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sbelasco40's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. The language is vivid and lush, and the characters are fleshed out and real, even as their romance is at times rather...well, magical. There's a nice balance between fairy tale and the realities of grief and loss, and I loved the blog posts connecting baking to all the different ways we love each other. I wish that blog really existed!
scrow1022's review against another edition
5.0
Lush, gorgeous, clever, funny. Heartbreaking. I put it down for a long time halfway through (had skimmed through to the end) and I don't know why now, I think I was a little intimidated by the richness of her writing (and maybe also the weight of the sorrow in it) and never felt I could give it the attention it deserved. But now can happily pick it up again and again and just feast on it, the writing and the story are really that amazing, that precise and careful and real and unreal at the same time.
dreamorasong's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful. Wistful and sweet and decadent. Makes me long for a sweeter more simple life.
jamiereadthis's review
4.0
It’s a slow burn, with more shy chickening-out than I usually like. (With hilarious mocking, I should add, in the form of Trice, on said chickening out.) And yet— it works. It pays off. The tropes are inverted. The bakery exists for more than just a cute set piece. The requisite trip out of town in the early budding relationship doesn’t stall anything; it does a backflip into deeper intimacy. The parental figures are best friends. It’s devoid of what I call angst, despite the heavier subjects— grief, loss of loved ones, midlife ennui. It’s got lots of joy. I loved spending time with these characters, Trice included, who is a trip. Nobody slipped into mere caricature.
The end had to deal with some issues that weren’t Teddy-centric, and the only reason I minded was because I wanted more Teddy. I call that a win. If I had to stick with the theme, I’d say this book is sweet in the way that has salt mixed with it, a complexity to the flavor that just makes me want more.
The end had to deal with some issues that weren’t Teddy-centric, and the only reason I minded was because I wanted more Teddy. I call that a win. If I had to stick with the theme, I’d say this book is sweet in the way that has salt mixed with it, a complexity to the flavor that just makes me want more.
sadie's review
4.0
-Originally reviewed for Prism Book Alliance-
Actual rating: 4.25 stars
Oh my gosh, this book is DELICIOUS. I want to wrap myself in a pastry of its delicate, detailed prose and roll around in a bowl of its soft, sexy…everything…for dessert.
Jules is witty and brave inside the shell of his grief, and Teddy has been repressed for so long he almost doesn’t know how to interact with folks outside of his safety bubble at first. Their road to friendship (and later, love) is as slow and sweet as molasses in summer, saved from being tedious by Ms. Constantine’s clever writing and somewhat unusual narrator’s voice. I was also pleased with the book’s diversity – there are basically only four characters, and all of them are queer, while at least two are of color.
The only spot of uncertainty for me was in the shift from magic realism to…let’s just say a different style…with about 150 pages left in the book. In my opinion, the plot twist involving Andy came a little out of nowhere, especially so late in the story, and I would have liked to have seen less of that and more of Teddy and Jules. It’s a minor issue though overall and shouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying this read!
Actual rating: 4.25 stars
Oh my gosh, this book is DELICIOUS. I want to wrap myself in a pastry of its delicate, detailed prose and roll around in a bowl of its soft, sexy…everything…for dessert.
Jules is witty and brave inside the shell of his grief, and Teddy has been repressed for so long he almost doesn’t know how to interact with folks outside of his safety bubble at first. Their road to friendship (and later, love) is as slow and sweet as molasses in summer, saved from being tedious by Ms. Constantine’s clever writing and somewhat unusual narrator’s voice. I was also pleased with the book’s diversity – there are basically only four characters, and all of them are queer, while at least two are of color.
The only spot of uncertainty for me was in the shift from magic realism to…let’s just say a different style…with about 150 pages left in the book. In my opinion, the plot twist involving Andy came a little out of nowhere, especially so late in the story, and I would have liked to have seen less of that and more of Teddy and Jules. It’s a minor issue though overall and shouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying this read!
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