I thought it was a cute feel good story of Jada and Donovan. Jada who her family considers a misfit not fitting into the family medical business is doing all she can to make her grandmother proud and gain her trust fund. Jada's grandmother is the owner of the football team that Donovan is a player of and owner with his two team mates of the Sugar Blitz cupcake shop. Jada's grandmother, Mrs T, asks Donovan to give her granddaughter a job without knowing that Donovan and Jada already had a run in at the cupcake show with neither being aware of who the other person is. Jada who appeared on "My One and Only" show like the "Bachelor" turns down the marriage proposal and becomes the pariah on social media. She makes up a story that she has a love interest at home and when called out to tell who the love interest is, kisses Donovan. What turns out as a fake relationship quickly becomes real.

This was such a quick and easy read!! The representation was top-tier and the fake dating >>> (which was instigated by the female mc ofc… we love olive smith energy). Honestly, the only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the insane possessiveness Donovan was exerting. Like don't get me wrong, I love when fictional men give off alpha vibes but Donovan was really out here growling over every little thing... But other than that, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fast and fun read <3

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers. The following thoughts are my own*

Fake It Till You Bake It is a delightful, fast-paced rom-com perfect for summer or anytime you need a smile.

Fans of The Bachelor or Love Island might have fun with this one, because our female main character, Jada is a reality dating show alum hiding out from the backlash of turning down America's leading man. In order to prove to her family that she's got her life together, Jada takes a job at a cupcake shop owned by Donovan, an NFL player with a not-so-hidden sweet side. When confronted by a tabloid gossip-monger in the shop, Jada pretends that Donovan is her new sweetie to stave off the difficult questions about why she left her reality show. The social media buzz gets the shop some much-needed business, so Donovan and Jada decide to keep up the charade even though real feelings are starting to emerge.

It's a dual POV romance, so you get to follow the emotional journey of both Jada and Donovan throughout. Both characters have such nuanced backstories and you get a sense of how their pasts have shaped them, which I love to see in romances because it creates more authentic moments for me as a reader. The family moments in this book were particularly bittersweet for both characters—I appreciated that both Jada and Donovan had difficult and moving interactions with their respective families because they came across as more true to life.

The romantic tension between Jada and Donovan is instant, as is the push and pull between attraction and annoyance. Their banter was charming and funny. Despite the fake dating elements of the story, it felt a little insta-lovey for me. I think fake dating is at its best when it's drawn out a touch more. And without specifically spoiling the ending, I felt the end conflict for Jada and Donovan felt super unnecessary and I would have rather spent my pages elsewhere with these characters. It's these last two issues that had me rating this one a 3.5-star rating because the pacing just felt off. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fake It Till You Bake It is very much like the cupcakes in the book—creative, sweet, and will have you craving a second helping.

A sequel is sort of teased at the end, so I'm hoping that a second helping will be coming soon!

Perfect for fans of:
Make it Sweet by Kristen Callihan
Intercepted by Alexa Martin
The Bachelor

This was such a fun and entertaining read!
Fake dating, enemies to lovers, meddling friends- I couldn't ask for more.
Donovan is an absolute dream, so supportive, patient and loving!
I really hope this ecomes a series because I need Nicholas and August to find their HEAs as well.

A cute premise but the dialogue and narration fell flat for me. Worth checking out for fans of faking dating tropes.

Who doesn’t love a romcom with some cupcakes?! This was my first book from this author, and it definitely won’t be my last! This was a slow burn enemies to loves, fake dating romcom. I really enjoyed the dual POVs and getting to know some of the new regulars of the cupcake shop. What I am really excited about though was that cliffhanger at the end!! Can’t wait!

Thank you St Martin Press for Emmy early copy!

This one is a cute and light read full of football players, baking and interesting characters. The two main characters fall into the lovely tropes of enemies to lover and fake dating while each trying to get their lives and careers more on track. Added in is some bromance, unique theme nights and lovely side characters to keep you entertained.

Looking forward to a Summer Romance Read? Look no further then Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley. The story follows Jada, a reality star, and Donovan, a professional football player and the fake dating scheme they come up with to help improve Jada’s image, and boost business for Donovan.

What I liked: I love the fake dating trope as much as the next person, but sometimes it can get a little stale. Wesley does a great job of leaning into this trope, but at the same time giving us developed characters and a fun concept. Jada is dyslexic and is not afraid to talk about it. Donovan and his friends could have been written as stereotypical athletes, but I love that they were written to embrace their love of baking, talking about emotions, and standing up for those around them. The book made me laugh and cheer everyone on, I especially loved Jada’s grandma, I need a story about her!

To keep in mind: I found the beginning of the book a little slow, and wanted more information on Jada’s experience on the reality show. A majority of the book also takes place in one setting, and while I understand why this was done, I wish the characters would go to other places.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Fake It Till You Bake It comes out June 21!

This is the first book that I have read by this author; Jamie Wesley and I have to say, I was delighted. This is such an engaging story about Jada Townsend-Matthews and Donovan Dell. They each have "baggage" from their formative years that motivates/effects them in their outlook and life plans. Donovan, our hero of the story, trying to make ends meet as a kid made him focused on having a stable income/life and not to take risks. Our heroine, Jada, she has always felt the mantel of disappointment from her parents that she wasn't more like them and her sister. Her grandmother is the only one that understands her and actually shows her affection. Her parents are too "scientific" to worry about actually giving Jada any affection.

I loved how these two meet and how they then "meet again" due to Jada's grandmother. Donovan is a NFL player; along with 2 of his best friends and team mates, they open a cupcake bakery in San Diego, California: Sugar Blitz. Donovan; being the business major and numbers cruncher of the group researched everything about opening their type of business in the location they did. They should be doing a better business, because their cupcakes are the best; even if he does say so himself.

Jada, in her own words, is very impulsive and it's landed her in trouble on many occasions. She is attempting "to turn over a new leaf" and trying to find out what she's good at enough to perhaps make a career out of it. Jada has just come back from doing a reality TV show and is being hounded by the press and the multitude of followers across all multi-media platforms. Her best friend begs her to come out of hiding and to go to a new cupcake shop in the area.

One day two young ladies are standing in front of Donovan in line, at Sugar Blitz, to order and he overhears one of them dissing the look of his establishment and his product without even having tried anything yet. Donovan sees red. Thus begins the tumultuous and very surprising relationship between Jada and Donovan. I guess you can say opposites attract in this instance.

This story flowed like batter into a cupcake tin (ha, ha) and the characters are charming and endearing (at least most of them...). Three professional athletes opening a cupcake bakery as the major focus of their business is genius; in my opinion. Kudos to Jamie Wesley for writing such an entertaining and endearing story. I couldn't help but love Jada and Donovan.

This was my first book by Jamie Wesley and there were a lot of things I liked about this one! Fake dating + a reality tv-show "villain" + a cupcake-baking NFL player? The perfect ingredients for a wonderful romance. I really, really liked the FMC. She was snarky, sharp, and completely herself. And the MMC was so sweet, hard-working, and totally thrown off by this bombshell of a woman! However, I found the pacing in this a little too slow and found myself tuning-out every now and then. And even though I liked the characters, I didn't feel a strong emotional connection to them. Still, an incredibly sweet romance and I'm rounding up my rating from a 3.5 to a 4. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I absolutely love this book!! Jada and Donovan are funny, charismatic and a truly enjoyable couple. Jada is brutally honest with everyone, and I found her to be the perfect match for Donovan. She had great ideas for how to bring more customers to Donovan’s cupcake shop and she did an amazing job hosting the book club. I was surprised that Donovan joined her that night and that he had even read the book! It didn’t take Jada long to determine how to help Donovan make Sugar Blitz more successful and a destination spot for those near and far.

Donovan’s first impression of Jada was mixed; she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met but her attitude was questionable, and her tone was rude. Donovan needed to loosen up a bit and Jada certainly captivated him with her personality, her ability to win over his customers and her willingness to do anything to help him. Jada was afraid her balloon of happiness would pop if her past got in the way. Donovan wasn't sure if Jada would get bored of him and leave to travel and find out what she really wanted to do. Jada and Donovan deserve a happy ending and I am confident that he will make the right play to win her heart!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc of this story.

This book was not bad, but if I had bought it myself, I would’ve dnf-ed it around the 30%. The pacing in this book is extremely odd, the couple doesn’t really have a ton of interaction in the first third, which was disappointing. The love interests best friends seemed to be more developed and strong characters, whereas the love interest was somewhat flat throughout the whole thing. The middle of the story is what saved it for me, but the beginning and end were sub-par. I think this is more of an editing and revising issue. Cute premise, but lacking some important aspects.

This is the first book that I have read by Jamie Wesley. It is an easy romance full of miscellaneous tropes: enemies to lovers, fake romance, reality show, and second chances. At first I really disliked Jada Townsend- Matthews as I hate rudeness, but she grew on me as she did NFL football player Donovan Dell. And who can resist handsome cupcake baking foot ballplayers? Jada has dyslexia, which has been a bone of contention between her and her parents- geniuses, who cannot understand her. Because of her condition, she has been flighty, going from one thing to another to discover her calling. Dell also has parental issues and learned to cope by seeking order in his life. Jada's latest attempt to a "thing" was to become a "social influencer" but that blew up when she said "no" to the bachelor on the reality show she was on., and she became a target of hate. Her grandmother influences Dell and his business partners to hire her, as she is their boss. And Jada excels. Faking a relationship becomes real when they find that they not only have chemistry but can talk to each other about anything. Which makes the conflict towards the end ring false. But altogether, I enjoyed the story, with lots of humor and likable characters.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary read.

I loved this book! I’ve been reading mainly HR recently and have been in a slump, but this book got me out of it. I appreciated the POC representation and really enjoyed the character development both individually and as a couple. I can’t wait for more books from this author!!

The fake-dating trope has to be my all time favorite (after enemies to lovers of course!) I loved every second of this one! Jada and Donovan were so sweet together and I really loved the premise of this one! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

loved every minute of reading this, couldn’t put it down. jada is such a relatable 20-something, her growth throughout the book was so fun to watch. donovan…gah, love him to pieces. the banter was enjoyable, the relationship was adorable. highly recommend reading this one and can’t wait for the next book to come out!

Fake It Til You Bake It follows Jada, a former reality tv contestant and Donovan, a pro-athlete (football) and owner of a cupcake shop. After interesting interactions and set ups, Jada starts to work for Donovan and quickly the fake dating ruse starts, which helps both of them earn a new reputation. I will never be a reality tv star, or pro-athlete, but I enjoyed how both characters had so many moments that made them real, which I found helped me really connect with them as characters and the story line in general.

This book has fake dating, cupcakes, and reality tv (even though that was not a current event but something that the character went through previously), which is a great book trope and two of my favourite guilty pleasures! I really enjoyed the book, I am a sucker for books that revolve around baking since that is such a huge part of my family life and this book did not disappoint! The dynamics in Fake It Til You Bake It were amazing, nothing felt forced or awkward, it was a beautiful story.

I received an ARC copy if this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This may be the best fake dating romance novel i have reread in a *while!* Wesley really wasn't trying to work every single romance trope in, and the result was believable emotions within the characters. I'll never be an heiress, but I understand parental expectations like Jada, and I FULLY empathize with Donovans need for order and predictability. Watching these two come together and evolve was a joy!

I'll read pretty much anything with "bake" in the title and thankfully, this was cute! There's a lot to love with this one: fake dating, a professional athlete, some steam, and a cupcake shop! The plot is light and breezy and a tad predictable but it was definitely fun. It's not the best romance novel I've ever read, and its a bit slow to start, but if you're looking for a good fun and flirty read this fits the bill.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to be an early reader.

Jada, the granddaughter of the San Diego football team's owner and famous heartbreaker, meets Donovan when she goes into his shop and belittles his cupcakes. Donovan, a San Diego football team player, opened up the cupcake shop with two of his best friends (also SD football team players), and has been struggling to keep the shop profitable. All of that changes when Jada's grandma convinces Donovan to hire Jada at his shop.

When I picked up this book, I assumed I knew what would happen: meet-cute -> some sort of argument -> happy ending. What I didn't expect, were the curveballs / plot twists that Wesley threw in there. The banter, storyline, and conflict resolution were great and don't get me started on the healthy(!) communication between these 2.

10/10 recommend - enjoyed this book so much that I'm already looking forward to the next one! Thanks to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the ARC!