ARC Review: A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

Title: A Sweet Mess

Author: Jayci Lee

Release Date: July 14, 2020 (ARC)

Published By: St. Martin’s Press

Category: Contemporary – Romance – Multicultural

Type: Digital – Paperback – Audio

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Jayci Lee Website

Blurb: 

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 the gorgeous Korean hunk 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.

 By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age.

If you are under the age of 18, please exit this site.

Favorite Lines:

“Run, Aubrey,” Landon warned quietly. “If you’re still there when I get out of here, I guarantee you won’t be going to bed alone tonight.”  ~  Landon

“That bottle means the world to me, and I hope it’ll mean as much to you – “  ~  Aubrey

Excerpt:

          “Why don’t we find ourselves a table?” Well meaning or not, he wanted Aubrey to himself. 
          “I’d like that.”She smiled at her friend and tilted her head toward the dining area. “Tara, we’re gonna grab a table.”
          “How’s this?”He’d chosen a small table at the back corner. When Aubrey nodded, he pulled out her chair and took a seat across from her. 
          Their proximity and relative privacy made the air between them hum with electricity. Their knees brushed every time either of them shifted in their seat, sending bolts of desire through him. A sharp intake of breath and a parting of her lips revealed Aubrey wasn’t immune to their magnetic attraction. 
          Landon had dated his fair share of beautiful women. There was no reason to act like a gawky teenager, but his roaring heart and churning stomach said otherwise. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt nervous around a woman. Her hand was resting less than four inches away from his, but he broke out into a cold sweat working up the nerve to brush his knuckles against it. 
          He started when Aubrey traced her fingers across the back of his hand with a shy smile. “So, Landon from out of town, what’s your dream?”
          His blood had gone south at her touch, leaving nothing for his brain, but he was even more dumbstruck by her question. The woman threw him off balance on all fronts. 
          “Not big on making small talk, are you?”He managed to keep his voice steady despite his spinning head and hardening body. 
          “If I’m going to have a chat with a complete stranger, I might as well have an interesting one.”A deep blush stained her cheeks, and her lashes fluttered to hide her eyes. “Besides, you’re leaving tomorrow. I was hoping we could pack a lot into tonight.”
          Landon sucked in a sharp breath. Her shy and earnest declaration moved him, and he fought the urge to pull her across the table to kiss her senseless. Instead, he lifted Aubrey’s hand and brushed a kiss on her pale, inner wrist. A wolfish grin spread across his face when she gasped at his touch. 
          “My dream was to open my own restaurant.”To his shock, the truth stumbled out of him. A truth he’d refused to face for the past decade. Maybe he was desperate to give her an interesting conversation. A memorable one. “Some place spacious and comfortable where people can enjoy a delicious meal without pretense or a six-figure salary.”
          “That sounds amazing. What kind of food are we talking about?”
          “Whatever inspiration strikes me. If I had to label it, New American–slash–Korean fusion will have to do.”
          “I love Korean food. I would totally eat there.”Aubrey sat forward, her eyes round and sparkling. “So you’re Korean? I am, too.”
          “Yes, I’m Korean, and you would be more than welcome to eat at my restaurant.”
          “Are you a chef?”
          “No, but I trained to be one. Have you heard of the CIA?”“The Central Intelligence Agency? You learned to cook for undercover agents while dodging bullets and jumping out of airplanes?”She cocked her head to the side and gazed at him with solemn interest. 
          “I . . . um.”Landon was fairly certain she was messing with him, but insulting her wouldn’t be the best way to seduce her. “It’s . . .”
          Aubrey’s pale skin turned from pink to crimson before she erupted into laughter, her frame trembling like a 6.8 earthquake. She held up a finger, gripping her side, pantomiming she needed a minute. He crossed his arms over his chest and leveled her with a steely glare, which wasn’t an easy feat considering her infectious mirth. 
          “I’m s-sorry, but you had to see your face. You couldn’t decide whether a small-town girl like me knew about the Culinary Institute of America or whether I was pulling your leg.”
          Mischievous little fox. He needed to get her back for that. 
          “Actually, that’s incorrect.”He drew closer to her, his lips close to her ear, and lowered his voice to a deep, gritty whisper. “I was debating whether or not I should tell you the truth, because if I did, I’d have to terminate you.”
          Aubrey stared at him in silence for a second, and then a delighted grin spread across her face. “This is fun.”
          “Yeah, it is.”Landon was surprised to find he meant it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had fun. He certainly had pleasant and interesting times, but fun times? No, this felt alien. 
          His earlier hesitation forgotten, he ran his knuckles down the side of her face, relishing the feel of her warm, silky skin. Aubrey leaned lightly into his hand, and her eyes slid shut. She was so responsive to his touch. Landon’s mouth went dry, and all he could think was more. He wanted to make her laugh again. He ached to make her fall apart in his arms with her swollen lips calling out his name. 
          “You’re beautiful,”Landon murmured, unable to look away from her. 
          “So are you.”Aubrey’s lips curved into a barely there smile that squeezed his heart. 
          He’d gone to the brewery for a pint to wash away the bitter taste of his sorry day, but he’d discovered something far more intoxicating—something potent enough to tip him off balance. Aubrey made his blood sing and his rational thoughts melt away. The floor seemed to grow solid and strong, and his body settled heavily into his seat like he’d dropped anchor across from her—as though she had a gravitational pull all her own and he was helpless against it. 
          He’d led a nomadic life for a decade. He didn’t know how to stay still for long. The smart thing to do would be to run the hell away from the woman, whose mere proximity made it unimaginable to even leave the table. 
          But smart wasn’t part of his vocabulary at the moment. Greedy, feral, and desperate passion overwhelmed all else. He stood abruptly from his seat, and Aubrey’s mouth parted in surprise. Then he grasped her hand and raised her to her feet. 
          “Do you want to get out of here?”His eyes bored into hers, his desire and urgency displayed for her to see. 
          “Yes.”

Highlight:

          Whatever he was there to do, he needed to do it and leave. His presence confused and hurt her. 
          “Do you often revisit the restaurants you’ve ruined?”
          “I fucked up.”She startled when he spoke from the other end of the shop. “That cake was beyond weird and a potential health hazard, but it was careless and unprofessional of me to write a review based on a single sample. I don’t do careless and unprofessional. That’s not the way I work. Usually.”
          “Do you want me to absolve you of your sins?”It probably took him a few hours to write the review that destroyed what she’d built in four years. Comfort Zone wasn’t just a bakery to her. It was her home, her dream, and her freedom. Hot tears burned behind her lids, and she bit her lip till she tasted blood. If she cried in front of him, the last scrap of her pride would burn to cinders. “Come see me when you and I are the only survivors in a postapocalyptic, zombie-infested world. Maybe then . . . may-be. Who am I kidding? You can go straight to hell.”
          “I’m not here to apologize.”He dragged a hand through his hair, showing signs of frayed nerves. “And I can’t write a second review.”
          “Can’t or won’t?”Aubrey slumped into a chair, suddenly too tired to give a fuck. 
          “Won’t.”A hint of remorse flickered in his eyes. “Did you know who I was when you slept with me?”
          She listened to her breath whooshing in and out of her, dumbstruck once more. Too bewildered to filter her thoughts, she said, “No, I did not know who the bloody hell you were. What the fuck are you implying?”
          “I had to ask.”His long, thick lashes fluttered like the wings of a moth who’d strayed too close to the fire. “I had to be sure you didn’t sleep with me to extort a good review.”
          “I slept with you for a good review? Are you out of your mind?”She shot out of her seat and reached him in a single, rage-fueled bound—close enough to spit on his handsome, arrogant mug. “News flash, asshole. You didn’t give me a good review.”
          “Will you listen?”He leaned in so close that she had to tilt her head back to continue glaring at him. “I had to ask. I needed to be certain before I could help you.”
          “Help me? You. Ruined. Me.”Grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, she jerked him in time with each word. But she was the only one who rocked back and forth, while he stood like a stone wall. She roared with frustration. “You wrote a review that destroyed my life. Just how did I benefit from sleeping with you?”
          “You didn’t.”He raked his fingers through his hair, looking pained. “You said you didn’t sleep with me for a good review, and I believe you.”
          “How very kind of you to acknowledge that. Now, turn around. Walk through that door. Disappear.”She released his shirt and shoved him toward the entrance, putting her weight into it. He stumbled back a step. “You are done insulting me.”
          The cautious vulnerability that entered his eyes stopped her from knocking him across the head. The man was hopeless—a cynic and a clueless idiot—but she could tell he’d been used that way before. Well, tough shit. He was still an asshole. 
          “But the fact is we did sleep together,”he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “If I write a favorable second review and someone finds out about that night, our reputations will be wrecked beyond repair. No one will believe it was a coincidence.”
          “How will anyone find out?”
          “Writing an unprecedented second review alone will raise suspicions. And . . .”He cringed a little, the tip of his ears turning pink. “And I’ve had some paparazzi ambushing me lately. They seem overly interested in my private life.”
          “Is this about you being one of the most eligible bachelors of the year? Oh, my God. It is.”She had to choose a celebrity food critic and most eligible bachelor to have a one-night-stand with. What shitty luck. “Can’t we just deny it? I don’t think anyone has proof that we slept together, right?”
          “And we don’t have any proof that we didn’t sleep together. It’s impossible to prove a negative. Besides, we did sleep together.”He threw his hands up in frustration. “Gossip spreads like wild fire on social media and gossip sites. Unfortunately, celebrity gossip is presumed true until proven false. We won’t be able to convince anyone otherwise until it’s too late to salvage our reputations.”
          Exhausted, Aubrey sat down once again. She understood the logic in his decision, but it changed nothing. “Just tell me why you’re here, then leave.”
          “I’m here to make things right.”Any sign of regret, doubt, or vulnerability had disappeared, and his voice rang with steely determination. “You’re not going to lose Comfort Zone. Not without a fight.”
          “I’m not? How?”She couldn’t feel her lips move. She reversed her posture and straddled the high-backed chair before she slid to the floor. He was going to write a second review after all. 
          “I tasted one of your other menu items, and I was blown away by it.”Landon ran his hand down his face. 
          “When?”
          The fluttering in her stomach was not happiness. She didn’t care what he thought of her baking. She was supposed to hate him. He’d implied she’d seduced him for a good review. But her indignation wavered when she remembered the flash of worry and vulnerability in his eyes. It was still a dick move. 
          “Lily came to my office with your pretzel bread pudding. She said she was the one who’d made the mistake and begged for a second review. The kid really looks up to you.”
          “Oh, Lily.”Her hand flew to her mouth, and she blinked away sudden tears. “I can’t believe she did that for me.”
          “If all goes well with my business proposal, you could give her a big, fat raise.”
          “Your business proposal?”Confusion and curiosity interrupted her attempt to radiate hostility. 
          “I want you to guest star in my friend’s cooking show,”he said in a low voice, studying her intently. 
          “A cooking show? On television?”She sounded dumb, but her wit went on leave without notice. 
          “That’s the usual medium for a cooking show nowadays.”His tone was dry, but his eyes twinkled with amusement. 
          Great. Now he’s laughing at me. “I’ve never been on TV. I don’t even watch TV. I wouldn’t know what to do or say. I’m going to make a fool of myself.”Aubrey clamped a hand over her mouth and breathed noisily through her nose. 
          “No, you won’t. If it makes you feel any better, it’ll be filmed on a closed set, so you won’t have a live audience.”A corner of his mouth quirked upward. It wasn’t a full-blown smile, but it was enough to make his dimple wink at her. That dimple was the root cause of her predicament. Darth Dimple. Dimple of Doom. Count Dimpula. Oh, shit. He’s still talking.

Review: 

Aubrey is a ridiculously talented baker. Making it through a fairly rough childhood, she has finally broken free and opened her own bakery. Taught by her grandmother, at times she both uses and adapts coveted family recipes, which have helped her become a huge success at both storefront and online sales. Always dedicated and up at the crack of dawn to begin each morning at her shop, she decides to let loose one night at her best friend’s brewery/restaurant and unexpectedly meets Landon. Sparks fly and they immediately hit it off, ending in a night of scorching passion. But fate takes an astonishing turn when Landon ends up reviewing Aubrey’s bakery and gives it a scathing review – well, part praise, part horror. She never even knew he was there, or who he actually was; a renowned food critic. Of all the bad luck! With her business in shambles and Landon refusing to write another review, he extends an olive branch in a surprising form. If things work out as planned, she will be able to scream redemption from the rooftops. But their one-night stand must remain secret and they cannot succumb to their still smoldering desire for the sake of keeping their reputations intact. With the amount of heat both in and out of the kitchen between these two, “hands off” will be their biggest challenge yet.

Landon, like Aubrey, has huge Daddy issues. Because of the events of his childhood, he has always been extremely careful and steadfast in how he operates, which has grown into a thriving reputation as a food critic. But everything about Aubrey threw him off. Never one to review an establishment based on one single dish, he is basically forced into the review and then promptly heads out of town for a several month-long food tour. Upon his return, he realizes the gravity of the mistake he has made. He absolutely cannot write another review and after realizing Aubrey is the one he’s unknowingly hurt, he calls in a favor to try and rectify his colossal blunder in the best way he can. But he’s also made another miscalculation. Working in such close proximity to Aubrey is going to be the death of him. He wants her like no other and he knows she feels the same. Try as they might, there is no way to douse the burning passion flaming between them. When Aubrey comes to him ready to give up pretenses for a chance at love, he stubbornly refuses, remaining adamant that such a move would be career suicide. When Aubrey leaves, he refuses to listen, so she heads back home with a revelation that could change everything. If Landon doesn’t stop acting like a pompous jerk, he’ll ruin any chance with Aubrey and cost himself more than he could have ever bargained for.

I had a super fun time with this story. It was quite predictable but still amusing and entertaining. I very much love cooking, with baking at the top of the list. The food in this book was a serious highlight. The way each dish was described, I could almost taste everything – and you can bet I definitely wanted to. This is where smell-o-vision would have been ridiculously helpful. Although I found myself hungry quite frequently so perhaps something like smell-o-vision would have been not so great after all. As the main characters, Aubrey and Landon go through a few emotional modifications throughout this book. At first they are carefree and fun, really enjoying each other’s company, just out for a bit of fun. Following the disaster, they switch to angry, hurt, betrayed, wary, and distrustful. Neither knows exactly where the other stands any longer and each has the power to hurt the other. However, as they begin to work with each other, they slowly dismantle the shields they desperately erected in an effort to protect themselves from their greatest weakness; themselves. But in weakness strength can be found … it just takes an inordinate amount of time for both of them to realize it. The passion they share on their first night together hasn’t dulled in the slightest and the “partnership” they have forged of necessity only continues to feed those desires. Eventually, they succumb which wasn’t hard to guess at. However, they did make a good show of resistance. The lower the shields fall, the more vulnerable each becomes yet again and ultimately Aubrey decides that love and happiness is worth the risk if they take the leap together. But Landon is stuck in his stubborn ways and makes decisions for them both without really even allowing himself to glimpse a possibility of a future. The road back isn’t pretty, and it ultimately takes sound advice from friends and family to enlighten the big jerk.

There were, at times, unclear transitions from one person’s view to the next and a bit of editing that needs to occur, but this is an ARC and it is January. This book does not release until July, so there is plenty of time to polish this story up just a bit. Also helpful, would be a bit more of a firm distinction in the time lapses. They weren’t over much, but when they transpired, I became confused a couple of times and had to go back to see what I had missed – if in fact I had missed something. One complaint is that I felt like Landon took a bit longer coming around than he should have, but once he did, he went big! Aubrey capitulates fairly easily, but she knew what she wanted so I suppose that wasn’t all that hard to believe. This book is an HEA after all, so the ending won’t be a surprise. I found Aria to be a vibrant addition to the cast of characters and enjoyed her immensely. What confused me about her and Lucien’s relationship is that they seemed to have one heck of a back story. I have never read anything from Ms. Lee before, so I have no idea if these characters are newly introduced or came from another book. But let me tell you, there is a book’s worth of content woven throughout these pages. They didn’t overshadow Landon and Aubrey at all, but their own dilemma helped guide Landon and Aubrey along the way. One thing is for sure, this amazing couple shares an obsession for food, which is ultimately what continues to bring them back to one another. I could easily see this book made into a Hallmark movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in the future – with a bit of toning down on sexual content and language, of course. Probably my biggest issue within this book is that Aubrey is really the strong one of the couple. She knows what she wants and goes after it and if it doesn’t go her way, she finds another way to make it happen. She has help along the way, but she never wastes her resources or takes anyone for granted. This is in stark contrast to Landon who starts out as amazing, then turns out to be a real asshat. He just keeps making error after error and continues to do so until he pulls his head out of his rear-end. And finally, I both loved and disliked that we were treated to a delicious recipe at the conclusion of the book. And I will be using that recipe! What is disliked was that there was only one. I mean come on! There were so many amazing dishes in these pages. I wouldn’t have been the least bit upset with another recipe or two added on.

Overall, this book is enjoyable. The plot, while predictable, kept me engaged throughout. I am willing to bet that changes will be made between this Arc and the final release, making it that much more delightful. Think of this as a Food Network Romance. There will be a lot of time in the kitchen – not all of it baking. The language is a bit rough. A lot of F-bombs. I can see some of them as appropriate I suppose, but a few getting cut out would be nice. With as quirky as Aubrey can be, she could almost have her own swear word – something she blurted out and created in the throes of a baking disaster. The sexual scenes aren’t all that descriptive. I wouldn’t describe this as erotic in the least. Most is glossed over, and those that are not aren’t anything over the top by any means. I should also mention that both main characters are Korean, so there is a lot of reference to tradition that I found fascinating. My family is rather boring and at times I crave having a strong heritage to draw from. For me, I loved the addition of the Korean elements to the book. I don’t know that I have ever come across a Korean couple before and hope that I do again in the future. If you like strong women and thick-headed males who need several nudges along the way (perhaps a skillet to the back of the head), then I am certain you will find this “strangers to lovers to inconveniences to co-workers to lovers” book enjoyable. Ha! What a mouthful!

Personal Addendum:

While this book is not perfect and did contain errors in editing, character development, and formatting (which could simply be the eReader itself), I did want to take a moment to say a couple of things. I generally never read others reviews until after I have written my own, but I fell behind a bit and when I was gathering information for the top portion of my review, one of the reviews caught my eye, so I started to peruse. What I noticed in several reviews were the reader admitting that they don’t even care for baking. I’m not even sure why anyone would pick a book up knowing they hold that bias and then think the book will magically become compatible in reading preferences. Another thing that annoyed me was that several others knocked the rating due to the editing errors. Now I agree this should be mentioned, but as an ARC, we are to have a clear understanding that errors will more than likely be present. I have never knocked an ARC based on editing with the exception of one single book in which the editing flaws were so horrific, I could not even complete the book. In that case, I would understand. But that was definitely not the case here. So as I stand on my soapbox for a brief moment, please be aware of the reviews you choose to read and those you provide. You should take them seriously as they often times help form a decision as to whether someone will read the book or not. You are, in effect, making or breaking an author’s career. Never will everyone agree and it would be foolish to assume they could. However, given the time frame between now and the publishing date, I have no doubt my rating of 3 can easily become a 4 between now and then with a few slight adjustments applied to this advanced copy. At the end of the day, this book is much more sweet than mess. 😊

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St. Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.