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!
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Aubrey runs a really successful bakery that is only threatened by the hottest specimen she has met in a long time. She finds out later he wrote the worst review about her place. Then has the nerve to claim he can still help her.
Landon is honestly meaning well. He does not want to put his reputation on the line by retracting the review that caused all the devastation. Yet somehow in between this all is electricity that crackles and sparks that fly for the two of them anytime they are in the same room together.
Surprisingly enough, this book has lots of humor, ideas for great recipes, and more than meets the eye. I had a hard time getting the book finished as the couple were interesting and so was the plot – only I felt something was lacking there. The heat and the chemistry were on point but something was just missing. It is worth a read, as it has really deep characters who get more background story as you read.
***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and its publishers.
A Sweet Mess is the newest release from author Jayci Lee. Somehow this was the first book I’ve read from Ms. Lee, and I’m so excited to have discovered her books.
I absolutely adored Aubrey and Landon’s story, and was pulled in from the very first page. Aubrey has been running her own bakery and is in the process of expanding her business to a second location when a special ordered cake is mistakenly given to a world-renowned food critic, who writes a scathing review just before he leaves the area for a month. The fact that Aubrey and Landon had hooked up without know anything about each other only made this story even more fun. Landon has a strict policy of never changing or editing a review once it has been printed, but he really wants to help Aubrey out after finding out the cake was a special order, so he gets her a spot on his friend’s cooking show as a way to help her redeem herself to her mail order customers.
I absolutely adored both Aubrey and Landon. Both had upheaval with their parents when growing up, and it made them both pretty independent overall. I loved they were pretty much together for 3 weeks straight while preparing for and filming the show. Landon and Aubrey fighting their attraction to one another in the beginning had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. They had amazing chemistry and I absolutely loved them together as a couple. Their journey was a funny, sweet, steamy, romantic, and at times heart breaking, and I loved every moment. Landon and Aubrey and their relationship was so much stronger for all the hurdles they leaped to find their very own happily ever after.
A Sweet Mess was such an amazing ready. Ms. Lee kept me engaged from page one and I absolutely didn’t want the story to end. I not only loved the main characters, but so many of the secondary characters as well, and hope to get to revisit these characters in the future.
Rating: 5 Stars (A+)
Review copy provided by publisher
4.5 stars
This is a new-to-me author and I’m am definitely going to be seeking out more of her books. Not only did this story hit me in the feels, it was also a lot of fun. To me, that’s a great combination.
The connection between Aubrey and Landon is instant and obvious. When they first meet, I think everyone in the bar must have seen the sparks flying. They both are quick witted, curious, and intelligent. It makes it all the more intense when, as the reader, you know things are going to go downhill fast instead of their relationship building.
Connection or no, Aubrey knows Landon is just passing through. While she doesn’t necessarily have any issues with one-night stands (and neither does Landon), she can’t help but regret they can’t be more. And Landon cannot stop thinking about the woman he picked up in a bar in the town he was stranded in for the night. And then fate makes sure they are thrown back together in the most uncomfortable of ways.
The progression of the relationship between Landon and Aubrey is so well plotted out and rings true. The will they/won’t they. Both trying to convince themselves they can be just friends. The intrusion of thoughts that aren’t so pure becoming more and more invasive in their interactions. I’m telling you, butterflies to the max in so many scenes.
No matter if Aubrey and Landon are in a “hands off” phase or “all in” phase of their relationship, through it all they are so very sweet with each other. Not in a cloying way, but you can really see they are both compassionate people and they pay so much attention to one another they pick up on when something is off. Both want to make the other happy and content, even if it disrupts their own narrative.
This story can seem like a roller coaster at times, but the author never lets it feel out of control. She knows exactly what she’s doing with Aubrey, Landon, and their relationship and knows when to speed the train up and when to slow things down. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Jayci Lee is a new-to-me author and I am so in love! Aubrey and Landon’s story was amazing! A rom-com with angst and drama, this story just flowed! I cannot wait to read more from this author!
Cute story about a pastry chef Aubrey, and a chef, Landon who’s a famous food critic! 4 stars for this one.
So we meet Aubrey, she took over the bakery from her grandmother and business is booming, she’s ready to expand it. She’s always struggled for acceptance in her Korean family, always coming up short in her father’s eyes, but she’s finally making her way. So when Landon comes in to the bakery, gets the wrong cake and writes a scathing review of it, business all but drops for Aubrey, putting her future in jeopardy. Can she convince Landon to retract his review, something he’s never done, so her business will pick up again? Can she also fight her attraction to Landon while trying to save her bakery? Grab this one and find out!
A Sweet Mess is a fun bit of romantic comedy with likable characters and terrific banter – I’m always a fan of the banter. The premise for this romance is great except that the whole time I was reading, I felt like I needed either a glass of wine or some baked good or other. Maybe both? Yeah, both would just about do it. Needless to say, this book was so not good for my diet. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story from start to finish. There is a bit of angst by way of a trope I’m not all that crazy about, but even that was okay with me since I enjoyed everything else so much. The book is well written, the characters are likable and have great chemistry, and the romance is a good combination of sweet and sexy. I read a book by Jayci Lee a few months ago and enjoyed it, so I was glad to see more of her, and I’ll be looking forward to even more of that in the future.
A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee was a fun and delightful read. Aubrey is happily living her life when a mistake at her bakery threatens to destroy all her hard work. Imagine her mortification when such threat includes her one-night stand, Landon? Suddenly she finds herself spending three weeks with Landon in hopes of fixing things. As they spend more time together, the sparks begin to fly. This was truly a charming read, with some light angst and a lot of fun to read!
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
As the title says, it’s sweet and a little messy (POV transitions and timelines) but it’s great to see Asian-American representation in Romance, some classic tropes, and loads of hunger-inducing descriptions of food and wine.
Full review is on my blog Carpe Diem Chronicles.
4 Delightful Stars!!!
This was my first book by Ms. Lee and what a great introduction to her writing! I loved this charming romance that’s set in the wine country of California. It has the right amount of heat as well as a story that is engaging and interesting. Aubrey is a girl after my own heart with her baking skills… I can only dream about being as good at it as she is. Just when Aubrey thinks she’s going to get to the next level up in her business, one bad review and her dreams may be forever gone and by the man she had a steamy night with too!!!
I absolutely loved that Landon tried to make up for his mistake by offering Aubrey the chance of a lifetime…but can they keep their burgeoning attraction to each other at bay while filming the reality show that’s supposed to right Landon’s wrongs? This is what this story is all about and I devoured every single word and page.
I so enjoyed Ms. Lee’s attention to detail about the Korean culture and the foods that are an intrinsic part of their lives. Add in Aubrey’s sweet concoctions and it’s a romance and partnership made in heaven. There’s some very light angst but for the most part this is a cute and witty book that I’m so glad I took a chance on. I’ll definitely be reading more of Ms. Lee’s books!
This book was a very delightful read with the well written storyline and characters that were so well defined that I was totally enthralled until the very last page!
By the time I finished A Sweet Mess, I really wanted dessert. The descriptions of the food, including the disastrous cake that lead to Landon’s bad review, were so delectable. Landon and Aubrey have an instant connection that ends in an one night stand. However, they later learn that Landon wrote a negative review of Aubrey’s bakery, due to a cake mix-up, which is threatening her business. I’m not sure I bought Landon’s reasoning behind not writing another review but it leads to the plot of Landon and Aubrey sharing a villa while she films a cooking show he’s producing. While there were plot holes and I felt like the second half of the book didn’t really go with the story, I did love characters of both Landon and Aubrey. My like for both of them had me rooting for them to work things out and kept me reading to the end! Even though I didn’t totally agree with how the story flowed, I did end up enjoying A Sweet Mess.
Jayci Lee has written a charming “sweet” novel with “A Sweet Mess”.
The relationship that Aubrey and Landon had was emotional and complicated throughout the novel but I loved watching all the developments along their relationship roller coaster.
You do not want to miss this touching romantic tear-jerker….
There is even a bonus recipe at the end that you can try.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.
I really wanted to like this book. It has all the things that should make it absolutely adorable. It is intended to be a sweet, happily ever after, fun, steamy romp with lots of chemistry, mistakes, misunderstandings where the intimately figure it all out and live happily ever after. And yet overall it didn’t work for me. What is was for me was a formulaic tale with no surprises or originality set against a reality show and a very unlikable main character. Landon came off as a very unlikable from the moment we are introduced to him and truly never got better. Selfish, egomaniacal, pompous and the maturity level of a toddler. He made a mistake and rather than own up to it because it would ruin his reputation and to him that was all that mattered. That he almost destroyed all that Aubrey had worked for was irrelevant. Then he threw her a bone by getting her on a reality show, which seems to be the new very overused trite go to in romance novels, had an affair with her which he went through great pains to keep hidden, even outwardly telling people she meant nothing to him and then treating her like garbage to protect himself. So basically a big JERK. I liked Aubrey. She was strong, smart, spunky, talented and incredibly passionate about her work. She was an artist and one of the lucky ones who managed to make her living doing what she loved. She stood up to her family when she chose her own path. I didn’t like that she allowed herself to be treated like a dirty little secret, but then when she stood up for herself and left I thought good for you. I knew they’d eventually get back together for this is a happily ever after rom com, and yet when in a few short paragraphs all is forgiven because he sheds a few tears I was done. It wasn’t true to her character and ruined the book for me. Id have liked a little pushback, her showing some of backbone, but to just hop into her friends car and go to him because he beckoned..well just no. I love a good fun romance and usually cheer when the 2 involved figure it all out, but this one was not my cup of tea. Or slice of cake. Sorry. Well intentioned, but totally dropped the ball at the end.
A one night stand leads to an unfortunate decision with consequence, which in turn leads to a grand apology, and then a drama llama decision…
I loved Aubrey and her feisty spirit, but somewhere in the middle, she had a personality switch, and yes, I became frustrated. Business wise, she was decisive as ever, which led to good things, yet personally, she spent more time being afraid of making any kind of real decision. If there was a segue in between the personality swap, I missed it, because I was left wondering where the passionate, grab life by the horns character went.
Landon was the opposite. At first, I didn’t like him. However, as I learned more about him, I grasped why he did what he did. (Granted, I didn’t necessarily agree with it all, but eh, you need some friction). However, he went above and beyond to fix his mistake, then he had to go and have a ‘duh’ moment-seriously, what was he thinking?! He wasn’t- and voila. Drama llama scene follows. Although, the resulting groveling moment was impressive…I’d reconsider taking him back too.
I had mixed feels about this story. I loved Aubrey and Landon. They were a spicy mix of heat and complexity, with shades of vulnerabilities that sucked me in. Somewhere in the middle of things I fell out of the story, but everything picked back up near the end. The loose logic of the plot threw me some-yes I could see how a bad review can hurt, but one review breaking an entire business seemed far-fetched and then there’s the contrived trope pieced in….
At any rate, I’m still going with four stars. The more I sat on my thoughts, I realized Aubrey and Landon made a lasting impression beyond the loose plot and at the end of the day, I was a satisfied, happy reader with their relationship.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley/St. Martins and this is my honest review.
‘A Sweet Mess‘ captured my imagination from the start, and while I did have some questions, maybe issues with parts of the book, that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment factor of one mistake, one scathing review, and two people discovering that love happens when it feels like it, fast or slow, there is no denying when attraction turns into so much more.
Landon’s flat tire brought him to Aubrey’s bakery – and to that mistake of the wrong cake being served to a food critic. And maybe because he’d had a crap day so far that (unknown to him) mistake earned a cutting review from this well-known food critic that practically ruins Aubrey’s pride and joy – her bakery. Then to add fuel to an already explosive situation they manage to meet at a local bar, have sparks fly, and a one time, one unbelievably sensuous night together before they discover exactly who the other is. Awkward, to say the least. And each has their own idea of why and how that one night came to be… which, of course, were the wrong ideas.
Although Landon does realize his mistake, he cannot do a second review to make up for his part in the troubles Aubrey faces with her business now. But… he can and does offer her the chance of a lifetime to take part in a reality show that would make her a household name… should she do well.
And the rest — well, you’ll need to discover for yourself.
I had fun with ‘A Sweet Mess‘, for the most part, and since I read an e-ARC I don’t know (yet) if those things that kept this from being a total winner for me have been edited. Yet, in the end, it really is a good book with a delightfully wicked sense of humor and characters who come across as real with their own issues that connect in unusual circumstances.
To be frank, I do wish the cover had been different, perhaps real people for from that cover no one can instantly tell that this is a Korean couple. I’ve read this author before and that book (and the next one out) is beyond sexy with real people and conveyed so much about the couple just by the picture… I wish this book had that type of cover – it’s an opinion, obviously, but then any review is just an opinion as well. I’d recommend ‘A Sweet Mess’ for those who love Rom-Com and a good love story to give this one a try. It’s a good romance, one you don’t want to miss.
**as an addition after this review had been written** I did learn last night through the author’s Twitter that “A Sweet Mess” has been picked up as a movie! Which is beyond exciting for the author, I’m sure. I will watch that movie, for it will be fascinating to see how the written word is transformed by the digital camera into breathing people and facial expressions. Looking forward to that.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
A Sweet Mess is the first book I’ve read from Jayci Lee and I have been missing out! While this isn’t my typical romance read, I was swept away by the strong characters and yearning. The touch of the forbidden between Aubrey and Landon only made me more eager to see how everything would turn out for them.
I really liked Aubrey. She was kind and creative. Strong and sensitive. Brave. Willing to take a risk on herself, for herself. Too bad one of those risks landed her in the middle of a disaster. Enter Landon. He comes off as arrogant, and he is, for sure. But as you get to know more about him, he’s a good guy. Does his best to take care of those he loves, even at the detriment of his own happiness. And when he makes a mistake, he does what he can to fix it. Maybe not in the way some would expect, but in his own way.
It was that olive branch extended to Aubrey that had her second guessing herself, again. She couldn’t deny she was attracted to Landon but there was too much at stake for them to be anything more than friends. But Landon went after what he wanted relentlessly, and he wanted Aubrey. Even if it was conflict of interest, even if there was a clock running on their time together. Even if he wanted more, he knew he couldn’t give that to her.
Ugh my heart just ached with the angst! These two belonged together if only they would get out of their own way. And in the middle of this budding romance, Jayci Lee went threw some big life lessons into the mix. Finding yourself. Obligation and duty. Family. Chasing your dreams and following your heart. Not doing what is easy but what is right. And that ending…cue the happy flutters, it was the sweet icing on top of the cake!
I really enjoyed this book. Offering up a blend of food, fun and romance, this cute story is well worth the read. I loved Aubrey and Landon I grew to like. I thought the chemistry was great and there were plenty of sparks flying. Wish I could have given it five stars but my own preferences and a few pet peeves got in the way of that. Still overall, I thought this was a very good read. I am posting a candid, elective review.
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.
This is my first book by Jayci Lee and I completely fell in love with her writing style. This book made me laugh, cry, and want to eat all of the things. Seriously, I was STARVING the whole time I was reading and I wished that I could get all of the food that these characters were talking about all the time!!
These characters made me feel everything that they were feeling from the very beginning. This book was a rollercoaster and I was definitely here for every bit of it.
I love finding new to me authors. I’m definitely going to have to add Jayci Lee’s backlist to my TBR.
Aubrey owns her own bakery. She loves what she does. It is her pride and joy. Plus, she is about to expand. But, when her part time employee accidentally sells the wrong cake to a food critic…it almost brings her business to a close.
Enter Landon! He is a famous food blogger and a star in his own right. He wrote a scathing review about Aubrey’s business. When he realizes she is fantastic at what she does and he just got the wrong cake. He refuses to write a retraction, even though, he and Aubrey had a one night stand. Complicated…to say the least!
When I first started reading this book, I had reservations and I almost put it down. It was not the type of book I really wanted to read. I was not in the mood for a rom-com. But, the further I read the more enjoyable the story became. Now, it IS your typical romance…nothing new and no surprises. I just completely fell in love with the characters and the story. I laughed out loud and fell…hook, line and sinker for Landon. AND do not think you won’t be hungry while reading this book. The food is amazing. I can just smell some of the delicious dishes being prepared.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.