K.J. Charles's Reviews > The Winner Bakes It All

Jeevani Charika is one of the most reliable, relatable, not to mention delectable romance authors out there. Her books revel in classic romance tropes (this one has the woman runs bakery / rivalry with cafe opposite set up) but the characters have a realness to them that grounds the stories and gives them a lot of emotional heft. We really care about Elodie's wobbles and her bakery and her crappy family because she feels like a person, not a heroine, and it doesn't have to devolve into high drama because the small problems feel quite big enough.

Mal is a lovely, gentle hero who makes me sympathise with a keto-eating gym bro, which shouldn't really have been possible. Really interesting backstory on the keto stuff, too.

A thoroughly engaging contemporary romance, I enjoyed every minute, but in the name of God stop giving me Abba earworms.

I had an ARC from the publisher.