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Review

4.5 stars!

A fun, laugh-out-loud funny romance set within a Survivor-like reality show, this is a wildly entertaining read with characters that I adore and a gorgeously slow burning friends-to-lovers romance, and I absolutely loved it!

This is the second book in the Cake series, and while it can be read as a standalone, the events of this book take place during the timeline of the first book in the series, Cake (before, during and after), so beware that this book contains some pretty massive spoilers for the first.

Kyle was an absolute scene-stealer in Cake, and I was so excited to read his story! Kyle is the younger brother and best friend of Jake McKallister, global rockstar. Kyle is Jake’s self-declared ‘security’, his companion and safety net, travelling with his troubled brother on world tours to provide company and support. He fully acknowledges that he is a hanger-on in Jake’s life, and he’s content to be second best, picking up the leftovers from his brother’s life, and without any real goals for himself. But Kyle has just been invited onto a Survivor-like reality show, and he is ready to shine all on his own.

Kenzie is a small-town girl whose whole life has been about her family. She practically raised her triplet siblings, and at 24, she’s barely left her home town and never really done anything for herself. Applying for a reality show is her chance to experience something new, and hopefully win some money to help out her family so that she can take off and start to live her own life.

And so, Kyle and Kenzie are dropped onto a remote island with a bunch of strangers. From a grossly unfortunate introduction, Kyle and Kenzie’s friendship builds quickly and strongly, and they become the closest of allies – working together to survive in the harsh conditions, and even spooning every night to keep each other warm. They are each other’s safe place, and they tease, banter, flirt and talk constantly, and it was a joy to watch all of it!

I have never, in my life, watched an episode of Survivor, though I know the premise of the game, and I really enjoyed Bengtsson’s take on the wild reality show. There’s a weirdly eclectic group of characters that we get to know – some you will love, and some you will hate – some of whom they end up building lifelong connections with, all of whom teach Kyle and Kenzie important lessons. And in the middle of it all, we get to watch Kyle and Kenzie’s relationship blossom, because Kyle is feeling all kinds of feelings for his island best friend, and Kenzie is falling hard for him right back, which is something neither of them expected. But the rules of the game mean that there can only be one winner, and I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen.

The book follows their island adventure and back into life afterwards, and this is a fantastic story of two wonderfully underestimated characters finding their strength, and their true sense of self. Borrowing from the trauma in the first book, there is drama, and Kyle’s take on events was beautifully and emotionally written to really bring the feels! It shows us even more of the connection between Kyle and his brother, which I really enjoyed exploring.

And the romance… *dreamy sigh*. It’s a slow burn with fantastic chemistry, and I loved watching Kyle and Kenzie be so honest and real with each other, follow their hearts, and fall into a relationship.

We get to see more of the McKallister bunch, and Kenzie’s family are hilarious. There are lots of laughs, some drama, and a beautiful friends-to-lovers romance with satisfying and believable character development, and I loved it all!

Such a wonderfully entertaining read – 4.5 stars!

The audiobook is narrated by the dream team of Zachary Webber and Andie Arndt, who both do a wonderful job with the story. I absolutely recommend listening to this one!