Sweet & Sexy!

I picked this one up honestly because it was a bargain -- on sale with my kindle purchase -- but it turned out to be a fun listen that really kept my attention while I was on the treadmill.
It's the story of Leilani, who relocates to the outer banks of Georgia to open a small cupcake shop. She's a topnotch pastry chef who has left New York, partly to be near her aging father and partly to get away from her uber sexy, uber famous former boss Baxter Dunne. But, who shows up in Sugarberry, Georgia? Yep! Baxter! You'll love it.
It's got some adult scenes, so bear that in mind.
I laughed with Lani & her friends and I even got a little teary. Overall, really good!

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left wanting more...

The book was way too short for me! I need more lani/bax story! Please tell me there's another book?!

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Make me want to move to Sugar Berry Island

If you could sum up Sugar Rush in three words, what would they be?

Fun, uplifting, ramantic.

What did you like best about this story?

The character building in the Ms. Kaufmann's books are rich and personal. I think the characters could quite possibly have been the "icing" (punn intended) that held the storyline together.

What about Amanda Ronconi’s performance did you like?

Amanda Ronconi is one of my two favorite performers/readers - along with Davina Porter (who reads the Outlander Series for Diana Gabaldon). Her voice performance is so snarky that I find myself laughing out loud. Any book she reads is 100 times better because of what she adds to the characters, the writing, the life of the books. She can make a simple word like, "what?" just sing with the perfect intonation.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sugar rush made me laugh out loud. The characters, as their flawed selves, are ever so endearing. And the way they stumble through life is so funny.

Any additional comments?

I am so looking forward to more books in the Cupcake Club series because I've just finished the fourth book, and I think they got better with each book!

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4 people found this helpful

Just as Sweet as the Cupcakes Made by Lani

If you could sum up Sugar Rush in three words, what would they be?

Sweet, Humorous and Charming

What did you like best about this story?

I actually loved Baxter! I loved that he was so unsure of himself when it came to Lani. Their kisses were toe curling cause they gave me the best first-kiss squee feeling!

Which scene was your favorite?

Definitely the first kiss between Lani and Baxter...I simply adored Baxter's ramblings and the shock from Lani...finally getting something she had wanted for so long, and it was just wrong timing!

Any additional comments?

This was my first book from Donna Kauffman, and I really enjoyed it! I though the narrator did a phenomenal job with the voice of Baxter (English accent), and the story was just read so well!

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6 people found this helpful

Fun listening

This series was a lot of fun. Easy listening and made me laugh. Love story but very little sex which is nice. Love the friendships and characters. I like the narrator too. She’s not annoying at all.

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1 person found this helpful

Foodie romance

Setting: Sugarberry, Georgia Contemporary to 2014
Genre: romance

Leilani Trusdale appreciated every bit of her culinary training in the. US and Europe, treasured the time she spent working side by side learning to make sophisticated desserts with Baxter Dunne at Gateau, his high-end cafe. And she was honored when Baxter made her head chef when he stepped back to do his own TV show. And she handled it, despite the backbiting and viscous rumors about what position she had to take to get that position. But when she got to Sugarberry, one of the tiny barrier islands of the same name, from whence roots of her maternal line grew, to take care of her widowed father after a heart attack, she just couldn’t make herself go back. The pace on the island, the community, were more conducive to her happiness. And maybe the distance from Baxter’s hectic world in NYC would help her get over this silly crush she had on her former boss.
So here she is, 4 weeks into owning her own bakery, Cakes by the Cup, when she gets news from two sources; both her best friend, Charlotte, still in NYC, and the tiny local paper announce that Baxter Dunne is bringing his TV show, Hot Cakes, to a bakery on Sugarberry Island. Guess who has the only bakery on The island... And guess who shows up, unannounced, in her kitchen? (this was my first “oh come on” moment. Wouldn’t a production team have cleared this at least a few weeks in advance, instead of the star showing up, team in tow?). So first there is this conflict. She’s angry, he’s cajoling. There’s sexual tension. And conflicts crop up, and the tension increases...
I will say that I was pleased with the overall grammar. It’s so nice to listen to a well-edited author. The characters, even a couple of the secondaries, are well developed, though Leilani is sometimes whiny. The dialogue is effective in evoking a few laughs and tears.
However... There were internal monologues. Many internal monologues. Some of which made me say “0h, come on!”. Like stupidity, whininess, indecision, etc. Normally, a little bit of internal monologue doesn’t bother me. But when it goes on and on, I get impatient. “Hurry with the thinking already! He’s going to leave the room while you’re navel-gazing!”
Anyway, this is a 3.5 star romance, rounded up to 4 because Amanda Ronconi does a great job of providing voices for the characters. Well, she struggled in the beginning with Charlotte’s Indian accent, but she got it down after a few conversational appearances.
Overall, if you enjoy the foodie sub genre of fluffy romance, you’ll likely enjoy this quick listen.

P. S. There are a couple of.... um... adult scenes. Just so ya know.

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very real, very sweet

I got this one from audible suggestions. Most of the contemporary romcoms do not have this real grasp on the characters, because I feel like most of the series end in 'good for now, but a disaster in waiting'. Also, the female lead usually doesn't have this amount of logical depth or professional confidence and usually is an emotional underdog with a considerable power difference from the male character. I did see some of that theme repeat here, but Lani is a strong, independent, and (mostly) levelheaded character (except for the hormonal decisions she takes around Baxter, a very typical case in someone's teens and early 20s, but she is 31 unfortunately). She understands her emotions very well and explains her decisions to us and the world around her. Baxter is an emotionally immature and impulsive character, but readers see him grow (and take some bad emotional decisions along the way), which is fantastic. Also, the author has done good research on how chefs work, train and behave in real life, how the 'high end' places operate behind the scenes, and how the 'on the road' production of food tv shows is done. I love how the setup of the story is very real (being a southern Atlantic coast resident) I do give her 10/10 for getting the weather, the marshed landscape, the university research center in the north, the art institute in Savannah, Lani's cottage, and in general Sugarberry pretty accurate (with the exception of being able to see each other's expressions as much as they did on a full moon night date). I love how the book ends in a perfect, sugar-sweet, fantasy scenario with all the win-win for now situation, but I don't feel that this is a (major) disaster in waiting, because I know Lani will be fine and find a way when Baxter realizes that Savannah isn't for him or she is no longer burnt out, or has a living family on the island, or wants to return to something else when she is ready to set competitive goals, or the emotional stress catches up with Baxter, because she has demonstrated her strength to get herself out of the emotional mess form equally sticky situations in the past.

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Romace

Light hearted Romantic love Story, that I enjoyed thoroughly, with steamy bits. It would have been nice if the romantic interest (man), was narrated by a male.

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Sweet

I held off on the series due to other reviews. Mistake! I really enjoyed the book. Lani was strong, modern and fun. Chef Hot Cakes was complex and real. I could see Sugarberry in my mind and all the characters in it. Now I have purchased the whole series.

Amanda was a superb narrator, as always. I wish she narrated more!

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8 people found this helpful

Light and Easy Listen

This was a fun, easy listen. Enjoyed the characters and the set up for the series, but was a little one-note in terms of the story. Any conflict between characters happened in the past and they were working on being together now, so it was just mental hang-ups keeping the main characters apart. No real tension so the story's climax felt like it fell a little flat.
Listened as part of Audible's new Member Benefit Free Listens and enjoyed it, but likely wouldn't have spent money or a credit on it to buy it.

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1 person found this helpful