Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - The Dos and Donuts of Love

I enjoyed the romance between Shireen and Chris. It had a couple of my fave tropes, namely second-chance romance and the MC not realising that the LI is in love with them when it is very obvious to the reader. The dynamic between Shireen and Chris was great - they had a lot of healing to do, but you could see that there was so much love there. Their interactions got sweeter and sweeter as the book went on. I do wish we had gotten more of a feel for WHY Shireen was in love with Chris - like, what was it about her in particular? Even though I liked the romance, my favourite relationship in the book was actually between Shireen and her parents. Her parents were so lovely and supportive! I enjoyed their interactions so much.

The plot being focussed on the baking show was downright entertaining, as the fictional show had all the drama you expect from and love in the real thing. I loved that the judges’ names were puns of Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsey and Paul Hollywood. Admittedly I sometimes had to suspend my disbelief regarding the details of how the show was run, but this wasn’t too bad.

A theme that emerged as a result of the baking show was about how being fat and Bangladeshi impacted Shireen’s experience, not just on the show, but in life, too. She faces a tidal wave of online hate with little support from production, and is accused of special treatment at one point when she IS shown a tiny bit of support. In that way, the narrative explores how white people will cry “unfair treatment” when all that’s happening is the playing field being levelled (and in this case, it was more like a smidge of dirt being levelled). In her regular life, Shireen observes the difficult position being both fat and Bangladeshi puts her in, as Bangladeshi culture is one centred around food yet also obsessed with diets. Reading from Shireen’s perspective was insightful in many ways and gave a new angle, especially on reality TV, that is unfortunately uncommon in YA and in literature in general.

Shireen had great development as the MC, as she learns to temper her all-or-nothing thinking as it comes to failure and love. As the story progresses, she really settles into herself. As a side note regarding her character, I wish we had been shown and not told about her passion for baking. We see little of her baking process, and even less of her emotional response to this.

Rep: Rep: fat Bengali Irish-Bangladeshi lesbian (word not used but implied) MC, lesbian Irish-Taiwanese LI

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alenas_library's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Adiba Jaigirdar did it again. She created a sweet story about failure, hope, dreams and lastly achievements. Now at the end of the novel, I cannot even belive that I ever had something against Chris. The writing and Sheerin's own thoughts really made me not like her, but I think that just proofs how good Adiba's writing is. Shireen herself was not perfect, but I still loved her as a main character. Her imperfections actually made me love her more.
The way spiraling thoughts and panic attacks were portrayed are - in my opinion - very accurate. Adiba has a way to keep her writing and stories light, hopeful and funny while addressing important topics includin racism, panic attacks, fat phobia.
And I loved the story. A reality TV show as a setting is already good enough, pair it with baking and I'm in.
But I think that the build-up needed some more time. Not much, maybe 20 or 30 pages at max. I'd definitely would have enjoyed the ending much more if it were for these few couple pages.
Overall a sweet book that I'd recommend anyone who's a fan of reality TV settings and a cute sapphic romance.

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lennie_reads's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

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internationalreads's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a delightful queer rom-com full of food and puns. Although there were some repetitive phrases and plot points used, I adored it. I’d read anything by Adiba Jaigirdar!

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komiification's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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the_ash37's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

4.0

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evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Well, where to start? This book is just perfect for my liking. It's cute, sweet and all. Of course there are some trigger warnings or content warnings in it... but not too heavy and I could count this as light reading.

I love the character development in Shireen Malik; the main character of this book. And I love how while reading The Dos and Donuts of Love from start to finish... it was like watching Masterchef in baking version! Very creative idea to this donut book after all.

And the ending? It was perfect; as sweet as donuts should be. Thank you, Adiba for this cute story of a young love. Overall... I enjoyed my journey knowing Shireen Malik and her best friend also her competitors in Junior Irish Baking Show.

Good job! Can't wait for your another work (if there will be any). Teehee...

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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5.0

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