Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for this arc!

- while I enjoyed Jaigirdar’s first two books, this one missed the mark for me.
- the main character was fairly immature at times with her relationships to her close friends. While this is YA, it still didn’t feel like it fit with the rest of the character’s personality.
- I really enjoyed the puns and creativity, as well as the baking aspect!
- with love being in the title, I expected this to have a little more romance than it did.
- I wished there had been more about the food fight fall out, because it felt like it wasn’t resolved.
- the way that Jaigirdar writes about fat phobia and racism is so nuanced, and I thought that was really well done!

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the audiobook!
A queer romcom with baking and donuts? This is everything I wanted for a summer romance book! This had basically every representation I wanted; plus size representation, queer characters, and dynamic characters featuring a young Bangladeshi woman. Her culture and family is an important part of Shireen and her baking. The romance is cute and lighthearted, but there is still a coming-of-age plot. We see Shireen face racism and fatphobia while competing on the show. I really love the author's ability to weave an adorable and dynamic story while including really deep and important messages throughout. The story was fun and filled with cute puns and jokes which drag you in but the depth really keeps you going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e arc of this book.

When Shireen gets the opportunity to compete in a baking competition, she takes it at the expense of her relationship. There she is forced to compete with her ex and a new budding romance.

This was so cute! I actually have read it twice already because I convinced my book club friends to read it with me too. I love Shireen and Chris so much! I also love Fatimah and Shireen's parents!

This is so fun to read if you're into reality baking shows (which I definitely am). It's also a really cute summery romance without any homophobia! I love Adiba's writing as always!

Cw: racism, fatphobia

I’ve had this author on my radar for a while but never got the chance to read her books yet, and then the opportunity to review this audiobook presented itself.

The main character, Shireen, is seventeen, and depressed at the beginning of the summer: she just broke up with her girlfriend and her bff is visiting family in Bangladesh. Things start looking up when she’s selected to take part in the first-ever Junior Irish Baking Show. Until she finds out her ex is one of the other candidates.

I liked Shireen a lot even though she’s not always likable. But honestly, who is? She’s a teenager and she makes mistakes. She’s young enough to learn from them and I enjoyed reading about her character growth. The author tackles fatphobia, mental health, and racism, at the same time as Shireen tries to get over her ex and decide whether she wants to start something with another girl on the program. My favourite thing though was the way the author writes about Shireen’s family being originally from Bangladesh – her parents moved to Dublin – and how important her culture, especially the culinary aspect, is to Shireen.

The narrator has a nice voice but the pace is strange sometimes and the characters aren’t always distinct from one another. Shireen’s voice works well, however, and I also like Niamh’s, which has a scratchy quality that I felt fit her well.

Being me, I was obviously hungry for half the book. I mean, with so much talk of baking, it was bound to happen. This book though also gave me food for thought.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so well written and it was really perfect in regards to representation. THE DOs & DONUTS of LOVE has plus-size representation, LGBTQ+ representation and POC representation. Not only that, but this issues around fatphobia and racism in a way that doesn’t preach or pull out from the story. I could not put this one down.

If you love “British Bake Off”, Love Triangles, puns and donuts, I recommend you picking up this book.

Stories from Adiba Jaigirdar are always a breath of fresh air that make me smile from the inside out. The Dos and Donuts of Love is no exception, just another feather in Jaigirdar's cap.

I loved the setting at the baking show! It elevated the stakes Shireen felt as a teenager and as a child of immigrants, two strong battles in figuring out your own story! This book treated teenagers as teenagers and I think it will be an important read for teens and tweens. It dealt well with fatphobia and xenophobia all while having important portrayals of positive female mentorship and sapphic love.

*4.5 stars rounded up!

The Do and Donuts of Love

Queer Bengali Baking Show Romance

This was such a fun listen! The narrator was fantastic! And a delayed Pride post.

A romance taking place during a reality baking show?! And her ex ends up in the competition too?!

While this was a fun plot line which kitchen gaffs that had me giggling, it also touched on deeper topics.
The MC is Bengali and she deals with racism and being created into an “other”. There were small micro aggressions, the white judge refusing to learn to say her name correctly, her being singled out for favoritism because one of the Judges is Indian and obviously all south Asian cultures are the same 🙄

There’s also a little bit of Romeo and Juliet with the fact that her ex…is the daughter of the rival donut shop across the street and their families hate each other.

Overall this was such a fantastic book! I would love to get a copy for my classroom!

I love baking & Great British Bake Off so this book was right up my alley! It wasn't may favorite book, but I had a relatively great time listening to the audiobook. The narrator did a great job. 💕

Author: Adiba Jaigirdar
Narrator: Priya Ayyar

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA, Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Displays toxic relationships, toxic friendships, and gaslighting.

“The Dos and Donuts of Love” follows Shireen Malik, a Bangladeshi-Irish girl, as she competes in the very first Junior Irish Baking Show and is paired up against no other than her recent ex girlfriend, Chris. Facing both racist and fatphobic criticism, Shireen will try to succeed and thrive against every single contestant and come out more confident of her skill than ever.

I got to listen to an audiobook of this novel, and I was completely mesmerized and caught from the very beginning. I was right at the start of a reading slump but Priya Ayyar and her narration immediately swep me off it.

I’m not gonna lie, this book is not as predictable as you might think. Starting off, I could’ve sworn I was going to know every single twist and turn, but I am happy to say that I was thoroughly surprised more than once by this story Adiba Jaigirdar has constructed. Her characters were so well thought out and her pace quick enough that you wouldn’t get bored but also slow enough that we were left with some sneaky cliffhangers for a bit.

I would highly recommend this read for someone who’s looking for a young adult book with queer and diverse characters and who doesn’t want it to be too spicy (or spicy at all). Obviously it’s a plus if you like cooking and baking shows, but I personally don’t most of the time and I still thoroughly enjoyed “The Dos and Donuts of Love.”

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

I received an audio arc of this book. I love this author’s writing although this story is very unlike all of her other books. It’s a sapphic love triangle that takes place in ireland on a baking show. This book perfectly showcases some of the issues of being bigger, a person of color, and queer with takes on how the internet might react to people being on tv.

“This cookie won’t crumble – and I’m the cookie. Even if it might get a bit disheveled”.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for granting me an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so fun to read and exactly what I needed – it also helped me survive exam season. First, I have to highlight how good Priya Ayyar was. She truly brought the book to life and gave a different light to each of the characters, which is a tough job, but she did it wonderfully. I also appreciated the accents.

The writing also helped the performance, since it paces the story well. There’s no rushed scenes or prolonged descriptions, everything is as it should. It also has a few small plot twists that had me gasping, mostly romantic related.

The main character, Shireen, is interesting, talented and kind. Sometimes she has some stances that left me questioning but she’s a teenager, she’s doing all the right mistakes. I specially appreciated the ways the author showed us the different friendships in this book and the ways it evolves, adapts and changes.

I appreciated the romance plenty, even though I wasn’t really rooting for them at the start. But, once I got a better understanding of their relationship and issues, I rooted for them as well. And how they schemed together. They have incredible moments of bonding and understanding that really grasped my heart.
I also loved the mentor and how she guides Shireen, as well as Shireen’s relationship with her parents.

The book also has expressions of racism and how they affect each of the characters, how it can molds people’s opinions and actions. There’s also plenty of fatphobic comments and their repercussions – which Shireen fights, even though she should never have to. It’s still important representation and an important talk to have.

No matter other losses, I think the ending was lovely and fit the storyline – the future is full of possibilities for Shireen. I strongly recommend this book for anyone searching for a sweet culinary pun-filled rom-com.

Really enjoyed this book. I love all things baking and this was based around a baking show!
There was enough drama and mystery to keep me interested. Easy to follow and an enjoyable listen

This was so freaking cute! And the audiobook had the perfect voices.if you need a Cute and sweet Sapphic romance this is it! I love the puns, they made the story. Baking and romance! Shireen is such a relatable character and if you ever need something to put a smile on your face this is it

There is no way to win me over faster than with a good food-based pun, and The Dos and Donuts of Love definitely hit it out of the park with the puns. Food puns were a part of Shireen’s family’s donut shop, as well as in the title of each chapter. (Yay for chapter titles!)

Shireen and her ex-girlfriend are both competing on the first season of the Junior Irish Baking Show, so tension between them, and the competition couldn’t be higher. Not to mention they are the only contestants of color on the show.

I am honestly glad I listened to The Dos and Donuts of Love as an audiobook, because it felt like listening to a play-by-play of the Great British Bake Off while driving to work every morning. Baking a drama was the perfect way to start my day!

Shireen definitely felt a little whiney at times throughout the book, but at the same time, these are teenagers, and this made her, and all of the characters felt real and much more relatable.

While this does end in a happily ever after, I was surprised it wasn’t the HEA I was expecting. But it is definitely the HEA my heart needed after the drama in the kitchen!

This was such a fantastic audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the #gifted ALC.

Adiba is an auto author for me. I just love the stories she writes because not only is it sapphic, it’s so relatable no matter how you identify. With this story, I wanted to somehow jump through my book and into the story itself. I wanted to be part of Shireen’s world. A reality baking show? Count me in!

The ending was, for me, so unexpected but also a fun way to say that shireen was a star all along.

Thank you for netgalley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute story. I’m not a huge fan of baking competition books, but I thought this one was so well done. At times Shireen made me mad with how quick she was to think the worst in people, but I do feel like she grew by the end.

4 stars! what a fun read!!

i really adore this cover and the synopsis sounded really fun but this book was so much more interesting than i expected!

shireen was such a cool and talented character to follow and i think all the topics and themes were really written with such nuance. from racism to fatphobia to sexuality, i enjoyed the author’s writing surrounding it. it was written with such thoughtfulness and in such a setting that i think is great for the book’s target audience. i really enjoyed listening to this book and look forward to picking up other books by the author.

my one critique was for the narrator. their accents were so great but i was confused when shireen (as well as a couple other characters) were in the author’s american accent despite the book taking place in ireland and the characters having grown up in ireland. that seemed like a missed and confusing opportunity.

Shireen is still hurting from a recent breakup, but is excited to be a contestant on the Junior Irish Baking Show. She hopes for good publicity for her parents donut shop which might otherwise shut down, and the launch of the career she has always wanted. Her favorite celebrity chef is a judge and one of the other contestants is a cute girl she hits it off with, but her ex-girlfriend is also on the show and Shireen might still have feelings for her.

I loved this book! The romance, the love triangle, the puns(!!), the unique challenges in the competition, the queer rep, and the South Asian rep in Ireland were all things to absolutely love.

Shireen was a very likable and relatable protagonist. She and her secret girlfriend broke up just before she found of that they were both going to be in a televised cooking competition. Once the show starts, she not only has to see her ex and get along, she also starts falling for another competitor. There are a lot of exciting turns in the book and the competition keeps the stakes high.

The unflinching look into racism and fatphobia was really well done, showing some of the real experiences of South Asian people in Ireland and fat people who dare to be in the spotlight.

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar left me with mixed feelings about its characters. From the very beginning, I found Niamh to be quite unlikable and her presence often grated on my nerves. Her dismissal of the online comments about Shireen particularly bothered me. On the other hand, Shireen displayed some selfish tendencies throughout the story. Thankfully, Chris showed some growth and development as a character, which added depth to the narrative.

In terms of overall enjoyment, this book falls somewhere in the middle. While it didn't reach extraordinary heights, it also didn't plummet to depths of terrible storytelling. If you're a fan of young adult novels, sapphic love triangles, clever wordplay, the world of baking, reality TV, diverse characters, and the dynamics of friendship and rivalry, then this book is likely to pique your interest.

NB: The audiobook really added to the enjoyment factory.

However, it's important to note that there are trigger warnings for instances of fatphobia and racism within the story.