Things are about to get sticky… I might as well permanently add the label “Ex” to my name. I’m an Ex-Mr. Universe. Ex-Mr. Olympus. An Ex-Hollywood Stuntman. But no one from my small hometown cares anything about that. They only care that I’m the ex-boyfriend to the beloved Mayor’s daughter, Elaina Dyker.And now, ten years later, I’m back, helping my siblings run my mother’s bakery while she … mother’s bakery while she takes on chemo. What should have been a routine cupcake delivery turns into utter chaos when the bachelorette party thinks I’m a stripper. And what’s worse? Elaina is the maid of honor.
When the video of Elaina and I meeting again goes viral, my small hometown becomes positively infested with tipsy bridesmaids looking for my erotic cupcakes.
Now Hollywood’s knocking again—and they want Elaina to join me starring in a reality show.
All we have to do is play nice for a few weeks and pretend to fall in love again in order to win half a million dollars and solve both our problems.
Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Everyone knows, reality television is anything but real…
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A man baker and city manager get into a baking contest on TV to win money to buy property for medical clinic. Problems occur that create disruption of an old romance.
What an endearing story! I liked nearly everything about this book. Very charming, indeed. The ups and downs of finding love, claiming your dreams and happiness and taking care of your family all in a relatively short time period… ouf…
The only thing disturbing the quiet fun of reading this was the one time Neil was home alone and his ex showed up… that didn’t leave my head until the end of the book….I was waiting for the second shoe to drop, lol!
Beside that, the hole story is wonderful! And I wouldn’t mind to hear again from the Evans in one way or another…
Enjoy your read!
I didn’t actually finish this book. In fact, I didn’t finish the first chapter. The language was so foul in the first two pages I stopped reading. It may be a very good book if you aren’t offended by the language, I just wanted to save anyone the trouble of buying it if you prefer a more conservative vocabulary.
Entertaining read about high school sweethearts finding each other years later.
This is a great book! It’s the most original I’ve read in a while. There were parts that I laughed so hard my family looked at me like I was nuts! I absolutely loved Neil’s mom! If you want to laugh and get a little teary eyed you’ll love this.
Absolutely loved…. can’t wait to read the next one with Liam & Chloe… I do hope it has Elaina & Neil’s wedding and kids in it…
ARC for honest review with no compensation Received from BookSprout 4.5 stars
Beefcakes is book 1 in the Beefcakes series by Katana. Collins and a second chance at love.
Neil and Lainey were high school sweethearts but he up and left town…now 10 years later he is back and helping to run his mother’s bakery. Lainey hires the bakery to make cupcakes for her sister, Chloe’s bachelorette party. When Neil and Liam arrive the cupcakes get destroyed and the boys must find a way to salvage the situation…what happens next is laughter, comedy of errors, rekindling love and so much more…can’t wait for the next book in this series!
Beefcake is a funny second chance for two high school sweethearts.
The dianamic between all the characters is fantastic, the story is entertaining and engrossing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Neil and Elaina had a relationship in school but he left for the big time world of body building and stuntmen. Now he is back to help save the family bakery while his mother goes through chemo. A delivery goes wrong when the cupcakes get crushed and the girls at the bachelorette party think they are strippers. The party was for the bride – sister to Elaina. Beefcakes is born and the men have what it takes. The storyline has a few plots going at the same time, but it is mostly fun and energetic. A lot of people are involved and some of them are out to destroy things. Loved the banter and the how the group works together.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
So many things to love about this story. The story line is well written, enjoyable, has plenty of moments where you can’t help but laugh out loud and keeps you captivated until you reach the end. The characters are fun, well developed and have chemistry that leaps off the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The great plot was professionally written, and the characters were so well developed that as I turned each page the chemistry between the characters kept me totally hooked until the very last page!
Neil Evans left town ten years ago without a goodbye. With his mom facing chemo, Neil comes home to help with her bakery. Elaina Dyker (“Lainey”) had been Neil’s girlfriend. As town manager and the mayor’s daughter, everyone watches to see her mess up.
So when the cupcakes she ordered for her sister’s bachelorette party are delivered by Neil, the bachelorette party mistakes Neil for a stripper. Neil is back in the headlines again as all the females are stirred up and Hollywood wants Lainey to join him in a reality show! With both of them in debt, the million dollar prize money could go a long way in solving their financial problems. They would only have to “pretend” to fall in love again. That should work out, right?
This is a cute story line offering a second chance for two people to get back together again. With the prize money lure, they have a good incentive to at least work together briefly. Is that enough time for cupid to load up his arrows?
The first book in the Beefcakes series a Second Chance Feel Good Romantic Comedy that is well written. This is a second chance for Elaina Dyker and Neil Evans who left her without even saying goodbye ten years ago. I enjoyed seeing this story come together. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What happens when you mix a mom with cancer, two muscle-bound sons, a bakery, a bachelorette party, an ex, healthy cupcakes, a reality show, and a whole town? Laughter, awe moments, some sadness, and impossible scenarios! This book contained all of this and more! Read what happens when you combine these elements and others for a great second chance romance.
So Much Fun!
I loved it, loved it, loved it! Neil and Elaina are absolutely perfect as exes, but were beyond amazing when they get their happy ending. The whole book made me amped up and left me feeling giddy. There’s so many great things about this story, the reality show, the city planning, the romance… sigh… Plus a surprise – recipes in the back! Absolute perfection!
This was a really enjoyable second chance romance. The characters had depth and were well developed. The story was funny, engaging and had all the feels.
Elaina Dyker is the uptight town manager of Maple Grove. Her father is the mayor. In high school she was a party girl who also was valedictorian. She and Neil Evans were high school sweethearts.
Neil Evans left home just before graduation because he was failing math and could not graduate with his class. He studied cooking and later was Mr. Universe several times and then a stuntman in Hollywood. When his mother is diagnosed with cancer he comes home to run her bakery with his brother Liam. He is approached by two actor friends to take part in a reality tv show with a million dollar prize for the winners. He and Elaina/Lainey agree to be on the show. He needs money for his Mother’s medical bills and she needs it for a local healthcare center. They fall in love but have to deal with a lot of personal baggage before they get their HEA.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a cute, easy read. Perfect for the beach. I wasn’t crazy about Lainey (or Elaina) at first but she did grow on me. If you’re into rom-coms, this should be right up your alley.
I love when this author writes her full length books! Beefcakes is a very entertaining, funny, steamy and emotional book that keeps the reader completely engrossed with each turn of the page. Loved Neil, and although I wasn’t a fan of Lainey’s in the beginning, I was totally team Neal and Lainey by the end of the book. Loved that it centered around a bakery, my all time favorite pastime, and that it involved the whole family. Interesting twist with the “game show challenge” aspect of the story, but it really worked for me. The author even gives you the recipes of a couple of the cupcakes featured in the book, recipes I plan in trying out. Overall I loved the book and am now on to SugarLips!
Laughed all the way through this book! I’ll definitely add Katana Collins to my reading list.
Didn’t care for it. Wouldn’t recommend.