Book Review ~ All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

If you know me, I have a hard time finding contemporary books that I really, really enjoy. (I’ve yet to find my first 5 star 😅). But All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes has been one of the top contenders so far!!

One thing that I absolutely loved was the way that we get so much internal dialogue from both the FMC and the MMC. If we look at the surface of the story—best friends to lovers, baking competition, dreams of finding who you are—it can feel like “Oh, I know this story”, but honestly getting to read Kat and Lucas’s inner narration made it so much richer to me. I think it’s because I’m an overthinker myself haha but I loved how much they were trying to analyze out what everything meant, how they were trying to figure out what the other one meant when they said or did such-and-such…People who like their characters to communicate well will probably not enjoy this book, but as someone who is not very bold, I found myself relating to all of Kat and Lucas’s inner struggles, trying to figure out when to say or do something or when that would just make everything worse.

I also appreciated how they were not kissing every other page!!!! One thing with contemporary stories is it seems like people are always kissing all the time, and I’m just like “Don’t you have any other idea?” 🤣
It felt like they were kissing when there was a reason to kiss, and it made the kisses feel more meaningful.

I think the family drama was cleaned up a little too quickly/we weren’t told how or why everything changed…or was it only Kat’s perspective that changed? That bit felt a bit fuzzy to me.

Oh, also!! The competition felt really solid. After the first round, I put the book down and it was like “whew, this author can write stressful situations really well!” It felt like there was actual weight to her winning or losing, since so much of her identity was wrapped up in it.

MILD SPOILERS 
I also appreciated how the author handled the ending. I liked how they were both *willing* to give up their dreams. Sometimes it seems like in movies or books, only one character is sacrificial, and it makes the relationship feel very lopsided. Not so here! 
END OF SPOILERS

Speaking of relationships, another thing I liked was how much tension there was between Kat and Lucas. I liked how they both were reacting poorly, saying the wrong things, etc. It made the fights feel realistic and also more painful because it was more like little things that got blown out of proportion rather than they both kept doing really jerky things. And it was nice that he had flaws!!! Sometimes in books it seems like authors are trying so hard to write good guys that they end up being perfect and therefore…a little flat 😅

Overall, I had a lovely time reading it, and I will be looking for more books by Betsy St. Amant (such a pretty name, too!)!

4.5/5 ⭐