Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman

Delicious cupcakes but not enough action
2 stars

Leilani Trusdale left her high flying career as a pastry chef in New York to open a cute little cupcake shop in small town Georgia and she finally feels that she's where she belongs. If only she could put her sexy boss, fellow chef Baxter Dunne, out of her head for good.

Baxter is now a hot shot TV chef with his own cookery show and legions of fans. Dubbed 'Chef Hot Cakes', Baxter wants to film his next show from Leilani's tiny kitchen but it's not for the reasons she thinks. With things hotting up in the kitchen and an island rife with gossip, convincing Leilani that she and Baxter belong together will take a lot more than cupcakes and frosting.

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This is the first book in The Cupcake Club series which combines the two wonderful worlds of cupcakes and romance which are the two reasons I felt drawn to this book.

I've not had much luck with romance books that have a backdrop of food or restaurants but this one does manage to work that well into the storyline. The descriptions of the cakes sounded amazing and I like the fact that you get a couple of recipes (with frostings) at the back of the book to try yourself.

Apart from that, unfortunately I wasn't overly keen on the characters. I could identify with, and didn't dislike, Leilani but she didn't have enough sparkle to really make me root for her. Baxter wasn't my cup of tea for two reasons: 1) because he was 'British' which paved the way for embarrassing attempts at Brit speak and accents, although thankfully not so often as to make the book unreadable. The second reason is that right at the beginning it was mentioned that Baxter was younger than Leilani. Although it probably doesn't bother most people, and it was only by three years, I just don't like that dynamic and it made me disappointed from the start. It turned out to never be mentioned again which made me wonder why it was mentioned in the first place. There were some supporting characters but a little too many to really care for them and none that stood out except for crazy Alva.

The plot also fell a little flat for me as I just didn't feel that much happened. If Leilani and Baxter weren't discussing one thing, they were talking about something else. Sometimes Leilani would discuss things with her father or her best friend and then sometimes other people would discuss other things that were happening. I'm all for conversation and banter between characters but not at the expense of moving the story forward or having something interesting happen.

My last point - which didn't affect my rating of the book but still has to be mentioned - was the cover. The cupcakes on the front are to die for and I enjoyed staring at them and wishing I could eat them right up. On the back, however, is a photo of a couple and I swear that if they are a day over 18 I'll eat my hat. Perhaps that's just me getting older but they made me cringe.

Anyway - I wasn't much of a fan of this book so sadly can't recommend it. It wasn't terrible, the writing was okay but it just didn't capture my attention despite the delicious cupcakes. 2 stars.

Sweet Inspiration by Penny Watson

Bland Christmas romance
2 stars

Nicholas Klaus is Santa’s oldest son and a sexy baker to boot. On a fact finding mission for new recipes, Nick runs into sweet cafe owner, Lucy Brewster and falls instantly in lust.

The feeling is mutual but when an accident threatens Lucy’s life, Nicholas breaks all the rules to bring her to the North Pole. Lucy always yearned for adventure but being at the North Pole with Santa’s son, rambunctious elves and a fairytale world all around her is more than she bargained for. Will their growing feelings conquer all their insecurities and will Lucy have what it takes to become the next Mrs Claus?


I liked the premise of this story - a romance filled with the magical fantasy of Christmas however it didn’t take long for the excitement to dissipate.

My first let down was Nick. A big, sexy and strapping man is something I can get on board with but big bushy beards just don’t do it for me so that was a major let down. Further complications arose with his character. He was nice to Lucy but domineering, rude and overbearing to others. I just couldn’t take to a hero like that.

Lucy, in all honesty, wasn’t much better. She was a simpering, cowardly and emotional female who refused to be mad at Nicholas even when he deserved it for his high handed behaviour. I like a female that I can identify with or aspire to be like - Lucy was neither of these things.

But by far the biggest failing of this book was that it was a fairly bland read. It was about 165 pages long but everything was drawn out with lots of filler padding out between the big events. After Lucy arrived at the North Pole it just flatlined and I was beyond bored. It took me about 2 weeks to actually finish this book as, although not offensive, it just didn’t capture my attention.

The writing wasn’t terrible, and I didn’t give up so I’m giving it 2 stars. Others seem to have enjoyed it but I just couldn’t recommend this book despite my love of Christmas romances. A disappointing 2 stars.

Midnight Fantasies by Various

Fairly sub-standard romance anthology
2 Stars

Mystery Lover - Vicki Lewis Thompson
When an unexpected storm hits, rancher Jonas takes shelter in a nearby cave. But he’s not alone and soon finds himself seduced by a mystery lady who refuses to tell him her identity. It’s the best sex of his life so it’s a shame he doesn’t know who it’s with - or does he?

This story was okay but really nothing special. I couldn’t take to B.J. (or her eye-rolly name) as she was just too much of a wimp. Jonas, however, was much worse. He was very proud of his sleeping around and I just had no idea why anyone would want to be with him. Not the best basis for a romance, unfortunately.


After Hours - Stephanie Bond
Michael Pierce has always seen costume shop owner, Rebecca, as a quiet wallflower. But all that changes when he goes over after hours and sees her dressing up as a sexy vampire. Suddenly he wants to know her a whole lot better...

I couldn’t really take to this story, either. Both Michael and Rebecca were just weeks out of very serious relationships and from the get go you could hardly expect either to be in a place to start looking for love again. I also didn’t particularly like the thought that Michael only started to like Rebecca once he’d realised she wasn’t mousy in the looks department.


Show and Tell - Kimberly Raye
When bad boy Dallas Jericho finds a piece of paper left over from a lingerie party that details someone’s fantasy with him, he’s intrigued. But when he finds out he’s been starring in good girl Laney Merriweather’s dreams he just has to show her what she’s been missing.

I liked this story of two people who were at odds with each other but secretly desired each other. It was cute and I especially like bad boy Dallas. As the story went on, however, Laney started to grate on me. She went on and on about keeping her reputation that in the end I wondered if Dallas (another daft name, in my opinion) didn’t deserve someone better.


Overall this wasn’t the best anthology that I have read. None of the stories grabbed my attention and I just couldn’t like a lot of the characters which is key in a romance. I’ll give the book 2 stars because I at least finished it but I didn’t like it and I really can’t recommend it, I’m afraid.

Scrumptious by Amanda Usen

Unlikeable heroine ruins story
2 stars

Joe Rafferty isn’t just an excellent chef but he’s gorgeous to boot. When he agrees to help out at his friend’s restaurant until she finds a full-time chef then he sees it as a great time to cook some food and make time with the lovely pastry chef, Marlene.

Marlene likes the look of Joe but if he thinks he’s going to waltz into her best friend’s restaurant – the place she’s put her heart and soul into – and simply take over then he’s got another think coming.

Soon their battle of wills turns into a battle of the heart but who will take home the sweetest prize of all?


As someone who loves both romance novels and food – I’ve been keen to read stories that combine the two. Unfortunately I haven’t found any that do justice to my expectations and this book was no exception.

My first, and main, complaint was about Marly. I just didn’t like her. She was over confident, happy (and proud) to sleep around, quite juvenile in her reactions and not someone I could either relate to or aspire to be like. I’m all for strong, confident women in stories but Marly’s casual attitude turned me off.

Joe was a likeable character who was doing his best to make changes in his life although to be fair he wasn't particularly discerning either when it came to his relationships. His character was fairly well developed and I liked him but he certainly wasn't a hero that I would swoon over. Regardless, his relationship with Marly was, for me, clouded by the fact that I wanted him to find someone better!

The story was okay but towards the end it all went a little bit ridiculous and I was a little confused as to why it had changed for no apparent reason. I also couldn’t really understand much of the tension or conflict in the book. Surely a conversation between best friends, Marly and Olivia (another unsympathetic character and owner of the restaurant) would have made much of the point of the book disappear.

Overall this wasn’t my thing at all. The writing wasn’t terrible which is why I’ve given the book 2 stars rather than 1, but it was really hard to finish and I can’t recommend it, unfortunately.

Royally Romanced by Marie Donovan

Fairly bland royal romance
2 stars

Stressed out Prince Georgio Di Leone doesn’t have time for anything other than running his small country. But when his little sister announces she’s getting married he hops straight on a plane to New York City to check things out. What he finds is a Renata Pavoni, a wedding dress designer whose vintage style makes him forget all about his responsibilities to his sister and his country.

It’s definitely lust at first sight but can a brash New Yorker and a European prince find their way to a real happily ever after?


I’m not usually into the whole royalty thing but this book sounded interesting and I thought I would give it a go. Unfortunately, I found that it really wasn’t my cup of tea.

Renata wasn’t a bad character but I simply couldn’t relate to her or root for her in any way. She was too brash and was written to epitomise every New Yorker stereotype and cliché you’ve ever heard. Georgio was fine but nothing overly special or someone that I would particularly swoon over. The pair’s chemistry was only okay so it was surprising that the plentiful sex scenes were so scorchingly hot!

Having said that, at times this book read like random sex scenes with filler in between. Nothing exciting seemed to happen and it was hard to suspend belief that any of the things that did happen were likely. I’m sad to say that this was quite a forgettable romance. I won’t be picking up the next two books in the series (Royally Seduced and Royally Claimed) and I’m sorry to say that I just can’t recommend it. 2 stars.