Kiss My Cupcake

Kiss My Cupcake

By: Helen Hunting

Blurb:

Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn’t plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn’t spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.

From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there’s also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they’re forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it’s possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

As two neighborhood shop owners battle for business, they prove opposites attract in this outrageously funny romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of Meet Cute.

Review:

I boohooed through the end of this book. I’d love to blame my anxiety meds, but I really am just a crier. There were a lot of feels, lots of history, and an old man who had lost the love of his life. I think my tears were warranted.

Blaire is opening up her cupcake and booze shop. It’s her dream, and she’s forgone the money her parents could give her to prove that she can do it on her own. Blaire works herself into what will end up being an early grave at the rate she went. Most nights, she gave herself only a couple of hours a night to sleep, which was odd because she didn’t even bake the cupcakes. She did decorate them, but it seemed strange to me that she didn’t bake them too.

Ronan is in charge of his family’s bar. It’s been in their family for three generations, and it’s very dear to his heart. He lost his parents when he was twenty, and his grandparents were a huge help for him. It’s all charming.

The couple had a rocky beginning, mainly because Blaire kept expecting the worst from him. Anything he did, she hated. It was honestly pretty annoying. She was purposefully misunderstanding his actions and words and it made me dislike her. Thankfully, it didn’t last too long, but I never really warmed up to her. I don’t think I could say I warmed up to Ronan either, but I’m not sure why.

Most of the chapters were written from Blaire’s perspective, with a few sprinkled in from Ronan’s. His chapters were my favorite because hers were just so stressful. She was always doing something or worried about her business. She did think about how sexy he was and enjoyed spending time with him and his family, but the stress always seemed to be there. Meanwhile, most of Ronan’s chapters were getting to know Blaire and enjoying her. His business was established, so he didn’t have those same concerns.

Kiss My Cupcake was a cute story with a lot of sweet parts, sadly I never warmed up to the characters.

3/5

Currently Reading: The Constant Rabbit

I just finished reading Kiss My Cupcake, like ten minutes ago, and I’m already starting the next. I’m on a roll! (Not really lol) My review will be posting tomorrow.

Next on my list is The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde. I love Fforde, his Thursday Next series is so creative. I’ve given his books as Christmas presents. I even own some in hardback. However, I am a little apprehensive about this one. His last book that I read, Shades of Grey, wasn’t my favorite. It dragged a bit and I didn’t find it as entertaining. I’m hoping that The Constant Rabbit is more like his Nursery Crimes series and less like Shades of Grey. Either way, I’m still happy to be reading something from Fforde

Boyfriend Material

Boyfriend Material

By: Alexis Hall

Blurb:

Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O’Donnell is tangentially–and reluctantly–famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.

Review:

Boyfriend Material is the fake boyfriend trope. It also has a bit of only one bed as well. It isn’t quite enemies to lovers, but they have a ton of misunderstandings at the beginning, mainly because Luc is suffering from my serious self-worth worth issues.

Luc is the son of a former rock star and finds himself frequently in the tabloids. Sometimes for things he’s done, sometimes for misunderstandings. He’s at rock bottom. Depressed and filled with self-loathing, he is not a very friendly person. He’s got a solid support system in his mother and close friends, but they haven’t been able to help him. I was kind of annoyed that no one ever seemed to recommend therapy. His issues definitely could have been helped if he’d gone that route.

Oliver is a barrister, vegetarian, and all-around eco-conscience individual, as well as superhot. A mutual friend has tried to hook them up before, but it didn’t work due to Luc’s issues. Then they both find themselves in need of a boyfriend. Luc because he works at a charity funded by homophobes and Luc because he doesn’t want to go to his parents’ anniversary by himself. Things go from there.

The romance was there right from the start. It was clear to the reader that they were both attracted to each other. Luc did everything in his power to push Oliver away and was frequently an asshole to him. He always assumed the worst, and there were a few awkward moments. Oliver ended up building up Luc’s confidence, and Luc started to come out of his depression. It did sort of bother me that Luc started improving because of a man, but at least it wasn’t because Oliver was pushing him to be better. Oliver always seemed to accept Luc for who he was.

The humor was very British, think Bridget Jones’s Diary. I didn’t get several references, and Luc was probably less of an asshole than I thought he was. I’m pretty sarcastic myself, but the British take it to a whole new level.

Boyfriend Material’s end was mostly satisfying. You find out some things about Oliver’s life that explains why he is the way he is. I liked that he ended up having to go to Luc. It was a nice role reversal. I wish there had been more justice with Luc’s father. At least Luc told him off at the very beginning. I also wish there had been an epilogue, maybe a glimpse at how they were doing a couple of months down the road. Something.

I ended up really enjoying Boyfriend Material. Even though it was long at no moment did I get bored or feel like it was lagging. The romance was super sweet, and I enjoyed the characters. It’s a one-shot, and unless Hall wants to continue their story, I don’t see this being the beginning of a story. I’m okay with that, though.

4/5

Currently Reading: Kiss My Cupcake

I stayed up late last night and finished reading Boyfriend Material, my review will post tomorrow. Next on my list is Kiss My Cupcake. It’s my most recent library pickup but a few people are waiting on it.

Based on the blurb I’m expecting some good food scenes, a lot of sexual tension disguised with verbal barbs, and some humor maybe even hijinks.

We’ll see.

Are British Romance Books Longer?

This is super random, but I’m currently reading Boyfriend Material and it’s 421 pages. That seems pretty long for a modern romance. At least longer than usual. It reminded me of a book I’ve read recently that had British characters and seemed longer than usual. I can’t for the life of me remember the book, I’m not sure I finished it because I wasn’t a fan. Maybe it just felt longer because I didn’t like it?

Is this a thing? Or is it just me reading two flukes relatively close together? Are British romance books longer than American ones?? These are the things that pop into my mind when I should be doing something else.