A very cute story, set firmly in the present, with influencer culture as an important subplot. The wedding shenanigans and viral-video-inspired vandalism were hilarious.

The indulgent cakes vs keto-diet cafe rivalry is an interesting one, and I liked the relationship between Mal and his nephew a lot, giving more depth to the choices than there might otherwise be. There is inevitably talk of restricting food groups, which means this book won't be healthy for everyone to read, but I think it does a good job of advocating for choosing what's right for you with reference to how you feel rather than appearance.

Great book! This book has everything fun, romance, baking, yummy cakes. Elodie was so excited for her cake shop. She had been dreaming of this for years and when she finally finds the perfect spot that is big enough she is ready to expand. Things are going great until she finds out that someone snatched the spot from her. That's bad enough but the person that took the spot is a gym lover that hates sweets and cakes. Elodie quickly gets great news that a local influencer wants her to cater a huge celebrity event. Elodie is over the moon as this is what she has been waiting for to put her shop on the map. Unfortunately, the person she has to work with to cater the event is her gym loving guy that took her perfect space from her. Things get heated in more than one way when they have to work together to cater the event.

I didn't quite warm up to Elodie until near the end but I adored Mal. Jeevani has another hit contemporary romance. And I'm hoping Marty will get a story of his own too. Great summer read.

Gosh, this book is so cosy! A read curl-up-on-the-sofa read. Every character is well-drawn - some annoyingly so, like Elodie's brother - and relatable. And it's a true rivals-to-lovers story where the main characters strongly dislike each other at first!

That makes what is a slow-burn romance - mind the cakes - very investing. You're pulled along by Elodie and Mal's experiences and emotions, both towards their businesses and each other. How their families affect their lives. How misunderstandings can snowball.

This is a closed-door romance, but I did get warm at their kisses. Oof, how I was kept waiting for that first one! Would have liked a little more second base perhaps, but that's me and I don't so much have my doors open as off the hinges! As it is, the romance side of things is very satisfying indeed.

Overall, The Winner Bakes It All made me laugh and cry, and kept me hooked until the end. And you can read an epilogue if you sign up to Jeev's newsletter.

Baker Elodie wants to expand her business into a cafe and baking/decorating school. But when the neighbouring premesis she had her eye on is leased to Mal, who is opening a keto cafe, sparks fly. But when Mal and Elodie have to work together to cater their friends' wedding, a social media event which could make their businesses, they discover more about themselves and each other, leading to an unexpectedly sweet romance.

There is something of an air of pride and prejudice about this but handled with the unique Jeevani Charika style and charm. Two very loveable leads get off on the wrong foot and come to know, understand and love each other. There's a great cast of supporting characters (shout out to Jake and Marty) and all of them have their own journey. The wedding itself is a glorious affair. I particularly liked the way family relations were handled and examined, especially in terms of the contrast between our main characters' brothers. Charika is a really skillful writer, who makes everything seem so simple, but who at the same time weaves really complex themes through her work, draws amazingly rounded characters, and always makes me laugh and cry and pray its all going to turn out all right.

Another wonderful romance by Jeevani Charika, which has a dash of culture, and a sprinkle of health knowledge and a pinch of hate-to-love!
The Winner Bakes It All is a great example of rivalry to love, where our FMC, Elodie, is desperately trying to make her business venture a success. She's a talented baker and cake decorator and has a small unit in the arcade of shops in her small town. An opportunity arises for expansion, and she is excited. Finally, wanting to be able to prove her family wrong, she waits to sign a new lease.
Then Mal happens.
Mal is a man bun-toting gym bro with a penchant for all things Keto. He's appeared on the scene with a signed lease for the very space Elodie has been waiting for.
The story unfolds with a lot of negativity, and to top it off, a battle for an exclusive catering contract is thrown into the mix (-ing bowl? Sorry!)
So, I love cake, baking, and admiring those who can create amazing edible art in the form of cake decorating. So loving Elodie was going to be easy, wasn't it? I felt for her as she strives to make those around her believe that her dream isn't just a fad or a placeholder until something better or 'proper' comes along.
And Mal... what a sweetheart in muscly disguise! Here's me, the antithesis of anything healthy. (I'm Sitting here eating a coconut and raspberry sponge for breakfast!) Yet, somehow, I found myself sympathising with a gym-bro, lol! Thanks, Jeevani!
I also learned something about the Ketogenic diet, which is referred to throughout the story. I have tried it as a weight loss aid, but I didn't realise there were medical conditions that could be controlled by it, too!
An exciting cast of side characters, including Elodies' right-hand man, Marty, her not-too-nice brother, Travis, Mal's business partner and best friend, Jake, and a high-maintenance influencer, Saffron, added another layer of depth to the story.
Oh, and I didn't like Leon!
If you love a bit of cake, some healthy eating, and a huge amount of drama, this is a great book!
Oh, and I am now humming ABBA tunes. Thanks, again, Jeevani!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for an ARC.

Huge thank you to the author, the publisher and NG for providing me an early copy of this book! My review is my honest opinion.

3.5 stars rounded up.

While I usually don't like romances that have to do with cooking and baking (I rarley read them at all), this was a pleasant surprise. Mal and Elodie start as sort of enemies, but they gradually grow closer, the spark between them appears and things get going from there. I thought they are really cute together. It wasn't so much grumpy x sunshine book in my opinion, more like Elodie as the stressed one and Mal as the helpful one. It was also nice to have them bond over work, and the way Mal was impressed by Elodia and wanted to learn from her.

One of the things that I really like about the way Jeevani Charika writes her characters is that their backstory really does make you understand them better, and it helped specifically with Elodie who was a little hardheaded a few times in the story. And when reading, you can see and appreciate how the author values her female characters--to their profession and work, and to their independence. Elodie faces a lot of shit from her family throughout the book and it was maybe the main thing that made me root for her so much.

I would definitley recommend this to anyone who like cooking/baking centered romances. If I enjoyed it I'm sure they would love it!

P. S, Maureen (and Jake? I wish I had a better memory and a physical copy to go check) from KMK Y was such a nice surprise, I kept waiting for Gihan and Alex to make an apprerance :)