in most romance novels I read, so I generally don’t judge that too harshly unless it was unreadable. Given that I demolished this book in a day, I would say that is not the case with this one.

My only criticism is that it is dual points of view, but both are told in third person narration which always keeps the characters at arms length for me. With a romance like this, I prefer to really experience it through their eyes and third person keeps me from being able to do that.

Overall though, this is a super cute and fast read, and I recommend checking it out. I am excited to read more from this author soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Donovan and Jada were likable in this story. Seemingly oil and water based on their first meeting they quickly worked well together. For as quickly as they had each other’s backs I felt the story dragged.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley. This was a cutesy, fun fake dating romance. I liked it, didn't love it. I'm giving it 3 stars.

This book has the right amount of banter <3 Was such a fun and quick read and hope to read more from the author and maybe the other characters!!! I love how everyone had a challenge and had to overcome it, the character development, and how love is shown in more than 1 way!! Over all amazing read!!!

Thank you @netgalley @jamiewesleyauthor @stmartinpress for the chance to read the eARC.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Where are my romcom lovers? This one is for us—adorable and funny but still has some feels.
🤩 Amazing Meet Cute—so much personality!
🤩 Enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance (close proximity, forbidden), and fake dating—some good banter.
🤩 Cupcakes and romance! Football player MC owns a cupcake business called Sugar Blitz! Heart eyes cupcake
🤩 Book club at the cupcakery venue—yes please! Really fun romance book talk, cupcakes, wine, and a cover recreate trend!!
🤩 Dyslexia representation is empowering.
🤩 Meddling grandmas are the best!
🤩 CROCS appreciation is fun and fantastic for a girl MC who loves fashion and fancy footwear.
🤩 Realistic family conflict: domineering parent expectations, parent addictions (gambling).

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 The end caught me off guard and rubbed me the wrong way.
💫 I was hoping for more physical closeness (steam) toward the end after emotional turmoil.

Story is about Jada, who was on a reality dating show and turned down the proposal and now is hated by all. Donovan is a professional NFL player, as well as owns a cupcake shop with two other players. As usual, her mouth gets her into trouble when she walks into his shop and says his cupcakes are probably stale. As she plans on lying low for a while, she is contacted by her grandmother, who incidentally owns Donovan’s team, telling her she has got to learn to be responsible so made the ultimatum that she has to hold a job for six months to get access to her trust fund. A cute read for you to see how it all turns out in the end.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a complimentary copy.

I love the idea of this story however I felt like we did not get to see a lot about the couple's actual relatitonship and instead got too much of the fake-dating. I was not able to connect with the characters either and some parts felt too convenient, with Jada walking into the shop and then all of a sudden her grandma owns the team so she can get someone to get a job for her.

However, it was still a fun read and I am always loving romance books where someone owns a shop.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley is a cute, humorous, light-hearted fake dating relationship featuring Jada Townsend-Matthews, who is fresh off of a reality dating show, and Donovan Dell, a professional NFL player and co-owner of a cupcake shop, Sugar Blitz. Donovan loves to bake. He establishes goals and works to meet them. He’s driven, calm, and controlled. Jada has no clue what she wants to do with her life and things don’t seem to be working out well for her either. She’s confused, uncertain, and insecure as well as being impulsive. Because of her impulsiveness and need to earn money, Jada agrees to a plan her grandmother cooked up, working for Donovan. When a reporter mistakenly believes they’re a couple, and they decide to take advantage of it by faking a relationship. This way, they can help the business and improve Jada’s image. It doesn’t hurt that the chemistry between Jada and Donovan is off-the-charts and the attraction is magnetic.

This story seems to have it all, a fake relationship, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, sizzling chemistry, a star football player who can make cupcakes and an unpopular reality star teaming up to repair public images and save the cupcake business. Combining romance and humor, the story also covers some deep themes ranging from gambling addiction to the impact of social media on lives to blackmail to teamwork to how parents’ opinions and actions affect their children even as adults.

Ms. Wesley wrote the perfect start to a new series of football players who open a cupcake bakery together. She provided a tale rich with humor, emotions, sizzling chemistry, clever banter, and endearing secondary characters giving Jada and Donovan a chance at love, and a future together. I highly recommend Fake It Till You Bake It to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

The perfect little fake relationship to lovers story! The banter and spice was perfect. Donovan - a NFL player slash cupcake store owner finds himself in a whole new world when Jada comes into his life.

3.5 stars. A fun enemies(?) to friends to lovers fake dating romance. With cupcakes.

Jada Townsend-Matthews just turned down a proposal on a reality dating show and now everyone in America hates her. A few weeks later, she ends up, for a series of reasons, working a Sugar Blitz, a new cupcake store co-owned by pro football player Donovan Dell. They are opposites in every way. But a reporter ends up thinking that Jada and Donovan are an item and they go viral. When it turns out that opportunity might help the bakery get some much-needed business and rehabilitate Jada's image, they decide to keep faking it. But maybe it's not so fake after all.

I always enjoy foodie romances, and this book is no exception. The cupcakes honestly all sound super amazing and I wish I could go to Sugar Blitz in real life. The characters, including Jada and Donovan but also their super-involved friends and family, were quirky and kept me invested in the story. I also appreciated how Donovan and Jada's relationship and trust in one another builds throughout the book and doesn't get ruined by something stupid. It felt more realistic.

In terms of things that didn't work as well for me, I think the biggest challenges was the third act conflict. It was so over-the-top and I'm not sure why that was the choice that was made. I feel like there could have been a different, slightly more realistic, direction this book could have gone in. A much more minor issue, but one that bothered me a lot nonetheless, is the height difference between Donovan and Jada (he's 6'3", she's about 5'0"). Most of their interactions would be physically impossible, and definitely not cute or steamy! He would have to be basically bent in half for them to be staring into each others' eyes and almost kissing, so I don't think it would look like the cover of a romance novel like was suggested in one scene.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I thought it was a fun, quick read perfect for summer. Find a cupcake and a coffee and sit down for a good story. I am definitely curious to read the other (future) books in this series as well!

I was soooo looking forward to a fun new fake dating story when I was given this eARC. Baking and fake dating are quite literally the perfect combo. So I was very optimistic going into this one and even as the story started. I liked how Jada and Donovan were originally introduced with their own respective stories.

Unfortunately, the book quickly went downhill for me. The story just felt too focused on sticking to the fake dating plot without really delving into the characters’ actual relationship. It almost felt like things were just happening to Jada and Donovan because “this is how the romance arc is supposed to go”.

I felt no connection between the two. Really disappointing because this story could’ve been the perfect amount of cute and spice.

In the end, it just felt really underdeveloped to the point I almost DNF’d at 60%. Even the side characters felt pushed to the side.

I feel like this story had a lot of potential, though, especially at the outset. I wouldn’t completely rule out reading something else by this author, but this one was just a disappointment.

DNF'ed at around 60%, but for reasons of extreme mediocrity, so it still gets the 'it was ok' rating. I didn't dislike it! Except for being extremely bored I was fine. I like fake dating but this one was so weird in that it felt like it took so many pressure points to get the couple into that situation? Like first she is a customer in his cupcake shop - then her grandma is the owner of his NFL team - then she has to work in his shop to come into her trust fund - THEN they get into the fake dating - and at this point I'm really unconvinced that they have any connection lmao it all seems extremely external. Possibly I would be more engaged if they got to the fake dating sooner rather than like 50% in. Also the she-has-to-work-in-his-shop plot point is engineered by her grandmother and I truly shrivelled up in my soul reading it lol if you WORK the shop you can hire whatever wastrel relative you like but if you employ in a totally different capacity the man who runs the shop it seems like extremely poor taste to foist your granddaughter on him! Anyway I'm sure this book has an audience and will find it somewhere, meanwhile my dreadful record in the romance genre continues. Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc for an honest review!

Honestly, the cover art drew me to this book, and I’m a sucker for a pretty cover (lol). The story opens in the California cupcake shop that serves as main backdrop for most of the book’s action, where the main characters Jada and Donovan have a sort of “meet hostile” situation. The author does a great job of quickly setting up the circumstances that lead to the fake relationship the title describes. Lots of funny and sweet moments follow as our main characters interact. It is a bit of a slow burn, but when the heat comes it is well worth the wait.

If you like black rom coms, fake relationships, and grumpy / sunshine, you're gonna enjoy this book.

What does a cupcake baking football player business owner and a dyslexic fashion aware social pariah have in common? They need each other. Jada has been skewered due to her performance in a reality show and Donovan’s business venture is turning into crumbs. They decide to fake date to salvage both of their endeavors.
The first baking scene was enough to make me throw on an apron and fling some flour around so a hunk would rescue me. It’s quite funny.
Both characters grow a lot and make some important life decisions. My favorite character is Jada’s grandmother. She’s a savvy woman who holds people’s feet to the fire.
If you love romance and cupcakes, indulge in this delectable tale.

3.5 Stars
Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most reviled woman in America after turning down a proposal on a reality dating show. When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego's newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada's image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient.
A well written, light hearted read which I enjoyed but didn’t love. The characters had depth & were likeable. I liked the chemistry between Donovan & Jada & how their relationship changed & grew. I liked the humour & the fact that footballer Donovan makes cup cakes, I also enjoyed the banter. An easy to read frothy romance ideal for whiling away a few hours over the summer
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read