Jayci Lee delivers “a perfect balance of impeccable wit, laugh out loud hilarity, and off the charts chemistry. A Sweet Mess is a sinfully decadent romantic comedy.”–New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting Aubrey Choi has been content running her highly successful bakery Comfort Zone and with its first expansion taking up all of her time, dating has been the least of her priorities. … the least of her priorities. Then a one-night-stand with gorgeous Korean hunk Landon Kim makes her want things she didn’t think she had time for. Too bad it turns out he’s a celebrity food critic whose scathing review of Comfort Zone goes viral and nearly destroys Aubrey’s business–and her fond memory of their night together.
Landon tries to clean up the mess he made by offering Aubrey a spot on the new celebrity cooking show he’s producing. She agrees to use this as a way to save her bakery and her reputation–no thanks to him–but vows to guard her heart. Now Aubrey and Landon find themselves sharing a villa in California wine country, which is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. For the next three weeks, baker and critic will tempt each other as they struggle to resist admitting that they have all the necessary ingredients for love.
“A rich, vibrant romance that’s a feast for all the senses.”–#1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely
Includes Delicious Dessert Recipes!
more
I loved this book! I’m trying to read new releases and since Jayci just released the Dating Dare I had to read Part 1 in the series first! This book was a sweet love story of Landon and Aubrey. A Baker and Food Critic that started out on the wrong foot. But in the end true love prevailed. Jayci does a great job at keeping her authors tuned in. I could not put this book down. A must read!
This is the second book I have read by this author. As an Korean myself, I love that I have discovered Jayci Lee. I can’t remember reading many books where the characters are of Asian/Korean descent. Just like the prior novel, I really enjoyed reading this book. Therefore, I am happy to report that I have found a new author that I hope to read for years to come.
Aubrey is a sweetheart. Landon is too but his pride just got in the way in the beginning. Therefore, turning him into the “enemy”. Luckily, his charm and love for good food/sweets, and the fact that he and Aubrey shared good chemistry are all factors as to why he is went from zero to hero.
This book does not feature just yummy sweets that I may have caught myself day dreaming of and drooling over but this book also has humor and romance. Fans of rom coms will want to add this book to their reading pile. A Sweet Mess is sure to delight readers with fun, engaging characters mixed with a dash of romance!
A Sweet Mess
By Jayci Lee
A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee is a romp full of fun, sexiness and deliciousness all in one fantastic read. The writing was completely engaging, funny, cute and with a lot of heart too. It’s everything I want to read in a romcom. The setting is in my hometown of California and with Korean American cast of characters, this was a joy to read.
The chemistry betwen Aubrey and Landon is unmistakable and truly is a delight to see the characters in what eventually is a poignant story. I had fun reading this, this was a great escape read, I could not stop turning those pages, and the romance was definitely swoon worthy.
I want to read more of Jayci Lee’s writing I just could not get enough of it.
I loved this!
Deliciously sweet and delectably charming!
A Sweet Mess is a spirited, heartwarming, enemies-to-lovers romance that mixes the independent, spunky, Aubrey, who’s determined to do whatever it takes to keep the doors of her new bakery, Comfort Zone, open for business, and the successful, hardworking, Landon who takes his job extremely serious and understands that as a celebrity food critic reputation is everything.
The prose is amusing and light. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are quirky, supportive, and kind. And the plot is a fun-loving, flirty blend of tricky situations, tender moments, humorous mishaps, self-discovery, friendship, family, happiness, romance, and scrumptious delights.
Overall, A Sweet Mess is an entertaining, humourous, enjoyable treat by Lee that ultimately reminds us that true love is always worth fighting for.
Aubrey Choi is a pastry chef, She makes the most amazing pastries and you will want to just go into her place, sit down and enjoy whatever concoction she has dreamed up for the day. Her place, The Comfort Zone, is all that is important to her. Everything else is secondary. Landon Kim is a renown food blogger. He had the pleasure of his car breaking down in this small town. These two meet at the bar and sparks fly. What could go wrong from a one night stand. Both Landon and Aubrey have had unusual upbringings and both have little room for love or trust. Landon needs to make things right, that is his specialization. When he has the chance to make things right, he tells Aubrey that her feelings must be wrong. Love how he grovels to make things right.
Loved it! Landon was my book boyfriend!!!
I just finished this book and I could not put it down! This book is definitely an easy read for a lazy rainy day or a day at the beach. The characters are wonderfully written as well as the story itself. The ending left me satisfied and all the warm gooey feelings that a light rom like this should have were present. I definitely recommend this book for those wanting a easy, fun rom read!
I think I gained 5 lbs just reading this book and all of the delicious foods that were described. I do wish that there were a few more recipes at the end especially for the desserts that Aubrey makes for a television show.
Aubrey and Landon have that instant animal reaction to each other sexually as evidenced by their one night stand. When a review of Aubrey’s bakery goes awry due to miscommunications, Landon seeks to make it right without compromising his no second review policy. What ensues is their attempts to keep things platonic despite the intense attraction they feel for one another. Let’s just say it doesn’t work.
If you are in the mood for something light and fluffy (my terminology for most romance novels) then you won’t be disappointed. True love does not run smoothly for these two and it is definitely a case of communication that can solve all of their problems if they would just not be so obstinate about being true to themselves and their relationship.
I really liked several of the supporting characters. Tara, Aubrey’s BFF, is a hoot but also loyal to Aubrey. There is a hint of a possible book featuring her and another character. Aria and Lucien are two other characters that I liked because they pulled no punches when it came to Landon. They may be his friends but they knew when he was not making wise choices.
Outside of the romance, there is a subplot regarding Aubrey and her mother and their reconciliation and some truths that come to light that are best for both of them.
I devoured this book and if you are a foodie that loves romance books, I think you will like this book too. We give this 4 paws up
A wonderfully uplifting summer read. Deliciously romantic and cooly comedic, A beautiful story of cooking and second chances with great friendship and family elements.
Aubrey Choi is running her bakery yet dreams of building her reputation and her storefront into something more.
When her surprise gummy worm cake falls into the wrong hands (and mouth) she receives a scathing review, purely by chance. Landon Kim would not have written his review if his plans had not gone astray. Wrong place, wrong time, everything seemed out of his control.
To make amends, he offers Aubrey a spot on a television cooking show. Forced to spend time under the same roof and working on a project together, can they resist the temptation that continues to call and pull them together?
If you enjoy reality television cooking shows or Hallmark movies, you will love this book!
What an awesome journey. More on the lighter side, it still had its share of drama.
The one night stand romance was longer than one night, intense and hot. Some people don’t know how to play that game very well at all lol.
Aubrey’s dream was fixing to crash and burn all bc a food critic had a bad day, got served a little kid’s birthday cake by mistake, and Landon had hurriedly penned a scathing review.
These two’s own ingredients were combustible around each other, but they didn’t want the public to know, as it could jeopardize their careers. What to do?
Loved the way it was written with a lot of emotion, and heart put into it.
Aubrey and Landon were fighting a losing battle, so there were ups and downs.
The meals and desserts that were created sounded so good.
This is a stand alone and well written.
For More Book Reviews , Recommendations , interviews and more , Visit my blog Bibliomedico : https://bibliomedico.wordpress.com/
*************************
Thanks to the publisher and the author for providing me with a free advanced reader copy for my honest opinion .
*************************
” Life isn’t perfect , but that’s ok . IF you falter . I’ll catch you , and you’ll do the same for me ”
I read this book after a series of disappointing books .
At the beginning , I thought it was like any other romantic story where two people meet , have instant attraction , followed by a one night stand , then , Ops ! they keep facing each other .
But after reading more of Aubrey Choi story . I fell in love with the characters and the writing style.
This was an easy and entertaining read .
For me , the best thing about this reading experience was getting introduced to Lee writing style . I can’t wait to read more from this amazing author.
” Guess I prefer to right my wrongs by action rather than words ”
I highly recommend this book for all romance lovers
A Sweet Mess is a phenomenal contemporary romance by Jayci Lee. This is my first book by this author, already I can’t wait to read another. Ms. Lee has provided readers with a well-written book furnished with a spectacular collection of characters. Kudos to Ms. Lee for snappy, snarky, fun dialog. Aubrey is the owner of Comfort Zone, her own little bakery. Landon, a famous food critic, is on his way to a restaurant when the tire blows and he has to be towed to the nearest town. Landon and Aubrey’s story is packed with drama, laugh-out-loud humor and sizzle. I enjoyed every word of this book and look forward to reading more from Jayci Lee soon. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I just loved these two.. I could not get enough of this story and did not want to put this book down.. I love how both characters have a love of baking which brought these two together..
A mistaken dessert, a wrongful review, and a cooking show correction…
These two have tried to fight the attraction as long as they could but true love wins out..
Great book, page Turner, must read.
Aubrey and Landon were an adorable mess of a Korean-American couple that had me experiencing some serious culinary envy right from the start. Seriously, the food descriptions were probably my absolute favorite element to the story beyond the intense chemistry between the two lovebirds. I found myself snacking while reading and lamenting that I didn’t have any of those decadent ice cream sandwiches on hand!
A Sweet Mess uses a pretty standard one night stand, enemies, then lovers formula that works well. Both characters have compelling backgrounds that read as authentic. Best of all, this is a diverse cast with wonderful friendships for both Aubrey and Landon. The banter between the couple and with others was fun and easy to read.
The biggest issue I had: this story uses a trope that I always pass hard on. I can’t share really share it without giving a bit of the plot away but it’s not something that will bug many other readers but just happens to exist on my “No, Thank You” list. It’s just one of those reader hangups that I have.
Overall, this was a sweet, decadent read with great characters and friendships. The romance is sweet and spicy and it is clear the author adored their characters. I would absolutely read more of Jayci Lee’s work in the future.
Recommended for: Lovers of steamy romances, one-night-stand turned second chance romance, and, of course, food lovers.
*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Swoon-worthy love interest, and satisfying ending.
I really wanted to like this novel, Korean-American pairing and sweets, but it just didn’t work for me. Audrey and Landon were a little too immature with terrible communication skills to make me truly believe in their HEA.
Was it just me or did Landon and Audrey lack an actual connection? Sure the sexual attraction was high and you can easily cut the tension with a knife but that was it. I just couldn’t picture this couple together and just about the majority of the lines were focused on their ‘spark’ which became more than exhausting after the first few chapters.
Furthermore I had an issue with the dialogue, scene transitions, POV structure and the instant love feels with a side dish of unexpected pregnancy that I won’t further elaborate on because everyone knows how much I hate those types of romances with a passion. It was an absolute mess.
The POV was all over the place and the scenes and dialogue hopped back and forth so often that it got to the point that it took me a second to figure out whose POV I was reading, where the hell they were and what they were trying to convey. The characters didn’t have a unique voice which caused them to all sound the same. It definitely wasn’t smooth sailing but I have read worse. I just really hope prior to this release, the author does some fine-tuning and major editing to save this from being a complete disaster of a romance novel.
While I enjoyed Jayci Lee’s “A Sweet Mess” and found it to be generally well-written, I have to admit that it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting based on its marketing as a romantic comedy. There’s a certain fun, lighthearted feeling I normally associate with rom-coms that seemed to be missing here, especially after the midpoint of the book. There was some cute banter between main characters Aubrey and Landon in the early chapters, but aside from that, it was difficult for me to identify any truly “comedic” elements to the story. I would agree that “A Sweet Mess” falls on the lighter side of contemporary romance, but readers who are expecting a lot of laugh out loud moments may find themselves disappointed.
Aubrey and Landon were both likeable, complex characters who struggled with the idea of entering into a long-term romantic relationship because of experiences with their parents as they were growing up. Aubrey witnessed the impact of her father’s infidelity on her parents’ marriage and how her mother seemed to lose another piece of her individual identity each time she forgave or ignored one of his affairs. As for Landon, he was terrified of turning into his father, who ran up huge debts and then abandoned his wife and children when it became clear that there was no way to repay them. Despite their fears, Aubrey and Landon were clearly very attracted to each other and more than a little in love, but came up with excuse after excuse to push each other away. There were several times when I honestly wasn’t sure if they’d ever end up on the same page, but thanks to an unexpected twist and a lot of help from their friends, they managed to get it together in the end.
The book’s secondary characters were also quite likeable, though I wish we had learned a bit more about some of them. For example, Landon’s friends Aria and Lucien had their own romance going on in the background that seemed to involve some drama, and it would have been interesting to hear the details.
Overall, “A Sweet Mess” was an enjoyable story with a bit more angst to it than I expected. I recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and look forward to checking out the sequel, which will feature Aubrey’s friend Tara and Landon’s younger brother Seth.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
A Sweet Mess is a new release by a fairly new author, Jayci Lee, who specializes in laugh-out-loud romances. As I have stated previously, I am a foodie so I jumped at the chance to read a book about a chef and a jaded food critic. Grab your morning coffee and let’s chat about A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee.
After blowing a tire on the freeway, Landon lands in the small California town of Weldon. While walking around the small town, the smell of freshly baked bread led him to Comfort Zone. He was enjoying a coffee and the bakery’s daily special, a chocolate bundt cake when he found himself choking on a gummy worm hidden in the filling. Since the tire blow out disrupted Landon’s plans to review a three-starred Michelin restaurant, the small town bakery would have to take the place of that review in California Coast Monthly.
Aubrey needed time to wind down and relax before going home. Her part-time worker had sold a special order birthday cake to an out-of-towner. Aubrey had only three hours to recreate Frankencake which was designed by her favorite pint-sized customer down to the peanut butter and gummy worm filling. She never expected a one night stand with a handsome out-of-towner. Aubrey and Landon never expected to see each other again especially after Aubrey realized that Landon was the author of the review which almost destroyed Comfort Zone.
I really enjoyed reading this book and learning a little bit about Korean culture. The chemistry between Aubrey and Landon was so strong and the descriptions of the food had my mouth watering. Jayci Lee has to be a foodie like me!
My rating of A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee is 4 out of 5 propellers!
3.5/4 stars (can’t make up my mind)
I really like this book, it’s was a really cute second chance romance. One that is full of angst and drama but it totally still managed to make me laugh. There were scenarios that really had me mad but I can assure you I did forgive them, even when I didn’t think I would.
This books cover a multitude of troupes, one-night stand, enemies to lovers and co-workers to name a few, that won’t be spoiling anything. Landon and Aubrey did have some chemistry but I found it a little shaky in some parts. Although it isn’t a 5 star read for me. It is a good read that will keep you entertained.
This book is recommended by me but I still have some mixed emotions in regards to the whole story.
Reviewer: Donna