If there's one thing that I like doing, it's discovering new authors. Jayci Lee is certainly a new author for me. Judging by how much I enjoyed reading 'A Sweet Mess', I can guarantee that I will be reading more of her work in the future. I really enjoyed reading 'A Sweet Mess' but more about that in a bit.
I loved the characters of Aubrey and Landon. Aubrey is a young lass, who runs her own bakery/ cake shop. She is blooming good at what she does too and she has made a huge success of it. She hasn't always had it easy but she has pulled her big girls' pants up and carried on as normal. When the story begins she is a single woman, with a limited social life. Aubrey is funny, clever, compassionate, sensitive and very occasionally she can be very stubborn. Aubrey comes into contact with Landon at a local bar, when Landon has transport issues and he has to stay overnight in the little town. Landon is a food critic and his personality is a bit Jekyll & Hyde, in that he has two sides to him. In person Landon is quite canny, funny and fairly kind but when he is in 'food critic' mode he completely changes and he doesn't seem very nice at all. Sparks definitely fly between Aubrey and Landon but there are several hiccups along the way. Will Aubrey and Landon put aside any misunderstandings and get together? Well for the answer to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
It didn't take me long at all to get into this story. The fact that the story began in a cake shop was a major attraction for me! As well as being a book geek I am a cake addict too. The only problem was that all the talk of cakes made me practically drool over my Kindle. Anyway enough of that. This wasn't a book that I could manage to read over the course of a single day because my diva Labradors kept interrupting my reading (how rude) but I did binge read the book over the course of a couple of days. I was swept along by the charming story and I kept chuckling away to myself as I was reading and imagining some of the shenanigans that Aubrey and Landon got up to. I lost track of how quickly the pages were turning and then all too quickly I reached the end of the story and I had to say bye to Aubrey and Landon.
'A Sweet Mess' is well written. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading this book felt more like a chat between friends than reading an actual book. I hope that makes sense. Once Jayci had my attention then she wouldn't let me have it back until the moment I read the last word on the last page. Jayci's writing style is such that she has a way of making you feel as though you are part of the story yourself.
In short, I really enjoyed reading 'A Sweet Mess' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will be reading more of Jayci's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Forbidden Romance and a story based around cooking what’s not to love!

‘A Sweet Mess’ is a light-hearted romance book about Aubrey, who is a small bakery owner, and Landon, who is a famous food critic. After a cake-mix up leads to Landon writing a harsh review about Aubrey’s bakery, Landon decides to try to help Aubrey by giving her a chance on a new cooking show which he is producing. However, before Landon wrote the review, him and Aubrey had a one-night stand with both of them not knowing who the other person was or what they did for a living.

I flew through this book in two days and adored the characters of Aubrey and Landon. The chemistry is off the charts and whilst the storyline is predictable at times it feels you with all the warm and fuzzies just the same. With great topics discussed and equally as interesting minor characters it is a book that could easily be developed into a series.

A perfect easy summer read for by the pool or in the garden.

The author loves her food, I spent most of this book hungry and drooling because of that. I loved Aubrey so much, as someone who loves to bake I loved her passion and dream, you could feel for her when it falls apart around her for no fault of her own. I loved her strength and determination throughout the story. Landon I wasn't so keen on, I didn’t feel much of a connection and I tried, he was just too arrogant for me. I loved Aria and Tara too, such great supporting characters. Despite my reservations about Landon I still loved this story, it is fun and has the right balance of humour, romance and drama, my only other criticism is it felt a bit rushed at the end to fit everything in, I wish the author had taken her time a bit more, Aubrey deserved it. But overall a lovely and heartwarming read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

DNF at 30%. I think romance books can be a little hit or miss and, whilst I liked the beginning of this book and the set up of the premise, I found the writing to be a little unfocused and, for lack of a better word, messy. I think there was so much potential with a book like this and it didn't quite meet the mark.

A delicious light hearted comedy with a great storyline. The relationship between a baker owner and a food critic is followed throughout after a cake mix up. The sexual chemistry between the two main characters is intense. So many things to like: the back story, lovely mums, daddy issues and the gorgeous food mentioned throughout. The ending was predictable but it’s what you want as you through the book. It was interesting to read about Korean families and upbringing too. This is my first book by the author and won’t be my last. Overall, a brilliant book which I would highly recommend.

This book was a slow starter. For some reason I just couldn't get into it at first and I found it quite unrealistic how they were both so infatuated with each other from the get go without knowing anything about the other person, but I persevered and did get into it once they started spending more time around each other socially. From about the half way point it started to get more interesting and I would be interested in reading a follow on with Tara's story so I can honestly say it's worth persevering with as it does get good.

‘A Sweet Mess’ is a light-hearted romance book about Aubrey, who is a small bakery owner, and Landon, who is a famous food critic. After a cake-mix up leads to Landon writing a harsh review about Aubrey’s bakery, Landon decides to try to help Aubrey by giving her a chance on a new cooking show which he is producing. However, before Landon wrote the review, him and Aubrey had a one-night stand with both of them not knowing who the other person was or what they did for a living.

I flew through this book so quickly. There was a lot of chemistry between Aubrey and Landon and I really did love the storyline, especially the first half of the book where Aubrey and Landon are trying to fight their feelings for each other and you can see them falling for each other.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the food descriptions. Everything is described so well that I wanted to eat everything they were eating. I loved that this book was set around food and cooking/baking and how these two characters fell in love through their love of food.

This was such a good romance book that I enjoyed throughly. It was definitely a sweet book that will have you craving something sweet to eat.

5 - "You’re worth every risk…" Stars!

I love discovering a new author and Jayci Lee has added herself straight to my auto-buy list with A Sweet Mess. Great story, likeable characters, beautiful locations and an easy to read writing style. I read Aubrey and Landon’s story in a day.

As farfetched as it sounded, they had met by pure chance… A food critic and a baker. It was fucking serendipity…

A little bit of forbidden to the romance aspect, and with a storyline built around food and cooking, I was hooked. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, the drama and angst is nicely balanced and doesn’t weigh down the book either, and I loved it from start to finish.

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee a sweet four-star read. This was sweet and cute and had all of the makings of a great read, but it took me awhile to connect with the characters, they didn’t feel real to me for a little while. This has the sweet mix-ups and the drama that I usually enjoy in a story, and this did well but it didn’t excite me and make me want to keep going like I hoped it would. I will try another read from this author to see if it was just this story, but if I found the same, I wouldn’t try again.

A one night stand turns unsuspecting food critic against Baker. One almost ruined business and a plan to rescue it. Can love overcome all the obstacles? Follow the story and laugh and enjoy the ride with Landon and Audrey. I hope we have a follow up with a couple of the supporting characters to explore their stories.

Such a cute and delightful read, I have really enjoyed reading this one. It has a great plot, great characters and a good plot

A Sweet Mess is a fun and delicious book that centers around mouth watering food and desserts and about two people winding their way into love. It was about fighting for the same cause of a lifetime together, second chances and sacrificing for hopes and dreams.

It was a short and a feel good book about baking and cooking. I feel like wanting to taste the food they made and sink into the hearty meal. I really breezed through the book and has all the things a book might include—love, conflicts and drama.

For Aubrey and Landon who crossed paths in Weldon and didn't know who the other was and that led to the first conflict. They began working together until the tension was unbearable and they fall madly in love. They had insecurities and doubts but that's up to them wholeheartedly to fight for what they have and hopefully live in their own happiness.

This book was fun and definitely a sweet mess. Now that I've read Aubrey and Landon's story, I'm off to find myself some sweet dessert and experience firsthand that life may just be better with tasty treats.

Loved this book, the story of Aubrey and Landon.

After he nearly ruins her business after a scathing review online, he tries to make amends, complicated by the fact they had a one night stand before they knew each others identity.

I like how it is told from each of their points of view, so you understand the background for each of them.

Hoping their will be a sequel to this book for Tara!

A Sweet Mess is a delightfully sweet and funny novel, while not the most original plot, it's full of warmth and love, and the characters are easy to connect with and like.