I’m Levi Buchanan, and until five years ago, I thought the legend of my family’s curse was a load of crazy, Southern nonsense.No curse can make you fall in love at first sight. No curse can force a true, deep, passionate, all-consuming love that will haunt you all the days of your life.Then I met Jocelyn Abernathy and I realized how completely wrong I was.The problem is, Jocelyn guards her … is, Jocelyn guards her feelings like well-armed soldier. She’s the most beautiful, stubborn, infuriating woman I’ve ever met. Every time she talks, I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But I can’t.
Because when we met, she didn’t need true love. She needed a best friend. And that’s what I’ve been to her… for five years.
But when Jocelyn meets a handsome stranger her first day working at Donner Bakery and she lets him buy her a dill pickle cupcake, I realize with ominous regret that I may have missed my window with my best friend.
If I can’t get her to see past our friendship, my new curse may be to watch the love of my life move on with someone else.
‘Baking Me Crazy’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #1 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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The first standalone book in the Donner Bakery series in Penny Reid’s Smartypants Romance world, Baking Me Crazy by Karla Sorensen was such a sweet friends-to-lovers contempary romance that left me feeling giddy and warm inside.
Being afflicted by his family’s curse, Levi Buchanan has found his soulmate. He’s madly in love with his best friend Jocelyn. He’s handsome, charming, with a killer dimple and the perfect Southern gentleman.
Joss Abernathy is a shy, strong, and funny woman. She guards her heart like a fortress and has always seen Levi as her best friend… until she doesn’t and the moment it happens y’all is truly beautiful.
Levi and Joss’ romance was so sweet and pure. It will hit you right in the feels and have your heart fluttering. Of course there were those moments where my heart hurt for Levi, watching him secretly love his best friend and seeing her have feelings for another.
Such a fun read, I enjoyed Baking Me Crazy immensely and recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance story. This was my first read by Karla and I can’t wait to read more of her words!
I love the way that Karla Sorensen writes. I love that her men are always so swoony!! And her women are always bada$$es!! This best friend to lovers book is unputdownable. It’s a must read for any romance lover.
The first time Levi Buchanan saw Jocelyn Abernathy he fell. And he fell fast and hard. The Buchanan curse was in full effect. The only problem was that Joss wasn’t in the mindset for a relationship so she chose friendship instead. Levi never let Joss’s wheelchair get her down or in between them. Five years of best friendship was about to change when Levi could t hold it in any longer. Everyone knew but the most important girl. Now was the time to let her know.
We follow as these two finally let feelings come out. We watch as Levi finally tells Joss and we watch as Joss tries to navigate her new found feelings. And what a beautiful, sweet and sexy ride it is.
I absolutely loved this book, I didn’t want to put it down once I read the first page. And neither will you.
Highly recommended.
* I was given an advanced copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest and voluntary review. All thoughts and opinions are those of my own.*
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I received a review copy before release for an honest review.
I have a confession, I have never read Penny Reid or any of her stories at all. But I have read Karla Sorenson and I have loved every book she has written so I could not wait to check this book out.
This is the story about a boy, Levi Washington who meets a girl, Joss, he is 18 and she is 16 and she just moved to his small town. He falls in love with her within minutes but she is just getting over being very sick and the result of her illness is that she has lost the ability to ever walk again. He asks her out but she says she is not ready and he decides they should be besties and that’s what they are 5 years later.
Meanwhile he has dated and so she has forgotten that he ever asked her out and so he has to wake her up and get her to see him as a guy she wants to date.
This was a beautiful story about two best friends. One of which who knows she is it for him but she has no clue, not a clue, zippola. It was very fun and sweet and a wonderful story about besties falling in love. Its also a romance about a woman who is handicapped and does not let it stop her from following her heart and dreams.
There are a lot of connections to this story from other books. She works at the Donner Bakery which is the connection to the Penny Reid world. Levi is also up for a job with the Washington Wolves and that’s a connection to Karla Sorenson’s last series.
BAKING ME CRAZY by Karla Sorensen is a delightful new adult/coming of age novel that features an unrequited love that’s as equally frustrating as it is inspiring. These best friends are close in so many ways and a declaration of love means potentially losing the best friendship they both have.
You’ve got to feel for Levi Buchanan. He’s been in love with Jocelyn Abernathy since he met her five years ago, but he’s been firmly friend-zoned. And thanks to the Buchanan Curse that asserts Buchanan males fall in love once, and only once, Levi’s love life has been on hold ever since. If that’s not enough, he’s struggling to find a job having just finished a master’s degree. Let’s face it: Green Valley might be a great place to grow up but it’s not abundant in specialised employment opportunities.
Jocelyn is also trapped, but in ways Levi can never understand. She’s been a paraplegic since her mid-teens, and it’s only now that she’s emerging from the fogginess of having to adapt to her condition that she’s seriously starting to consider her professional future and dipping her toes into romance.
My early twenties are just a distant view in the rear vision mirror but I really enjoyed and could empathise with Levi’s and Jocelyn’s feelings and the adult decisions they needed to make. There are some beautifully touching moments between them and I wish we got more. There’s a reason why many people say marrying their best friend is the best thing they ever did and I can see Levi and Jocelyn firmly cementing their relationship as the years pass.
I had to reread this book because it’s that good!
I love this story so much and the fact that it’s part of my all time favourite fictional world from Penny’s books, it’s just amazing.
What I most loved in this book it’s the awareness that brings by showing us that people with disabilities have a life as well. They’re no different than anyone else, they have a heart to love and be broken and pieced back up.
To my shame , this was the first book by the author that I’ve read but I’m more than anxious to read her other books.
Love it so much! Read it now and fall in love with this couple.
Let’s chat about the characters for a minute. I fell head over heels for Levi instantly. And Jocelyn? How could you not feel connected to her? These characters are everything in this life changing story.
Unrequited love. Or is it? There is something to be said about friends dipping their toes in the romance pool. It’s scary. It’s exhilarating. It could be the end all for the friendship. It could be the all for a relationship. I felt the pull and push all through this book.
I can’t give this book enough praise. From its uniqueness in the characters, to the overall story, I was enthralled from start to finish. I need to go and read some of this author’s previous books.
Baking Me Crazy ( Donner Bakery #1) by Karla Sorensen was a crazy and special ride. This story surprised me and impressed me in an impossible manner. I never thought best friends to lovers romance could be this beautifully heartbreaking . My heart is full of emotions. This was sweet and swoonworthy enough to make me cry. This was also smart and funny and hopeful enough to make me smile like a lunatic.
Joss and Levi has been best friends for five years. Since the day Joss turned him down. But Levi always loved her and if being her best friend made her happy, that’s what he would do. But times are changing. And soon they have to face their feelings. Sounds simple enough? Yeah. Right. Hold on. Because you have no idea how angsty, torturing and heartbreaking this will turn out. Because the story has a twist. Joss is not like other girls. She is DIFFERENT. And that makes her world different. She is a courageous, sassy, beautiful, strong and absolutely amazing woman. But her difference colours everything around her. How she looks at people. How she interprets her life events. How she reacts when her best friend expresses his feelings. For a smart girl, she could be stubborn as hell and a bit idiotic sometimes. But I love her. I adore her and respect her. I feel this odd sense of protectiveness which proves how much I relate to her.
And guys like Levi are so hard to find. It may be the Buchanan curse. But it is a actually his golden heart. I was awed by the things he did for Joss. Her happiness meant the world to him. He is charming and caring and protective. A total sweetheart with gorgeous body and wicked sense of humor. Their bonding was something out of this world. It was extraordinary. Their level of understanding for each other was unreal. I was eagerly soaking up all the sweet moments and witty banter and the unique connection. They deserved HEA but of course they needed to make some mistakes to realize how much they need each other. The chemistry was a living breathing third most important character. Along with so many amazing secondary characters in Green Valley.
The words of Karla Sorensen wrapped my heart in comfortable, soothing and warm feelings with the right kind of heart-rending and aching moments. The words were powerful and haunting. This story is simply remarkable with outstanding emotions.
Received ARC for Honest review
Overall Grade:
“I don’t regret a single day of the past five years because, for those five years, she’s been my favorite person in the world to spend time with. “
To say that I’ve been insanely excited about the SmartyPants Romance books would be an understatement. To say that I was ecstatic when I found that one of my favorite authors, Karla Sorensen, was writing a book for SmartyPants would not be a surprise.
I just finished the book, Baking Me Crazy, and I have all kinds of love for it. I finished it two days ago, and I’ve been trying to find the words for this review because (1) I want people to read this treasure of a story, and (2) I want people to recognize the treasure who is Karla Sorensen.
What should you know? This story is a “best friends turned lovers” book. The trope isn’t life-changing or earth-shattering. Yet, there is a complexity to this story, coupled with a tenderness in its story. Baking Me Crazy tells the story of Levi Buchanan and Jocelyn “Joss” Abernathy. These two meet when Levi assistant coaches Joss’s basketball team. At first sight, Levi is done for over Joss. According to his family legend, the Buchanan men fall in love at first sight and eventually marry the woman. Unfortunately, Joss spurns his invitation for dinner and asks for his friendship instead because she is newly dealing with living life in a wheelchair. After her rejection, the story fast-forwards five years, and Levi still pines for Joss. Yet, Joss doesn’t know it. They are best friends, and Levi has spent the last five years of their friendship, toeing the line between love and friendship. Until one day when Joss finds herself attracted to a new man in town. These are feelings she has never felt before. Levi, nervous that Joss will enter a relationship with this man, ups his flirting game to try and win her heart. Will Levi finally earn the prize of Joss’s affection, or will she choose the other man?
Karla Sorensen has this way of writing a variety of heroes. She easily writes the cocky player, the reticent hero, and the sweet but masculine best friend. It doesn’t matter the story she easily finds the voice of her hero, and it becomes a foundation for her book. It would be easy to say that Jocelyn is the center of this book. I’ll explain later why I love her so much. But, for me, Levi Buchanan is the heart of Baking Me Crazy. He is all man: works out at the gym, drives a big truck, earns his muscles through hard work, and has an intelligent mind. In spite of his masculinity, though, he is more tender than Joss. He feels her, knows her, and sees her through the entire story. Sorensen does this amazing job of showing us Levi’s heart in all the metaphors that Levi has created over the years to Joss’s eye color. Each new description was highlighted in my book, and boy did I swoon hard. When Joss struggles to accept his interest in her, Levi doesn’t push her. He waits. And he does this because he knows her, sometimes, better than she knows herself. There are these indelible moments that show the depth of Levi’s love for her, and Sorensen places all of her writing gusto behind them through her words and imagery. You can’t help but fall in love with Levi because Sorensen makes it so. As such, he becomes one of the best parts of Baking Me Crazy.
Similarly, Sorensen decides to break the heroine mold with Jocelyn. How many romances have you read where the heroine is wheel-chair bound? Not many. With Joss, though, Sorensen can question and remind us of the perceptions of peoples with disabilities. Joss’s inability to “see” Levi’s love for her resides in her identity as someone in a wheelchair. Her perception of love is tainted by her feelings of insecurity. Sorensen eloquently illustrates the ways in which disability can re-define a person. It creates a new ‘normal’ for them that suggests they are “less than,” that they are “too much.” And while Sorensen creates this mindset in response to Joss’s disability, really this mindset is common for any of us who don’t feel like we are enough. It doesn’t matter if our legs don’t work; if we think our beauty, our body size, our intelligence, etc. isn’t enough, sometimes, our mindset doesn’t allow us to recognize the blessings in front of us. Sorensen creates the essence of her book through Joss’s character, and it’s an admonishment that, with the “right’ person, anyone can be loved fully.
With Levi as the heart of this book and Joss as its essence, it’s easy to understand why this simple story comes with so much depth. I’ve been trying to find the words to say why I adore Karla Sorensen’s books, and I think it comes down to the story we see in her book, Baking Me Crazy. She takes these simple romantic tropes and breathes life into characters that we can’t help but connect to. It’s easy to fall in love with her characters and their story. I’ve done it over and over again. She makes her words visceral and important, and her story unfolds its truth in the beauty of her characters’ connection. Baking Me Crazy is no different. Joss’s story is an important one to read; Levi Buchanan will steal your heart and prompt you to remember what it feels like to be loved at your core; and Karla Sorensen will remind you once again why you should be reading her books until she chooses not to write them.
I can’t stop smiling. I just loved this book. The writing, the characters, the well-thought-out plot. I loved the curse, the way Levi thought of Joss’s eyes, the patience he had for her and the way he knew she’d overreact. They were friends first, and it’s exactly what Joss needed. Someone to truly know her, know her faults and her fears and everything about her, to help her navigate a world that was sometimes cruel or unkind. And to hold her hand through the hard times so she’s know he deserved her hand in the good.
I loved this book, and I’m not sure I’ll ever stop smiling.
I love this story! This is my first Karla Sorenson book, as well as my first foray into Penny Reid’s universe.
It was a sweet , slow buildup. Levi knew he loved Joss right away, when he first met her…. it’s a family curse. And she is too focused on her P-T to even realize that he loves her. A new guy comes to town, finally making her “feel” dating vibes, and now Levi has to make her see that she is the one for him.
It is also great that this story has a different sort of heroine….she is in a wheelchair. I learned about some of her struggles, which some things I had considered in the past, and others I had not, when confronted with this sort of able-body issue (I hope I am using the right terminology!).
Check out this friends to lovers story!!!
I adore this! I think opening up the Pennyverse to other authors is just going to make this series explode!
Ms. Sorensen has done a fantastic job in keeping the Green Valley spirit in Baking Me Crazy but still creating her own story and what a wonderful romance it turned out to be. Love at first sight/ unrequited love/BFFs to lovers plus diverse characters in the form of Joss and Levi just makes Baking Me Crazy a marvelous introduction to the Smartypants Romance series. This book made me laugh, cry, go “aww” in the right places and made me extremely excited when the Buchanans of Green Valley are once again featured in future Pennyverse romances.
Levi and Joss’s story, and Joss’ own personal journey with her own growth and realization that yes, she can really have it all was just emotionally satisfying. I actually want their story to continue, maybe cameos and guest appearances in future books. They are that wonderful! Ms. Sorensen has done a great job in Baking Me Crazy. On to the next book!
Let me start this review by saying…BOOK 2 CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH FOR ME!!!
5 Super Sonic Stars for me!!!
This was an AWESOME romance book that completely and thoroughly checked all of my boxes. Dayuuum….Karla Sorensen just upped the ante on book boyfriends with Levi Buchanan! This man knows how to treat a woman Riiiight!
BMC was such a sweet and tender love story from start to finish. My heart was in full throttle SWOON mode as Levi attempted to make his long term, handi-capped best friend Jocelyn Abernathy fall head over wheels for him, the way he did for her at first sight. OMG….a top ten favorite right here! You guys, seriously…I could not have conjured up a more romantic white knight in my mind if my life depended on it. Levi takes the MuthaEffing’ cake! Add in the scene stealing Nero the dog, and you have my complete and full attention in this romantic comedy that made my heart melt. There were tearful moments, and oh so sweet ones. There were sad moments, and moments of great joy as well.
I loved the entire Buchanan family!!!! It was so wonderful how profoundly they adored Jocelyn and how supportive they were of she and Levi finally accepting what they’ve always known….those two belong togther. Gah!!!! It was so gosh darn good!!!
” Because you know when I say something to you , it’s the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. Even if it scares the H*ll out of you, you know that I’d rather rip my tongue out than tell you something that’s a lie.”
(I’d forgive you anyway Levi, but thank you for being the honest, kind, decent man that you are!!) I’m in love with this guy.
If you love second chance, friends to lovers storylines, you are gonna flip over this one!!
A man was never so happy to be cursed by a woman before ever even kissing her.
This book. This amazing book. I can’t accept that it’s over, I refuse to do so but, I might as well go ahead and read it again and again and again… You get the point, until I get tired of it which would never happen. I am so completely in love with the story and the characters in it, it’s just not possible for me to stop wanting to know about their lives and shenanigans and continue to love them forever. If it sounds like I’m obssesed, well, it’s because I AM. From the beginning I got so invested in the plot and I wanted to figure out where and when was the angst going to come from but it didn’t matter because I was hit with waves of feelings throughout the story. I swear, I turned one page and BAM! FEELINGS, turned the next one, BAM! SO MANY FEELINGS, didn’t see it coming? BAM! Has your heart recovered from that last hit? No? Well then, here’s some more: BAM! I would be lying if I said I didn’t love it. My heart felt like it could burst at any time, and not just from the bits we got of delicious angst, no, it was everything. Every laugh and every talk they share, every look and every smile I read about.
I can’t believe how much I swooned while reading this story, how it made my heart happy and full. Joss and Levi’s story is one of a kind.
Fantastic, sweet and heartfelt.
I loved everything about this story. It was my first book by this author. I picked it up because it is part of Smartypants Romance and I loved just the Idea of this to begin with. The story pulled me right in from the start.
* Love at first sight
* A family love curse
* Best friends to lovers
* It has a Hero and heroine in Levi and Joss who I could feel for and root for their HEA.
“All I could do was send up a fervent prayer that I wouldn’t say something stupid, that I wouldn’t stare, wouldn’t stumble over my words, or come off like a crazy person who, after eighteen years and three days, finally believed in family curses and love at first sight.”
This book delivers with all the feels! I laughed out loud and cried heartbreaking AND happy tears. I’ve definitely found a new to me author that I’ll want to read more from.
-5 Stars!-
-Diane-
***4.5 Stars***
I’ll admit that it took a bit for me to really get into it (I blame it on the cold I caught thanks to my coworker ~ sinus issues are never fun) but even from the start, I wanted to know more about Levi, Joss and spend time in one of my favorite literary worlds with the hope that I’d get to see a few familiar faces, and I definitely got that and more. This turned out to be a fun friends to lovers read that had a whole lot of heart and just enough drama to keep things interesting and me turning the pages until the very end.
I adored Levi and Joss. He’s sweet, charming and has a golden heart. All in all, he is simply good people. Joss is a fighter. She was dealt a blow at a young age, but forced herself to live ~ even if it has only been a semblance of it. She has mile high walls and is a little awkward because of them, but all in all she is a good person who is slowly learning that she wants more in life than what she’s allowed herself thus far.
As for their friends to lovers romance. I have to say that I loved the premise of it. It’s sweet, quirky and so very true to Green Valley that I loved watching everything play out between Joss and Levi. Their friendship was so strong that I had no doubt that they’d find their way to being more, even during those moments of wanting to Gibbs smack some sense into one of them, and in the end I loved where they both found themselves.
This is my first read by the author and it was a great experience. The writing was engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed the dual first person POV’s. A bunch of new characters were introduced and I’m crossing my toes that we’ll see them again in one form or another as this world expands.
~ Copy provided by Social Butterfly PR & voluntarily reviewed ~
I was so happy to be chosen to read some of the new stories from Smartypants Romance. And Karla Sorensen is a totally new to me author.
Baking Me Crazy is a fantastic story! It brings heart, heat and as the character, Joy says “So romantic…”.
This is the story of Levi Buchanan and Jocelyn Abernathy.
First off, I want to say that this story flows beautifully into the fictional world of Green Valley that Penny Reid created. I loved seeing characters from Penny Reid make an appearance and it didn’t distract from the main story at all! It brought a layer of believability to the story. That the characters that Ms. Sorensen created belonged there.
I was intrigued by Jocelyn. She has a disability and she doesn’t let it define her. She has vulnerabilities that she can’t seem to shake and has defenses that would scare off most, but not her best friend Levi. I learned a little when reading about Joss, her disease and I was able to really empathize with what she was going through.
Oh and holy crow, Levi Buchanan and the curse! I loved reading his POV’s and what really made me swoon was the comparisons that he made with Joss’s eye color…read this and you will melt too! He was what Joss needed him to be when she needed him. I love the best friends to lovers trope and this story knocked it out of the park.
I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, and I really enjoyed Joss and Levi’s story. I loved getting to know the Buchanan family and I’m looking forward to reading more about them!
Southern charm at its finest in this deliciously sweet romance that will leave you with a few laughs and all the feels!!
This book was such a delightful easy read for me. It took my mind off everything while letting me dive into Levi and Jocelyn’s story. There was nothing about this story I did not thoroughly enjoy from the MC’s and all the side characters. This story is just a good ole’ fashion romance with all the bells and whistles. Sheer perfection if you are looking for something that is fun and full of love!!
Oh, and BRAVO to Karla Sorensen for not writing the cliché virgin character!!
The Buchanan Curse is alive and well in Green Valley. Good thing Levi has the patience of a saint when it comes to waiting for Joss to accept her condition, and get the dating feelings. I loved their story.
BAKING ME CRAZY is a Friends to Lovers / Small-town Romance. It doesn’t follow the usual pattern but is a unique story of it’s own. It is the story of Levi Buchanan and Jocelyn Abernathy’s journey from the Best of Friends to Lovers at Last.
Levi Buchanan had heard the family curse as far back as he could remember.
It was told that as far back as his great-great-great-grandfather, it had been said that Buchanan men fall in love only once, and they fall in real, true love. It happens the moment they meet The One. Love at first sight and that was it! Nothing would ever come close, no one else would suffice. At only eighteen years old it happened to Levi Buchanan. As soon as he saw her come in the door, he knew Jocelyn Abernathy was The One & Only!
Their first meeting wasn’t full of hearts and Cupid’s arrows. It was Jocelyn, or friends called her Joss, challenging Levi to a game of wheelchair basketball. She won easily as she was good at wheelchair basketball and he had never played before. He asked her to dinner and she said, “No!” But she said she could use a friend. So for the next five years, Levi, became the best friend she could ever have. He didn’t regret a single day of the past five years, because she has been his favorite person in the world to spend time with. Yet, it was time to tell her his own true feelings, and hope and pray she feels the same. What if he was the first person in five generations of Buchanan to fall in love with someone who wouldn’t love him back?