As two neighborhood shop owners battle for business, they prove opposites attract in this “deliciously sweet and savory new romantic comedy” (USA Today bestselling author Abby Jimenez). Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn’t plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door … Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn’t spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.
From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there’s also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they’re forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it’s possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.
Blaire Calloway has spent her life in the shadows of her family of famous chefs. When Blaire decides to open a cocktail cafe/cupcake business, Buttercream and Booze, she intends to make it completely on her own. Imagine Blaire’s surprise when she finds out her new business neighbor is re-opening a bar, The Knight Cap, right next to hers on the same day! Enter Ronan Knight….the frustrating, irritating and gorgeous neighbor. When Blaire confronts Ronan the real fun begins. As these two keep one-upping the other, the sparks begin to fly. When a new business comes into the area that is threatening both of their businesses, Blaire and Ronan decide to work together to try and keep their customers coming in. Of course the more time these two spend together, the bigger the attraction grows until they finally cannot control themselves. Just when it looks like these two are getting their happy ending, another force comes into play and it makes Blaire start seeing green. In the end it all works out and Blaire and Ronan get their perfect happy ending.
I just adored both Blaire and Ronan. Blaire was a fun, quirky woman who just really loved what she did. It was fun meeting her crazy, off the wall family. Ronan sounds like the perfect, handsome, thoughtful type of guy. I loved his relationship with his family too. The banter between Blaire and Ronan was such great laugh out loud moments. I loved all of the different cupcakes Blaire would make for Ronan and I loved how he just played along. Overall this was a perfect rom-com with awesome characters and a great story. I highly recommend this book!
So frickin fantastic
Another great book I really enjoyed reading this funny and entertaining highly recommended. Love Helena’s books always amazing and never disapoint.
What a sweet, sugary, with a candy and icing on top story! I enjoyed falling in love with these two characters. Their backgrounds were quite unique.
Blaire sets out to make a go of her new sweetshop that has not only cupcakes but a spin with cocktails as well! Let me just tell you, I wanted to go visit Buttercream & Booze in real life! It was a great atmosphere that Blaire has created, and she thinks so too! So when Ronan Knight starts piggybacking off of her social media and events, the sugar hits the roof!
Ronan Knight just wants to do his gram justice by bringing life back to The Knight Cap that she and his grandfather had… I mean it’s three generations! He has a plan that he wants to make The Knight Cap successful again so he can start his own brewery. So when he’s met with Blaire, his whole world has shifted.
I wouldn’t call them enemies to lovers but it does boarder on that on some of the pranks they pull, some of which had me in stitches! In the end, they are their salty to their sweet. I truly loved this story and it was what I needed in 2020… for a sugary treat you won’t want to miss! I recommend to kiss this cupcake of a story, it’ll put you in a blissful state.
Helena Hunting is such a great author, and this book did not disappoint! This was a great funny and sweet rom com that was such a feel good read.
This was honestly one of the funniest rom-coms I’ve read in a while. I feel like typical rom-coms are heavy on the rom, light on the com, but this one had a healthy dose of both.
Blair is in the process of opening her very own Cupcakes and Cocktails shop, but the pesky bar owner next door, Ronan, is giving her trouble at every term. Determined to make a name for herself outside her eccentric family’s restaurant empire, she refuses to give up. And maybe the guy next door could become an asset instead of just a pain in her ass…
I really, truly loved this book. Ronan and Blair were both perfect (Ronan is pure #BookBoyfriend goals), there were genuine laugh-out-loud parts, and the chemistry between the characters was off the charts. There were definitely some exaggerations and eccentricities (Blair’s family, to name one), but all of them were funny instead of annoying (as this kind of campy material sometimes can be). The food descriptions were AMAZING and it made me crazy cupcakes like nothing else. Don’t read this book hungry!
One of my favorite rom-coms this year.
5 stars – 10/10
Calling all HH fans! No one makes me laugh like Helena. If you’re looking for a fun read…this book’s for you! Two neighborhood bar owners battle it out for business and fall head over cupcakes (and axes) in love in this deliciously sweet and spicy romantic comedy.
Oh how I love a good rom com and Helena Hunting knows how to deliver! I loved Blaire and Ronan are the most adorable enemies-to-lovers I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed that there was tension without angst and that it was a sweet and sexy slow burn. I do wish that we had gotten to know the characters a bit better – but as business owners (especially in the food and beverage industry) I understand why so much focus was on their day-to-day work habits and interactions (and I actually appreciate how realistic that is). I also appreciate how different their families are and the impact that that had on each of them. But more than anything, I really loved how there was potential for final act drama that was totally bypassed and resolved by people communicating, not jumping to unnecessary conclusions, AND not being douche canoes. I thought I loved Helena Hunting from her Pucked series, but it looks like standalone rom com HH is giving her a run for her money! 4.5 out of 5 wine glasses.
4 stars!
Kiss my Cupcake is signature Helena Hunting. Laugh out loud antics mixed with an emotional and heartfelt characters. Blaire has just opened up a cupcake and cocktails shop. She has worked hard all her adult life building up her business online and has recently made her dreams come true by opening her own shop. She comes from wealth but refuses to take any money from her family and is determined to make a success of herself without their help. Ronan is running his families bar next door and ruffles Blaire’s feathers with rival antics and gets her attention immediately. The romance between the characters went from rivals to friends to lovers and I enjoyed this progression. They were competitive and challenged one another. The plot is low angst. Very little conflict which left me with feelings of happiness and sweetness. I really liked Ronan’s connection with his grandpa. He gave him so much wisdom and advice and was a pivotal character. This was super slow burn. Tons of build up and when they connect it is FIREWORKS! This is well written and I recommend it if you like your romance in the lighter side.
Oh how I wish I would have loved this book. I liked it. I liked it plenty. I just didn’t fall in love with it.
I’m going to dive right in. I had a very difficult time connecting to the characters and feeling their chemistry. And I know one of the main reasons why. The dual point of view, but not having even close to an equal split between the two. I think the number of chapters that the book is from the hero can be counted on one hand. And they were very short. I needed more equal chapters with the characters to connect fully.
The book is cute though. A very fun plot with enemies to lovers. Those that follow my reviews know that I am a sucker for enemies to lovers. This one had some really fun scenes.
Overall, the book is worth the read. I am pretty sure many will love this story. I really wanted to love it instead of liking it. It’s a quick, fun story though.
Let me start off by saying that Meet Cute by Helena Hunt was one of my favorite romance reads from last year, so I have been dying to read Kiss My Cupcake. That being said, this book just lacked all of the magic that I loved from Meet Cute.
Blaire Calloway is the daughter of wealthy restaurateurs but wants to venture on her own and make a success of Buttercream & Booze. Ronan Knight inherits his grandparents’ pub and turns it into a pub slash axe throwing place. This is an enemies to lovers situation since neither one respects the other, and they are out for blood in order to get their businesses to succeed.
I didn’t hate this book by any means. . As far as the characters go, I felt that both relied too heavily on stereotypes. Blaire is constantly described as the wholesome, 50s pin-up classic beauty, which I find frustrating because historically, it only applies to white women. This automatically made me realize that I am not the target audience for this book. Now when it comes to Ronan, he is this lumberjack hipster that wears plaid shirts every day with black framed glasses…again, hello stereotypes.
When it comes to the depth of Blaire’s and Ronan’s characters, there was none. What you saw was pretty much what you got. Sure, they warmed up to each other, but everything was surface level. There’s this entire scene that unfolds when Blaire invites Ronan to her family’s house for Thanksgiving, and honestly, it felt more out of place than anything.
One of the things I did love in this book was Blaire’s cupcake cafe, which included speciality cocktails to much. I thought it was creative and a lot of fun. The pairings definitely made me super jealous.
Overall, I liked this one, but it wasn’t one to brag home about.
Thank you to Forever for providing a review copy through NetGalley. This didn’t influence my review. all opinions are my own.
Once again Helena has delivered a beauty of a story, one that you won’t be able to put down because it gets you 100% absorbed in it.
Blaire comes from a family of restauranteurs, having her own mind and own goals sees her on the path of opening her own cocktail and bakery shop. Determined to do it all by herself we see just how far Blaire is willing to go to make it. Blaire is fiercely independent, loyal and strong with an awesome sense of humour when it comes to her rival next door.
Ronan is desperate to help his gramps with the family bar, renovating it so it can accommodate axe throwing. He’ll do anything to see his gramps happy and bringing in the money to keep the bar afloat will do that. Ronan is a family guy, he’s loyal and determined and easy on the eyes, He’s amazing and funny when it comes to his rival next door.
Things become interesting when a competition for small business’ comes up and they’re both determined to win. They’re constantly trying to outdo one another and it’s entirely amusing to read.
Ronan and Blaire’s story captured me and sucked me in from the very first page. I couldn’t put the book down but then again that’s not surprising considering it’s a Helena Hunting book. This author just KNOWS how to bring her characters to life and to keep you interested. It’s one of my favourite things about her books.
Kiss My Cupcake is a fun enemies to lovers romance filled with banter and a barrel of laughs.
Kiss My Cupcake is the cutest book I’ve read in a while…sweet (pun intended), steamy, sassy, and delivered all the feels! I think I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. u2063
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Blaire with her 50’s housewife fashion style and cocktail/cupcake bar was sassy perfection. Ronan with his sexy lumberjack/hipster style and axe throwing pub was seriously swoon-worthy. Together, their banter and flirting were top notch! Their story was everything I wanted it to be and the ending about did me in! I loved it! u2063
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While Blaire’s family was, uhh…quirky, Gramps was my favorite secondary character. His love story with Grams reminded me so much of my parents…meeting young, falling in love, all their years together. It was truly beautiful! u2063
*I received an arc from Netgalley & publisher for an honest review* This was my first Helena Hunting book & I loved it!! Blaire Calloway finally had her dream come true of opening her Cupcake & Cocktails business after all her hard work & Ronan Knight is renovating his grandfather’s bar next door when she is finally ready to open her shop. They go back & forth with each other (Ronan had the bar’s grand reopening the same day as her grand opening) to try to outdo each other until they have to work together when they get competition from another bar/restaurant chain. They slowly get to know each other & get into a relationship. I really liked how he stood up for her against her not so nice family (her family really wasn’t nice to her but she loved them despite it). This was a sweet, sexy & oh so funny story that I highly recommend!! I will be reading more of her books!!
This is the first book I’d read by Helena Hunting, and it certainly won’t be the last! I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, especially with some good humor thrown in for full-effect. This was a perfectly paced, super fun read, and I highly recommend it for fans of rom-coms (and who doesn’t love rom-coms, really?).
I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. A huge thank you to the publisher. I loved this book. This was a fun, light, and sweet book that I read in one setting. The story was about Blaire and Ronan who respectively owned bars/ cafes. She baked cupcakes. Which all sounded delicious by the way! And he owned the bar next door. They were two neighbors competing for a prestigious online award. Their chemistry was off the charts, the pranks between them were hilarious and the sweet romance was adorable. The ending was perfect. I am so happy I read it. It brought a huge smile on my face and brighten my day.
KISS MY CUPCAKE!!
I devoured this story!!
The writing is outstandingly beautiful and flawless. I don’t know how HH came up with so many types of cupcakes but I want to taste them all!!
Once I started reading, I was a goner.
Ronan is a sweet, funny, swoonworthy and sexy guy who loves pranking Blaire.
Blaire is a strong female heroine who despite her family heritage decided that she was going to take charge of her life, and essentially of her future- Buttercream and Booze represent EVERYTHING FOR HER.
The titles of each chapter and the tweets at the end were intriguing as I was always trying to imagine what was going to happen next!
Blaire wants to get rid of the hot lumberjeck next door… competition is fierce!
Their interaction is hot and the chemistry is sizzling. Ronan claims to be addicted to the cupcakes but we know that he loves to hate Blaire!
I absolutely loved this book, loved the characters and even the side characters that all had their parts to play . I found Blaire’s family fascinating … and LOVE Ronan’s grandad.
This story is utter bliss!! It was sweet, entertaining, fabulous and delightful!!
Another hit from the fantabulous HH!
LOOK HOW CUTE THIS LOOKS! Two neighborhood bar owners battle it out for business and fall head over cupcakes (and axes) in love in this deliciously sweet and spicy romantic comedy.
(Seriously. All this book makes me want to do is eat cupcakes and use baking puns).
Full Blurb >>
Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn’t plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn’t spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.
From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there’s also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they’re forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it’s possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.
Anytime I read a book written by Helena Hunting my face has a permanent smile on it. The characters are witty, sexy, and lovable.
What a truly awesome, fun, lighthearted story. I loved falling in love with Ronan and Blaire. These two competing businesses couldn’t be more different. Blaire running a cupcake shop. Ronan has an ax throwing, sports bar. These two enemies move from one stage to the next almost seamlessly. I loved seeing their relationship evolve. Blaire and Ronan are such an amazing couple. As their relationship progresses things seem to move with such ease. I loved that about this story. I loved the dynamic between these two.
I love Helena Hunting. She’s one of my favorite authors. I loved getting lost in Kiss My Cupcake. I love how her writing is so versatile. This book was fun and exactly what I needed.
Helena Hunting’s Kiss My Cupcake was an amusing story of two enemy store owners that are soon anything but enemies! This book was so fun and entertaining, I couldn’t put it down. I love a good enemies to lovers romance, and this one definitely kept me on my toes throughout! Ronan and Blaire’s romance was full of hilarious moments, witty banter and simmering chemistry! Helena Hunting is a pro at weaving a story with the best characters that leave you with all the happy feels!! Happy reading!