The Heartbreak Bakery is delightful. Full of recipes I need to bake right now and a story about magical baked good, this one is so precious. While there is heartbreak and tension, I just kept smiling while reading The Heartbreak Bakery. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Before I even began The Heartbreak Bakery I was already so excited. I’ve slowly been reading more books by A.R. Capetta, so this one was already on my radar. How could it not be? Magical baked goods, recipes within the book, and a queer contemporary! As soon as I began, I fell in love. Syd is just so charming and relatable. Reeling from a break up, Syd pours Syd’s feelings into these brownies which wreak havoc. And The Heartbreak Bakery is not only about fixing Syd’s mistakes, it’s about looking at relationships.
About relationships which have always been on the precipice. Or relationships which need a good fight because to reach apathy is worse. One of my favorite elements was witnessing the other relationships in the books, mostly the ones Syd is trying to fix. But my favorite element had to be Syd and Harley. While their flirting seemed a bit soon, especially considering Syd’s break up, their tension, banter, and getting to know each other was beyond precious. Don’t even get me started on how much I loved Syd’s family!
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
The Heartbreak Bakery is so charming even as it deals with heavier topics like heartbreak and change. It’s a testament to the emotions, hopes, and dreams in baking. To finding someone who accepts us. We can become so fixated on an image of what we think we want. But we can end up missing something real. Find The Heartbreak Bakery is you’re in the mood for a queer contemporary about making mistakes, bakery, and second chances. You can find it on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.
One thought on “Review: The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta”