A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

Summary:
Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see her gorgeous Korean unicorn again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.
When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart—and her hormones—are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible…by sharing a villa.
When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice—to stick it out or risk her heart.

Review:
A Sweet Mess is a book that I picked up completely randomly at Barnes and Noble because it talks about baking (and I have a blog feature where I bake things I read about in books). So, I thought this would be a fun one to try and see if I could find something in it for Books & Baking (which I did and will eventually attempt).
This story was an interesting one. I’ve never really read a book with some of the tropes that were in here. One of which (the pregnancy trope) is one that I often hear negative things about, but I didn’t hate it. I actually really liked it. I’m not sure if that’s because of my personal experiences or if it’s because it was well done within the story. I enjoyed all the talk of the baked goods and the food. This book certainly made me hungry, but in a good way.
So, we follow Aubrey Choi who owns and runs her own bakery in a small town. I loved seeing Aubrey, in the beginning, just love what she’s doing. By chance, Landon Kim’s borrowed car breaks down in this small town. He is mistakenly given a bizarre cake that was specially made for a child’s birthday party instead of the special of the day, which looks the same on the outside. Later that day, Landon and Aubrey meet in the bar next door to the bakery (which is owned and run by Aubrey’s best friend). They end up having a one-night stand. The two don’t interact again until after Landon’s scathing review is published. Aubrey didn’t know that it was Landon that had been given the incorrect cake until his review. After the small town comes together to try to get Landon to rewrite to retract his review, Landon comes back to Aubrey’s bakery to see if she’s interested in an opportunity to show how great of a baker she really is. This starts Aubrey’s and Landon’s struggle to stay away from one another while prepping and filming a cooking show.
I really liked Aubrey. She was a great problem solver and when things were falling apart, she didn’t just give up. She made a plan to try to make things better. She did her best to keep her head up and push through. She was smart and creative. I just genuinely liked her.
Landon was an interesting love interest. His backstory showed why he was the way he was. I liked that we learned the reasoning behind his actions. I also liked that Landon thought things through. He knew that if he retracted or rewrote his review for Aubrey’s bakery, someone might find out that they slept together, which could damage both their reputations. So, he came up with another creative solution.
The chemistry between these two was the best part of the story. The tension we got to see between them while they’re trying to stay away from one another was so excellent. I think they were a really great couple. I was invested in their romance, even as I understood why they were trying to stay away from one another.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think A Sweet Mess was a delightfully sweet story filled with diverse and successful characters. I liked the plot and the twists. I will definitely be recommending this one in the future.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.