Review: Beefcakes by Katana Collins

Beefcakes by Katana Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you like second-chance romances you need to read this.  This was sweet (no pun intended without being over the top.  The characters felt like real people with real relationship problems.  They lived real lives with real problems.  This was the perfect mixture of romance, comedy, and serious. 

I love it when a couple works through their issues and they actually talk about their problems instead of hiding behind lust and ignoring the bad stuff.  In this book, there is a lot of baggage between main characters Neil and Elaina.  He broke her heart when he left, and if he has any chance of winning her back he has to earn her trust back.  Elaina has been hurt far too many times in her life by people she cared for, and Neil was probably the worst.  She isn't going to make it easy for him to waltz right back into town and win her back with his antics.  I also love it when couples don't change for each other or settle to be something they are not.  Neil loves being a stuntman and loves to bake.  When he was injured on set, his career in the movies was over so he came home to help out with the family cupcake business.  Elaina is the town manager, and she's very serious and business oriented.  The Elaina from high school that Neil used to know was fun and a bit of a party girl.  He wants to know where she went and inspire Elaina to let "Lainey" out because you can be responsible and serious and still have fun sometimes.  All the while Neil is trying to help his mom's struggling business while she is going through cancer treatments and racking up debt.  When Elaina and Neil are thrown together in a crazy TV show that could potentially solve both of their financial issues, they realize that they still have feelings for each other.  They both have issues they will have to face, but the only way they will win is to face them together.

I love to bake, and I need the recipes for Neil's low carb, protein cupcakes in my life.  All of his recipes sound amazing!  Did I mention there are a couple of recipes at the end of the book?  As someone who eats a low carb diet, I'm excited to try them and see how they work out.  The author has even thought through substitutions for sugar alternatives and flour alternatives which makes me a very happy girl!

This is part of the Maple Grove series, but it is 100% standalone.  This is my first book from Katana Collins and I didn't find myself lost or confused by not having read the other books in the series.  I actually had no idea there were more books until I got to the end of this book and there were links to more books which I will of course be reading in the future.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.  This book will be published on March 24, 2020.


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