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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review-Cake by J.Bengtsson

by | Feb 28, 2018 | Book Reviews | 0 comments

Book Review-Cake by J.Bengtsson

Book Review-Cake by J.BengtssonCake by J. Bengtsson
Also in this series: Cake: The Newlyweds
Series: Cake #1
Published by Self Published By Author on May 16 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Rock Stars
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Joe Arden
Length: 12 Hours and 46 Mins
Pages: 396
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads
AmazonLibrary Thing
four-half-stars

Jake McKallister might have been a rock star, but he was no ordinary one. Surviving an unspeakable crime as a young teen had shaped him into a guarded workaholic, and he now lived his life trying to forget. If it hadn’t been for music and the redemption he found through it, he might not have survived. Career success came easily for him. Personal connections did not.

When outspoken, vivacious college student Casey Caldwell was paired with the famously reserved rockstar for a friend’s wedding, she was prepared for the worst. What could they possibly have in common? She was a bubbly talker; he was a reclusive loner. His life was filled with music; she couldn’t carry a tune. She’d enjoyed a happy childhood; his was a well-publicized nightmare.

Yet despite their obvious differences, Jake and Casey found each other, and her light balanced out his darkness. Would their love be strong enough to survive the weight of his tragic past?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a *full-length* standalone romance. Cake is a love story at heart but does deal with a sensitive topic and may not be for all. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.

Cake is a brilliant story that really got to every emotion I am even capable of and boy I honestly am so thrilled that I decided to take a chance on this story. If it wasn’t for Audible’s package, I know I would have never grabbed it up, to be honest but boy this book took me on a wonderful and sweet romantic ride, a ride I never wanted to get off of.

This beautiful story starts off with a wedding where our two characters meet for the first time. Casey is finishing up her degree in accounting in Arizona. When one of her closest friends gets married she finds out that she is paired up with the infamous Jake McKallister, world-renowned music rock star and she has no idea what she will do with a man like Jake that lives a whole different world that she can even dream of. At first, things are awkward between Jake and Casey. But when Casey plays a joke on Jake, the atmosphere between them eases instantly and before they know it they are talking and laughing and time flies and the attraction between them is undeniable. Casey knows that she can’t have forever, but Jake is the type of man you take a chance on. Jake has suffered through horrors no one can even imagine. Kidnapped as a young teen and tortured, he barely came out alive and it has haunted him and his music is what has saved him. Now he has been touring for seven years and the nightmares are just on the surface with his knee giving him problems until he meets sweet and sassy Casey who makes his world lighter and freer. He doesn’t know if he can be the type of man that Casey deserves, he is damaged and his past is dark, but he also knows that when something good comes into your life, your grab hold and don’t let go.

“Oh, come on, Jake. You guys have chemistry. You know it. She knows it. The fucking goldfish in the lobby pond know it.”

Cake is one of those stories that I never saw coming and I am so relieved that I took that leap and grabbed up Jake and Casey’s book…Cake. I don’t get a chance to read rock star romances too often, but this book was delightful. Now it might not be for everyone especially if you are expecting a steamy read. Because this book has only one or two bedroom scenes and they aren’t too detailed but I found the chemistry between these two just wonderful. And their fun bantering from the beginning just draws you in immediately. And seeing Casey go on tour with Jake for the summer and then seeing their relationship take a great test with facing Jake’s past and seeing that these two work together and that they don’t give up on each other. There is conflicts of course, but NOT in the relationship. I love that the minute that they are “together”, they never stop fighting for each other and keep working on their relationship and making sure it’s as strong as ever.

We do have some hints of darkness though when dealing with Jake’s past and seeing him work through this was really hard to see because Jake is so talented and kind and down to earth and he has really gone through hell and back and is still fighting for his sanity and his past does haunt his intimate relationship with Casey. But Casey….she is a fighter, she never stops loving him or standing by him. She is very true to Jake and is willing to stay by his side through the good and the bad times and I LOVE this aspect to the romance. They go on an incredible journey and it definitely was written so well and tugged at my heartstrings.

Now I want to mention the Narration which is so dang GOOD!! Man the dual POV with these dual narrators was done so well and I loved seeing both sides of the story. And this dual POV is done so well, these narrators really bring out the personalities to the characters so distinctly and I couldn’t get enough and I honestly can’t wait to read the sequel to the story “The Honeymoon” and checking out the other books in the series with Jake’s siblings.

If you love a light steamy romance with a sexy rock star and a smart and sassy heroine…grab this book up, you won’t regret it!!

 

 

About J. Bengtsson

J. Bengtsson lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. She wrote Cake for fun after she'd read a really bad rock star romance.

J. never told anyone she was writing Cake and had no intention of sharing the story but after she'd finished writing it, and falling in love with the characters, she couldn't help but be curious if someone else out there might enjoy Jake and Casey as much as she did.

Still, it took a couple of months debating with herself, before J. finally got up the courage to self-publish the story. She was shocked when it took off almost immediately, spreading by word of mouth alone. Her unsuspecting family was dumbfounded upon learning the truth nearly a month later. They were even more in awe to discover that the book had actually become a hit.

Since then J. has embarked on a new path in life and has begun writing full time. She published The Theory Of Second Best (book two in the Cake series) in January 2017 and Fiercely Emma (book three in the Cake series) in July 2017.

She is incredibly thankful to all the Cake lovers out there who embraced Jake and Casey in the same way she had all those months before.

Book two and three of the Cake series are focused on the siblings of the McKallister family (no one escaped the crime unscathed) and books one and four will follow Jake and Casey.

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