Books

Book 976: Baking Me Crazy (Apple Meadows #2) – Catherine Cloverdale

Book cover of "Baking Me Crazy" with Amazon Affiliate linkOOOF. You know when they tell you not to judge/choose a book by its cover? That 100% applies to this one. When this landed in my inbox, I thought, ” Oh, that’s a decently professional cover, the model is attractive, and the font isn’t too amateur,” so I requested a copy.* AND then a few weeks later when I sat down to read it, I realized it was the second book in a series, the first was Apple-y Ever After, by an author that I barely made it through the first because there were so many issues.

So, I thought okay, maybe she hired a copy editor and a proofreader to fix a lot of the minor (but persistent) issues I found throughout, or at the very least read the book out loud so the dialogue was less stilted and the passages flowed naturally.

NOPE.

I can’t say this one is worse than Apple-y Ever After, but I can say that it’s not any better. Everything I had issues with in the first one was still here and then when you add in the first kissing scene had some questionable consent issues I should’ve DNF it right away. However, I’m too stubborn for that, and I spent nearly two weeks slogging through the book. What sucks is that I liked both Daniel and Gabe as characters and the idea of small-town Vermont is great, it’s all just the execution of it that falls far short for me, but once again I’m in the minority as people on Goodreads love it (it’s currently sitting at a 4.14-star rating which boggles my mind).

These are just a few of the lines that drove me nuts:

I rested my chin in my closed fist, intently listening to her talk. (Chapter 1)

Even a small town wasn’t immune to the desires of Black Friday and Christmas shopping, though most people also made the effort to travel to the city for a more wide variety. (Chapter 21)

Something unspoken, but like he was assuming the worse. (Chapter 24)

How was I supposed to just ask her if she could ever be with a cheater? Or even just a playboy with a reputation? I had no actual proof that Gabe had ever cheated on anyone.” (Chapter 25)

While I guess technically none of them are wrong, they’re just awkward AF.

If there is one highlight of the book it is the sex scenes. Cloverdale did a decent job with each of them. There wasn’t anything groundbreaking, kinky, or innovative about them, but they worked, were well-written, and engaging. I did have issues with the consent around the first kiss, but thankfully that was the only time it was questionable. I think the addition of the scene in the epilogue was gratuitous, but again well written and didn’t actually detract from the story so meh.

Recommendation: HARD PASS. Like the first book in the series, Apple-y Ever After, this book desperately needs stronger or more honest beta readers, a copyeditor with a clear vision, and a proofreader. It’s poorly written, but the premise has so much potential because clearly I was suckered into reading this one even though I had such a bad experience with the first. The worst part about it is that if Cloverdale just read the passages out loud to see if they flowed or made sense the book would be improved twice over and that’s without even fixing the grammar, spelling, or time-jumping issues. I again have concerns about quality control with Gay Romance Reviews, but the slog through this one was on me because I didn’t realize who the author and the series were. I tried Cloverdale twice and will not be revisiting her in the future.

*I received a copy of Baking Me Crazy via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “The rain began to pelt the windows just as I pulled the cinnamon buns out of the oven.”

Closing Line: “I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve it, but I was never going to let it go.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

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