Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert

Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.

Based on my experience with Served Hot, I expected Baked Fresh to be another sweet M/M romance. While it did have its sweet moments, Ms. Albert served up a heck of a lot more heat this time around… no pun intended just because Vic is a baker. There were also more emotional time bombs in Baked Fresh that pushed it over the edge from a four-star read to a five-star read for me as it has made its way to my re-read shelf.

Vic is a big bear of an Italian man who uses his commitment to New Year’s resolutions to affect major changes within his life – attending culinary school, losing over 100 pounds, stop smoking. This year he has decided to try dating. He’s tired of being alone and wants to find someone to fill that void in his life. Interestingly, while Vic does have someone he’s been crushing on, he doesn’t think he’s good enough for the guy and while Robin may have been the why behind the resolution, he’s not Vic’s goal – at least not consciously. But fate has a funny way of giving a guy the opportunity he needs because Robin’s boyfriend just dumped him and it gives Vic the opportunity he needs to become a part of Robin’s life away from the shelter.

What I liked about Vic’s situation is that he approaches much of what he does with Robin with a “hope for the best” mindset, while being happy with just having the opportunity to spend time with Robin. This allows their relationship to develop in a natural progression from friends to lovers to more. Because of the personal issues each man has – Vic’s body image issues and Robin’s sexual anxieties – theirs is a path fraught with plenty of speedbumps and detours. Even though I didn’t get quite to the point of crying, Vic and Robin’s journey certainly had its heartbreaking moments of loss and doubt, but those were well balanced with laughs, friendship, romance, sexy foreplay, seriously hot sex as Vic helped Robin work through his sexual issues, and acceptance. Yes, acceptance is a common theme in M/M romances; however, in Baked Fresh this was not the acceptance of one due to their homosexuality, but rather their acceptance of themselves for who they were and the acceptance by their partner for being the exact person the other needed – baggage and all. Baked Fresh was an excellent addition to the Portland Heat series and I am already anticipating what Ms. Albert serves up next in Delivered Fast.

Check out the Baked Fresh by Annabeth Albert Blog Tour post on Wicked Reads.


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Served Hot by Annabeth Albert

Served Hot by Annabeth Albert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.

Served Hot was such a sweet M/M romance. Robby has a crush on David, one of his customers, but hasn’t been able to figure out if he is gay or straight. With the Pride celebration being held during the upcoming weekend, Robby finally works up enough courage to make a nonchalant mention of the weekend’s events and is STILL unsure about David’s sexuality, although now Robby suspects that David may indeed be straight. Poor Robby. So when David shows up at the Pride festival and makes a point to seek Robby out, Robby finds himself even more confused until David asks him out for coffee. Priceless! Ask the coffee guy out for coffee.

But David’s faux pas was exactly the kind of ice breaker these two needed so that the courting could commence, and courting was how their relationship felt. Mind you there was the modern day twist on it as we’re not only talking about two men, but also a couple of really hot bedroom encounters. Yet David comes off as an old-fashioned guy and while he seems quite taken with Robby, he’s unsure of how to proceed. My heart actually broke for David when he told Robby about Craig and their non-relationship. With both Robby and David having been in closeted relationships, neither wants to be someone’s dirty little secret again and that should make things easier for them, right? Sadly it does not because David has no actual relationship experience and because neither man wants what they have together to be threatened, neither is willing to voice their wants, concerns, and insecurities. Eventually situations align in such a way that Robby is forced to speak up and ask for more out their relationship. But Craig’s ghost and David’s baggage may prove to be more the Robby can handle.

This novella has couple of rather sad scenes that left me looking for my tissues. I didn’t quite need them, but Robby and David are such sweet guys that it seemed to make the sad parts even sadder. Thankfully Served Hot is a stand-alone novella and this cute couple got their happy ending, complete with a Coconut Frappé. This was an adorable story and I am already looking forward to reading Baked Fresh, the second book in Ms. Albert’s Portland Heat series.

Check out the Served Hot by Annabeth Albert Blog Tour post on Wicked Reads.


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