3.5⭐
Genre ~ multicultural romance
Setting ~ Washington
Publication date ~ May 6, 2025
Publisher ~ Tor
Est Page Count ~ 325 (30 titled chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 36 minutes
Narrator ~ Eunice Wong
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ debut, small town, fake relationship, forced proximity, slow burn, roommates to lovers, enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, best friend’s sister, minimal steamage
My review:
Ellie (28) has had enough of her OVERBEARING mother, who is not only mad that she didn’t marry a man she doesn’t love just because of his family connections, but she also got fired her from her job. Wow, what a supportive mother, not! She takes the cake and there’s definitely no sweetness in it.
Now is as perfect a time as any to move across the country, purchase a storefront and follow her dream of owning a bakery. Unfortunately when she arrives she discovers the store has recently been ruined from a storm. Luckily though her brother’s best friend, and her childhood crush/enemy, Alec, lives in town and is in the construction business. They work a deal ~ he’ll find her contractors and she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend in order to close a business deal.
Some of the recipes she makes sound super duper scrumptious. I want to try them all. All sugar free and low carb since she has type 1 diabetes. It’s apparent the author is knowledgeable on the topic as we get the ins and outs of what it’s like living with it, and that’s confirmed in the author’s note.
I was really rooting for Ellie to succeed because I’ve never been so happy to see a character leave their family behind to follow a dream. Well really just her mother because her brother was perfectly fine and supportive. Although I tagged this as brother’s best friend/best friends sister that trope isn’t explored as they typically are.
I did like Ellie & Alec together to an extent, but I really wish this was dual POV, so that we weren’t just assuming Alec’s feelings. Also, I wouldn’t have minded some flashbacks to when they first met 20 years ago to get a glimpse of their crush on each other. This would have made me feel their connection slightly more. A little too slow burn for me waiting for them to figure everything out, but all works out as we know it would.
Overall, a well written debut. I enjoyed the friendships Ellie made with Kim and Jenna and it’d be nice if they got their own books. Alec’s friend, Rob, sounds like a nice fella, too.
Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the above info for reference.
Get your copy on ~ Amazon
Add to your never ending TBR ~ goodreads
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.
Book blurb:
Crazy Rich Asians meets Always Be My Maybe in this deliciously sugar-free rom-com from debut author Cynthia Timoti.
She’s salty, he’s spice–there’s no room for sugar in this fake relationship, but it may be sweeter than they think…
Ellie Pang has had enough of her controlling family who has been micromanaging her life since her type 1 diabetes diagnosis. When her parents orchestrate a public proposal from their business partner’s son, a proposal that goes humiliatingly viral, Ellie escapes to the other side of the country to put her dream of opening a sugar-free bakery into action. After all, she’d done her research. How hard can it be?
She hits a snag when her storefront turns out to be a dump and in need of major renovations. Worse, the only person who can help her turn things around is Alec Mackenzie, her brother’s best friend and the man responsible for crushing her teenage heart ten years ago.
But Alec has a proposal of his own: he needs a pretend girlfriend in order to cement a business deal. All they need to do is feign love and affection, while trying not to maim each other. As the thin line between hate and fake-madly-in-love starts to blur, buried secrets resurface, and Ellie must learn to trust her heart.
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