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.

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.

Fake dating and sports?? My fav tropes!!! Loved this from beginning to end, Truly didn't want it to end.

I greatly enjoyed this book. Adorable romance with lovable characters and a great read. Fantastic read.

I enjoyed reading Fake It Til You Bake It and look forward to others that Jamie Wesley puts out.

Jada is a wide known person for one reason: she denied a proposal on reality television. She let him know that she had another man at home who held her heart. Returning home, her grandmother insists she work at Sugar Blitz, the cupcake shop run by football player Donovan Dell.

Donovan loves to bake cupcakes and share food. An owner of Sugar Blitz, he's in the red zone and needs to find a way to save the business. When Jada kisses him to get a blogger to lay off, they both realize this may be the best move. Fake date and help the business? What could go wrong.

I found myself easily flipping through the pages and loving the easy going plot of this debut novel. The dual points of view and well paced chapters were both positives. I do wish Donovan's character was featured more often and wanted more of a backstory on him. Overall, I can't wait to read what Wesley puts out next!

Thank you St. Martin's Press Romance and Netgalley for my arc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a sweet and light romance with heart bringing depth to the whole of the story. It was a cinnamon chocolate confection - spice, richness, flavor, and just the right amount of frosting to set off the flavors. In short, I enjoyed this rom-com and the MCs were likable characters that I found myself cheering on.

I received an ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions and poorly written metaphors are mine.

I am always up for a great enemies to lovers book, and this was no exception! I totally fell in love with this one from the beginning! As a baker myself, I love reading adorable baking books (like A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee!) And this book really hit the sweet spot for me! This easy to read, fake dating trope book hit the spot for me with all of the adorable-ness it brought to the table. I loved all the banter between the characters, and who doesn't love a hot guy in an apron?! Especially a hot, buff football player?! With two swoony black characters, including one bad ass baker babe, we are bound to get the fun, chemistry, and romance we were looking for in this rom-com!! I love the take charge action of Jada, even in the face of all the hate on social media. She was so classy and brave, even when things got tough! I also love Donovan's calm and collected even temper and his can-do attitude. I love his attention to detail and his ability to make a plan and execute it. He is driven and stalwart! This book was so freaking adorable, I could write on and on and on about it!

This book offers lots of fun tropes like enemies to lovers, fake dating, and even a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. I really like the premise. The beginning was a bit slow and the conflict depends on miscommunication which is not my favorite. However, I still really liked the couple and had a good time. 3.5 stars rounded up.

i read this book valentines/ super bowl weekend and between the ties to Football and love shows- I couldn’t have picked a better book choice!
I genuinely enjoyed these characters especially Donovan and his football buddies and were hoping he and Jada would end up together even though she took a minute to grow on me. Throughout the book she definitely made decisions that reflected her her mid twenties age vs his slightly more mature demeanor but she grew throughout the story and I loved her confidence in herself by the stories end.

Baking, Business. Celebrity, and a little sports thrown in. I loved both the lead characters and the book!