There are two things on Earth that Isobel Knight loves above all else—her Gamma Betty and their family bakery, Whisk. When an opportunity presents itself to place Whisk in the national spotlight as well as take home a nice chunk of cash, Isobel is in it to win it! Travis Coleman is a former professional football player with way too much time on his hands now that he's been made to retire after injury. Approached with the opportunity to pair up with a hometown baker and compete for the chance to win a hefty donation for his foundation, he’s almost all in. But there’s one little problem... Travis and Isobel have had friction between them going back to their high school days, but can they set their animosity aside and keep their eyes on the prize? Or will pride keep them from walking away victorious?
Nicole Falls is a contemporary Black romance writer who has taken entirely too long to complete her first project. She's also a ceramic mug and lapel pin enthusiast who cannot function without her AirPods constantly blaring music. When Nicole isn't writing, she spends her time trolling her friends and family while drinking coffee and/or cocktails or checking off yet another of these great United States visited in her quest to see some land! She currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago.
Yes, I knew it was a novella before starting but hear me out: novellas can still be longer than 90 pages and I needed this one to be a little longer !
I still really enjoyed it. Isobel and Travis felt real and their banter was great. All of the dialogue between all characters felt authentic. But, I wish that we had more time so that we could see the dynamic between Isabel and Travis develop a little more and I had more time to become invested in them getting together.
Y’all know I love a baking romance and I enjoyed those elements quite a bit. Also loved Isabel’s grandma and Travis’ mother. I enjoyed what it was and would read more from this author.
This was such a cute novella! Nicole never fails me with her ability to create interesting and fun romances. I'm a foodie so I've been looking for more romances with a culinary element and this definitely hit the spot. I can't wait to keep reading more of her books!
Sugar Butter Flour Love was such a cute novella! I love the concept of enemies to lovers then, you toss in a baking show competition for added low key drama. I loved Gam and Travis’ mama. Both were hilarious! Tesha came with the LOL moments too. Overall, the story flowed well and the attraction between Isobel and Travis was hot! Nicole Falls is killing the novella game.
Enemies, A Baking Challenge and finally lovers…Travis & Isobel had the best banter back and forth…they really hated each other…but, forced proximity through a baking challenge soon changes things. I Enjoyed this story.
OK! OK! OK! See this is what happens when you have books on your Kindle and just getting around to reading them. Author Nicole Falls!!!!! She is truly a gem and this book is so good.
I love me a enemies to lovers story, especially if this person was your nemesis in high school LOL!! Isobel Knight and Travis Coleman have not seen each other since high school and it doesn't mean even as adults they want to see each other now. Isobel entered a bake off contest not expecting to be chosen and low and behold she is and sees this as an opportunity to help her Grandmother aka Gamma with their family business. The Whisk needs money pronto especially to stay afloat and for Isobel winning the grand prize will not only help to do just that but will provide them both with cushion money for their business but to open up Whisk to more people.
Travis Coleman a now retired NFL player (not by choice but by injury) is trying to find his way into the Sports network arena. It's taking more time to get in the door than he realizes which he is not happy about. But then an opportunity presents itself and at first he is not interested but falls for it after being bated by his mother and his cousin to participate in bake off contest that will be nationally televised. After thinking it over if he wins the prize it will help his organization be able to provide more opportunities to kids who are at a disadvantage.
The kicker is Travis will have to be partners with Isobel, and that's when all hell breaks loose LOL!! To say that Isobel is totally against it until Gamma sets her straight and for Travis to get past his animosity towards her makes for an interesting story.
Let me tell you their chemistry is off the charts, the story is so well written and will have you cracking up too. And the sex scenes are fire!
My first read by this author and will definitely not be my last, so much so I already started reading another book by her called "Then Came You (Accidentally in Love Book 3)" it is so good but of course I didn't read the first two which I have to get now LOL!
High school class rivals. Dope ass bakers. A chance to win 100K. A bake off. All they have to do is put their animosity to the side to work together and try to win the bake off.
They buckle down on the animosity. They work together. Then one night things change. There’s a kiss. Things shift. And let’s just say baking between the two only showed each other there could be more.
Isobel and Travis decide to let their true feelings come forward and a beautiful love story blooms. With the right ingredients, and the right measurements, the perfect love is created.
This is usually one of my least favourite tropes, because of the unnecessary and usually forced drama. However, this book was excellent in showing the progress of their relationship in a realistic way. Hope to see these characters again, they were cute and funny.
I love how this book was a little love and a little hood. Didn't expect that. Really good short read. I'd love to see more of these characters in a longer book.
This was a mostly fun enemies to lovers novella set around two former high school rivals who must partner up for a reality TV baking show. It’s pretty immediately clear that Travis and Isobel have always had sparks between them, even though they leaned harder on that thin line between love and hate. They’ve just always gotten under each other’s skin. When their paths cross again 10 years later, they’re both immature, verging on unprofessional and making me question whether they were actually in their late 20s. There are a bunch of underdeveloped threads, likely because of the shorter form. But I wish they’d been fleshed out more and that we could have seen more of Isobel and Travis getting along. It was too much of a 180 on Travis’s side and Isobel ignored him because her thing is apparently not dealing with issues. But I did really appreciate the behind the scenes of a baking championship and all the food descriptions were amazing.
Character notes: Isobel and Travis are both 28 and Black. Travis a former NFL player. Isobel runs Whisk Bakery. This is set in Lewiston.
CW: sexual harassment at a club, reference to a minor character’s past cocaine use, non-Native use of “powwow”
A fun enemies-to-lovers romance novella. In high school, Isobel and Travis were home ec partners. Despite their talents, they did not get along, and years later, when they've been paired together again in a high-stakes holiday baking competition show, their dislike for one another resurfaces, but so does a begrudging partnership.
This was short, and I wished there were more falling-in-love scenes (it's my favorite part of enemies-to-lovers, characters having to relearn everything they thought they knew about each other), but I did enjoy reading this. One thing I particularly liked was that Travis checked in for "an enthusiastic yes" during their first time sleeping together; since they'd been at each other's throats for so long but now were swept up with getting busy with the rest of their body parts, I liked that he wanted (and got!) extra confirmation before they proceeded.
"Sugar, Butter, Flour, Love” by Nicole Falls was the cutest novella. The plot itself was refreshing. I love watching Food Network baking competition shows so of course I had to check this out. I loved the characters, the reality tv show elements, and the steaminess! Gam was such a lovable character. This was the first book that I have read by Nicole Falls but it definitely will not be my last.
The concept of this book is super unique and fun. A television competition show was a great way to do forced proximity for enemies to lovers. The one thing that nagged at me about this book is that it’s never made clear why Travis and Isobel didn’t get along.
I read this book about 3.5 years ago, but didn’t write a review. This was my first Nicole Falls book. I’ve been a fan ever since. I decided to revisit it for a quick change of pace. I enjoyed it just as much the second time. I wasn’t familiar with Christina C. Johnson’s work back then. I loved making the connection that part of this book takes place in her Blackwood community. It’s dope how Falls tied that in. This was a hilarious, yet sexy enemies to lovers story. The baking competition was the perfect backdrop to their love story. I watch a lot of those shows and can appreciate how accurately it was portrayed in the book. I would love to read more about this couple.
Picked up on recommendation of BookishRealm on Youtube. Liked the style, but I felt like it needed to be a full length novel. There was a lot of rushing, just telling me "These two don't like each other." "We hate these contestants." "We filmed a few episodes of the show." No, I want to read those scenes! Lol, let me SEE why they hate each other! I want more Gam!
We didn't really know why they hated each other, and we really didn't get to see why they started to love each other either. Mostly, all of the characters told them that they were making heart eyes at each other and they kinda went "Ok, yeah, maybe we are." I liked a number of the side characters more than the mains. I'm going to look to see if they get their own stories.
I mentioned that everyone hates two of the contestants. All we know about these two when they are introduced is that they are "cocky" (ok, sure. They are in a competition) that one girl is a beauty queen (fine) and that the other is a man. It's never said outright that he is a drag queen (why? Why are we dancing around that?), but they say that he is also a "queen" that belongs in a "different kind of ballroom". That's it. Then we hate them. We never get any examples of their behavior, any interactions, or dialogue. I'm going to give the story the benefit of the doubt, and that the rush didn't give time for the story to develop this.... but it feels a tad like we don't like them because he's a "queen". That bit gave me pause.
I love a steamy sex scene that highlights consent and the ending was sweet. The writing was fine, but I did highlight at least four mistakes (she wiped her hand with the back of her mouth) Needed another proofread, but it was on Kindle Unlimited, so can't complain about free stories. Will try to find a longer story from the author for next time.
I am not an ownvoices reviewer so please check out various Black reviewers, blogger, bookstagrammers and booktubers for a more comprehensive and honest review.
I gave this novella a 4.25 out of 5 stars.
I really enjoyed myself while reading this book. Nicole Falls is so great at writing in humor that you just laugh out loud. This book had one of my favorite tropes in it, enemies to lovers and it included a baking competition which is awesome. I really enjoyed our characters dynamic with each other. They hated each other's guts since high school home economics class but as they say, there is a thin line between love and hate. I really enjoyed the banter between our main characters (the back and forth, being snippy with each other, teasing one another, etc.) and it felt real.
I also really enjoyed the plot of them having to work together in a baking competition. It really added for some fun and interesting moments throughout the story and honestly, made me really hungry when reading the descriptions of the treats they were preparing.
If you enjoy baking competitions where two people who hate each other's guts have to work together, you'll enjoy this one.
I want give this book ten stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟! Isobel and Travis are so funny. When they find out they have to be partners in a baking competition. All they both can say is Nope, 👎. In a more colorful way. They have had beef since high school. It doesn't even matter why. Once their families get them on board they are even funnier. They really do not like each other. They do manage to find a way to work together. Oh and find some romance. You get flashed oh other characters from some of my favorite author's. I love 💘 when author's do this. Nicole you could have written ten more chapters and I would have been all over it. Travis says one line and I cried happy tears. My dad would say this all the time. It brought back memories for me. Thank you for writing this story. I need a follow-up like yesterday!!!
This is my first time reading a book by this author. I loved the way the characters flow together and I felt like I was right there as I was reading the storyline. My attention was grabbed right from the beginning until the end, which left me wanting more. Even though Tesh and Dre were not the main characters, I would love to know their back story, especially when Tesh told Isobel she would tell her why they had broke up if Isobel would do the bake off competition show. I love how Isobel and Travis had this hate love relationship between them from high school cooking class to the present. I really enjoyed this Novella and look forward to reading more books by this author. I highly recommend this book to read. Cassandra H.
Chanting🤦🏽♀️ I know these characters are not real... I know these characters are not real... I know these characters are not real... I know these characters are not real... Buttttt I am convinced Belly and myself were separated at birth. She's my Twin-in-Sarcasm. And Gam. Oh how I loved thee... My character visual for Gam was Clarice Taylor (Cliff Huxtable mom )I lovvvvvvvved this book. The detail, creativity snd REALISTIC show details... like the research fir the book was SO ON POINT, I felt like my ass was in the kitchen, on the episodes, in the club, in the hotel. The book made my entire life! Oh its ALSO my first read by Nicole. Listen, my cart is finna be everythang Nicole Falls. Thanks for an amazing read.
I was introduced to Nicole Falls at IndieLove2019. She is a ball of comedic energy. This was my first book of hers. The one thing that I have always disliked about novellas is that they seemed rushed. Not so with this one. I loved the interactions with all of the characters. The pacing was great. The story moved without omitting key parts that make it come together. My assumption was wrong about how it was going to end, however; I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I was pleasantly surprised that 1) it wasn't rushed and 2) I really liked how it ended. I am looking forward to reading more of Falls' work.
This short story was so sugary sweet that enemies find a recipe to become attracted to each other and with the right blend of ingredients they may fall in love.
Isobel and Travis’ antagonistic enemy ship is full of great one liners. It started in High School Home Economics but I’m still clueless as to what started it. 🤷🏽♀️Being forced to pair up in a competition forced them to rewrite the recipe for their love. If I say anything more I will spoil the storyline and real thin plot.
This book could have been more and should have been better and not just because it was short.
Sadly, I just didn't connect with this book. I felt like we didn't get to know the characters (why were they enemies? why was he no longer playing football?), the reason for Isobel joining the competition was not thought-out (why didn't she have a plan? was she just going to throw money at the problem?), and for a food-based book, the food was minimal and sort of boring. I was also bothered by the fact that when they MCs got together, she was very drunk. Yes, he made a big deal about consent, but it's not consent if she's drunk. Period.
While it was a sweet little enemies-to-lovers story with lots of great steam and snark between the two main characters, even by a novella standards a lot is rushed through, and a LOT of time is skipped over that means a lot of the baking and important conversations are glossed over.
I think Falls has a watched a lot of baking competition shows, but I don't think she's been on any. We only see the characters doing what would be shown on tv - we don't get any of the behind-the-scene stuff, which is too bad, because it feels like a missed opportunity.
I was in love with everything about sugar butter flour love! It was different, sweet and entertaining. Although Travis and Isobel were super cute together, Gamma was one of my favs! I felt connected with all the characters as if I was sitting front row at a live show! This is my first read by Nicole Falls, it was great and I can't wait to check out more of her books!!
I really enjoyed reading Isobel and Travis' story! And the baking competition as the back drop was icing on the cake! Pun intended! This was a fun read, with plenty of heat! My only critique is that although each chapter rotated between the main character's POV, it would have been easier follow if their names were included at the start of each chapter. Very entertaining though, especially since cooking shows are also a favorite of mine!
I loved this book! The characters were...characters maan! It’s a too funny romp with the hilariousness of this author’s crazy imagination shining through. I laughed so hard at their antics. I got a good *full* short story with lol moments basically all the way through! “Thumb thugging” took me out 😂😂😂 Ms. Falls is an awesome storyteller with great (ratchet) comedic timing! GiMmE mOrE!
The whole cooking show idea was cool. Having these two strong minded people on the show together was hilarious. The team name had me dying laughing, Gam was too cute and sassy and Tesha and her antics with Travis was hilarious too. All in all the story flowed well, the chemistry between the two was authentic, good job.