A Sweet Mess: A Novel

Aubrey is a dutiful daughter – successful and independent –but not yet married, and living her own life (happily) far enough away from her parents to feel confident, but close enough to check in. Her parents, while not “thrilled’ at her chosen career as a baker are happy that she’s successful, and if she could find a good Korean boy to marry – all the better. Landon is a well-known food critic and blogger with a solid following and a bit of a stick up his rear. He’s stubborn and inflexible: he won't revisit decisions, even when he could be wrong. He’s traveling around and planned to review Aubrey’s bakery-but a mix-up in which he got a child’s cake instead of what he ordered means that he’s unhappy and plans to make that clear in the review. A chance meet and one-night stand, both thinking about the other and plenty of drama, including a not so positive review, plenty of friend interference and a dash of ‘woe is me’ until he’s forgiven drama and we have it. Adorable and cute – Landon was one who needed a swift kick and was forgiven a bit too quickly, but he did tick all of Aubrey’s boxes and seemed truly contrite so there was some adjusting for me with the end of the story. Full of food, wine and some mouth-watering descriptions, this is another to add to the reading list for the summer when you want to get away from it all I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest” review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Jayci Lee wrote a wonderful, laugh out loud, with off the charts chemistry romance featuring Aubrey and Landon in A Sweet Mess. We have successful baker Aubrey Choi, running ragged between her successful bakery, Comfort Zone, and with its expansion; she has no time to date. When she has a one-night-stand with gorgeous Landon Kim she finds herself wanting things she didn’t think she had time for. The problem, Landon turns out to be a celebrity food critic who wrote a scathing review of Comfort Zone which goes viral and nearly destroys Aubrey’s business; let alone ruin her memory of their amazing night together. Realizing the mess he created, Landon tries to fix the mess by offering Aubrey a spot on a new celebrity cooking show he’s producing. Aubrey agrees, but only to save her bakery and her reputation. The dilemma, Aubrey and Landon have off the chart sizzle and will be sharing a villa in California wine country. These two struggle to resist the magnetism between them, providing them with all the necessary ingredients for love. Ms. Lee wrote a wonderful, emotional and sizzling story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with magnetism, chemistry, and charming characters giving Aubrey and Landon a chance to find that happily ever after. I highly recommend A Sweet Mess to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Aubrey impressed me with her passion and determination to live her dream. She loves to make people happy with the food she creates. This was a bold move for her to leave her family and venture out on her own. Just as she is expanding her business, she becomes the ire to a food critic after he is served a special-order cake that didn’t impress him. What makes this even crazier, the food critic in question is the same man she had the most amazing one-night stand with, Landon. Landon is surprised to learn that Aubrey, the woman that won’t leave his thoughts, is the same baker of that crazy Bundt cake he had. He has a problem, he never reviews a restaurant twice and now, he’s had a personal relationship with her. He isn’t a complete ogre, which made me happy, he wants to help save her business so he gets her a spot on cooking show where she gets to showcase two new recipes. The fun really begins when they end up sharing a villa in preparation of filming. To protect both of their careers, they need to keep their relationship strictly professional. But Landon hasn’t tasted Aubrey’s sweet buns yet. Will they be able to resist their magnetic chemistry? Landon surprised me, he is so successful as a food critic but as he opens up to Aubrey, we learn that this isn’t his true dream or passion. She is a bright light in his world, but will he be willing to embrace what Aubrey is offering? Or will he be afraid to change? This story surprised me so many times. So glad I took a chance on a new author to me.