No Whisk, No Reward (Donner Bakery #3) by Ellie Kay
How do you know if a risk is worth taking? If you knew, there wouldn’t be any risk. Following a disastrous appearance on a televised baking show, Sophie Copeland is certain things can’t get any worse. Several calamities later, Sophie finds herself in Green Valley, Tennessee with no plan, no place to stay, and no prospects. But at least she has a temporary seasonal arrangement with the famed Donner Bakery. And that's something, right? It's not permanent, and it's not a home, but it's still something. Enter Joel Barnes, a Green Valley mystery, wrapped in rumors, and a whispered connection to the local notorious biker gang. Joel’s got a name for being bad news, but he also has an apartment for rent. Intrigued by the dichotomy of Joel’s reputation and sexy southern pull, Sophie can’t help but be tempted, even though she knows—given her (bad) luck—she should stay far, far away. . . Yet as everyone knows, without risk, there’s no reward.
🔥🔥🔥🔥 out of 5 steam levelThe steam level is a four. There are *I think* two sex scenes and both take place after he 75% mark. They can be easily skipped if the steam level is too high for you!
Okay this Penny-verse book was a lot of fun to read. It had what I was looking for: a quirky and sassy heroine, strong female friendships, LOTS of overlapping scenes with the Winston brothers (specifically Cletus and Jen but also Beau). It also featured overlap of other main/side characters from the previous Donner Bakery series! (Tempest and Joy!)There was a lot of baking in this, which I am all here for! After just finishing the most recent series of The Great British Bakeoff, I needed to get my fix in still and this did it! Where are my GBB fans?!Now remember how I haven't loved the whole biker gang being a main plot point in a lot of these spin off books- it was featured in this book but done really well!I think this might've been the longest smartypants romance I've read yet- in fact I've read some Goodreads reviews mentioning the length. I wasn't bothered by it! I was enjoying the ride even if it slowed down my books read for the month!The humor in this book was so enjoyable to me... I mean, wanting to start a bakery called Yeast Affection?! Haha!This is a debut book for this author and I will definitely read more in the future!Where does this take place in the Pennyverse? I think it takes place after the last Winston Brothers book- but perhaps it is after Dr. Strange Beard.
This book would be great to read over the fall and winter!
There are a LOT of songs mentioned in this book so here are a few that you can add to your playlist while reading this book:-Wake me Up Before You Go Go by Wham-Africa by Toto-Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver- Rumours by Fleetwood Mac-Motownphilly by Boyz 2 MenWatch: a Paul Newman movie... specifically Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.If that movie isn't your style you always have the option of watching 2 Fast 2 Furious (which, let's be honest, is my choice out of the two for sure)Eat: pie!