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pastryghost's review
I wanted to read this for pi day 😂 and it's a cute, easy read! But I'm not very invested in the plot, or maybe not in the mood for a spicy modern romance book right now.
The pie descriptions are 🔥🔥 amazing. I really want to try a pear and ginger crumble pie now.
I like that the main conceit of the book is that our mmc Josh wants to repair his relationship with his family, particularly his father. And that remains a priority throughout the first 30% of the book. The mysterious mentions of "that bad thing I did when I was 17" kept up some interest, but ultimately I wanna move on to read other things right now.
The pie descriptions are 🔥🔥 amazing. I really want to try a pear and ginger crumble pie now.
I like that the main conceit of the book is that our mmc Josh wants to repair his relationship with his family, particularly his father. And that remains a priority throughout the first 30% of the book. The mysterious mentions of "that bad thing I did when I was 17" kept up some interest, but ultimately I wanna move on to read other things right now.
The cast of characters are diverse and sweet, nice people. I like that there are some lgbt side characters, but sometimes the main characters' reactions felt weirdly overtly "Gotta Make Sure They Know I Am An Ally." For example, a character mentions to our fmc Sarah that she hasn't dated men - or women - in a while. And Sarah mentally thinks:
I feel I shold acknowledge this in some way, let her know I'm totally fine with it, though I don't know what the best thing to say is. "Cool." I smile at her.
It felt so weird 😂 Especially since one of Sarah's coworkers is gay (tho they don't say the word gay or bi, sigh) and like, idk this scene makes this character's bisexuality feel like more of an abnormality especially referring to her queer attraction as "it." Like, why? Lol.
I liked Sarah overall and her anxiety in making new friends. It's hard in your 30s to make friends! I found that relatable and I found her sweet, even if she over-shares a bit haha. I like that her growing friendship with the other two business owners is a main plot point, and she isn't just relegated to only having Work Friends or worse, no friends at all. Same with Josh, I appreciate when the main characters have other friends in their lives besides their love interest.
I liked Sarah overall and her anxiety in making new friends. It's hard in your 30s to make friends! I found that relatable and I found her sweet, even if she over-shares a bit haha. I like that her growing friendship with the other two business owners is a main plot point, and she isn't just relegated to only having Work Friends or worse, no friends at all. Same with Josh, I appreciate when the main characters have other friends in their lives besides their love interest.
The first-person present-tense was super distracting at first. I tried reframing it as "diary entries" in my head to make it more sufferable. Unfortunately the tense was a big roadblock for me here.
balletbookworm's review
4.0
A delightful romance that I picked up on Pi Day (of course). This is a delightfully fun (and hungry-making) contemporary between an app developer CEO and a pie shop owner/caterer. All props to Jackie Lau for having a hero who has zero qualms about being a good caregiver when his love interest has menstrual cramps from hell. Also, so much yummy-sounding pie.
(But it’s written in alternating 1st person present tense POV and gah, why? It drives me so crazy. Lucky for this book its cuteness overcame the structure.)
(But it’s written in alternating 1st person present tense POV and gah, why? It drives me so crazy. Lucky for this book its cuteness overcame the structure.)
readingwithhippos's review
4.0
The delightful story of Josh, founder of a tech company, who enlists Sarah, a bakery owner, to cater a Pi Day party for his employees. The guest of honor will be Josh’s father, who he’s had a strained relationship with since a high school mistake caused a rift between them. His dad is a math teacher, and Josh knows if there’s one way to break the ice and heal their relationship, it’s corny math jokes. Josh and Sarah have so much fun planning the menu for the party and tasting all the delicious sweet and savory options, it’s obvious they’re going to end up spending time together romantically. I love Jackie Lau for how real she keeps it--her characters are real people with real problems, but the stories themselves have a light and fun feel. Also, it was super fun to read a romance set in Toronto--it’s definitely on my list of places to visit once travel is safe again!
elenajohansen's review
4.0
Coming to this straight from the novella that's first in the series, I had hopes for better character development with more space to let them grow, and I got it.
I also had hopes that the writing style might not be as straightforward--if there's more length to allow for it, there might be room for more subtlety--but the narrative relies heavily on both leads doing internal monologue like they're dictating a diary. If that's just a hallmark of Lau's style, I'll deal with it, but I prefer characters who don't simply state their relevant feelings every two pages.
That being said, the story here is strong. It sidesteps issues of power dynamics (as their relationship starts out as business) by putting consent up front in every romantic or sexual encounter; while focused on the romance, it also touches on the difficulties of making friends or maintaining friendships as adults; it presents an abortion-related backstory for one character in an even-handed, non-judgmental way.
I was impressed with the overall plot and I liked both Josh and Sarah. I'm happy with the inclusion of queer side characters, especially as I know one of them later gets her own novel (since I bought the bundle I have the whole series, yay!) If my biggest complaint is a simplistic style, plus the minor complaint of "yes, I'm a foodie, but even I don't need to hear about pie quite this much"...well, that's still a pretty good book. Looking forward to the next one.
I also had hopes that the writing style might not be as straightforward--if there's more length to allow for it, there might be room for more subtlety--but the narrative relies heavily on both leads doing internal monologue like they're dictating a diary. If that's just a hallmark of Lau's style, I'll deal with it, but I prefer characters who don't simply state their relevant feelings every two pages.
That being said, the story here is strong. It sidesteps issues of power dynamics (as their relationship starts out as business) by putting consent up front in every romantic or sexual encounter; while focused on the romance, it also touches on the difficulties of making friends or maintaining friendships as adults; it presents an abortion-related backstory for one character in an even-handed, non-judgmental way.
I was impressed with the overall plot and I liked both Josh and Sarah. I'm happy with the inclusion of queer side characters, especially as I know one of them later gets her own novel (since I bought the bundle I have the whole series, yay!) If my biggest complaint is a simplistic style, plus the minor complaint of "yes, I'm a foodie, but even I don't need to hear about pie quite this much"...well, that's still a pretty good book. Looking forward to the next one.
jkatiemarks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
- allocishet m/w, she’s white he’s chinese-canadian, ceo (but not billionaire) x pie baker
- NERDY AND ADORABLE 🤓
- kids working through parental harm
- quite hot 🥵
amerikanerin's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rainbow_grace's review
3.0
Cute and sweet. The dumb break up happened for the stupidest reason though, and the ending felt fake and rushed. I did like all the characters though. I want a book about Amrita.
lms121's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25