A hot, funny brother’s best friend rom com . . . with sugar on top!
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s known her all his life. He’s practically part of the family. There is nothing either of them could do to surprise the other at this point. Then she showed up in his bedroom in lingerie and asked him to take her V-card.
Okay, that was a surprise.
Aiden is pretty sure Zoe was equally … pretty sure Zoe was equally surprised when he told her no.
To say that he didn’t handle it well would be a massive understatement. Almost as massive as the amount of work he’s going to have to do now to convince her that he wants her. Forever.
Right after he tells her that he’s bought the company that’s her bakery’s biggest competitor.
Maybe if he tells her he’s in love with her first, that will help sugarcoat the whole we’re-rivals-in-business-now thing.
So, first “I’m in love with you”, then “take off your clothes”, then “I’m now your business adversary”.
Sure. Piece of cake.
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Wow, what a start to a new series. Erin has a way of coming up with just the right mix of characters to make a fun read. We get to meet everybody in the group but our focus is on Zoe and Aiden (but the anticipation for the other’s stories is well built). Aiden is back in town to claim Zoe as his but he has two huge stumbling blocks in his way–his reaction to Zoe’s surprise during Christmas and a big purchase that might just really mess up things between them. There’s so much to love about this story but I don’t want to spoil your fun in reading it by giving too much away. Just remember that pink, frosting, creme filling and ties are the keys to this happily ever after.
Best friends sister to lovers story. Zoe and Aiden have known each other since childhood. Their story is so sweet and beautiful, but not simple, when Aiden wants to buy a business Zoe hates, this book is the first of a new series and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Wow oh wow this book! Talk about hot hot hot. This book was soo good! I love Zoe! She is sweet and sassy. Aiden! Well, he is what book boyfriends are made of, slightly possessive, dirty talking, and great with “extras” this is a great start to this new series! Can’t wait to read the rest!
This is book one in the Hot Cakes series and it features Zoe and Aiden. He’s been her brother’s best friend since childhood but she didn’t realize she had a crush on him until five months ago. It was seduction gone wrong and she thought he didn’t want her. He did but he wanted more than one night. Also, how does he tell her that he and his partners bought the company that she thinks is her competitor but really isn’t? She’s carrying on the family tradition of the feud between her family bakery and the owners of the packaged snack cake factory in town. Zoe is EXTREMELY stubborn and close-minded to change…ANY change. Aidan is drool worthy, dressed in a well fitting suit and tie. He’s the whole package.
The story line is great but I wish Zoe wasn’t quite as stubborn as she was. I didn’t hate her but she wasn’t my favorite character either. There was some fantastic character growth happening with the McCaffrey women towards the end. It really surprised me! I’ll never look at cupcake cream filling the same again. Looking forward to the next book.
Erin Nicholas has topped herself YET AGAIN with with Aiden and Zoe’s story in Sugarcoated!
Aiden is back in Appleby just months after turning down Zoe’s request to help her in a way he truly couldn’t in the moment. Now that he’s back, he’s got his mind on one thing – making Zoe his. For good. Of course those plans can’t be that simple. Especially because he and his business partners plan to buy Zoe’s family’s biggest competition in town.
This book had me hooked from the very beginning! This particular trope is one that I always find myself unsure of, but Sugarcoated contained the perfect ingredients for one delicious romance recipe!
If you’re a fan of sweet treats, small town friends and family, and one sexy alpha, you’re going to enjoy Sugarcoated by Erin Nicholas.
I cannot wait for story 2 and the continuation of the story in Appleby!
When a lifelong friendship turns into a big mess because:
a) she was always in love with him;
b) she wanted him to help her with her v-card (and he had to say no);
c) she was the sister of his best friend (for Christ’s sake);
d) now, they have become adversaries in business;
e) he found out himself head over heels for her, but now she …
Have fun with this romance full of surprises and laughter.
5 stars
This is the first book in the new series and I’m already hooked. I loved Aiden and Zoe. I’m a big fan of brother’s best friend stores. I loved how much history the characters have. To me that always adds so much more to the book. I love baking as well so I knew this was a must read for me. This book has plenty hearts and feels, but it also had me laughing quite often. This is the type of book I need right now. I can’t wait for more from this series!
To say I get excited when Erin Nicholas releases a new book is an understatement. When its a new series, I block off time to hunker down and read. This first book in the series did not disappoint. There are two rival bakeries in town. Zoe owns the traditional bakery that her grandmother started. Her recipes are tried and true. Everyone knows what to expect from a Buttered Up baked goods. The rival bakery, Hot Cakes, has the massed produced, packaged for shelf life products and is up for sale. Aiden sees a way to be the town hero. By buying the factory, he can save the majority of jobs in the small town but he will go against his adopted family, Zoe’s. The only problem? Aiden has come home to claim Zoe as his own. I floved this book. First of all its about cake pops, cupcakes, pies and cakes! Just kidding, sort of. But seriously, it has the smart heroine that is full of sass but in a nice way. It has a hero who wants to be just that, a hero… oh! And claim his woman that he has known forever but now sees what a woman she can be. There are road blocks in their way, huge ones, but they find their way through and over them. Sometimes individually and sometimes together. Its about being vulnerable to the other person.
Erin knew I loved the saga of Sapphire Falls. Nothing has ever been so close to my heart as that little , make-believe town and all the characters that became my family.
Appley, Iowa is going to come close. The story of the Lancasters and the McCafferys, of two bakeries competing for the hearts of a town. The drama of the founding women, best friends, separated by a recipe. And the boy who became the man destined to save the company, the town and, oh yeah, marry his best friends little sister, who is also the company’s rival bakery.
Confused? Don’t wait to start this book….She will know them out of the park and you need the time to read them at least twice so you don’t miss any of the funny quips and sexy times between the pink frosted cake pops, skimpy lingerie and sexy banter.
Well, they were in quite a pickle, lol.
Here we have Zoe and Aiden; they’ve known each other for years, have a crush but never done anything. Until Zoe makes a move and then things get awkward. What’s more awkward is that while Aiden feels attraction, he’s also her business rival. Yeah, there’s a pickle.
Anyway, I really liked Zoe, such a fun and strong girl, with such a light. And she worked with sweet treats, guys. That’s like one of my dreams come true. <3 I loved her and that’s why I felt soo bad for her when she felt rejected by Aiden. 🙁 And I loved how she fought for her store and what she felt was right.
Aiden wasn’t a bad guy, I just had to get to know him a bit, lol. He was hardworking and swoony and completely perfect for Zoe.
This was completely lovely and sweet, perfect first book in the series. And just by seeing the other characters in this book, it looks the rest of the series will be just as sweet.
*Thank you to the author for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*
This book was utterly enchanting! What a great introduction to the town of Appleby, Iowa! The author does an incredible job creating this little corner of the world. You can just about see, hear and taste all of the people, places and things.
The main couple, Aiden and Zoe, although lifelong friends, are at odds with one another from the beginning of the book. It is delightful to watch their relationship morph and change. They definitely grow closer, but not so much in a direct route, more of an ebb and flow.
Of course, there’s more to the story than just the love affair between these two main characters. There’s the whole backstory of the bakery and their competitor business, not to mention Aiden buying that business. And there are a whole lot of other players involved as well. We meet Zoe’s family, her friends, Aiden’s business partners, and some other key members of the town. All of them are interesting and make you want to know them better. Which I am sure will happen, at least regarding a select few, in the coming books of this new series.
It is definitely a book that I recommend for a hot but wholesome, good read! And I will be anxiously awaiting the other stories there are to tell here.
Ever since I discovered the Sapphire Falls series in 2015, I have been absolutely in love with Erin Nicholas’ small towns. This first book in the Hot Cakes series combines everything I love about Sapphire Falls and Bliss. I am so excited to see where this series goes that I can hardly handle it.
Zoe is one of the best characters I’ve read in a long time. She’s strong, confident, and even though she’s stubborn, she’s not unmoving. I finished this book with a huge girl crush on her. My favorite thing about her though was making the golden boy who never really had to work to win anything work for her.
This book left me feeling so light and happy I’m counting down the days until Forking Around is in my hands.
This book was so sweet and I absolutely loved every second of it! I fell in love with Aiden and how he refused to start anything with Zoe until he was going to stay for good. Zoe is stubborn and set in her own way and he has to do everything he can to convince her that he loves her. This book is HOT with lots of sugar and spice!
I have received a free copy of this book for an honest review
Delectably sweet! With the kick-off to her brand new Hot Cakes series, Erin Nichols thrills readers once again with a yummy brother’s best friend rom-com yet steamy delight in SUGARCOATED. The characters draw your attention instantly, there’s a whole lot of laughter and heart throughout and it’s just downright FUN to read.
Zoe was a complex character. She is giving her bakery her all and carrying on traditions that have been in her family for years, but she’s sort of stuck in a rut. She wants excitement, but she’s afraid to reach for it. Aiden brings out a different side to her and helps her develop that adventurous side.
Aiden was simply delightful. Yes, he’s keeping secrets that he should have told from the very beginning, but he’s so sweet and down-to-earth, how can I hold it against him? I really enjoyed watching him reach for the stars.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a close-knit friends and family small town romance with a major kick of heat, heart and humor. I see the potential for great things with this cast of supporting characters … can’t wait for more!
Y’ALL! This was an amazing start to a series! I love Erin Nicholas and she didn’t disappoint with Aiden & Zoe. I loved watching Aiden try to get Zoe to listen to him and spend time with him after he turned down her offer to take her V-card.
This one was full of Erin’s classic chemistry, banter, and small town vibes. I can’t wait for the next book!!
When Aiden comes back to town, he thinks he can just swoop in and take Zoe up on the offer she made him months ago, and she’ll fall all over him and agree. Except not. No. Zoe was absolutely humiliated when Aiden did not take her up on her proposition that he relieve her of her v-card. And now all the sudden he waltzes in and says he wants that AND MORE?!? The nerve of some people!
Sweet! That’s what Sugarcoated and Zoe and Aiden are. Sweet and spicy and hot with lots of laughs. I love how flustered he was that Zoe didn’t just throw herself at him when he swaggered his suited self into her bakery with his grand plan. And I love how much sass she threw at him. But I also love that she gave into the feelings they both had for each other. The sweet world Erin has created in Hot Cakes is fun and sexy and now I’m dying for Jane and Dax’s story, Forking Around.
Zoe and Aiden were a great pair even if it took a while for them to get on the same page. Erin Nicholas always makes the journey well worth the read!
Zoe was hoping Aiden would help her out…and he turned her down flat. Humiliated, she fully invested herself into the bakery. Little did she know only a few months later Aiden would be back – as owner of her main competitor. Sassypants that she is, Zoe is having none of Aiden’s alpha-ness and tries to turn the tables. This is a great story of how two people who’ve known each other forever can learn to work around life’s obstacles. A fun twist on the brother’s best friend trope – Erin once again creates a charming town that makes you want to visit and get to know the locals.
Need a break from reality? Sugarcoated is a literary cupcake and I loved every bite! You can see from the blurb that Zoe has asked her older brother’s best friend for what she feels is a tiny favor and he turned her down. Now it is 5 months later and Aiden is back in Appleby, Iowa and has come to get the girl and keep her. The problem? She doesn’t want to be kept and he just bought the biggest business in town that she dislikes with a passion! Zoe and Aiden have known each other all of their lives but they are older now and each has their own way of doing things but if Aiden wants to get and keep his girl then he is going to have to work for it. Zoe is going to need to learn that change doesn’t have to be bad and that sometimes the sweetest thing is right in front of you. Sugarcoated was a fun, witty, spicy rom com. It is told from dual POV and will have you craving sweets on a summer day in small town America!
I was so excited to read a new series by Erin Nicholas and Zoe and Aiden’s story was all that and more. I love a good small town romance, throw in a best friend billionaire and a bakery and its gold. This is a fun, cute, sexy read that will leave you with all the feels. I can not wait for the next books in this series!!! LOVED IT!!
This is such a wonderful beginning to a new small town series by Erin Nicholas. I really enjoyed this book about Zoe and Aiden, her brother’s best friend. Zoe and Aiden lived together like sibings after his mother died. She decides when Aiden was home at Christmas 5 months ago to have him take her v card. He refuses and has to leave town again. While he’s gone, he works on getting to the point where he can lived back in his hometown with Zoe. He’s going to try to convince her that not only do they belong to each other but that they should get married. The only flaw in this plan is that he needs to tell Zoe that he’s bought her baking competition in town. Will she be able to get past that “little” detail? Aiden is business partners with Cam, Zoe’s brother, and 3 other friends. I think we’re going to get to read the other partner’s stories in this series. I can’t wait to read them! I received an ARC of this book and am leaving my honest opinion. I have my own copy now.