A Legend in the Baking is a rom com book with wonderful characters and fun storyline. I loved how August has a very healthy and wonderful view on women, standing up for them, and shooting down Andy toxic masculinity. Sloane was fun to read with her very gen Z feel and social media guru skills. If you love a feel good book with some pleasantly unexpected spice, this one’s for you!

Sloane has a really strong voice and the set up seems solid. The writing is easy and accessible. While I wasn’t personally intrigued by Sloane and stopped after chapter 1 (4%), it’s likely 3-4 stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I loved Fake it til you bake it and was so excited to see another one in the series be announced.
However this one felt very lacklustre. The writing wasn’t as strong this time with simple vocabulary and a lot of repetition. The plot was interesting and funny but honestly felt too similar to the first. I did once again love the characters and the banter and overall it’s a great easy read

Description
After accidentally going viral on social media, a cupcake-baking football player gets assistance from a social media maven—and his best friend's little sister—to help promote his new bakery.

August Hodges was supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes. Emphasis on silent. That is until his impromptu feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity goes viral, making him the hottest bachelor in town. With a new location in the works, August and his partners decide to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to help cement their place in the community. But the hiring of his best friend’s younger sister, the woman who has haunted some of his best dreams for years, was as much of a shock as his new-found fame.

Social media manager Sloane Dell fell hard for her brother’s best friend the moment she met him more than a decade ago, but that teenage infatuation cost her dearly. Still, she accepts her brother’s request to revamp the bakery’s social media presence to take advantage of August’s newfound popularity, knowing it’s the big break her fledgling career needs. She’ll just ignore the fact that August is still August, i.e. sexier and sweeter than any man has a right to be. And that he drives her crazy with his resistance to all her ideas.

They vow to leave the past in the past. But when an explosive make-out session makes it clear their attraction burns hotter than ever, Sloane and August are forced to reconsider what it means to take a risk and chase your dreams.

As they’re both about to find out, all’s fair in love and cupcakes.

My Take:
"The 'Fake It Till You Bake It' series continues with its second installment, and it's not necessary to have read the first book to get into this one. The story delivers on its promise, though in unexpected ways. Personally, I find Sloane a bit too petulant for my liking, while August comes off as a vulnerable dreamer. It's clear why fans dub themselves 'Sugarbaebies'- #IYKYK. That said, the narrative is peppered with tense moments and steamy encounters, showcasing the undeniable connection and shared past between the characters-which is good. However, there are times when I can't help but feel August deserves better, leaving me questioning if Sloane is truly his match. All told, this is a good second installment. I think this would make a great book club selection, as there are many avenues to explore and discuss.

This is a sweet, VERY slow burn, romance. Sloane and August have a wishy washy meet cute and a very long story, but the adventures of NFL players running cupcake shops is fun and a bold statement on stereotypical femininity/masculinity. MMC is sweet and shy. MFC is a little bossy. The middle drags a bit, but Wesley figures it out eventually.

August Hodges was supposed to be the silent partner in Sugar Blitz Cupcakes. Emphasis on silent. That is until his impromptu feminist rant about how women bakers are the backbone of the industry and baking cupcakes isn’t a threat to masculinity goes viral, making him the hottest bachelor in town. With a new location in the works, August and his partners decide to capitalize on this perfect opportunity to help cement their place in the community. But the hiring of his best friend’s younger sister, the woman who has haunted some of his best dreams for years, was as much of a shock as his new-found fame.

Social media manager Sloane Dell fell hard for her brother’s best friend the moment she met him more than a decade ago, but that teenage infatuation cost her dearly. Still, she accepts her brother’s request to revamp the bakery’s social media presence to take advantage of August’s newfound popularity, knowing it’s the big break her fledgling career needs. She’ll just ignore the fact that August is still August, i.e. sexier and sweeter than any man has a right to be. And that he drives her crazy with his resistance to all her ideas. They vow to leave the past in the past. But when an explosive make-out session makes it clear their attraction burns hotter than ever, Sloane and August are forced to reconsider what it means to take a risk and chase your dreams.

This was a delightful read, but the romance was SO slow burn it was almost painful! I loved both August and Sloane. They felt like real people, and I really liked watching their growing relationship dynamic. But it was so so slow. I definitely enjoyed it though, and want to look at the author's backlist now. 🙂 I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys slow burn romance!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

The second book in a series, “A Legend In the Baking” follows Sloane, social media whiz and August, professional football player turned cupcake baker. This book can definitely be read as a standalone though, as it provides plenty of flashbacks and insight into the characters’ pasts.
I thought the dynamic between the main characters was great. From the banter to the sweet moments, I love the brothers best friend trope and this one didn’t disappoint! It’s definitely a slower burn though and I felt that the middle dragged on just the tiniest bit which is why I’m giving it 4 stars.
Overall a sweet romance that I enjoyed and would absolutely recommend reading!

I absolutely adored this book!! I read the first one in the series right before this one and out of the 2, this one was definitely my favorite! I love that the stories are based around pro football players with their own cupcake shop. It’s such a different story than others out there and the relationships are more than just romance. Friendship is a huge part of the book and it’s so powerful. In A Legend In The Baking, August finds himself accidentally going viral and becoming “SugarBae.” His teammate/business partner’s sister finds herself helping with their business’ social media and has to figure out a way to use this buzz from August to their advantage while they navigate opening a second shop location. With a tense history between the 2, they try their best to ignore it and work professionally, but feelings are still there and continue to grow with each encounter. This is a beautiful story of second chances and I just know everyone who reads is going to love it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc.

Firstly, I love this cover!!!!!!! This was a cover read, to be honest. Now, I did not read the first book in this companion series. However, I might read it. This book follows August who is a silent partner of Sugar Blitz Cupcakes and Sloane who is a social media coordinator. Now, these two have had feelings for each other for twelve years and are admitting their love for each other. Now, I was loving the beginning. I was eating it up. However, I found the middle of their story dragging so I was losing a bit of interest. Overall, it is 3.5. I love it when they finally admit their feelings and they were such a cute couple. I just thought I would see them in the relationship longer. Their personal growth was so nice to see develop. I can not wait to see what the next book has

Social media guru and pro football player second chance romance? Sign me up!

*Disclaimer*
VERY VERY VERY SLOW BURN. If you read for instant gratification, this is not for you.

There were parts of the book I enjoyed— the tension, the will they won’t they, the ambitious career woman.

However, there were alot of things that didn’t quite work for me. The book read a little young with some of the sayings and inner dialogue which made the spice a little awkward. In my opinion there wasn’t much distinguishing between the 12 years earlier and the present because the overall attitude and speech was still a little childish.

Also, the only thing in know about August is he is shy and hot as it’s mentioned over and over and over.

Overall, it was cute but I don’t think I’ll be rereading it anytime soon.

As a baker myself I definitely felt connected to the story and characters. I felt the story was very engaging and really sweet. I love the football players baking cupcakes!

This was a good, light read. Medium spice. I may have to go back and read the first book in this loosely-connected series.

MUST BE FIXED BEFORE PUBLISHING: The family name in “Encanto” is Madrigal, not Milagros

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Sloane and August were friends as teenagers and have been pining for each other ever since. When they're thrown together by a viral social media post and a new branch of the cupcake store August owns with Sloane's brother, it gets increasingly difficult to stay apart.

This was sweet (no cupcake pun intended), but I wasn't all that invested in the external stakes--which seemed needlessly complicated, between August's new status as a feminist icon, opposition to the new store, and Sloane's desire for a social media marketing job (that frankly seemed to be asking a lot of her before she even had the job).

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This was a great read. It kept me engaged and I finished it easily. The characters were developed and the story line was great.

This was a good read for me. I enjoyed most of the characters and thought this was an enjoyable series.

How absolutely fun! Big football players making cupcakes. Love it! And then there is the whole simmering romance, social media and picketers. So much going on. A delightful story!

loved this romance and chance and love again. I love seeing the football players run a cupcake business and find love. Loved that this one was about august and sloane. I can't wait to read about donovan's book

This was super cute!
The idea of football players baking is too adorable and I think this author writes really sweet stories. I enjoyed the characters and the romance. The mutual pining between these two was intense!
My only complaint is that the slow burn was too slow. There weren't enough romantic moments to help the romance progress. It began to make the story drag.
I think this would be a good summer/vacation/beach read.

A Legend in the Baking was one of my most anticipated releases for 2024 and it lived up to my expectations! This book was so good. I adored Sloane and it was nice getting to know August better. Their chemistry was out of this world and they were funny together. ALINTB was steamier than the first book which I was fine with and the slow burn was very slow. It was fun to get to see Donovan, Jada, and Nicholas. I cannot wait for Nicholas's book and the woman that takes him down! That one is going to be a lot of fun. All in all, this was a solid sequel and I'm definitely a fan of Jamie Wesley and will be reading more of her books!

After reading "Fake It Till You Bake It," I've become obsessed with Jamie's writing and deeply connected to these characters. So, when I found out there was going to be a second book, I was extremely happy, and getting to read an advance reader copy was amazing. I love reading about Sloane and August's relationship; they are absolutely adorable! I will say, in the middle of the book, it did drag a little bit, but overall, I thought this was such a cute story, and I guarantee you'll fall in love with the characters. If you're looking for a second chance romance, brother's best friend, and slow burn, this is your book. I can't wait to see if Nicholas gets a story because I am so ready to read that.