Kiss My Cupcake

Starred review from June 1, 2020
It’s cupcakes and cocktails vs. beer and pub grub in this delicious romantic comedy about feuding Seattle bar owners from Hunting (Meet Cute). Determined entrepreneur Blaire Calloway’s new bakery/bar is off the ground running, until yummy-looking Ronan Knight moves his pub next door and steals away her customers. Blaire’s desire to succeed without assistance from her wealthy but dysfunctional family makes her instant competitiveness with Ronan understandable and urgent, especially since they’re both in the running to be named the best bar in the Pacific Northwest by a social media influencer who’s holding a contest. As their rivalry ramps up amid increasingly brazen strategies to bring in business, their feud turns increasingly flirtatious and they eventually realize they’ll have to work together in order for either to succeed. Their romance develops at a convincing pace, and their relationships with their families round out the plot, with Ronan’s close relationship with his grandfather serving as a stark contrast to Blaire’s outlandish family. Though the plot stays relatively breezy, Hunting knows when to crank the heat and when to tug at readers’ heartstrings to keep the pages turning. Light and fluffy with the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, this is a winning confection. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary.

Starred review from August 1, 2020

Blaire Calloway has worked her 1950s dress-wearing butt off for years to move her cupcake and cocktails business from food truck to full-scale storefront. She won't let a little ruckus from the ax-throwing sports bar next door ruin her dream. She's also not afraid to let the bar's incredibly sexy, plaid-clad manager Ronan Knight know how she feels. Ronan is amused by the fireball who keeps calling him to task and shows it through what he believes is lighthearted teasing. As they both compete in an online contest for best bar in the Pacific Northwest, their rivalry pushes them to keep one-upping the other until an even bigger rival shows up on the scene and forces Blair and Ronan to work together. VERDICT An absolute delight from start to finish, this delicious enemies-to-lovers romance sees an independent and driven heroine and an equally ambitious hero take a journey to love that is unpredictable and filled with hilarity, a dash of sweetness, and a touch of steam.--Courtney Pentland, Omaha, NE

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2020
It's swanky cocktails and cupcakes versus no-frills pub food in this opposites-attract romantic comedy. Buttercream and Booze is Blaire Calloway's baby, and she has big dreams to turn her bar-and-bakery hybrid into a dining destination. It's the success she needs to prove to her wealthy parents that she can make it on her own after several professional failures. Blaire's largest obstacle, though, doesn't seem to be of the financial variety. Instead, it comes wrapped in flannel and wielding an ax. Ronan Knight is nearly ready to open The Knight Cap, a neighboring bar with cold beer, greasy food, and an ax-throwing range. It's exactly the opposite of Buttercream and Booze and is about to become Blaire's biggest competition for being named the best bar in the Pacific Northwest. Blaire and Ronan butt heads frequently, leading to scenarios that quickly get out of hand and usually quite messy. The comedic timing delivers with its slapstick, physical humor, and rapid-fire banter, but unfortunately, there's nothing terribly new here. The gendered stereotypes of men liking meat and big mugs of beer and women preferring delicate bites and dainty glasses is what's most disappointing; things would have been far more interesting if the roles were flipped in some way. At a time when romance authors are doing such interesting things with the genre and finding new ways to use beloved tropes, this feels like a missed opportunity. Hunting does, however, know how to balance all the moving parts of a satisfying romance rather well. The hero and heroine's attraction is front and center, the emotional layers are real and earnestly felt, and the hilarious, awkward moments always land with a laugh. Cute and serviceable but pretty standard.

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