Review link on my blog and Goodreads will be active after release week and are scheduled to publish on June 30th.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, but it doesn’t influence my opinion of the book nor the contents of this review in any way. 

Hey there!! I received Fake it Till You Bake It as an ARC... and somehow managed to read it on time!!! Totally on accident by the way, but I'm still celebrating :) I read this specifically for my Netgalley Warriors reading initiative I'm running on my blog this year. When I requested it, and again when I was selecting something to read this week, I was pulled in by the blurb's headline: "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." 

I love bakery romances!!! I really love bakery romances. But this one... I really struggled with. Despite the fact that it was set in San Diego, the city of my birth And despite the fact that it had another of my favorite tropes: forced proximity + workplace romance tropes!  That said, I was getting very similar vibes to a book I've read before... but cannot for the life of me remember what that book is! I've read a book with a reality star in it recently, but my head is completely empty. So is my list of read books, which is highly concerning. Maybe I dreamt it. Anyway...

Things I Liked ("however...")
- The premise. I love a football player who owns a cupcakery! This is so exciting to me. (But did we ever actually see him as a football player.... no. We never went with him to workout or do football player things).
- Dyslexia representation - I love that we got a woman with learning disability who was confident about it and acknowledged it in a healthy way. However, there were those little moments around the good rep where she referred to herself as "dumb" because of it and that never got resolved. 
- However, I had to laugh when Jada says twelve dozen cupcakes it "almost a hundred fifty," and then goes into detail about how, while "coping with being dyslexic," she had to do a lot of rote memorizations and "could do multiplication tables in her head like nobody's business." Why not just say 144 then???
- This quote (between our football-playing hero and reality star heroine):
"'You've got to be kidding me. People actually give a shit about what happens on reality shows?' She shrugged. 'I mean, sports are the biggest reality shows out there, so yeah.'" 
- The hero and heroine RECREATED a clinch cover!!!!!! Woot- WOOT!!
- Loved that Donovan actually read the book club book for the meeting that he attended
- Also loved that Donovan gathered his besties and forced them to watch the reality show Jada was in, with him.
- The trio of football playing besties that run the cupcakery. I'm assume the other two will get their books in the sequels? I love them, I wish we got more in ways that didn't directly refer to the relationship. It felt like they were props instead of genuine friends
- Grams! She was a real hoot

Basically I only liked a few things about this book that didn't come with qualifiers and things that could have been better. Hence the 2-star rating. It's also why (even though I read this book in time), I did not publish my review during release week. That would have been cruel, I'm not in the business of raining on a book launch. I'm also clearly in the minority, so far, for disliking this book so much.




Things I Didn't Like

- THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES + RELATIONSHIP

I just struggled to believe and to care about the characters. I didn't connect with them, I didn't feel the chemistry, and I honestly got icked by them several times throughout the story

I just hated Jada. What do I know about her? She's "IMPULSIVE." My god, they told us over 25 times. I can't tell you how much I began to hate this word. It felt like an excuse. I pegged her as a spoiled, privileged rich girl who only thought of herself. Was it really impulsive, or just selfish? I was judge-y about her, I'll admit. I didn't get "good times/life of the party" vibes like I was clearly supposed to.

I also don't think I ever got a satisfactory answer as to what she did with herself if she's almost 26 years old and never held a job or an idea about what she wants? The Jada we came to know is creative, personable and a problem-solver. I don't see that personality doing literally nothing for years before the reality show. She wasn't an influencer, a content creator, something with fashion, or volunteer her time somewhere? I would have liked it better if she had one little thing, even if it wasn't something her grandma deemed "fulfilling" enough. Even if it was volunteering at the local dog shelter once a week.

Donovan wasn't much better. He was basically there to support Jada. He's a "logical, numbers" guy who occasionally had a sincere, soft side to reassure her, or to compliment her. His whole personality was made to be a worrier, sappy in love and uninformed about social media/reality TV. His sudden morph into a possessive man who growls at other men who talk to Jada? Full Stop. It's ugly. He was a cardboard character, too perfect and #bookboyfriend-esque.

It felt less like a sexy dislike-to-lust forced proximity romance and more like two employees who were uncomfortably horny in the workplace all the time. Blech.

- VERY TELL-NOT-SHOW

This brings me to my biggest grip with this book: it was so 2-dimensional. We only knew things that both characters were aware of. So if Donovan has something in his life causing him stress, we find out about it when he tells Jada (and vice versa). These characters only existed with each other, and we never saw them outside of the workplace and/or together. As soon as Jada was placed in a uniform, her love and adoration of fashion evaporated and we didn't see that back until the last couple chapters.

This whole book is very tell not show. The number of times we were told Donovan was a logical, numbers guy, and Jada was impulsive got to be a bit much. Also apparently Donovan's other passion is surfing?? Which he just threw out there at the end?? Seems fake. Can we get surfing scenes, please? That would have been hot.

Continuing, I have genuinely no idea what these characters look like. I didn't have hair color or eye color for most of the book, I just knew that Donovan was large and Jada was stunning. Imagine my surprise at 75% of the book when I was told basically everyone in this book was Black. When writing my review, this was confirmed when I saw the cover for the first time. I had to go back and delete all my notes about Jada being a stereotypical privileged, spoiler white girl rich-bitch. This, of course, also speaks to the subtle racism in this statement and in society, where when race is not provided, I assume white (and I recognize that). I love that this book has a mostly-Black cast, written by a Black author. I just had no idea, because there were never any character descriptions.

- MORALLY, IT WAS WRONG

The entire fake-dating premise started in front of a crowd, filming, when Jada calls Donovan her boyfriend and kisses him in front of them. Literally hours into the job, she had no idea if he had a significant other, and basically did so knowing it was going to be published on social media, blowing his life up to scrutiny. It felt like a huge line was crossed in terms of consent. You can't just drag people into the limelight with you because YOU can't cope with it, or because YOU need someone to back up your lies. Making out with someone when you're not aware of their relationship status is bad enough, but especially when you may be landing him in hot water as your boss.

Jada went through all this because she denied a marriage proposal from Dr. John on live television and the public basically turned on her. And then when Dr. John came sauntering in, she was like "damn, did I make the right decision?" and then a few minutes later went to Donovan and told him not to worry about Dr. John, because "The whole time he was talking to me, I couldn't stop thinking about you." That's... a lie. We were in her head while she was chatting with Dr. John, and that's not what she was thinking. It felt like the author kept trying to throw twists our way and they were so fake and transparent, please just don't bother.

- THE FRIENDS WERE ALL PROPS

Donovan owns the cupcakery with his two other football besties. But do they ever actually hang out? the only time we see them is so they can make digs about how Donovan is "so in love" or in some way to move the relationship forward. We never saw Jada with her bestie, either.

- THE CONFLICT WAS SO FAKE

The whole book Donovan is worried about the cupcakery's sales, and Jada makes a sarcastic comment when they first meet, criticizing the store. He continues to worry all through the book... and then the conclusion at the end is basically him listening to the very first thing she said to him months ago, and it solves all their problems. Whoopty-do. He'd been focusing on other things instead of the real, valid criticism one of his customers offered.

There was another moment that escalated to three sentences of trauma explained to Jada... that had been building up the whole book. Clearly this was supposed to be a huge twist, but it just fizzled out as I laughed at that was what all the secret calls were built up to be. Pshaw. If you're going to do shock and awe, do shock and awe. Otherwise, it was just a pathetic attempt at a "twist." Know your books identity. This is a lighthearted romance where the progression was so linear it was boring. It could have worked and been so sweet, if only the characters had been interesting.

And the big conflict at the end? Literally shut up. That was so forced and out of character for both of them, especially at that point in time.

Donovan is a pro football player who opened a cupcake shop with his best friends.

Jada is the most unpopular woman in America after turning down a proposal on a dating reality show.

It’s annoyance at first sight, but when Jada gets a job at the cupcake shop, sparks fly.

This SWEET (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) romance has it all: fake dating, steamy hook-ups, and supremely likable characters.

I loved how Donovan’s friends were the supporting characters. It was fun twist on the “supportive bff” trope.

Check out this book if you want a fun, sexy read.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

•••Spoiler free review below•••

After turning down a proposal on a popular reality tv show, Jada becomes public enemy number one. To make matters worse, she is suddenly cut off by her wealthy parents. Her grandmother will allow her access to her trust fund on her 26th birthday but first she must prove her work ethic and convince her grandmother that she deserves the money.

In steps Donovan Dell, famous NFL player and part time baker. When Jada reluctantly takes a job at his bakery and accidently implies her and Donovan are dating to a tabloid reporter, she is thrown into a flurry of events she didn't anticipate when coming back to her hometown.

Fake It Till You Bake It is the SWEET fake dating romance book of your dreams and will leave you wanting your own Donovan (and a cupcake). It will be released June 21st, and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing an arc with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I was given this ARC by NetGalley for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book: 4/5
Spice:2/5
Tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, matchmaker, slow burn, business arrangement to lovers
CW/TW: Sexual Content, Bullying

I really enjoyed this book. I was first drew in because it was a Black romance and I'm so happy I was able to read this. I like the disability representation as well with our FMC. I don't particularly like slow burns and this book is definitely one. I did feel that the story did drag at places and need to pick up the pace. I did find the entitled attitude of the FMC off-putting at times. Also I do not like the harassing nature that some characters had towards the FMC. I would love for there to be more spice. We wait so long for it and it's still lacking in heat. I feel their attraction and energy did not fully transfer to their behavior. It tackles so many topics like black sheep of family, internet bullying, invasion of privacy, and boundaries. All and all, it was a very cute and sweet book, like the sweets made in the shop.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of Fake It Till You Bake It in exchange for an honest review.

Jada Townsend-Matthews is a reality tv star who has become vilified by social media following the finale of Donovan Dell is a professional football player that loves to bake and owns a cupcake shop with two of his teammates/best friends.

He is a meticulous planner and she is impulsive chaos personified! Their worlds collide in a fake dating scheme for her to save face in the public eye and for him to keep the doors of Sugar Blitz open.

Jada and Donovan’s “meet cute” happens when she comes into Sugar Blitz with her bestie and proceeds to criticize the cupcakes and decor without realizing the Donovan is standing right behind her. Oops!!! 😅😂

Fake It Til You Bake It has mutual pining, fake dating and slow burn romance. I usually like my romance novels with a little more steam but that’s just a personal preference. The slow burn felt very slowwww though. We don’t get a real kiss until about halfway through.

This book features a great cast of side characters: Grams aka Mrs. T, Nicholas, and August. August was a man of few words but when he did say something it was necessary and important for Donovan’s growth. Both J & D were trying to overcome some childhood trauma (learning disability and gambling addicted father). Wesley does an excellent job of handling both topics without make the book feel heavy.

I enjoyed the witty and sarcastic banter between Jada and Donovan throughout the book. I also loved how after knowing each other a short amount of time, they just understood how to be there for each other emotionally. On paper Jada and Donovan seem like they wouldn’t be a good fit but they each have qualities the other is lacking.

Throughout the novel, Jada had to learn to take back her power and accept herself despite internet trolls and her parents who disapproved of her choices simply because they didn’t align with what they expected of her. Donavon had to learn that it’s okay to not be in control in every single situation. Sometimes chaos is exactly what you need to shake things up and find the people and opportunities meant for you.

Jamie Wesley knocked it out of the park! Fake It Till You Bake It is the perfect start to a new series of football players who open a cupcake bakery together. This first book has comedic moments, swoony scenes, and two characters who I wanted to befriend so badly! You also fall easily for the community surrounding them. This book was so much fun, I literally couldn't stop reading them. Perfect as a beach read me thinks.

Reality TV star villain meets cupcake shop owner in this magnificent rom-com. Jada is the most villify woman in America; she just turned down the proposal of America's hottest bachelor in this hit dating show she appeared in. She's also a heiress!!! Her grandma is owner of this billionaire football team. Before she hands Jada her trust fund, she talks to one of her players, Donovan, to let Jada work for him for a few months in order for grandma to see she is commited to something.

They don't really start in the right way because when they first meet, Jada is saying his cupcake shop is boring and he's listening to her lmao he confronts her and they get on it, bickering non-stop! She's such a fashionista, wearing pumps at every moment, Gucci suits and so. I love Jada so very much. She also feels like she is never enough, mainly because of her upbringing, her parents always letting her know she was a disappointment to them because she wasn't a scientist or working in STEM like them. She also has a learning disability, dyslexia, so her parents also made her feel bad about it throughout her whole life.

On the other side you have Donovan, who needs a little bit of help with his cupcake shop. It's suffering! He isn't getting as many costumers as he thought he would, so he needs a plan and PRONTO. Good thing he starts fake dating Jada, because the free publicity they create? By just being together? OOOF. Now they have to appear on talk shows, create viral moments, to help Donovan's bakery. They work together so well and I love that they constantly bicker around like that never disappears. Jada is always teasing him and right back Donovan lmao. I loved their dynamic so much and I didn't want to stop reading.

Two scenes I loved:
1) Donovan and Jada have to recreate a clinch romance cover for the book club they invited to the shop! There's a photo shoot and *screams* they've been dating for 2 days at that point but THERE'S SO MUCH CHEMISTRY IT'S INSANE
2) Donovan inviting his two football-playing best friends to watch Jada's season of the dating show lmao AND THEN getting angry and growling whenever the bachelor came on screen!!! He's so cute and hilarious. They are commited to the show at one point and cannot stop watching YES DATING TV SHOWS ARE SO ENTERTAINING THAT'S RIGHT.

I'm excited about the next book? It hasn't been announced BUT I HOPE THERE'S A NEXT BOOK AND POSSIBLY A THIRD BOOK? That ending left me wanting so much more for the future couples omg. I'm ready!

This was an ok romcom. I didn’t care for either character. I appreciate the dual POV but at times it jumped without warning. It took too long for chemistry to develop between them. Jada always seemed rude to me. Also the writing it self felt too relaxed. For example the handsomest as an adjective just seems like lazy writing.

This book started out with the enemies to lovers trope, then slid into fake dating, with a side of insta-love.. Jada is what I would call “high maintenance”. She was just burned on a reality TV dating show in which the Bachelor type character proposed to her, but she spurned his proposal because her gut was telling her something wasn’t right. Now she’s the most hated woman on social media and just wants to hide away. Donovan is a star defensive back for a football team who loves to bake in his spare time and has just opened a cupcake shop with two other members of the team. When Jada comes in with a friend and insults his shop for seemingly no reason, they are immediately antagonistic, but at the same time, sparks are flying. Because her grandmother is the football team owner, and Jada needs a job, her grandma ends up manipulating Donovan into giving Jada a job at his shop. Pretty soon, they find themselves in a fake dating situation, and it’s not much longer before they realize maybe they don’t hate each other after all.

This was an okay romance, but Jada and Donovan’s romance between just didn’t quite click with me. Jada was very good at self-sabotaging herself under the guise of being open and honest, and Donovan was rather rigid and a bit smug. I was also confused about the whole setup of the story. As active pro football players, there’s no possible way that Donovan and two other members of his team would have time to work full time at an outside business, and certainly not one that involves them constantly eating large quantities of sugar. Professional sports players follow incredibly demanding and rigid eating and training schedules year round. They spend hours in the gym as well as studying film and running drills to keep their skills sharp. From the blurb, I assumed Donovan was retired, but when I realized he was an active player, there was no way for me to suspend disbelief on this plot point and threw me out of the story. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This was a cute and quick read. It took me a minute to get on the Jada train, because she started so hot, and for what? There's a way to speak your mind without being just plain rude, you know? But as the story went on, I warmed up to her and enjoyed seeing how her and Donovan's relationship developed and progressed-- although I will say that the story seemed to drag at some points because it didn't feel like much was happening. The chemistry was a little lackluster for me until we got a ways in, and I think that could have had to do with the dragging, as well. I liked seeing Jada become more confident in her skills and talents, and I liked Donovan's friends a lot. I enjoyed it overall and look forward to seeing what happens with August in the next book. I hope we can get a little MORE of everything with the next one.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was not familiar with Jamie Wesley's work so I was not sure what to expect. Fake It Until You Bake It is a fun light-hearted rom-com that has great representation.

Jada recently shocked the world when she turned down a proposal on a reality tv dating show. Donovan Dell, a NFL player, who happens to own a cupcake shop with two of his teammates is struggling to keep his cupcakery afloat. Jada and Donovan's path's cross and they hatch a plan to have a fake dating relationship which would help both of them in the end. Little did they know that sparks would fly.

It was refreshing to see male athletes not cast as dumb jocks but as successful businessmen who also happened to be athletes not to mention bakers.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I rounded up due to Wesley's success at not shying away from some harder topics like gambling addiction, dyslexia, extreme parental criticism, and absentee parents.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

We've got Fake Dating, cupcakes, AND handsome and wholesome football players? Yes please.

This was my first book by the author and I absolutely adored it. This is probably one of few Romance novels I've read where, even when I was frustrated by man characters, never did I actually dislike them. Both Jada and Donovan are class acts, and I love how this story truly showed how they were great for each other. Writing a point of view from Donovan's side kept us in the loop about his perspective and feelings throughout the story, which really helped flesh him into just as whole of a character as Jada instead of just a leading man. His steadiness and her vivacity were a delight, and meeting each other brought them to a balance of those traits like a healthy relationship should!

This romance was sweet and healthy and wholesome. Even in the spice, the undercurrent was always one of devotion and tenderness. Between the leading couple and the delectable cupcakes sprinkled throughout, my sweet tooth is very satisfied.

Another plus? The supporting cast. We get our glimpses of who could be the leads in a companion novel and I'm so, so glad to see that August's story would appear to be next based off the ending. I will definitely be picking up whatever sequel/companion there is to come!

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for this advanced copy for review!

This was overall a cute and fun story, there was definite chemistry between the characters and I enjoyed the opposites attract element to their dynamic. I did have some issues with the writing, I found that there were certain lines that just didn't feel like a real human thought and felt awkward reading. I would say this book is something to look for when wanting to read something quick, fun and easy. A possible companion novel was teased in this book and I am interested in checking that out.

A book with cupcakes, amazing banter, a not so friendly meet cute, and two lead characters you just want to root for. I couldn’t imagine not enjoying this book from Jamie Wesley. Not only did I enjoy this but I absolutely loved it. Fake It Till You Bake It was a five star read for me.

The book is about Donovan Del a football player for the San Diego Knights and of owner of Sugar Blitz a donut shop he co owns with his two best friends/teammates. The shop isn’t doing so well a few months since opening. That why he is bothered when he hears a lovely potential costumer dissing his business. While he changes the customer’s mind on the donuts she left the shop not liking him to much. To bad for him that customer turns out to be Jada Townsend-Matthews the granddaughter of the Knights owner. Jada is a beautiful women, with a way with people, but tends to not be responsible has yet to find her passion and career she loves which is something her family hold against her. Jada is coming off a horrible stint from a reality tv show in which she still dealing with the back lash. So much so she is pretty much in hiding. Her grandmother gives her one last chance to earn her trust fund. Work at a business of her choosing for four months and come up with a plan for the future in that time and she gets the money. To bad for Jada her grandmother gets her a job a Donovan’s cup cake shop.. So now Donovan and Jada are to work together and when a reporter comes in a mistakes them for a couple they start faking a relationship. So what happens when it starts not being a fake relationship?

Seriously this book has so much I love to read in romance. Amazing banter, foodie romance, a lead working to find themselves in this world, a bachelor tie in, sports and fake dating. My favorite thing about this book was Jada and Donovan’s chemistry. It was hot from the second they spoke to each other. And once they got to know each other and understand one another it was even more special. Jada became one of my favorite characters. I love her personality and the heart of gold she has when she loves and connects with you. What made her special for me was the struggle to find her passions which I related to so much. Donovan was amazing as well. They way he became protected of Jada when she need it but wouldn’t voice it was just heartwarming. This book was funny without ever having to make the characters do over the top things. A great crew of side characters. Really hoping for a August book next. Also that ending love confession swooning everywhere. Just a romance that I wanted to keep reading. and hope more people pick up.

Very thankful to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this awesome read.

Okay well for some reason Netgalley won’t let me download this one in their app. I tried to download the book it won’t download? I really wanted to read this but I’m not able to.

Fake It Till You Bake it is such a funny book. Very cute indeed. I enjoyed the fake dating trope. The characters are fun and relatable. This is a book I could live in! I loved the lingo and the chemistry the characters had with each other.

Content Warning: cyber-bullying

I thought this was a cute foodie romance involving cupcakes. Of course it was the cover that drew me to the story and it perfectly suits the story.

Donovan is a football player with a sweet tooth! He is the owner of a cupcake bakery. I could just imagine a big man with this delicate, frosted cupcakes and I’d smile. The moment he meets Jada, they get off on the wrong foot but once they start spending more time together we see that Jada isn’t the snobbish girl he first met. She’s very sweet and personable actually, compared to Donovans sometimes gruff and stern personality.

The building romance between Donovan and Jada is pretty steady. The do notice one another, then get into a fake-dating situation until they decide to give in to the undeniable attraction between them. There was good banter between them, and they did make a good couple. I did wish there was more chemistry between them because at times it felt a bit forced. I wanted more of a build up since they did come off irritated with one another at first meeting and hinted at an enemies to lover romance. But I’d say this is a more light-hearted romance than anything too intense.


Why you should read it:
*quick, light-hearted romance
*diverse cast of characters
*a football player who sells cupcakes

Why you might not want to read it:
*chemistry felt forced at times

My Thoughts:

I thought this was enjoyable but sometimes the chemistry between Don and Jada felt forced. I did like the characters though! If you want a light-hearted romance that has football, cupcakes, dating show and fake dating, then this is the book for you!

This is such a cute story! I love the premise of our lead being a pro athlete and also
Indulging in his love for baking. I also adore a fake dating trope and any instance of reality tv being brought into a plot. Donovan and Jada are the couple you wouldn’t imagine to work so well together, but they do and their chemistry is FIRE! I really hope this is a series because I’d love to see further development with some of the side characters. The premise is brilliant, the writing is superbly engaging and overall this is a touchdown in the fourth quarter! Loved it!

This was a fun enemies-to-lovers/fake dating/opposites attract romance.

I really enjoyed the progression of Jada and Donovan’s relationship. I liked how Jada turned Donovan’s life upside down and made it not so predictable. And I really liked how Donovan was so supportive of Jada and assured her that she was capable.

Of course the situations they found themselves in were funny, sweet, and sexy.

The only thing I didn’t love was how often Jada’s trust fund was mentioned in the beginning. It was a little annoying and didn’t make her a likable character at the beginning (at least to me).

I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from this series and the other characters.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Fake It Till You Bake It is a fun romance between a cupcake-baking football star and the team owner's reality-star granddaughter. While I'm always a fan of the fake-dating trope, something about this book just didn't quite work for me. The initial tension between Jada and Donovan disappeared too quickly, and many of Jada's relationships (with her friend, with her grandmother, etc.) felt underdeveloped. I loved the premise, but the pacing with off and it didn't quite come together.

Well hot freaking damn this was brilliant! Bookstagram is going to eat this up. It was sweet, Spicy, real and fresh. It felt different and I loved it. I can't wait to read more by this author.