Sweet on You

by Helena Moreau

She’s baking the cake for her best friend’s wedding.
He’s the groom’s brother—and the high school crush who broke her heart.

Now they’re trapped in a frosting-filled slow burn with zero chill and one very inconvenient falling for him is off-limits.

Claire Mancini runs the coziest bakery in town, and she likes her life sweet, simple, and single. But when her best friend gets engaged, Claire is pulled into the Curvy Brides Club—a pact between friends to stop settling and start choosing real love before their thirtieth birthdays. Claire agrees, fully expecting nothing to change.

Until Josh Donovan walks back into her kitchen.

Josh is older now. Hotter. Confident in a way that makes her pulse trip. He’s also completely unaware that Claire once loved him quietly from afar… or that he broke her heart without ever knowing it was in his hands. Now he’s rolled sleeves, easy smiles, and far too good at being helpful—and wedding chaos keeps throwing them together.

He doesn’t remember her.

She never forgot him.

Between cake disasters, late-night prep sessions, and a town that thrives on gossip, the chemistry between them starts to rise. Slowly. Dangerously. And when old doubts resurface and the past threatens to repeat itself, Claire must decide whether protecting her heart is safer than risking it for something real.

Sweet on You
Start the Curvy Brides Club series and binge all available books free with Kindle Unlimited.

BLOOM FOR ME (Book 2)
SPICE ME UP (Book 3)
THE ONE WHO DOESN'T WANT A WEDDING (Book 4)
SWEET ON YOU CHRISTMAS (Book 5)
THE SECOND-CHANCE BRIDE (Book 6)
THE PLUS-SIZE BEST FRIEND WHO NEVER GETS PICKED (Book 7)

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 25, 2025

About the author

Helena Moreau writes swoony, slow-burn romantic comedies about strong, curvy heroines, cinnamon-roll men, and the beautiful chaos of falling in love when you least expect it. When she’s not baking up fictional wedding disasters or writing flirty banter at midnight, she’s drinking too much coffee, misplacing her phone, and pretending not to cry at strangers’ love stories.

She believes in messy feelings, happy endings, and second chances—preferably with frosting.

Reviews

[Sonia With an I]

Very cupcake, sweet little romance. Short and sweet

[Char (1RadReader59)]

Sweet on You. When her unwelcomed second-chance romance, walks right into her bakery, as if, no time ever passed. A second time because he had already stopped by, and he had no idea who she was. He also finds out that she had written him a note back in the day. She didn’t sign it. Claire slipped it into his locker the day of the Spring Fling. She waited all night at the dance. He never showed. She told everyone she didn’t care. But she went home, ate half a cheesecake, and swore she’d never fall for anyone again, who didn’t see her.

The surprising part is that he knew little details about her likes and dislikes. Josh Donovan had been a teenage fantasy. And look how that turned out. This time of year, the bakery smelled like vanilla bean, melted sugar, and just a hint of panic. In other words, it was wedding season. Elise her friend was about to be married, although she was close to being a bridezilla, but they would love her through it. However, all her friends loved her way too much to allow that to happen. About the way he’d looked at her. It's about the fact that he hadn’t tried to explain it away.

It's about the possibility—terrifying and real—that he might actually like her now. Not cupcake Claire. Not cute, quirky, non-threatening Claire. Her. The truth was, she wasn’t afraid he’d break her heart. She was afraid he already had, a long time ago—and that this time, she might let him. Claire had a rule about daytime dates with men who made her heart race: don’t dress like you tried, even when you did. She broke her own rule. Paul Hollywood, her cat watched from the windowsill as she checked her reflection for the fourth time.

“It’s not a date,” she told him. Paul only blinked at her unimpressed. Josh was waiting on the corner. He handed her a coffee the moment she walked up. “I got your order right, didn’t I?” Claire took it, surprised. “You remembered my coffee?” “Almond milk cappuccino. Half shot. Extra cinnamon on top,” he said. “You used to order the same thing after Lit finals.” Claire blinked. Claire sipped her drink. “So. Coffee as a thank-you?” Josh shrugged. “Sure. Call it a thank-you. Or a truce. Or… an experiment.” Claire glanced sideways at him.

“Experiment?” He smiled. “Seeing what it’s like to spend time with you when you’re not flinging spatulas at me.” Claire snorted. “That was once. And you earned it.” “I’ll own that.” “You always wanted to do this,” Josh said suddenly. “This,” he said, gesturing vaguely. “Walk through a city with a coffee and no plan. You used to doodle it in the margins of your notebooks. Girls in boots, holding lattes, being effortlessly cool.” Claire stared at him. “You saw my notebooks?” “More than you think,” he said softly. Her cheeks flushed.

Claire reached for a weathered hardcover with no dust jacket. Josh came up behind her. “You always liked old books.” “They smell better.” “You told me once you liked the ones that felt haunted. Like they remembered being loved.” “I said that?” “You said a lot of things,” Josh said quietly. “Most people just weren’t listening.” Claire held the book tighter. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss him or run. “If I bring one more book into my apartment, the floor will collapse.” They walked another two blocks to a café with no sign and a purple door.

Josh led her to a corner table, gesturing like he came here often. “You’re one of those people,” Claire said, settling into the chair. “A secret café regular.” “Only a few people know about it,” he said, grabbing a menu. “You’ve been deemed worthy.” Claire raised an eyebrow. “Flattery won’t get you out of my frosting ban.” Josh grinned. “Noted.” “You could’ve said, ‘Hey, remember me? You broke my heart at fifteen.’ But you didn’t.” “Because I didn’t want to make it a thing. I didn’t want to be that girl.” “What girl?” “The one who still remembers the way you looked in your varsity jacket.”

Josh sat back. “Claire.” She met his eyes. “It’s humiliating, you know. Having someone matter that much when you never even registered to them.” He flinched. Claire looked away. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” Josh’s voice was quiet. “But it’s not, nothing.” She didn’t answer. Instead, she took a bite of lemon tart, and let the silence fill in the cracks. Then Josh said, “For what it’s worth, I did notice you. Eventually. You were the funny girl in the corner with frosting on her face, and no filter. I just didn’t know how to talk to you.” Claire doesn't make it easy second chance 2.0 be what they're both looking for? Why did it take thirteen years for him to come back home? Especially when he comes back and does not recognize her. Yet, when he realized it was her, he reminded her of all the talks, and everything else he had noticed about her.

[Rachael W.]

I hate to say it but I really resonate with the previous reviews that mention feeling like something major is missing from this book. I think part of the problem may be in the way that the book is advertised. No book that is less than 300 pages and ends in the couple being in love could be considered slow burn. There's nothing slow about it. The plot feels very choppy and disjointed and it just simply doesn't come together. Another reviewer I saw mentioned that it feels like pieces are missing and it really does make me wonder if there isn't an editing or formatting mistake and there are actually parts missing. While our main characters Claire and Josh are endearing they don't feel developed with the story. And admittedly I am quite critical of plus size romances because I feel that as a plus size woman myself we are badly represented in fiction and having a story that is not well advertised doesn't help. How can you be 'choosing yourself' and 'knowing your worth' when the plot is rushed and makes it feel as thought the pain Josh caused Claire in their younger years is actually insignificant enough to be resolved in the span of less than 300 pages? I see potential here, the idea behind the plot is cute and the characters aren't problematic but I hope this author will work more closely with an editor and perhaps some ARC readers in the future!

[Anna Morelock]

This book was okay. There were some parts I felt like I needed to have some back story on so I'm not sure if this was part of a series or maybe a spin off. Anyway, my main gripe is that the FMC was really upset in the beginning because the MMC didn't remember her. But he did remember her (and basically everything from their past) he just didn't recognize her the first time he saw her. That little detail probably bugged me more than it should have. There were some other details that didn't add up for me but that was the main one. This is a quick read but it really missed the mark for me. I don't think I'll be reading the books about her friends.

[Lovergirl25]

I love a cute love story and this wasn't Amy different. I love how Claire overcame her past from being hurt to find the love in the now. It was short but the story just flowed and that's what got my attention. I want to read more from this author. Especially being a curvy girl myself I felt for this story. Can't wait for more!

[Casey Pipkin]

DISAPPOINTING

There is an art to telling a story so that the reader understands the facts but doesn’t get bogged down. There were so many facts that were skipped over. The story must have played out in the writers mind but it never made it to the book.

[j kh]

This reads like AI slop.

[Elizabeth]

Loved the grumpy man aspect. The protectiveness of the male was evident thoroughly throughout the entirety of the book!

[Melissa Bourdon]

Fun Read

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a happily ever after book. Easy read. High school crush turned into your true love.