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garbage_mcsmutly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I accidentally read the sequel standalone (Codename Charming) a while back, not realizing it was the 2nd in a series. So it was fun to meet the same characters in a different context (and for Pet to get her bear I DIED).
I appreciated the struggles that the MCs had to deal with in their personal journeys. And their connection to each other felt genuine. There was always something *happening* in this book, just a lot of things with side characters or the MCs, and not much down time. So it felt like the book went by super fast. It was an easy read, it was exciting at times, funny at others, had some spicy scenes, and made me weep like a baby a couple of times. So basically this was a perfect book lol
🌶️ 3.5/5 for a few steamy scenes.
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
booknerdery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing
abhirupa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Car accident
sami_leigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Violence and Stalking
abi_carter's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
divine529's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book follows our two main protagonists Sylvie and Dominic, who met previously in a show called Operation Cake (kind of like GBBO) where Sylvie was a contestant and ended up leaving the show due to an epic disaster involving a cake and Dominic's face (he's a judge). Now four years later, Sylvie is a new judge on the show and her and Dominic have to come face to face again despite having competing bakeries across the street from each other. Throw a competition to win a bid to make a royal wedding cake, explorations of trauma and grief and complicated relationships of all kinds and you have the basic idea of what this book is.
This book both hooked me from the beginning and took me some time to settle into. Baking in books is one of my favorite things and adding royalty into the mix is a recipe for a book I will most likely love and on those fronts it didn't disappoint.
Sylvie and Dominic are both interesting characters with lots of trauma and grief and different ways of coping and managing that and exploring all of that through their relationship with intimacy (everything from glances and gentle touches to sexual intimacy) was so heartbreakingly beautiful to watch and the relationship between Rosie and Johnny was lovely to see alongside the mystery and treasure hunt plotline of figuring out what happened to one of Rosie's relatives and his life (it's complicated). The relationship with Dominic and Pet was so good and I love them both. And even though I had issues with it at times, I really liked Sylvie and Jay's relationship too (though it utilized one of my least favorite tropes in books, I thought it was handled decently for a change).
Overall, I have a lot of feelings about everything in the book and it's hard to encompass all of them here, but I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to read the second installment.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and I look forward to revisiting this in the future.
Graphic: Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
jackiepreston's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
coacklebee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
There were some confusing moments where I had to go back a couple of paragraphs to figure out what I had missed, but man, I loved the characters and I laughed so hard. This book is a freakin' delight!
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
- This is a romance novel that really digs into feelings, both past and present. I love a book where you get to watch the leads learn how to care for and support each other.
- To be honest, I didn't really feel any heat between Sylvie and Dominic, but their relationship was so tender that I was mostly okay with it. I'll still keep reading this series; I for sure want to get stories for Pet and Mabel!
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail