2.5 stars rounded up to 3

A Legend in the Baking follows Sloane Dell and August Hodges as they navigate August’s newfound social media fame and Sloane’s dreams to make it big in the social media world. The only complicating factor? Their very very VERY complicated history.

A Legend in the Baking is a second chance, brothers best friend romance in the Fake It Till You Bake It series.

I loved Fake It Till You Bake it so I was really expecting to love A Legend in the Baking and my number one favourite trope is second chance romance but this just didn’t live up to expectations for me. I deeply wanted to love both main characters (especially because I love a brooding, quiet MMC) but I found we never really got anything more than surface level from them until the last 10% of the book. I wish more time had been spent delving into the details of who they were, I would have loved that. When we got August’s backstory, I loved a lot of aspects of it but it felt late in the book for me. Additionally, I found the pacing in general to be a little bit off, the last 10% was FAST, I wish there was a lot more detail and maybe a little less detail in certain aspects of the first 90%. We had a bit of a dual timeline and I love a dual timeline especially in a second chance romance but it felt under-utilized, I wish we had more details of their history. In particular, after we found out the problem in their history, there’s simply no more dual timeline, I think it would have been beneficial to find a little bit more about the 12 years in between the timelines and we never did.

However, I really enjoyed a lot of the creative aspects of the book. I thought the storyline was really unique and it was fun to read the main premise of the story. I also really actually enjoyed the gentrification aspect, I felt like it added a lot and we got to know the main characters better because of it. Plus I found Cynthia and Ben really fun side characters.

Overall, I think it was good, I like Jamie Wesley’s writing and I think there’s a lot of potential but unfortunately this did fall a little flat for my expectations.

The characters are wonderfully relatable. The author’s vivid descriptions and engaging dialogue make it easy to get lost in the story. This novel is a delightful read that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling and a renewed belief in the power of love. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a feel-good romance!

3 stars- I was excited for this book because I love baking and I really enjoy the second chance trope. Unfortunately it took me a little while to get into it and I felt like the pacing was a bit slow.

A Legend in the Baking is a slow burn second-chance romance and part of the Fake It Till You Bake It series. It is a sweet romance that can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

In this book, we follow Sloane Dell, a social media manager, who just quit her job after their failure to give her her deserved recognition. She finds herself running to her brother, football player, and part-owner of Sugar Blitz bakery, Donovan, for much needed advice. Visiting the bakery isn't #1 on Sloane's list of things to do because she knows she will run into her teenage crush and another part-owner, August Hodges, and the last thing she wants to do is see the man who broke her heart 12 years ago. But when Sugar Blitz starts receiving publicity after August goes viral, Sloane makes the decision to put her feelings for August aside and help the bakery out. She is tasked with giving the bakery a social revamp, one which can also work in her favor. But will she be able to work with August without their past getting in their way?

I enjoyed reading this book more than I thought I would. I loved Sloane and August's relationship, even when they were forced to work together without the closure the both clearly needed but never got. There is a lot of regret on both ends, and I loved how the author added flashbacks that gave us insight as to the specific hurt Sloane was dealing with. Both MCs were mature throughout the entire read, which I can truly appreciate. I also loved August's character. Although he comes across as this big tough football player, he's actually the complete opposite- he is quiet, sensitive, understanding, and passionate about the things he cares about, not just football. By the end of the book, I had a smile on my face, especially since I was rooting for Sloane and August! Definitely a great slow burn!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Jamie Wesley for this sweet, heart-warming ARC!

Last year, I was given the opportunity to read the first instalment in this series of interconnected standalones, Fake It Till You Bake It, and had found it to be one of the most refreshing takes on romance (and the beloved fake dating trope) I’d read in quite some time, elevated by its relatable characters and mature portrayal of a healthy romance while maintaining the well-loved lightness of a romcom.

It was because of my immense enjoyment of its predecessor that I so dearly wanted to love A Legend In The Baking just as much, which is why I was so sorely disappointed by my, well, disappointment.

This book certainly had the makings of a book I’d love; the flaws lied in the execution. My conclusion is this: in attempting to write a uniqueness and distinction from the first book, the author strayed too far from her strengths. While ensuring her characters differed in personality and behaviour from her others, she failed to make them likeable and consistent. While they were flawed and human, they lacked depth. Their problems were very real, but only ever scratched the surface. The resolutions to these problems were drawn out, and yet unsatisfying, resolved by a too-brief chat or an out-of-place monologue. Several of these problems were briefly introduced but then not afforded proper time and development to give the reader the impression that they were of lasting importance— both to the character and the overarching plot. This led the final chapters, in which several of these seemingly minor issues were reintroduced, to feel somewhat cobbled together. At times, I nearly got the impression that they had been forgotten about entirely, too late into the draft to write them back in naturally. Whether they should have been left out entirely or more solidly reworked into the overall storyline, I can’t say, for many of these subjects were very character defining— or should have been very character defining— traits and events that fell flat due to underdevelopment. Far too many of the plot-points that could have been great and set this book apart were left on the sidelines, with too much focus being given to directionless moments that were either silly or dragged on. I feel that a more structured plan, cutting away the pieces that didn’t fit, would have benefitted the story.

Circling back to the characters themselves, I have my own gripes. I couldn’t bring myself to love Sloane, our leading lady. From the very beginning, she was a curious mix of chaotic and childish, no-nonsense and career driven. Her “quirks” were odd, and her vocabulary made some of her chapters difficult to get through. And yet, these traits felt subdued— or at the very least, shifted— in the latter half of the book, bringing back the point of inconsistency I had made. The book introduced her as the type to, for example: internally use OMG mid-sentence (unironically), wonder if the MMC thought she had cooties after he stepped back from her, and spend “hours” smelling the cans of aftershave in a department store to buy out the brand he used out of spite. It felt as if the author was trying to write two very specific types of characters through Sloane and August and it just didn’t translate well, and instead read as cheap and cheesy writing— which is an absolute disservice to the author who I KNOW is incredibly talented and capable of writing a romance that is mature, steamy, and worthy of a five star rating. The forced quirkiness and awkward horniness present in Sloane’s character just didn’t work— it was neither hot nor funny, which seemed to be the desired outcomes.

It was later in the book that I noticed her characterization had shifted somewhat, although not from on-page development as a character. The quirks in her vocabulary were fewer and far between, and instead a focus on her emotional processing was introduced, which unfortunately was not portrayed much better— although I appreciated the slight reprieve that this afforded in her inner monologue. I love a dual perspective book, but several moments had me wishing the story had been told strictly from August’s point of view, as his voice was so much more mature and self-aware.
The driving point of Sloane’s struggle to open up was her past with August himself, as told over the course of the story through flashbacks to twelve years prior. In the beginning, I considered these flashbacks to be a welcome respite from what was becoming a rather frustrating slow burn between two characters I was struggling to connect with. This look into their past allowed for interactions uninhibited by the memory of the yet-to-be-revealed impending heartache, and I quite enjoyed these chapters until said reveal finally came; An anti-climactic and painfully awkward confrontation between Sloane, a 17 year old girl infatuated with her older brother’s best friend, and August, a college freshman in a long-term and committed relationship with a girlfriend who Sloane had met on several occasions, whose existence did not stop her from planting an unexpected kiss on him and demanding that he share her feelings. It was messy, uncomfortable, and everything one might expect an emotionally undeveloped 17 year old to do— not something for a grown woman to continue to fixate on as Sloane did in the present day. Fear of rejection is a very real, relatable, and common trait for a romance character to have. However, when the basis of said fear feels so juvenile, it became harder to keep justifying as the end of the book approached and no progress had been made. (There was also supposedly a past partner of hers who let her down as well, but he was mentioned so few times and given so little weight that not only did he feel entirely unnecessary, but I’ve already forgotten his name. I imagine the lack of attention paid to this particular part of her backstory was attributed to a hope of avoiding too many similarities to August’s ex-wife and his equally under explored storyline with her, which only encourages my question: Was he necessary?)

That was a repeated issue. Minor characters, plot threads, and relationships being introduced only to either go nowhere or reappear too late to give them the page-time needed to feel important. Sloane’s own best friend disappeared without mention after just two minor appearances, August’s father was mentioned only a handful of times only to become one of the major plot points to overcome within the last 20% of the book (which was, of course, resolved with a single brief, surface level conversation that left me wondering if they'd actually resolved their differences at all), and the protest behind August and his partners’ purchasing of a block of buildings (why did they do this in the first place? I couldn’t tell you) was given substantial time, and yet was also resolved through an unrealistic heart-to-heart which felt unworthy of the plot’s main (?) conflict. Everything that needed to be expanded further was left on the back-burner, while side plots without meaning or direction took centerstage.

An additional issue that came up for me was repetition, be it of specific words or phrases, without enough space between them to escape readers’ notice. Granted, it’s entirely possible that I’m reading the book through the critical lens of an arc reader, and that this isn’t something a standard reader would notice or be bothered by, but it is still worth noting to try to have variation in word choice to avoid sounding repetitive or redundant. It seems small, but it makes a world of difference to read through a draft and switch out some words— and especially phrases and figures of speech— that appear multiple times within the space of a few pages. Repetitive words can stick out and hinder the flow and immersion of reading. And, while this is noted entirely out of personal preference, perhaps some phrases should be omitted entirely. Never did I think I’d read the unfortunate combination of words “panty-melting” not once, but twice in a romance novel, and have it be entirely unironic, although I will thank the author for this newfound inside joke between my friends and I.

There was one more glaring issue I had that I feel the need to point out— the hyper-sexualization of the male main character. From their very first interactions, Sloane internally emphasizes his physical features in a lustful way. Somewhat standard for a romance novel, perhaps, albeit mildly uncomfortable. But it became a recurring theme from Sloane and several of August’s “fans” who emerged from a viral feminist rant he made about women’s importance in the baking industry— a rant that felt entirely undermined by the treatment of women thereon out. Several scenes saw groups of women portrayed as mindless NPCs borderline harassing August for his looks, from uncomfortable flirtatious remarks to blatant groping of his arms, back, and even his ass, none of which are treated as unsavoury or frowned upon. It was an unfortunate double standard which was instead used as humorous fodder for ridiculous jealousy from Sloane in which she, on several occasions, fantasized about body slamming these women for shooting their shot with a man who she had no right to be territorial over. Harassment is uncomfortable, point blank period, regardless of the intent, or the gender of the person on the receiving end. Why is it that the romance genre so often capitalizes on the discomfort and sexual harassment of its female characters to send a message, while the harassment of male characters such as August is funny and a "flattering" show of his attractiveness? It feels almost silly, even as I write this segment of my review, to have found it so frustrating when the intent was clearly not nefarious, but that almost lends itself to my frustration. It was frustrating to see something so uncomfortable not be acknowledged as uncomfortable. There should be no need for every female character— including your female lead— to hyper-sexualize the male lead for us to understand that he’s an attractive and therefore desirable guy. We have enough moments of Sloane wanting to lick his forearms for that picture to have been throughly painted.

I now want to, somewhat anti-climatically I’m afraid, reiterate that much of my disappointment stems from my decided lack thereof with the first instalment in this series. I LOVED Fake It Till You Bake it. It was decidedly a five star read, and one that I recommended thoroughly across all platforms. It was funny, fresh, and contained something often so sorely lacking in the romance genre— honest and healthy communication. I had been over the moon to have found an author who so wonderfully portrayed a mature and well-developed relationship between two raw, real, and relatable characters without putting a damper on the expected tone of a romcom. A Legend In The Baking lacked all of these things. The leading pair avoided acknowledging their problems, let alone talking about them, and misread each other so that it felt almost implausible that they’d supposedly known each other for so long and so deeply. Their connection lacked depth, reliant on their past which had never lead to anything in the first place, and heaps of oddly portrayed lust. Truth be told, I never felt the love, and I found myself wondering if perhaps it would be best if the two took another 12 year break from each other to mature before giving a relationship another go. The characterization of Sloane, most notably, missed the mark on being either relatable or likeable, to the point of making me wonder if she was a good fit for the MMC at all.

I am admittedly saddened to have been let down by such a highly anticipated read by a beloved author, but I am as always incredibly grateful for the chance to share my honest thoughts ahead of publication. Additionally, my takeaway from this book in particular will in no way stop me from reading and potentially enjoying future works from this author, should the premise interest me. I know from firsthand experience that she is a talented writer, capable of crafting a romance I can wholeheartedly love and recommend, as I did with FITYBI.

Final rating: 2/5 stars, rounded up from 1.5

I thought this book was so cute and the relationship between the characters was well done and well written. I also love the whole concept of the book because I felt like I had not read anything like it before.
Although, I feel as if the writing style was different and fell flat for me. Even though I enjoyed the relationship between the characters, I found them to be a bit flat.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC!

Fake it Til You Bake It was so cute, so I was very excited for this one! And it did not disappoint (:

August and Sloane are so confident in their capabilities when it comes to their work, but doubt themselves personally SO deeply. They were perfectly matched to help each other realize how worthy they are of love and commitment.

Watching their friendship grow and develop was so sweet, and the miscommunication didn’t feel shoehorned in because it was all very valid emotions for people who have experienced what they have, and with their history. I too would be scared to be vulnerable!

The “side” plot lines are real and deep, but are still wrapped up fairly quick and neatly. I personally like a little more mess, but that’s a me problem 😂

This is a fun, sweet romantic comedy. The characters are humorous and believable. The storyline is well written and fun. I highly recommend this book and series!

A Legend in the Baking is the second book in the Fake It Till You Bake It romantic series but can easily be read as a standalone. A social media manager, Sloane Dell is passed over for a well deserved promotion and finds herself quitting her job. At loose ends, Sloane turns to her brother’s bakery for new opportunities to prove her abilities. With a new job riding on the bakery’s social media campaign, Sloane jumps in even spending time with the only guy that ever broke her heart. August never planned on his popularity making him the face of the bakery but he agrees to Sloan’s plans to use him for the greater good of the bakery and to make amends for breaking her heart. Sweet and cute, the story is a second chance romance with plenty of steaminess. As the past is finally laid to rest, Sloane and August find their way to well deserving HEA that will leave you looking forward to the next book in the series. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

This romance was super cute! The banter and the baking were full on fantastic! I had never read this author but I will be from now on!

A Legend in the Baking is the second book in the Fake It Till You Bake It series. I was thrilled to dive back into the Sugar Blitz Cupcakes bakery adventures with August's story. At the end of Fake It Till You Bake It, August, the least likely bakery co-owner, went viral on social media. Now, he's navigating his newfound fame with the help of his best friend Donovan's little sister, Sloane.

August's feminist values put him in the spotlight, and all of San Diego—and the world—is eagerly waiting for his next move. Sloane, between jobs, decides to leverage Sugar Blitz's social media popularity to build her portfolio for a new job opportunity.

I enjoyed this book. For the most part, it was engaging, despite multiple slow spots where some pressing details were kept tightly under wraps to build suspense. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and significantly slowed the pace for me.

I especially liked August's attention to Sloane's needs. He always listens and shows up for her in just the right ways. Sloane's protectiveness of August and their internal conflict regarding their mutual attraction were endearing. If I could change one thing, it would be the repetition concerning their inner conflict, which was more frequent in Sloane's case.

The love scenes were spicy and meaningful, and overall, it was an enjoyable read. So far, Jada and Donovan are still my favorite couple, but I look forward to reading about Nicholas in the next book in the series!

Alright, it's time to admit it. I'm totally a SurgarBaeby!!! I love our cinnamon roll August!! So sweet and giving and gentle and trying to do the right thing!! And Sloane...Sloane is amazing. So good at her job and knows her own worth and determined to make her own way in this world. I loved this book!!

It's hard not to love and mmc like August, football player who loves to bake?! This was a slow burn in which the characters have known each other for twelve years. It had moments that were definitely cheesy but as a romance lover, I kind of like those moments. Sloane was not my favorite fmc, but overall a fun light read.

I loved A Legend in the Baking and the characters Sloane and August. Their complicated lives and found family add depth, and both grow as people, which sets up their new relationship nicely. The story is sweet, fun, and unique with football players who bake cupcakes—definitely worth a read!

I started this book on June 2, 2024 and I finished today and this book was so and honestly not very interesting so I am not sure why I pushed myself finish. At time I felt like I was reading a YA due to the inner dialogue and some parts were childish.

I definitely did like Fake it Till You Bake It more!

Second chance
brother's bff & little sister
open door romance

This was a cute read! Thank you for this arc, Jamie!!

“It was like she wore a beacon only he had the right frequency for.”

“her August radar had always been finely tuned.”

I was so excited when I got an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

But I enjoyed the first book in the series a lot more! I had trouble connecting with our main couple and found me liking the past time line more then the present.

This was a humorous and enjoyable read. The main characters were likeable and the plot relatable in many ways.

My rating does reflect my enjoyment of the book, however, I will be withholding my review for this title in solidarity with the St. Martin’s Press boycott.

I will be withholding all reviews for St. Martin’s Press titles until the publisher meets these conditions:

• Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from their employee.

• Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm their employee caused.

• Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

St. Martin’s Press is one of my favorite publishers and I hate that I cannot promote their books because they won’t speak up and address our concerns.

This is a really cute second chance romance. I loved that guys were doing the baking!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!