Reviews

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

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liketheainapple's review against another edition

From the premise, this felt like exactly my cup of tea, but I just didn't enjoy this as much as Jaigirdar's other romances. Any Bake Off lover knows that individual bakers each have so much personality, so many strengths and weaknesses they bring to the table, and you end up feeling so many emotions for them. When you're watching, you're thinking, "I knew she would get flustered in the technical," or "I'm so proud of him for finally having the style to match the substance."

I didn't feel like the baking show contestants in this had that kind of specificity. I should have been riveted, and I just wasn't. There was conflict but it felt one-dimensional to me (the villain was too easily villainous), and it didn't make up for the lack of character specificity.

That being said, I appreciated the turn the romance took--that was unexpected and sweet. And I'll keep reading Jaigirdar's books because her other characters have been so dear to me.

cstary's review against another edition

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2.0

Book Club pick.

Pros: great baking puns, cute cover art, unique perspective.

Cons: read like a first draft, main character was kinda mean and not held accountable for her actions, simplistic characters. I wanted more focus on the baking show itself—why were some “episodes” only a few pages long? I love fluffy reality competitions irl and would have enjoyed more details and suspense!

I wish this book had been a graphic novel.

msrae89's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

court_reads321's review

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funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

rachelcofo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

hereforthefunofit's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

This is the type of book that I gel so well with purely based on vibes, and said vibes are doing so much heavy lifting in the rating because I didn't really care for anyone.

Niamh becomes a textbook villian. I find her spiral anticlimatic because it's so predictable, but also so out of left field with the rubbish she was spewing that it didn't even make sense to me. Unfortunately, I have to say it's realistic. People like Niamh exist, but I saw it coming from a mile away so it's a bit womp womp when it plays out exactly to the T.

Never liked Chris.

Don't like Shireen.

Fatima deserved better.

But don't let this make you think I did not enjoy this book because I really did.