Cupcakes

Title:  Cupcakes

Author:  Sean Michael

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  188 pages

Rating:  C+

Triple Shot of Yum

Blurb:  Allen Jameson had it all—the perfect house, the perfect partner, the perfect life—until his partner, Gary, died suddenly, leaving him alone in the real world, where life isn’t so pretty and people make mistakes. Now Allen is the owner of Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Cupcake Shop, a cute boutique downtown, where he invents delicious flavors like strawberry and French meringue. Between working long hours and making special orders, Allen barely has time to think.

Then a hunky contractor walks into his shop looking for a treat. Allen and Byron Bannigan are total opposites, but they’re perfect together—salty and sweet like Allen’s signature peanut butter and chocolate ganache cupcakes. But as Allen struggles to juggle his business and his boyfriend, he learns he can only handle so much. He may have to choose between the cupcakes in his store and the cupcake in his bed.

Review:  I am a Sean Michael fan. I do have to admit that I got into his books reading the more hardcore and BDSM themed books. I auto buy a lot of authors and he is always one of them. That said this book is completely different from those. If you are going into this thinking this is one of the edgier BDSM books the author is known for, it’s not. It is a sweet simple romance.

Allen is a baker and small business owner. He has really used his bakery as a way to heal and cope with the loss of his partner. We meet him and he is open, honest, sweet and a killer cook.

B, is also a small business owner but not of sweets, construction and after meeting Allen is enchanted by this man. B is very self assured and successful. He prides himself on his home, his business, hard work and being an honest man.

They come together very quickly. And as you read you see yourself predicting each step, each conflict.

This is where I had issues with the book. It was incredibly predictable. I couldn’t get lost in the story because I was never emotionally connected with these men. There is quite a bit of backstory, but even with that Allen didn’t seem real. And B was almost the perfect person. It’s unrealistic for them both to be so emotionally well adjusted and comfortable in their own skin. It bothered me. They felt like caricatures. Not like real men.

Were there really beautiful moments in this book? Yes. Did I love that no one seemed to mind either one of them being gay? Yep. Where the sexy times smoking on the paper? Absolutely. But it felt false in places.

Because of my adoration for Mr. Michael it bothered me that I didn’t care for the depth level of this story. But it fell flat.  Some of that is because of the great enjoyment and connection to the characters and storyline that I have come to expect with this author.  I think that you will do better if you go into this story expecting a sweet and sugary cupcake rather than a spicy and layered meal, served by a beautiful twink who is wrapped in chains and covered in honey.

Reviewed by Beans