I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
A Legend in the Baking is the second book in Jamie Wesley’s Fake It Till You Bake It series. It works as a standalone, but it’s one of those “if you enjoyed this one, you’ll probably like that one” and vice versa type books, as the friendship and some family dynamics the FMC of this one is the sister of the MMC of the first book).
And I love how this book continues the theme of incorporating positive portrayals of masculinity (absolutely needed right now) through the core group of male friends, all former football players who co-own a bakery. August is a prime example of this, with his passion for the idea that baking isn’t the antithesis of masculinity, and supporting women bakers, although he is also rather private, so he’s uncomfortable with the viral fame that comes with the video of a rant on the topic. I did feel like this led to some incidents of sexual harassment that got brushed aside due to the reversal of the “typical” gender dynamics, with many of his “fans” violating his boundaries in myriad ways, however, and I wish this had been addressed a little more, but I was glad he had a prominent arc about the impact of his toxic relationships with his father and ex-wife.
Sloane was also fairly sympathetic, even if she was a little pushy about August’s reticence toward social media attention, especially at first. I mostly liked their connection beyond this, with it dating for years back to their childhood. Some of the flashback chapters did impact the pacing, however, and I also felt like the conflict was very minor, making this “slow burn romance” feel overly slow and almost pointless at times.
While this book wasn’t as good as the first one, there are still things I enjoyed here. If you enjoy romance centering Black leads, positive masculinity and feminism, and baking, and don’t mind a slooow burn, I’d recommend checking this out.

A Legend in the Baking brings all the deliciousness you’d expect from a sweet contemporary romance featuring football players and cupcakes—sign me up! This is the second book in the Fake It Till You Bake It series, and while you don’t need to read the first book to enjoy it, doing so adds depth to the story.

August, the MMC, is a football player who prefers to stay out of the limelight in Sugar Blitz, the bakery business he shares with his friends and teammates. But his viral feminist rant about the importance of women bakers, claiming that baking cupcakes doesn’t threaten masculinity, is the kind of passion you can’t ignore! Sloane, the FMC and his best friend's little sister, is a social media expert who adds spice to the mix. The tension between them is hotter than a bakery oven, and when things finally heat up, it’s more than worth the wait. This book perfectly blends romance with a dash of humor and heartwarming moments.

Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the advanced copy

A fun and cute rom com! As someone who is both a baker and does social media, I loved this story of baker (and football player) meets social media manager.

This one was okay. I wanted to love A Legend in the Baking because I enjoyed book 1 in the series, but something was missing for me which made me not connect with it completely. The slow burn was slowwwww and I am a slow burn girlie but this was a little too slow for my liking.
The “prove yourself” was a bit too much and unrealistic and the characters were okay. It felt like something was missing which made me not connect with it completely but you may enjoy it more! I would still recommend this book to friends who I feel would enjoy it.

Thank you St. Martins and NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love LOVE books where the MMC secretly pines for the FMC (it's also great when it's the FMC pining but the MMC is even BETTER IMO). August is so incredibly soft for Sloane and it is adorable. I was frustrated a bit with Sloane repeating the same things over and over as reasons why she couldn't have what she wanted, but obvi this is a romance so it all worked out eventually. Parts of this book honestly kind of dragged and it wasn't as page-turning as others, so that's reflected in my star rating. Still worth the time to read though.

3 stars for A Legend in the Baking. There's slow burn and then there's slowwwwwww burn and this book was the latter. Unfortunately, the romance took so long to take flight that I found I wasn't invested in the romance by the time August and Sloane got to it. Once they did get together the pace was super fast which also felt off for me. I liked the characters though and the title of the book is great!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this advanced copy. A Legend in the Baking publishes on November 19, 2024.

This was a good read, I was definitely curious about August from the first book and it was nice to get to know him. August is a big jellybean that wants to be loved, and Sloane career driven and has something to prove. This book was longer than it had to be in my opinion, but I was entertained. I loved how Sloane stood on business when it came to her career and didn’t allow the corporate BS to keep her stagnant…oh how I can relate to that!!

This is a great story. August is a pro football player, cupcake entrepreneur and hottie extraordinaire. Sloan is digital content creator, and go getter who has been in love with August since she was a teenager. The plot of the story is filled with plenty of tension and angst as the two characters are forced to work together in close proximity. There are also some funny moments as things spiral out of control. These are two lovely characters that readers will love getting to know.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

A tall, dark, handsome and talented baker, August, captured my heart. His words are few and far between. Having the ability to relate to his personality was what I loved about him. He never thought of himself and had such a kind soul. Im a total SurgarBaeby.

In retrospect, Sloane and August had a complicated relationship, and I couldn't help but think that she was being selfish with her career goals being a social media manager and tasked with handling it for the bakery and forcing August to stretch himself.

Both of them grew as characters. My favorite part of their history was the dual timeline. Ultimately, I enjoyed this story. Particularly when August and Sloane were in the kitchen.

This moves back and forth in time to tell the story of August and Sloane who have been dancing around one another since they are teens. Now August has hired Sloane to do social media for the cupcake shop he owns with his brothers. This is the second in a series featuring the shop and the brothers but it will also work as a standalone. Know that it's a bit of a slow burn as they build their relationship as adults. There's good banter though and how can you not like a romance in a bakery? Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Trope-y but fun. Looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really enjoyed the first book. in this series. The idea of three brawny football players opening a cupcake shop is just great. I'm glad I got to read this second one and see what August and Sloane's story was all about.
I really love August. He's this big quiet guy who just wants to stay out of the limelight. Of course it's him who ends up as the face of Sugar Blitz Cupcakes when he accidentally goes viral after he goes off on a few guys bad talking cupcakes. It's always the quiet ones who have the most to say! I liked how Sloane was able to step in and use her social media manager powers to really help Sugar Blitz. Of course she and August have some history and spend the entire book pining for each other. I loved their banter and how easily they got along with each other. Their push and pull was fun, even if it was a little frustrating and I wanted to bop them both in the head and yell, "snap out of it!"
That being said, they were both very relatable despite August's fame as a pro football player.
The plot is nothing special but it was fun. And it did touch on a few social issues that I think are important for people to know about: gentrification being the foremost.
The one thing that bothered me was the sexual harassment August received. It was peppered throughout the book but never really addressed. For a man who was standing up for women, I was surprised to see the reverse happening and no one stepping in to say anything.
Jamie's writing is easy to read. It flows well and keeps the pace going. I liked the third person point of view used for this story, as well. It's an interesting way to go.
Overall this one was fun, though not great for me as the first. If you're looking for a cute second chance love story with lots of slow burn, this one will fit the bill!

A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley is a contemporary romance set in San Diego, California. Three pro football players have opened a cupcake shop that is successful. This second book in the series features August Hodges. He’s supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes, and stay in the background, mainly doing repairs and ordering, and helping with the baking or customers only when needed. However, after a family telephone conversation, he makes a feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and that baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity. It goes viral on social media.

With a second location opening soon, they decide to capitalize on his new-found popularity with the help of his best friend and partner’s sister Sloane Dell. August and Sloane have known each other for twelve years, but have been mainly avoiding each other since an incident when Sloane was seventeen. When Sloane is brought in to revamp their social media presence, she and August must learn to work together.

Sloane is tenacious, a workaholic, and has great ideas, but seemed to push August into doing things he wasn’t prepared to do. She sometimes came across as manipulative. August is quiet, lonely, good at keeping his thoughts to himself, and doesn’t like being the center of attention. August is the more likeable character.

This novel felt more straight-forward than the first book in the series. Additionally, there wasn’t as much comedy and the pacing felt slower. I also felt the conflict at the second location should have been addressed more quickly. Despite this, I enjoyed it and the chemistry and connection that August and Sloane had. Additionally, there are themes around perceptions of women, family relationships and dynamics, regrets, and career advancement woven into the story that added depth.

Overall, this was an entertaining novel with a great setting for a second-chance romance. It’s cute and has a good ending. I am looking forward to a book featuring the third co-owner of the bakery, Nicholas.

St. Martin’s Press – St. Martin’s Griffin and Jamie Wesley provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for November 19, 2024.

Sloane is great with Social Media and PR. Problem is her boss got a promotion that should have been hers because he used her ideas! So she quit!
Now, her brother asks her to help do PR for the cupcake bakery he & his two best friends own, plus the new one they are opening. That means Sloane is going to have to work closely with August, her nemesis, and she's not sure she'll survive being that close to the man she's loved since high school.
August is so happy to have Sloane back home again, but now that she's going to be doing the PR for the bakery, it's going to be impossible to stay so close with the woman he's always loved.
This is one of the cutest,, most charming, second chance at love stories I've read in quite a while!
Don't miss it!

I love a good slow burn, but considering August and Sloane have liked each other for over 10 years, it was painful how long it took for them to get together. They’re thirsting over each other literally the entire book, which made it really frustrating to read.

That said, they did have a sweet relationship and I liked this book way more than the first. It actually felt like they had a genuine connection and they had that chemistry I felt was missing from Donovan and Jada.

Overall, it’s a cute but very cookie-cutter second chance romance, and it was an easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Jamie Wesley for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book in the Fake It Til You Bake It series and quite frankly.... I liked it more than the first! And I liked the first just fine!

I really felt the pull of these two MCs and their shared history- it made for a really believable second chance romance. I enjoyed their slow burn rekindling and the feminist and societal themes and issues were appreciated. I definitely can't wait to see what the third Sugar Blitz owner has in store for us (assuming we are getting a third book!).

A legend in the baking was a cute story about two people suffering from different issues pushing each other out of their zones.

I swooned, and laughed, and felt sad, a whole range of emotions in what seems like such a short story. The time line was also interestingly spaced between the main storyline which made it feel like a story that’s two in one.

There is something about the name Sloane, because I’ve loved every Sloane I ever read. Even when I wanted to shake her that she had the best MMC but I know trauma really rocks your foundation way too easily.

August was similar in his doubts and I wanted to shake him too but I loved their connection even from the beginning of Sloane just seeing August made me heart know these two are meant to be!

August, an NFL player and silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes, has accidentally gone viral when standing up for a woman in the cupcake shop. Sloan, a sister to one of the partners, is brought in to manage Sugar Blitz Cupcakes' social media and marketing. The story is fine. Nothing makes it really stand out.

My rating is based not on the writing but on the fact that this is a completely WIDE OPEN DOOR romance. There is nothing remotely left to the reader's imagination. A reader picking up this book and looking at the cover would have no idea what they were in for.

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

DNF at 59%

I didnt appreciate all of the sexual harrassment August was getting without any kind of commentary from a book that's supposed to be about women's right and such? Men also deserve to give consent on touching.

Also, cheating is never okay, even in just the dating stage and the fact that she was 17 while he was in college? Nah man, miss me with that. I'm bummed because this book sounded SO cute, but it was so slooooow and then these problematic issues made me DNF.

I was lucky to get an ARC of this book and I am so happy I did. I already knew it was going to be good because I LOVED Fake it Til You Bake It. I really enjoy a mysterious man slowly opening up and Jamie executed this perfectly with August's character. The way he really hated the limelight but would do anything to make Sloane happy was so sweet and cute. I was so happy to see the brotherhood displayed in this book, the guys really had August's best interest at heart and let him come to his decisions on his own. Sloane is the perfect woman for him and I'm genuinely happy with how their story unfolded.

A Legend in the Baking was a very entertaining romance novel, and my first by Jamie Wesley.
I enjoyed the dual POV, getting the story from both Sloane and August.
Good pacing and a fun story meant that I didn’t want to put the book down! There were some twists that I didn’t see coming, which is always a good thing.
I’d recommend this book and I’ll be reading more by this author.