REVIEW: A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee: You have to enjoy a novel that contains a yummy love story and equally yummy sounding food. Aubrey Choi runs a growing bakery called the Comfort Zone. She makes custom cakes as well as favorite types of baked good for locals, tourists and online customers. She is ready to expand her business when disaster strikes.

A well known food critic has to spend the day in her small town after a blown tire. He is instantly attracted to Aubrey, but Landon does not know she is the owner of the Comfort Zone. He is accidentally served a birthday cake meant to a child’s birthday and writes a scathing review of the bakery before leaving for a business trip. Even after the bakery helper who served him the cake pleads for him to rescind his review, he says he can’t do it because of his magazine’s reputation.

Landon finds out Aubrey is the owner of the maligned business he has almost destroyed and the enchanting lady he spent his one night in town with. He find Aubrey a way to be in a TV cooking show that will help pay for her store renovations and get her back on track. Landon and Aubrey will be staying a friend’s luxurious home for three weeks during filming. Will they be able to keep things business-like?

Aubrey is a very likable heroine. She is highly emotional, but loving to friends and her mother. Her Korean-American mom has been overprotective at times, but also very supportive of her daughter. Aubrey didn’t know why her mother stayed with her father who had a string of affairs, but feels maybe her mom did it for Aubrey’s sake.

Landon is also Korean-American and had a rather difficult early life. He had to sacrifice some dreams for the sake of his mother and siblings. He comes off as a tough alpha male at first, but the author slowly reveals his tender side.

There is a certain amount of comedy along the way in this tale, especially as Aubrey goes on a wine tasting journey in California looking for the perfect taste to use in a new dessert. Just the descriptions of those sweets make my mouth water.

Jayci Lee is a new to me author. I will look forward to more of her charming books in the future.

Book Info:

Publication: July 14, 2020 | St. Martin’s Press Griffin |

Korean-American author Jayci Lee delights with this delicious and light-hearted romantic comedy that readers will devour and ask for more.

Bake a chance on love.

Aubrey Choi loves living in her small town nestled in the foothills of California, running her highly successful bakery away from the watch of her strict Korean parents. When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see her gorgeous Korean unicorn again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.

When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart—and her hormones—are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible…by sharing a villa.

When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice—to stick it out or risk her heart.