Book Review: How the Cookie Crumbles, by Jaime Samms

How the Cookie Crumbles, by Jaime Samms
Series: A Bluewater Bay Story (Stand-alone)
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: February 15, 2016

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

After losing a rigged cooking show competition—and a potential lover—to another baker, Frederic Jackson packs up his considerable baggage and moves to Bluewater Bay. He uses the network’s hush money to buy a new bakery where he hopes the small town’s revitalized economy will let him start anew.

Blaire Caruthers never wanted to work for his father at Caruthers Industries. He should have known that fixing the company’s show results was a mistake, and that choosing another man over kind, generous Frederic was an even bigger one. But the damage is done. To escape the fallout, he’s gone to Bluewater Bay to oversee the company’s interest in Wolf’s Landing merchandise.

Stuck in a small, nowhere town doing a job he hates, Blaire wants nothing more than to prove to Frederic he’s changed. However, Frederic struggles to trust the man who betrayed him once already. As Blaire loses ground with his father, and Frederic starts falling back into self-destructive habits, they both have to find the balance and control that’s been missing from their lives.

Gay - M/M
Romance
Second Chance
Enemies to Lovers
Workplace
Social/Economic Differences

I felt like I was on a roller coaster while reading this novel; there were moments of slow, tedious build-up, followed by a rapid, exhilarating burst of action. It was a fun ride in many ways, although exhausting in others.

I liked Frederic and his fierce independence. He’s been hit with one bad situation after another, and I love reading about characters who refuse to give up. He was badly burned, both professionally on a competitive TV show and personally by a cheating lover, but he moves on.

But I struggled with Blair, the cheating ex who realizes that he wants nothing more than to win Frederic back. For the first half of the novel, I almost despised him; he’s very pushy, refuses to take “no” for an answer (BIIIIG NO-NO FOR ME), and doesn’t seem to grasp that he’s doing more harm than good.

But the novel suddenly kicks into high gear in the second half! The plot picks up, the characters start to mesh, and the threads begin to come together. It’s an uphill climb to get there, but everyone knows the big drop is the best part of the roller coaster, right?

How the Cookie Crumbles is an interesting addition to the Bluewater Bay ‘verse. It brings in some familiar faces (the Burnt Toast B&B crew!) and introduces some new ones. And if it has a rocky start… well, the second half definitely makes it worth the effort.