Reviews

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

Only show reviews with written explanations

cbustamante22's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

actual_goose's review

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This book disappointed me on every level. It felt like an insult the entire time I was reading.

The constant dialogue of "'Great British Bake Off is your favorite show,' said my best friend Fatima. Fatima was my best friend and knew how much I loved GBBO or Great British Bake Off." Every three paragraphs actually gave me a migraine. The main character was annoying and seemed to dislike literally everyone in her life for no real reason.

If I could give it negative stars, I would.

fawning_over_books's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

katykelly's review

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5.0

Bake Off former girlfriends get 'bready' to 'crumble'!

Yes, I had to. This book has more puns in it than my son's joke book. These are actually quite good though!

This book also ticks a lot of boxes - two Asian female protagonists, same-sex relationships, currant (note my spelling) baking show plotline, social media backlash and prejudice/stereotyping, parents and their role with adolescents, body image and plus-sized characters. And doughnuts.

While you might think it's trying to be all things to all people and get as many contemporary issues crammed in as possible, this is a rather sweet and moreish confection.

Shireen has only recently broken up with her girlfriend, Chris. Their parents run rival bakeries, and Shireen dreams of one day having her own shop and brand. Which is why she's applied to be on a young person's Irish Bake Off TV show.

The story begins as Shireen finds out she's got a place (with her best friend abroad visiting family and struggling to help her cope with the break-up or celebrate her good news)... only to discover so has her ex-girlfriend. But happily, there are other very friendly and attractive contestants to help her forget...

A sticky tale of adolescent angst, dealing with the emotions of yourself and others, making mistakes and learning from them. There's Mary Berry and Gordon Ramsay 'alikes' in the show's judges who made me chuckle. And a lot about being proud of yourself and your origins, being happy in your own skin, the ups and downs of rivalries.

It was refreshing to read a book set in Ireland and with such an eclectic mix of characters and ethnicities, foods and cultures represented. It was also enjoyable to work out what Shireen should do, both in love and in the competition. I'm not a Bake Off watcher, but I was very keen to see how the baking went each round!

Flawed (floured?) characters abound, from parents to children, but this was highly entertaining and with several key points to make to its audience. I REALLY want to see some of their creations on a screen as well.

For ages 12 and above.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample (yum) reading copy.

tinysierra's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the food pun chapter titles

slmarzo's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mercedes3295's review

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

I wish I liked this more because I’ve loved all the other books I’ve read from the author, but I didn’t really like the side characters much.

The whole love line/triangle also didn’t do much for the plot and I probably would’ve liked it more if Niamh was just a friend because they had NO chemistry. This was most likely the intent but Niamh’s whole sabotage storyline would’ve felt more impactful if they had chemistry together. And although Chris and Shireen were better together I still liked them as friends more than as a couple.