Audio Review: Cake (Cake, #1) by J. Bengtsson

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Review

4.5 stars!

This book has been on my TBR for the longest time, and I’m so happy that I finally dove in! It’s a fantastic rock star romance that starts off as a fun and flirty story and becomes something so much deeper and more emotional. I love these characters, their story had me captivated, and I loved this one!

Casey is a happy, confident and funny accounting student who is celebrating the final preparations for her best friend’s wedding She will be a bridesmaid, and is paired up with the groom’s brother, Jake, who just happens to be one of the biggest rockstars in the world.

Their first meeting is hilarious, and a wonderful hint of things to come as Casey’s confidence and lack of concern about Jake’s celebrity, combined with her sharp sense of humour and tendency to word-vomit, leads to some epic back and forth that had me laughing and thoroughly enjoying the banter between them. It’s funny and a little bit flirty, and they end up spending the majority of the weekend together. But with Jake in the middle of a world tour, they are separated sooner than either of them want to be when he has to leave.

Was it really possible to meet someone and just know they are the one for you?

Over phone calls and texts, their flirtation continues, and when Jake invites Casey to join him in Europe, she happily accepts, and their romance blossoms! I loved seeing these two together, and enjoyed their fun dynamic, their passion for each other, and their sweetly romantic moments.

But Jake has some pretty significant trauma stemming from a childhood abduction. Stories from his past are brutally heartwrenching, as is the continued physical and mental impact on him. He still has a lot that he needs to deal with, and having Casey in his life means that he’s not dealing with it alone, which is both good and bad as he has someone to support him through it, but it means he has to open himself up, talk about it and deal with it once and for all so that he can finally move on.

This book is really a story in two parts. The first part shows Jake and Casey meeting, flirting, and that wonderful spark of attraction. The second part shows us after that – spending time together, falling for each other, and dealing with the realities of life with a rock star, and Jake’s dark demons. I liked the balance, and loved that we got to see such a fun and playful side of these two before the story got darker. We see all aspects of their relationship, with lots of little moments of them together, including very entertaining ‘meet the family’ scenes, and I loved them together so much.

The book is written in dual POV, and there’s a lot of time spent in the character’s heads so we see all of their thoughts, all of the time. In a book where the character interactions are what truly shine, these times that felt a bit slower than others, but I did appreciate knowing the detail of what they’re going through, and getting to know them on such a deep level.

I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Joe Arden and Andie Arndt, and it’s a great one to listen to! I’m looking forward to picking up the rest of the books of the series, featuring Jake’s fabulous siblings.

I loved this one – 4.5 stars!

 

Cake

             

Cake (#1) (Jake & Casey)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

The Theory of Second Best (#2) (Kyle & Kenzie)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

Fiercely Emma (#3) (Finn & Emma)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

Cake: The Newlyweds (#4) (Jake & Casey)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

Rogue Wave (#5) (Keith & Samantha)
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Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

Hunker Down with the McKallisters (#5.5) (series novella set during COVID-19 lockdown)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  |  PaperbackAudio

Next In Line (#6) (Quinn & Jess)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

Grace Note (#7)
Review
Buy:  Amazon Paperback Audio

 

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