Review: Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert

From its famous coffee to the mouthwatering fare at its cafés, restaurants, and bakeries, Portland, Oregon, has a lot to whet the appetite, including the hard-working men who serve it all up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Vic Degrassi is a baker on the rise, and it’s all thanks to his rare ability to make—and keep—his New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s losing weight, giving up smoking, or graduating from culinary school, Vic goes after what he wants—and gets it. This year? He wants Robin Dawson, the sweet-hearted hottie who volunteers with him at the local homeless shelter. When he learns that Robin is suddenly single after being unceremoniously dumped, Vic is more than happy to offer a shoulder to cry on—or at least a fresh-baked pastry to bite into. But it’s been a long time since Vic’s gone on a date, and he’s nervous about risking his friendship with Robin. So when their flirtation turns into a steamy night together, Vic and Robin have to figure out if they’re friends with benefits or lovers in the making, and if Robin is ready for something more than just a rebound. There’s only one way to find out: turn up the heat…
 





Cutesy.

If you're searching for a quick, easy, feel good read that's precisely what you'll find in Baked Fresh. This is book 2 of a series but can be read as a standalone. The cover is what initially drew me in along with the promise of baked goods and manlove and, boy, were those delivered in spades. 

Baked Fresh is told through Vic, an Italian Stallion, pastry chef and former fatty. Vic had lapband, lost about 100 lbs but continues to struggle with his body image, but he's ready to hit the dating scene with his newly svelte and gym ratted self. He's been lusting after Robin for two years when opportunity strikes in the form of a painful breakup and Vic swoops in as the rebound guy hoping for more. 

There is very little angst but also very little depth. It felt very superficial in that Vic only ever talks about how beautiful Robin is, they never have any conversations of substance when both of them have significant amounts of emotional baggage. Overall I found the writing to be simplistic and overly reliant on telling rather than showing usually with some sort of anthropomorphic bent which, frankly, made me hope Vic had his internist on speed dial. His innards might need a tune up what with all the churning, burning, clenching and gurgling. And, finally, the conflict seemed rather melodramatic in addition to lacking detail and depth.

The manlove was pretty hot, though. It even had a bit of kinky fuckery, though the "dominance" did come across a little stilted oftentimes. Still, the face fucking was a win. And the rimming.

If you want a quick little petit four sized treat, you'll likely enjoy Baked Fresh.



A review copy was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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